Where We Found Our Home by Natasha Bishop

 

Lincoln

Instead of seeing Ciara off at the hospital like I should’ve, I went back to the exam room with her. I know a few of the nurses and doctors here—that’s just the nature of our professions—so I didn’t even bother trying to lie about my relation to Ciara. The nurse who admitted her told me to stay quiet and go on back with her.

I can tell Ciara isn’t unconscious, but she keeps her eyes closed and stays silent. The bright lights must be bothering her, and her head is probably throbbing, but I feel the need to make sure she’s okay. And maybe I just want to hear her voice again.

“You gonna pretend to be asleep the whole time?”

She slowly opens her eyes and curses under her breath. “You’re actually here.”

Interesting comment. “Did you think I was fake?”

“Actually, yeah. I convinced myself that I made you up somehow.”

“Care to elaborate on that?”

“Nope,” she says with a pop. “So, why are you back here with me? How are you back here with me? Aren’t there rules against that?”

“I’ve got some pull here.” She starts fidgeting with her hospital gown, and the need to hold her grows. I want her to be comfortable with me, but that’s ridiculous. We don’t know each other.

“Actually, I’m a firefighter, and I know some of the nurses and doctors here, so I asked if I could keep you company. I’ll step out when the doctor comes in if you don’t want me to hear anything. I just didn’t want you to be alone.”

She looks up at me but doesn’t quite meet my eyes. “Thank you. You can stay.” I can tell it took a lot for her to let me into her space, and I’m honored she did, which ironically makes me want to run out the door and far away.

“I’m Lincoln, by the way.”

“Hi, Lincoln.”

“You know, my niece is a pretty big fan of yours. I gotta say, after seeing you jump in front of a speeding car to save a kid, I’m a pretty big fan myself.”

She smiles, but it doesn’t reach her eyes and her shoulders tense up. Did I say something wrong? “I wasn’t aware I had a fan club. Who’s your niece?”

“Nevaeh. She said you come to my sister’s coffee shop every day.” Her eyes widen and she curses under her breath again, but her shoulders relax a bit.

“Sasha is your sister? Well, that’s just perfect.” She laughs without humor. “They’re pretty incredible. Very welcoming. I guess it runs in the family.”

I smile. That’s one way to say we insert ourselves into people’s lives against their will. “Mama managed to instill some manners into us. There are four of us plus she’s always reining my dad in from something, so we gave her a run for her money but she still whipped us into shape.”

“Four kids, huh? My mom always said never to let your kids outnumber you.” She winces, and I can’t be sure if she’s in pain from adjusting in her seat or if something else is bothering her.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. All good.”

I want to probe further, but the doctor comes in and Ciara immediately breaks eye contact with me.

“Hi, Ms. Jeffries, how are you feeling?”

“I feel fine, really.” She’s obviously in pain. I know most people hate hospitals, but she seems really anxious to get out of here. I have no business speaking on her behalf, but if she keeps downplaying her injury, I will tell the doctor the truth about how she feels.

Why?

Beats the fuck out of me.

“Okay, well, your MRI and CT scans came back clear, so we don’t have to worry about any sort of bruising or bleeding on your brain, but you most likely have a concussion.” She proceeds to ask Ciara a series of questions, and she answers well for the most part but at times she becomes confused or her reaction time is slow.

“You definitely have a concussion. I’m going to give you some medicine for the pain but otherwise you’ll just need to rest.” She turns to me. “Will you be the one monitoring her at home tonight?”

Ciara’s eyes widen. She looks panicked, and it’s a good thing the doctor is facing away from her. I know the doctor is asking because Ciara needs to be on concussion watch. She’ll need someone to keep an eye on her symptoms over the next few hours and to check in on her while she sleeps. I don’t want to come across as a creep by wanting to be the guy who checks on her while she sleeps, but I don’t know if Ciara has anyone to look out for her at home. I doubt it since no one showed up at the hospital and she didn’t call anyone. If she doesn’t have someone to watch her, they’ll keep her overnight at the hospital, and something tells me she would not want that.

So what? Are you going to stay with her?

That’ll probably send her into a panic too, but which is worse? I have to hope I’m the lesser of two evils.

“Yes, that’s me.” Thank God this is not one of the doctors I know, so she doesn’t even question it.

“Okay, great. Then if you have no further questions, I’ll get your medicine and your discharge papers ready.”

Ciara’s face transforms to a look of indifference. “Okay, thank you. I don’t have any questions.”

“Take care, honey.” The doctor closes the door behind her and Ciara whirls on me.

“You’ll be the one monitoring me tonight?”

“Listen, you seem anxious to not be here anymore, and if I had said no, she would have insisted you stay overnight.”

Her eyes soften slightly. “I really appreciate that, and I don’t wanna be here, but I’m not comfortable staying with you or you staying with me. I’m sorry.”

She’s absolutely right. I have no idea how I was thinking that would even be an option. My phone buzzes with a text from Sasha.

Sasha: Hey, Dom said you went back with Ciara. Is she okay? I’m in the waiting room.

Why had I not thought of that before?

Me: How would you feel about two overnight guests tonight?

The reply comes instantly.

Sasha: I’m gonna assume you’re talking about Ciara, in which case, I feel great about that. If you’re the 2nd guest I’m gonna need more time to consider.

Pain in the ass.

