Saving Her Read online

  “As soon as you’re good to go.”

  She laughed. He smiled. Two could really play this game.

  “Okay, let’s start afresh. When will I be good to go?”

  “Does the injury to your head hurt?” he asked, standing so he could see the patch on her skinned head.

  “No, only if I turn my head too fast,” Hannah replied.

  “What about your shoulder?”

  “What about it?”

  “I’ll take that to mean you don’t feel any pain on your shoulder.”

  Hannah shook her head. She didn’t.

  “You’re a very lucky woman, Miss Preston.”

  “Hannah.”

  “Hannah. Most people in the haste you were in wouldn’t bother with seat belts.”

  Hannah couldn’t remember locking it in. But she guessed she did because she always wore seat belts. Mark wouldn’t let you drive with him if you didn’t.

  “We’re just going to observe you for two or three days, take a few scans. If the results are favorable, you’ll be good to go. How do you hope to pay off the …”

  “Cash. I’ll pay cash.”

  He nodded, as if he’d known she was about to say that. She thought he was about to stand to his feet but instead, he crossed one leg over the other and sank back into the chair.

  “What? Why are you staring at me?” he asked after a few quiet moments.

  Hannah hadn’t realized that she was but she guessed she was.

  “Aren’t you going to go home to your family? Your wife or something.”

  “I’m like you, Hannah. No one is going to miss me, except that in my case, no one is going to come for me.”

  “So you’re deciding to stay here with me.”

  “Should I leave?”

  “No, don’t leave,” she replied a little too quickly.

  It brought a long smile to the handsome doctor’s face.

  “I thought as much.”

  They spent the next half an hour chatting about harmless topics such as the food roaster in the hospital, how nice the nurses, especially Mrs. O’Neal, were and where he’d dumped her hair after scraping it all away.

  “I could get it back for you if you want it,” he said.

  “To do what?”

  “I don’t know. Women usually have a huge fascination with hair.”

  “You know that statement doesn’t count when it’s coming from a doctor with a styled middle hair parting to a woman with virtually no hair on her head.”

  The doctor laughed, letting Hannah see the space between his two front teeth again. People usually had that fixed at the dentist’s but he left his.

  “I’ve had this hairstyle for years.”

  “I wish I could say that about this,” Hannah replied, rubbing her free hand on the bristly scalp. “How does it make me look?”

  “It doesn’t take one inch off how beautiful you are.”

  Hannah paused, and then he paused too. Their eyes met.

  “I didn’t mean that –”

  “It’s alright. I understand what you meant. And it’s never a crime to tell a woman she’s beautiful, especially if she is.”

  He chuckled and almost, almost rolled his eyes.

  “Here comes the cockiness.”

  “No,” Hannah protested, pushing aside the cover cloth so she was sitting up properly. “I’m not being cocky. I’m stating the bare facts.”

  “So what are the bare facts? You’re beautiful. You’ve got a tongue on you that I’m coming to discover and you …”

  His eyes fell to her arms. Hannah didn’t think twice about what he was looking at. She knew. She turned the back of her arm away from him and looked away.

  “Is that the real reason why you’re here? To dig more into the life of this drug addict. I’m like a project for you now.”

  She couldn’t stop the resentment from showing. This was the reason why she was running. She was tired of living a life she wasn’t proud of.

  “Hey! Don’t jump the gun. And stop bullying yourself into being the victim. You’re assuming I already pity you.”

  “Don’t you?”

  “I do.”

  Hannah shook her head but that didn’t stop the smile from creeping into her face. This doctor had a subtle sarcastic manner.

  “And it is a part of why I’m sitting here instead of on my couch at home, watching a rerun of Family Guy. But you wanted to run away too. I also didn’t forget that you were my patient so I came to stay to ensure that you went nowhere.”

  “I’m still going to scram.”

  “To where? You’ll run so you’ll keep running for the rest of your life?”

  “If I have to. I can’t determine the rest of my life, Doc. I can only decide the now.”

  “And that’s what I’m telling you to decide. I’m telling you to make the right decision. Are you going to run from your fears or are you going to face them? Because there’s only one way to defeat them and it’s not running.”

  ****

  Steven was tired. He had spent the last hour talking to Hannah instead of snoozing away at home. Staying here to give her company was better than being alone at home though, regardless of his vested interest in her.

  “Doctor Kane, Doctor Kane.”

  He opened his eyes, only realizing he had been dozing off after being startled awake by Hannah’s increasingly loud calls.

  “Am I that boring?” she asked as he sat straight and rubbed his sleepy eyes with the back of his palm.

  “No, Hannah, I’m that tired. I really have to go.”

  He got to his feet and walked to the ECG machine, reading its values and deciding they were satisfactory enough. He checked her IV and reminded himself to inform the nurse attending to this ward to come change it soon.

  “Who’ll be here to talk to me?”

  “I shouldn’t even be fraternizing with the patients.”

  “We were talking, who said anything about a fraternity?”

  Steven shook his head. She had a mouth on her, no doubt. He walked to the bed and stood beside it, smiling back as she smiled up to him.

