Chapter 11

When I come to, I am lying on my bed. It's dark except for a dim lamp on the other side of the room. I quickly sit up, remembering the storm, and a horrible headache surrounds my face. I groan in pain.

I overlook Ryder until he shoots up from beside me and puts his hand on his holster.

He must've been asleep, and I startled him.

"Hey!" Ryder says, noticing me. He stands quickly and rushes to my side of my bed, where he grabs a chair. He sits as I swing my legs over.

"God! My head is pounding! What happened?" I look at Ryder in confusion.

"What do you remember?" He asks as he puts his hand on my lap.

"Uh..." I go to raise my right hand to my temple when shooting pain emanates from my shoulder down to my arm. I start to scream, but no sound comes out. Tears start pouring down my face.

Then I remember the strange woman and how I volunteered to brave the storm and help her. She ended up hitting me in the neck, threw me against the car, and we fought before LeAnn got there.

"What's wrong?!" He asks. There is panic written all over his face.

I can't get the words out. With my left hand, I point to my right shoulder.

He stands up and starts what feels like a massage. "Your shoulder is dislocated."

What?!

"Baby, listen to me. I have to put your shoulder back in place. It's going to hurt, but I promise you, it'll feel a lot better once it's over. Okay?"

I nod my head as he slowly helps me stand.

"Okay," I say, trying to sound brave, but I'm not.

The word okay came out as a tiny squeak.

Ryder stands directly in front of me. He places his right hand on my shoulder, and with his left hand, he brings my arm up slowly towards him. I am so scared! I look away from him and shut my eyes.

"Sam, look at me," Ryder says with a severe tone. I open my eyes and look at him. My bottom lip is trembling.

"Inhale and hold it."

As soon as I inhale, he quickly yanks my arm down and upwards. I hear the bone go back into place, but not before the immense pain that shoots throughout my shoulder and arm.

I yell as Ryder grabs my head and pulls me into his chest. His heart is beating rather quickly. The sound soothes me as I wrap my other arm around him.

It's a brief moment before I feel better. Ryder grabs my head with both hands and kisses my forehead. He then massages my shoulder as I look at him, my face covered in tears.

"Thank you," I tell him as I wipe my face. He nods as he opens his mouth to say something but then closes it.

I stand on my toes and place a gentle kiss on his lips. He stands frozen.

"What?" I ask, hurt as I back away from him. I know I broke off our engagement earlier, but I don't expect him not to want to kiss me. Is that selfish of me? "Are you still mad at me for what I said earlier?"

Ryder shakes his head no. "Of course not! And we will have that discussion later on. But for right now, you have a split lip and a bruise near your chin. It needs to be taken care of now."

I walk to the bathroom, confused. Flipping on the lights, I look into the mirror and almost pass out.

He's right! I have a big split on my bottom lip and a black and blue on the right side of my face, near my jawline.

When was I hit in the face?

I also notice I have on sweatpants and a t-shirt. Ryder must've changed my clothes.

I walk out of the bathroom. Ryder is still standing in the same spot I had left him.

"Listen," he says as he wraps his arms around my hips. "I need you to come downstairs with me. Please, don't be upset! I didn't know who else to call in such a short time."

I look at him, surprised. Why does he seem so tense?

"What do you mean?" I ask as he grabs my hand.

"Come on."

We are making our way downstairs. Freddie is on his laptop, and LeAnn is standing next to him. Margie is serving wine to Joe, Darryl, and some woman standing in front of them.

She has dark hair which is in a bun. I can't tell who it is from behind.

LeAnn does a double-take when she sees me and elbows Freddie causing him to look up.

"Hey, street-fighter!" LeAnn yells as she runs up the stairs meeting us halfway. "How are you feeling?"

Ryder lets go of me, and LeAnn puts her arm around my hip, helping me down the stairs.

"Like I've just been hit with a car."

Both LeAnn and I laugh.

When we make it to the staircase's bottom, I notice Ryder is talking to the mystery woman. She turns slowly towards me, looking rather sad.

Dr. Packard!

My blood boils!

What the hell is she doing here?!

I look over at Ryder, and he sees the look of pure rage on my face. He walks up to me and speaks in a volume where only he and I can hear.

"I didn't know who else to call in such a short amount of time. I have to make sure you were alright."