I turn back to Ciara. “Actually, I was thinking you might feel more comfortable staying with Sasha tonight. I’m sure Nevaeh would be excited to have you.”

“Oh. Umm, she doesn’t have to do that. Really, I’d be fine at home on my own.”

“Honestly, you’d probably be doing her a favor. She and Nevaeh seem to really like you, and they watched you hit your head really hard today. My sister is a worrier and she’s in the waiting room texting me for updates. If you don’t agree now, she’ll probably browbeat you down when we get out there. Sooo, would you rather agree now or have a worse headache when you agree later?” I’m really leaning into the guilt trip here, but it’s not a lie. Sasha would insist she look out for her. She’s always taking someone under her wing, and I don’t know if I’m annoyed or grateful that Ciara seems to be the latest target.

She thinks hard for a minute, but then all the fight seems to go out of her. “Okay, fine. But only because my head already hurts enough.” I chuckle. Whatever it takes is fine by me.

After she’s completely discharged, we head out to the waiting room to find Sasha.

“Hey, thank you for letting me stay with you tonight.”

Sasha wraps Ciara up in a hug, and she tenses for a minute before relaxing into it.

“No, thank you. I feel so guilty. If I hadn’t gotten on you about getting out more you probably wouldn’t have even been there.”

“Well, if I hadn’t been who knows what would’ve happened to that little girl, so it all worked out. Please don’t feel guilty.” My heart jumps at that response. I already admire her for jumping in front of the kid in the first place, but hearing she would willingly do it again gives me a sense of…pride.

I need to get away from this woman. I just met her, and she’s seriously fucking with my head. I should go home right now and leave Sasha to take care of Ciara, but I’m apparently a glutton for punishment.

“Let’s get you home. Carter called me earlier because Nevaeh is freaking out looking for an update. Linc, Carter and Isaiah went to get your car earlier, so it’s at my house.”

“Great. Thanks, sis.”

On the way to Sasha’s house, I take advantage of the fact that Ciara is sitting up front, and I spend the entire car ride stealing glances at her profile. I study her tattoo. It’s an intricate image of a phoenix rising from flames. It’s mesmerizing, but when I look closer, I can tell the tattoo is covering some extensive scarring. What happened to you, Ciara? I wonder if whatever caused the scars is the reason she was so anxious in the hospital.

When we get to Sasha’s house, I hop out quickly so I can help Ciara down. She hesitates but takes my hand anyway, and a shock shoots up my spine when our hands touch. I look over to Sasha, and she’s eyeing me curiously but doesn’t say anything.

“We’re here!” Sasha yells when we get inside. Nevaeh runs downstairs and hugs Ciara first, then me. Carter strolls down behind her.

“Are you okay? That looked like it hurted.”

Ciara chuckles, and the sound goes straight to my dick again. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just a bump on the head. I just need to take it easy.”

“Hi, Ciara, it’s nice to finally meet my daughter’s favorite customer. I wish it was under better circumstances.”

“Nice to meet you too, Carter.” She turns to Nevaeh. “Am I really your favorite customer, or do you say that to all the people with head injuries?”

Nevaeh giggles. “You’re my favorite! That’s why my Linky was there to save you today. I wanted yous to meet.”

I start to intervene before Nevaeh can say anything else embarrassing like how I was drooling over her in the window before the incident, but Ciara surprises me with her next comment.

“Well, I’m sure that’s not exactly the meeting you had in mind, but I’m glad we did meet.”

She looks up at me, and I’m once again lost in those eyes.

“Alright, Ciara, we have you set up in the guest room upstairs. Linc, the couch is all yours, my guy.”

Ciara side-eyes me. “I didn’t realize you were staying too.”

“Yeah, Linc, why are you here again?” Sasha asks, trying to hide her amusement. Asshole.

“I just figured it would be best for me to check on you tonight. Sasha sleeps like a log, so there’s no way she’s getting up to look in on you.” All the adults look at me like I’ve grown three heads.

The rest of the day flies by with easy conversation. Carter and Sasha give Ciara recommendations for places to visit outside of the city. Nevaeh shows off her toys. I encourage Ciara to take a nap but she refuses, though she does pop her pain medicine so I know her head is still bothering her.

Sasha yawns. “Alright, well, we’re gonna head up. Ciara, I’ll put some clothes in your room to sleep in and towels for your shower. Just let me know if you need anything else.”

“Thank you both, really,” Ciara responds.

“Can I stay with Linky for a little bit?” Nevaeh asks. Sasha looks to me, and I nod in silent permission. Nevaeh pumps her fists in victory.

“Fine, little girl. But behave.” Sasha and Carter head upstairs.

Nevaeh nudges me in the side. “Can we watch a movie?” Nevaeh looks between Ciara and me with that puppy dog look she’s perfected.

“We should let Ciara rest, Short Stack. She shouldn’t watch TV anyway with her concussion.”

“Actually, I’m not quite ready for bed yet. I’ll close my eyes during the movie, but I’d love to sit with you guys while you watch. Just let me take a shower first.”

I swat the image of Ciara naked in the shower out of my head.

“Yeah, okay, great. We’ll get it set up. Take your time.”

Ciara bites her bottom lip and nods.

I’m vaguely aware of Nevaeh going to the kitchen to get snacks, but I watch Ciara the whole way up the stairs.