  “Will you be here tomorrow?” he asked.

  “If you’ll have me.”

  “What about …”

  “Mark?” she said before a deep sigh. “I’ll wait one more day.”

  Steven smiled. Mission accomplished.

  “Then I’ll be here tomorrow too. But before we can talk, it’ll be later in the day. I’m on day duty tomorrow.”

  She nodded and squeezed his hand before letting go. Steven walked to the door and opened it but didn’t take a step out immediately.

  “If he finds you before you leave, make sure that I know that he’s found you.”

  She didn’t reply and he didn’t turn back to look at her, but he could tell she heard. He walked out and closed the door behind him, before taking a deep breath and continuing down to the Doctors’ call room, where he quickly took off his hospital scrubs. He got his bag and walked out of the room before following the corridor to the lift.

  It normally took him twenty minutes from the hospital to his house. Today it took him thirty. He’d made two wrong turns and there was only one reason why, Miss Hannah Preston.

  I have to help her.

  Not because she reminded him of himself nine years ago, even though she did. But also because there was something about her that he couldn’t let go. She was scared but she’d taken the bold step to run away, only to run into a big tree. He might get back to the hospital the next morning and find that she’s gone.

  Would I be pissed off?

  “No, I wouldn’t, but I’d be disappointed.”

  He had this unexplainable urge to help her. But if there was something life had taught him, it was that there were levels to the game. There were some big bad wolves a person fared better with by keeping away from, rather than by facing head on.

  Steven drove his Benz into the space in front of his house. He got down and walked through the cobble
d path to his door, taking note of the freshly mowed lawn that the gardener had done before he got home. He unlocked his door and walked into his sitting room, before trudging to the center of his semicircle of couches and falling into one. He picked up the remote and switched on the T.V before stretching his legs on the marble center table.

  He stared blankly at the T.V., his mind completely with the woman he’d just left. He could only stall her. She was going to run at last and then he would be unable to do anything to help her. He had to find out who she was running from.

  Thud! Thud!!

  Two knocks on the door snapped him out of his reverie. Steven got to his feet, noting the way the soft center rug killed the slaps of his shoes before getting to the door. He didn’t bother looking in the peephole. He unlocked the door chain and looked through the crack to see Bell carrying a covered tray.

  “Hi Steve.”

  He pumped his eye brows and unlocked the door, opening it completely for her.

  “Bell, I just got home.”

  “Then I’m lucky I decided to wait a few more minutes for these to cool,” she replied.

  Steven totally doubted that. What was more likely was that Bell saw him drive in and waited a few minutes before appearing at his door. She’d done it so many times, he could see the pattern. Bell brushed past him, not bothering to wait for him to invite her in before walking to the drinks counter at the end of the living room.

  “Come on in,” Steven mouthed silently as he closed the door.

  When he turned, he met her bending to place the tray on a small stool beside the counter. Her gown was much too short, and ended in spraying pleats that rose so he saw the beginning of her ass while she took her time to dress the tray. His breath rose and his member woke up.

  Bell was doing this purposely. She’d been coming on to him for months. It wasn’t that she wasn’t beautiful. She was runway beautiful with an oval face, flawless skin, long legs and pert bust. But there was something about her that he just couldn’t overlook.

  Is it because of how forceful she is with her signals?

  He wasn’t sure, but he did know something held him back from trying to become more than friends with her.

  “What’s that, Bell?”

  “Breakfast. I made you Belgian style waffles. You’ve got some milk right?”

  Steve smiled. Bell knew he loved waffles. Despite what perceptions he had about her, there was no doubt that she was a darling.

  “Yes, I’ve got milk. And I’m starving.”

  “I knew you would be. Let’s eat.”

  Steven walked to the kitchen. Maybe something still could develop between him and Bell but he doubted it would start today.

  Chapter Three

  The Only Way Out of Here

  “So what do you think? Should I keep it?”

  “What? The hairstyle?”

  “Or more accurately, the lack of it,” Hannah replied with a wink.

  Steven laughed. He stared at her face again, trying to imagine her with long hair, falling over her ears, a few strands running on her forehead, tied up behind her head. She would look good.

  “I think you look beautiful just like this.”

  Hannah picked the mirror he had brought for her and turned up her lower lip as she stared at her image. She looked so funny that Steven could not hold back the laugh. He fell into the bed beside her, not bothering to move his hand away when it covered hers.

  “I just might agree with you.”

  Steven turned to her. He was so close he only had to nudge his head forward and his nose would touch her scalp. There were a few strands of brown growing on the white terraced skin. He stared down at her arms and noted the black spots, saw that they were actually old. He’d also not noticed any signs of sneaky usage throughout her time here in the hospital.

  She really is running away from the life she had. She’s as tired as I was, but does she hate the life enough?

  He let his eyes fall over the hospital gown, noting the high rise of her bust from beneath the flimsy gown. If his eyes weren’t tricking him, she’d actually gained weight since she’d been at the hospital. And this was the third day. She would leave, two or three days tops. There were real reasons he didn’t want her to leave but one of the most unbelievable had to be because he enjoyed her company.

