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“Woke up and couldn’t go back to sleep.” She knows I have an ex, but I don’t want to bother her with the details. “So, now I’m here. Want me to make some breakfast?”
“Do you have to move? You’re a heater. I’m so warm right now.” She curls tighter into me, and a funny feeling courses, through my chest and stomach. Whatever it is, it feels nice. Like being at home.
I fall into a fit of laughter. “So, you’re just using me for my heating capabilities? I’m hurt.”
“Shush, you brute. Let me use you for your superpower as a human heater.” Kat chuckles.
I wrap my legs around her and try to warm her feet. Resting my head on hers, I close my eyes and realize just how easy it is to lie here with her. Just being with her is simple. All this feels so right. I want to wake up like this every morning with her next to me.
* * *
Austin and I are driving along the highway when we spot a driver weaving in and out of their lane.
“Look, Hardwick. Three lanes, no signal. Wow, and now he went back two. I think someone is having a hard time staying straight. What do you think?” I cock my eyebrow.
“Yup,” Hardwick reaches down and turns on the lights and sirens. We catch up to the vehicle and get the person to pull over to the right side of the highway, and I call in to dispatch.
“Dispatch, 913, out with a possible 409. Occupied one time. California plate seven, George, Ida, Charlie, four, four, three.”
“Car registration comes back clear and current to a Rodrick, Jason out of Orange County, California.” Dispatch responds.
Austin and I exit our squad car, and I walk to the back of the vehicle we just pulled over. As our department protocol requires, I touch the trunk and move to the passenger side. Austin stays back behind the car, watching the occupant.
The occupant of the vehicle begins lowering his window when I hear someone yelling.
“Hawthorne!” Austin calls out. But it’s too late. A SUV blasts into the car, clipping the front left side. The force pushes the car to the right, making it swerve into me. The car hits me, and impact throws me into the concrete barrier behind me.
My head is pounding, my vision blurry, and I soon realize I’m on the ground. I’m trying to figure out what just happened when suddenly I see black spots.
“Kat…” That’s all I get out before it goes dark, and I see nothing at all.
* * *
“I called Kat. Vicki is bringing her to the hospital.” Austin relays to me. The smell of bleach and antiseptic is attacking my nose, making my stomach turn. My body hurts from the impact against the concrete barrier and my head feels like it wants to explode. The damn beeping from the machine next to me isn’t helping my head.
“You didn’t have to. I’m fine.” To be perfectly honest, I’m annoyed Austin called Kat. She doesn’t need to get upset, and she doesn’t need more stress right now.
“Look, someone is going to have to be with you and I have to head back to the station to write what happened up. So, she’s going to need to listen to what the doctor says. Besides, you’re too stubborn to get yourself back here if there are warning signs that something else is wrong.” He narrows his eyes.
“I am not stubborn.” I run my hands over my face.
Austin just starts laughing. “Yeah. Okay. I rest my case.”
About twenty minutes later, Kat comes running in. There is complete and total fear in her eyes. I know she has been crying, as her eyes are puffy and red.
“Bryce!” She runs over to me and hugs me, and I quietly wince in pain. She’s holding me tight like she’s afraid I am going to disappear. “What the fuck happened?”
Austin answers before I can, “A drunk driver. Well, other than the one we pulled over.”
“Okay, I don’t want to know.” Kat responds, cringing. She squeezes her eyes shut, holding back more tears. I know she’s fearing the worst.
“Relax, Kitty Kat. I’m ok. I promise. Here,” I take her hand and wrap it around mine. “See? Still here.” I slowly scoot over, ignoring the pain, allowing her space on the bed. Kat climbs eagerly next to my side, curling closer. She’s trembling so bad that I feel awful knowing it’s because of what happened to me.
She needs to feel me and hear my heart to calm down. I don’t know why that works, but it does, and I love that it does. I love that I have that calming effect on her. The thing is, I need her too. I need to touch her and hear her voice. After everything today, I need all of her, and I don’t want to let her go.
Austin told me what happened once I came to inside the ambulance. A second drunk driver saw the lights of our cruiser and panicked. He lost control of his SUV and smashed it into the vehicle we had pulled over. I had no time to react. I bashed my head and blacked out. Concussion? Yeah, I can deal with that. There are worse things that could have happened. Which I am sure Kat is acutely aware of.
There’s a knock on the door and the doctor walks in with a file in his hands. “Officer Hawthorne, do you have your guardian here for the next couple of nights?” The doctor looks around the room.