I roll my eyes at her and then scowl at him. Is going to the hospital such a far-fetched idea?

"I'd rather die than let her touch me." I run my hand through my hair in annoyance and walk away from him. He immediately puts his hands around my hips, pulling my back against his chest.

I know my words hit a nerve with Ryder. I don't have to look to know he's mad.

He puts his lips to my ear and whispers, somewhat agitated, "well, as long as I'm alive, that's not going to happen! You'll let her check you, and that's that! Once she's gone, we need to talk about what happened here today! Fallon for one."

My annoyance disappears at the mention of our dead maid's name.

I completely forgot she was shot and killed. Someone mysteriously installed a generator in the basement and hacked our computer system.

I sigh and shake my head. I'm not going to argue with him. He has so much on his plate. We all do.

"Okay," I whisper as I make my way towards the living room. Only Dr. Packard follows.

Sitting on the sofa, I glare at Dr. Packard as she looks through her medical bag. I scan her from head to toe.

I wonder why she isn't in a tight-fitting dress like the other day?

Today Dr. Packard is in an old-looking purple sweater and jeans. She sits next to me as she takes out her stethoscope, listening to my chest and back. After reviewing me, she puts the stethoscope around her neck.

"So far, so good! I see you're holding your shoulder. Does it hurt? Would you like me to look at it?"

I look down at my shoulder. I hadn't noticed I was holding it.

Dr. Packard does sound concerned, but I don't buy it. She can prance around here and make everyone like her. Not me. I know better!

"It was dislocated. Ryder fixed it."

I look forward as I massage my shoulder. Dr. Packard nods as she takes out a flashlight to examine my eyes.

"Ryder told me about the car accident earlier, how the car was totaled. I can't help but feel like it's my fault, Samantha. I upset you earlier, on purpose, and then this storm touched down. I shouldn't have said what I said. I am so sorry!"

Ryder told her I was in an accident instead of telling her everything that's been going on? I look away in amusement. Good! I don't trust her, anyway. Her words went through one ear and out the other. I could care less for her apology.

"Yeah," I say, looking look at her.

Dr. Packard goes into her bag and takes out a small tube of what looks like Vaseline. She carefully applies some to my lip and jawline.

She then grabs the small flashlight again and checks my pupils for the second time. She tells me to look at her nose, this time, while she continues to exam my eyes.

"I want to make sure. You do have a mild concussion. Other than that, you look fine."

I stand up. Since Dr. Packard has finished her dreadful examination, I can get away from her and find Ryder.

"Wait!" She calls after me. I'm beyond agitated now! I don't want to be anywhere near her. I turn around slowly. She sees my stern expression and looks nervously at the floor.

"Look, I know you don't want to hear my apology. I promise you won't see me again. I can't leave without trying to make it a little better."

I look at her, stunned. "Make it better?! For you or me?"

Dr. Packard puts her head down and smiles wryly. "I deserve that. However, I'm talking about you and Ryder. I have the number of a top fertility specialist. He's in Germany. He can get you pregnant on the first try."

She pulls out a card from her bag and tries to give it to me.

"Please, take this card. When you are ready, call him. He's expecting your phone call. He's agreed to bump you to the front of the line. He owes me huge. Well, his wife does. There are references behind the card, and he has a website in case you don't believe me."

Dr. Packard walks up to me and hands me the card. I snatch it from her, causing her to jump.

"Why are you doing this?" I ask, not buying her kindness.

"My jealousy almost cost someone their life. I signed up to save people, not kill them. I love Ryder, but his heart belongs to someone else. Who am I to stand in the way of that?"

She grabs her bag, turns and, goes straight to the front door. She leaves without saying a word to anyone.

I sit and stare at the card. Possibly a glimmer of hope? Pregnancy is what I want but accepting it from her?! It almost feels wrong.

I put the card in my pocket and make my way to the foyer.

Where did everyone go? I ask myself as I look around the foyer. I then hear Freddie speak. They are in the kitchen.

I walk into the kitchen. Freddie is sitting at the table, looking at his laptop. LeAnn and Ryder are looking over his shoulder at the screen. A look of pure horror on Freddie and LeAnn's faces.

"What's wrong?" I ask as I approach them. "What are you looking at?"