Chapter 2

(7) I buzzed the nurse. When she arrived, I gave her my best "damsel in distress" look. "Could you please get this...person out of my room? I didn't even do anything to her, and she has the nerve to come in here and gloat." The nurse was ready to throw that jerk out. But Emily, in all her infinite wisdom, decided to shout, "I'm in room ##! Be careful, or I'll report you!" The nurse's expression turned even more bewildered. Probably because that private room was also under my name, paid for by yours truly. "Out!" I ordered, feeling a surge of satisfaction. (8) The moment that door slammed shut, I felt a weight lift off my shoulders. It was like I could finally breathe again. I grabbed my phone and called my brother, asking him to cancel the card for room ##. My brother, naturally, was confused. "What's going on?" "Ethan checked Emily into that room—Emily, who, by the way, is perfectly fine—and he used my card to do it," I explained, my voice dripping with venom. "And she had the audacity to come in here and rub it in my face." There was a moment of stunned silence on the other end of the line. Then, "I swear, I've never met anyone with such a lack of basic human decency. I'll take care of it right now." "Thanks, bro. Hey, I'm craving corn and rib soup today." "Seriously? You love ordering me around." "Well, yeah, you're my brother—Bro!" (9) After Emily got kicked out, Ethan finally decided he had the guts to contact me. Of course, I had blocked him on everything, so he resorted to a barrage of texts from different numbers. I remember one text in particular: "Kat, it's all my fault, but I was just doing my duty. Why are you taking it out on Emily and throwing her out like that?" "She's not in a good place mentally. Please, I'm apologizing to you, okay? Just let Emily back in!" I responded, word for word: "If you're so worried about your precious ex, then use your own damn money to coddle her. That's my card, my money. Who the hell do you think you are, telling me how to spend it?" "And you still think you did nothing wrong? What about all the homeless people on the streets? Why don't you go and show them some sympathy? You're such a jerk!" There are always idiots who want me to be understanding. I'll be understanding when he's six feet under, and I won't even curse at his grave then. (10) The day I was discharged, Ethan showed up. I knew he had been lurking around the hospital, even trying to sneak into my room. My brother had intercepted him, of course. So, Ethan had spent the past few days scrambling to find a place for Emily, even trying to use my card again. I sat in the wheelchair, my brother behind me, practically vibrating with barely suppressed rage, probably worried he'd end up in jail if he punched Ethan. Ethan looked at me, his eyes filled with a pathetic mix of regret and fear. "Kat, I'm sorry. I really didn't think you'd get hurt so badly. I was wrong..." "I was going to put Emily there to save you, but that guy kept going after her. I didn't know what to do." "I just thought, you're my girlfriend, and Emily has nothing. It wouldn't hurt to take care of her a little. I swear, I never meant for you to get hurt this badly." I looked down at Ethan, my hand instinctively going to my stomach, to the scars hidden beneath my clothes. "I was stabbed three times. I almost died. And you 'didn't know what to do' except protect Emily while I was being held hostage and stabbed?" "What did I ever do to deserve you as a boyfriend? Do you have any shame? Any decency?" Ethan mumbled, "I didn't mean it... I was wrong..." "Can you ever forgive me...?" (11) "No way. We're done. Don't you dare come near me again." Ethan's face went white, and he actually started trembling. "You really can't forgive me? I was just trying to help someone..." "I made a mistake, I get it." My brother, bless his heart, pointed to a homeless woman begging by the side of the road, missing a leg and half her face disfigured. "See her? Isn't she more pitiful? Why don't you go hold her and tuck her into bed at night? Why don't you find her a place to live and support her for the rest of her life?" Ethan just stared at the ground, his eyes red-rimmed but silent. "What? You can't? Isn't she a member of the public? Shouldn't you treat all members of the public equally? I know how guys think, don't even try to act innocent!" "And have you forgotten how your dad dumped your mom? He was already keeping his precious 'true love' on the side before they even got married, and he stressed your mom out so badly she got depression. You're turning into your dad, you know that?" "Must be in the genes—being a total jerk." Ethan clenched his fists and shook his head, muttering, "No, no, it's not like that." I spotted a flash of white behind a tree. "Emily, come on out. Take your trash back. He's stinking up the place." Emily rushed out and threw herself at the foot of my wheelchair. "Katherine, please don't be mad at Ethan. It's my fault. I'm the one who wouldn't leave him alone." "Even if you took the house and won't let me stay in the hospital, it's what I deserve." Hearing this, Ethan's gaze darkened as he looked at me again. Like I was some kind of unreasonable child. "Kat, it was my fault. Why are you being so mean to Emily? Emily and I are over. We're never getting back together." "Be a good girl. I'll treat you well from now on. You're just doing this to her because you still love me, right?" Emily banged her head on the ground twice, hard. I just laughed. "The house is in my name, fully paid for by me because Ethan couldn't afford it. The hospital room was paid for with my card. So, I ask you, what right do you two a-holes have to spend my money after hurting me like this?" "Ethan, have some dignity. We are over!" "You know what I'm like." (12) My brother has taken to inviting his cop buddies over to keep an eye on me. And of course, they're all ridiculously good-looking, six-foot-something, model-material guys. One of them is even my attending physician, Sam Stone, my brother's childhood friend. He used to babysit me when we were kids, and now that he's back in the country as a doctor, he's stuck looking after me again. Right now, for instance... "Sam, I'm seriously craving some spicy crawfish..." Sam, looking effortlessly cool in a white dress shirt, raised an eyebrow, his wire-rimmed glasses glinting. "Not happening." It's been a month and a half since I got out of the hospital, and I haven't had anything remotely flavorful. My mom walked in with a fruit platter. "Sam, keep an eye on her. Don't give in to her too easily. She'll just get into trouble." Sam glanced at me, then rolled up his sleeves and headed to the kitchen, where my brother had just brought home a bag of live crawfish. I took a good look at him. That white shirt was practically see-through, the top button undone, showing off his broad shoulders and long legs. He was seriously fine. This was the guy I had a massive crush on once, but I never stood a chance. He was the same age as my brother, and when I confessed to him, he just ruffled my hair and said, "You've got homework to do, kiddo. Don't go around thinking about love and stuff. You're too young." Then, he promptly jetted off abroad the next month, claiming it was to "give me some space to cool down." I sneakily grabbed my phone and texted my best friend. "Sam's back." "OMG, that hottie? Go for it!" I typed back, word for word. "Yeah, he's got the broad shoulders, long legs, and that killer waist. And he can cook. But he's five years older than me. That's like, ancient." My friend was silent for a moment. "True. But still way better than Ethan. I swear, just thinking about him makes me want to puke." "If he had abs, would you go for it? Ethan looks so weak, I bet I could beat him up, and he's supposed to be a cop." I thought about it. You were a martial arts master; not many could beat you. "Fine, an old guy with abs, then." Just as I finished typing, I heard Sam's voice above me. "Old! Guy?" I slowly looked up. The "old guy" was standing there, holding a plate of the spicy crawfish I had been craving. And I was busted. "Didn't you used to say I was charming and knew how to treat a woman?" I inched closer to my brother, clutching my phone. "That was before you left. My taste has changed since you've been gone. I mean, look at me, I fell for a jerk like Ethan." "Maybe I'm just into pretty boys now."