  “What?”

  She was right in front of him, her face a mere whisker away from his. Her hazel eyes were smiling, her face bright with curiosity and a weenie bit of mischief.

  “You’re so beautiful.”

  She still smiled, just for the next few seconds before the smile sunk into her face. Steven wasn’t sure he was breathing but he could hear her every breath. The rise and fall of her bust filled his peripheral vision while his eyes couldn’t stop focusing on the soft M-shape of her upper lip while her lower lip was looking deliciously pink. He felt his head tilt down towards hers and his hand moved up to cup her chin.

  “I thought there was a no fraternization policy,” she whispered, already closing her eyes.

  “Who said anything about a fraternity?”

  She smiled just before their lips touched, his mouth pressing softly into hers till he felt her resistance melt. Their mouth meshed, setting and locking like a jigsaw before opening a bit so they could taste from each other. Their lips ground against themselves, their want building with each muffled moan. Her mouth opened up to him, allowing him push deeper to take from her. Her tongue worked faster than his, taking his breath as it lurched adventurously into his mouth. And just like that, Steven woke up.

  He pulled away from her, slapping his eyelids open and getting off the bed.

  “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t even be …”

  “Steven, it’s fine,” she explained.

  It wasn’t fine and he knew it. Asides from breaking professional ethics by doing this with her, he was taking advantage of her at a time when all she needed was support and guidance. He might get here the next morning and find that she was gone.

  “I really shouldn’t have done that,” he said, taking a couple of steps back.

  “You didn’t force me. I kissed you just as much as you kissed me.”

  “It’s not only about that. You don’t know even know if you’re going to be here tomorrow morning.”

  She went silent, choosing to look down at her nails.

  I should be helping her, not taking out my sexual frustrations on her.

  He walked to the door.

  “Don’t leave,” she whispered.

  Steven paused. He wanted to stay but despite the anger he felt at himself, the hunger to taste her again was still beating hard in him. If he stayed here, he’d do more than just kiss her.

  “I have to,” he murmured before opening the door.

  He closed the door gently behind him before walking down the corridor. He still had some work to do and had only made use of his short break to come see her. He had planned to return when he was done to be with her but that plan was canceled now.

  “Dr. Kane, your presence is required in Room 23, Children’s ward.”

  It was a voice from the announcement speakers. He had to go. Steven was grateful for the distraction and walked quickly downstairs. He spent the next two hours helping deal with a child in a blood transfusion crisis and left the room tired and famished. He walked to the receptionist’s counter on his way up, hoping to be able to snag some snacks from Martha, the receptionist on duty. She always had an extra snack with her.

  “Martha, what’s up?”

  “I don’t have any cookies for you, Dr. Kane,” she replied, guessing correctly why he had stopped over.

  “What? I’m insulted,” Steven said with an exaggerated pained tang.

  He was still trying to get Martha to give up her last pack of chips when he heard a man in a top hat and a very expensive suit mention Hannah’s name.

  “Her name is Hannah Preston. I received information that she’s here.”

  “Hannah Preston? Do you have a
ny idea of when she got admitted?”

  Steven stopped talking and pretended to be very interested in a medical magazine as he shifted closer to the man.

  “I can’t tell but she’s my wife.”

  Wife? Hannah’s not married.

  Steven decided to take a risk. He turned back to Martha and begged her for the cookie again. She was choosing to remain obstinate, just as he hoped. So he quickly made his way around so he was soon on the other side of the counter and had a better view of the man’s face. He was a white man with a well cut beard that connected to the hair beneath his top hat. He was smiling but his aquamarine eyes weren’t doing so much smiling. He kept tapping his fingers on the top of the counter, an action Steven felt was strenuous for him because he wasn’t that tall, not any taller than 5 foot 8. Hannah hadn’t told him how Mark looked like but Steven could bet this was him.

  “Come on, Martha,” he said as he started to go out of the counter space.

  “Alright, alright. You owe me, Doctor Kane.”

  He winked at her and walked down the corridor, dumping the bag of chips into a bin as he turned the corner. He raced for the lift and ran down the corridor before bursting into Hannah’s room.

  “Hannah, we need to …”

  There was no one on the bed. He looked around the room but there was no one there. Had Mark already gotten to her? He doubted that.

  Where is she? Has she already run away?

  “Steven,” a voice said from his right.

  He turned. It was Hannah, coming out from the toilet. He’d forgotten the room had a toilet.

  “I think Mark is here. You need to go.”

  “Mark,” Hannah said, her voice already doing a tremble. She took off her hospital gown immediately, not minding that Steven was seeing her in small cotton panties and a bra. She quickly wore the jean and black T-shirt, she’d been wearing when she got to the hospital.

  “Mark, how do you know it’s him?” she asked, bending down to pick her shoes.

  “He’s got a good amount of hair on his head. Dressed in a …”

  “Top hat and suit?”

  She was fishing, her eyes raised in expectation. When Steven nodded, the despair that flooded her face was immense.