Supercharged Love
By Jenny Siegel
Prologue
I owe a lot to Hank Storm. Who knows where I would’ve ended up if it hadn’t been for him, which is why when the hospital call in the middle of the night on Saturday to say he’s been in an accident, I come running. The nurse who called told me to come straight to the ER. I didn’t bother asking any questions but hung up and drove straight there. None of it made any sense, but I wouldn’t get any answers until I saw Hank.
Abandoning my GTO in the hospital parking lot, I ran straight to the ER and found the reception desk.
“I’m looking for Hank Storm. I got a call that he’d been in an accident.”
“Let me check.” The nurse types on the keyboard in front of her then stands and walks around the desk. “Follow me.” I do as I’m told and she leads me over to one of the cubicles. Once she pulls back the curtain, I see Hank lying against the pillows looking pale and weak. The nurse at his side finishes hooking him up to a drip and moves out the way, to give us some privacy.
“Max,” Hank murmurs and turns his head, wincing in pain at the small action.
“What happened?” I ask. There is too much to take in at once, and the sight of all the machinery is freaking me out.
“Car accident,” he rasps, the effort of talking causes him pain. I move closer to the bed, straining to hear.
“The nurse said. Should I call someone? Leigh?”
“No.” His voice is hoarse, and his face screws up. The nurse is now drawing blood and I quickly look away.
“But she’ll want to know.” I urge him; I can’t imagine Leigh being happy at this being kept from her.
“Not yet. I’ll get them to phone in the morning.”
“But-”
“No. I’m not having her race down here and-” He winces again before crying out in pain, and I take a step back.
“Please wait outside. I need to make Mr. Storm as comfortable as possible,” the nurse orders in a brisk, no-nonsense tone. I nod and reach out to squeeze Hank’s hand. He tries to smile, but it is more of a grimace, and reluctantly, I back out of the cubicle and find a seat.
It feels like I’ve been sitting in the same position for hours, hunched over with my elbows resting on my knees, staring at my feet. When a hand rests on my shoulder, I straighten and see the nurse from earlier smiling at me.
“You’re waiting for news about Mr. Storm?”
“Yes,” I croak and clear my throat.
“He’s resting. We’ve made him comfortable, and we’re going to move him.”
“Will he be all right?”
“It will take a while for him to recover, but he’ll live.” She gives me a tired smile.
“Will you call his daughter?” I ask; Leigh needs to know, and I wonder if someone’s called Aaron. I look at my watch and see it’s three am, too late to call him now. I’ll wait until the morning.
“Yes, someone will phone her in the morning.”
“Okay, I guess.” I’m not too happy, but I don’t have a number for Leigh. Aaron or Beth will, but I don’t want to wake them and worry them at this time.
“Go home and get some rest. You can come back and visit him later.” She smiles at me again and pats my shoulder.
Although I’m not happy about leaving him here on his own, I mumble my thanks and get up to leave. I wish I knew how to contact Leigh, but the nurse assures me they will phone her, so there’s not much more I can do.
Causey and Meghan’s house is in darkness when I pull up outside my apartment above the garage. Exhausted, I crawl into bed, but my head is buzzing and I lie awake for a few more hours, tossing and turning. My stomach churns with anticipation at seeing Leigh again. She’ll be back—it’s become my mantra, on a constant loop, running through my mind over and over. I feel a twinge of guilt because it’s all I’ve thought about since I got home.
After four long fucking years, I’ll finally get to see her. It’s not that she’s not been back; I know she has. I’ve heard the hushed conversations between Aaron and Beth about her visits, but they trail off when they see me. Each time she visits, she goes out of her way to avoid me. If I weren't such a stubborn idiot, I would have chased her down, but I didn’t, which is stupid.
Every time I learn she’s been back, another little piece of me shatters and it hurts like hell. Aaron has noticed first-hand my change in mood, and something usually gets broken around the garage. It’s an unspoken agreement; Aaron doesn’t mention her and I don’t ask. It’s too hard. No one knows what happened between us that last night—well, unless Leigh told Beth—but I don’t think so. I’m sure they have their suspicions, but no one discusses it.