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THREE
Cole
“I would likefor you to at least drink that,” the nurse said as she nodded toward the glass of juice on my stand.
“I’m not sure how you think juice is going to help a broken leg,” I replied. “Pretty sure the two aren’t connected.”
“I’m pretty sure I want to make sure you have something else in your stomach with those pills I gave you. You’ll thank me later,” the nurse said.
“I doubt that,” I muttered.
“Even still. Here’s another couple pills I need you to take for me, and here is the juice. Bottoms up,” she said.
I glared at her. It had been this way all night, and it showed no sign of letting up soon. Ham knew how much I hated being in the ER, so he didn’t even bother sticking around once he made sure I was in the care of the nurses. He didn’t want to deal with the attitude he knew I was going to have toward them any more than they did.
But, I felt justified with being pissed off.
It was stupid for me to have a broken leg. I knew what I was doing on the back of a horse, and the fact that the one I had been on that afternoon was able to throw me was just the luck of the draw for him. It wasn’t that I had done anything inherently wrong that made it happen.
Well, besides get on his back in the first place, that is.
Ham made sure to rub it in my face the entire time he and I were together, and I had to admit, I was glad to see him pulling away. I knew he liked to tease me, and I was okay with that, but there were times when it was a bit too much, especially when I was pissed off over the fact he was right.
If I had listened to him in the first place, I wouldn’t have wound up with a broken leg. Now, I had to deal with the nurses and the doctors who were coming through and poking and prodding me, and I was expected to do it with a smile on my face despite the fact I had no insurance. This was going to cost me a lot of money out of pocket, and that was money I didn’t have.
There were moments I wanted to ask this nurse if her job was to make me feel better, or if she was somehow getting a commission for selling me little bits of the hospital here and there. It felt more like she wanted me to try every little thing she had for the sake of trying it rather than that it was helping my leg.
But, she was relentless. She made it clear she wanted me to have those pills, and she really wanted me to get this juice in my stomach with them. I was getting tired of arguing with her, and I knew she was tired of being in here with a difficult patient like me.
It wasn’t that I set out to be difficult. I didn’t want to come to the hospital in the first place, and I was perfectly okay with making my stance clear. But, I knew it wasn’t anyone’s responsibility here to deal with the attitude I was having, and I tried to settle down despite myself.
Not that it worked very well.
The fact of the matter was that every little thing she was doing to me felt like it was costing me another hundred dollars. Money I didn’t have. Money that was meant to go to the horses and the facility, not to fixing my leg. I had horses to handle. I was worried about Maveric and how to take care of that situation, let alone how I was going to handle the rest of the animals at my facility with a broken leg.
“Look, I’m about ready to head home for the night, so why don’t you do both of us a favor and take those pills? I just need to mark down for the doctor coming on shift that you already have what you need, and they just need to make sure you’re relaxing until they choose to release you, okay?” the nurse asked.
I took a deep breath myself. I wasn’t about to let go of being stubborn. Not when I was doing such a good job of keeping her at bay. I worried if I let up at all she was going to jump on it and manage to get me to pay for more than I already was, and that wasn’t about to happen. Not when I was already aware of what she was trying to do to me.
She didn’t bother hiding how frustrated she felt as she let herself half sit, half fall into the chair that was against the wall. I was stuck on the bed, and though I wanted to tell her to just leave and I would take the damn pills, I refrained. I knew I shouldn’t be so difficult with a nurse.
She was just trying to do her job. I was the one who wasn’t making it very easy for her. And she had an important job to do, too. I was glad she was so patient with me, considering, though I still wasn’t happy about being here, and I wasn’t going to let up on that fact.
Her phone rang, and I was surprised when she pulled it out of her pocket.
“You’re answering your phone on the clock?” I asked.
“Do you need me?” she replied, her tone short.
“Just think it’s a little strange for an ER nurse to be answering her phone when she’s with a patient.” I shrugged.
“I would be off the clock right now if you would just take those pills. I don’t mean to be rude, but if you’ll excuse me,” she said. She had her phone in her hand, and she answered it, staring at me as she did.
I looked away, but I could easily hear the person on the other end of the line. It was another woman, and though I wasn’t trying to eavesdrop on the conversation, I couldn’t help it with how loudly she was speaking. I glanced toward my nurse, but she was too engrossed in the conversation to pay me any more attention.
“Wrenley! What’s going on? Did you just get off?” the woman on the other end of the line asked.
“Not yet,” my nurse said. “I’m about to be off. I’m just wrapping things up with my last patient of the day, then I’m out of here. What’s going on with you? Did you want to grab a bite to eat after I’m officially off?”
