exhausted, and things were still a little foggy,
but the Tylenol helped with the pain.
Lincoln and my mother returned, as did the
nurse with my bowl of macaroni and cheese. I still wasn’t hungry,
but I didn’t have the strength to argue so I ate as much as I
could, which actually wasn’t that much. I wanted to shower, but it
wasn’t allowed. I was still too weak.
Rebecca brought Tabitha to visit me. She sat
on my lap, and I held her close, trying to comfort her. She had
seen my whole episode and had been worried sick about me. I assured
her I would be home the next day and that we would bake cookies
together after school. That made her happy.
Seeing my sister and niece reminded me of
when Rebecca had her nursing clinicals at this hospital years ago.
She had been very pregnant and pulling long hours in order to
graduate on time. She was constantly forgetting her lunch, and I
had to bring food to her on her break numerous times.
“Baby?” I said sleepily after everyone but
Lincoln had left.
“Yes, Princess?”
“We should order pizza.”
“You’re hungry for pizza?” he asked me with
surprise.
I shook my head. “No. Not for me. For the
nurses.”
“What?”
“Can we buy pizza for the nurses? They work
so hard.”
“You want to buy the nurses pizza?” He
stroked my head.
“I just think they would like it.”
“I know they will.” He kissed my forehead.
“God, you have such a good heart. I’ll call the pizza place right
now. I’ll order food for them every day this week if you want me
to.”
I must have fallen asleep in my chair after
Lincoln made his call because I woke to him laying me down in my
hospital bed.
“Stay with me,” I whispered quietly and held
on to his shirt. I didn’t want to be alone tonight.
Lincoln took off his shoes and pulled my
covers back. He crawled into bed with me and wrapped his arms
around me gently, holding me close. “Always,” he said with
determination.
Chapter Nine
I was discharged from the hospital the next
day. Lincoln brought me home and for the next two weeks, I took it
easy. Other than the breathing exercises my doctor had given me to
prevent pneumonia, I felt one hundred percent back to normal. I
spent a majority of my time working on my thesis and e-mailing my
résumé.
In the days after I was released from the
hospital, I tried to stay as busy as possible, which helped keep me
distracted from thinking about how close I had come that day to not
waking up at all.
Detective Murray had zero leads. The normal
bartender had been on break when it happened, and the bartender who
was covering for him was helping someone at the other end of the
bar and had no idea who had served Carter. It was as if some
mysterious bartender appeared solely to wait on Lincoln’s brother,
poison my drink, and then disappear.
Carter felt awful about what happened,
although I assured him on a daily basis that it wasn’t his fault.
He was being as helpful as possible; he sat with an artist and
helped make a sketch of the woman who waited on him, but no one
recognized her.
Lincoln tried not to let his frustrations
with the investigation show, but it was easy to see how much he
hated that no one had been caught. I came home from the hospital to
a brand-new security system installed at my sister’s house. I
wanted to protest since I still thought it was more likely that
this was a fluke event. I didn’t think the tainted drink was meant
specifically for me, but when Lincoln said he wouldn’t be able to
leave for away games knowing I wasn’t safe, I relented. Plus, on
the off chance someone was trying to hurt me, I didn’t want Tabitha
or Rebecca to be in harm’s way.
The one bright spot in this whole mess was
that now I had plenty of time to work on my thesis. In the month
that followed my hospital stay, I got so much done. I spent late
nights interpreting data and forming it into a cohesive paper. Not
because I was pushing myself or because I was stressed but
but the Tylenol helped with the pain.
Lincoln and my mother returned, as did the
nurse with my bowl of macaroni and cheese. I still wasn’t hungry,
but I didn’t have the strength to argue so I ate as much as I
could, which actually wasn’t that much. I wanted to shower, but it
wasn’t allowed. I was still too weak.
Rebecca brought Tabitha to visit me. She sat
on my lap, and I held her close, trying to comfort her. She had
seen my whole episode and had been worried sick about me. I assured
her I would be home the next day and that we would bake cookies
together after school. That made her happy.
Seeing my sister and niece reminded me of
when Rebecca had her nursing clinicals at this hospital years ago.
She had been very pregnant and pulling long hours in order to
graduate on time. She was constantly forgetting her lunch, and I
had to bring food to her on her break numerous times.
“Baby?” I said sleepily after everyone but
Lincoln had left.
“Yes, Princess?”
“We should order pizza.”
“You’re hungry for pizza?” he asked me with
surprise.
I shook my head. “No. Not for me. For the
nurses.”
“What?”
“Can we buy pizza for the nurses? They work
so hard.”
“You want to buy the nurses pizza?” He
stroked my head.
“I just think they would like it.”
“I know they will.” He kissed my forehead.
“God, you have such a good heart. I’ll call the pizza place right
now. I’ll order food for them every day this week if you want me
to.”
I must have fallen asleep in my chair after
Lincoln made his call because I woke to him laying me down in my
hospital bed.
“Stay with me,” I whispered quietly and held
on to his shirt. I didn’t want to be alone tonight.
Lincoln took off his shoes and pulled my
covers back. He crawled into bed with me and wrapped his arms
around me gently, holding me close. “Always,” he said with
determination.
Chapter Nine
I was discharged from the hospital the next
day. Lincoln brought me home and for the next two weeks, I took it
easy. Other than the breathing exercises my doctor had given me to
prevent pneumonia, I felt one hundred percent back to normal. I
spent a majority of my time working on my thesis and e-mailing my
résumé.
In the days after I was released from the
hospital, I tried to stay as busy as possible, which helped keep me
distracted from thinking about how close I had come that day to not
waking up at all.
Detective Murray had zero leads. The normal
bartender had been on break when it happened, and the bartender who
was covering for him was helping someone at the other end of the
bar and had no idea who had served Carter. It was as if some
mysterious bartender appeared solely to wait on Lincoln’s brother,
poison my drink, and then disappear.
Carter felt awful about what happened,
although I assured him on a daily basis that it wasn’t his fault.
He was being as helpful as possible; he sat with an artist and
helped make a sketch of the woman who waited on him, but no one
recognized her.
Lincoln tried not to let his frustrations
with the investigation show, but it was easy to see how much he
hated that no one had been caught. I came home from the hospital to
a brand-new security system installed at my sister’s house. I
wanted to protest since I still thought it was more likely that
this was a fluke event. I didn’t think the tainted drink was meant
specifically for me, but when Lincoln said he wouldn’t be able to
leave for away games knowing I wasn’t safe, I relented. Plus, on
the off chance someone was trying to hurt me, I didn’t want Tabitha
or Rebecca to be in harm’s way.
The one bright spot in this whole mess was
that now I had plenty of time to work on my thesis. In the month
that followed my hospital stay, I got so much done. I spent late
nights interpreting data and forming it into a cohesive paper. Not
because I was pushing myself or because I was stressed but
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