My Soulmate is Not My Type

Chapter 3: Unsure

The ride to the hospital is quiet and uncomfortable. My ankle is swelling more and the throbbing is intense. I winced a few times as Jae swerved out of the parking garage and into bustling traffic. He gave me an annoyed glance before easing up on the gas. Jae took turns carefully and did not screech to a stop at the traffic lights. The nearest hospital is 30 minutes away in LA traffic and the time seems endless.

“Mind if I turn on the radio?” I ask quietly.

“What?” Jae says.

“Can I turn on the radio?” I say a little louder.

“I don’t like people touching my radio, or anything else in my car. Just sit there quietly. I need ot focus on not jostling your foot.” He answers clearly annoyed. I can tell he wishes he could be anywhere but in the car with me. With how ashamed and embarrassed I felt, the feeling is mutual. I sink down into the seat as much as I can, trying to make myself as small as possible. The car is a two seater BMW convertible. With my girth, it is almost compact. One of the top 10 cars I would never let myself be put in willingly, like my situation now. Still, I fold in on myself and try to become invisible.

“It’s so hot today.” Jae mumbles and turns on the AC. I was beginning to sweat, so the cool blast of air made me breath a sigh of relief. I start to relax bit by bit as the car becomes cooler. The change of temperature makes me notice the heat in my foot. I just know I broke it.

“I’m sorry. I know you have a lot to do. It’s my fault you’re missing work.” I say sleepily.

“At least you know, but it can’t be helped. Don’t make this s**t a habit, though! I don’t have the free time to be a personal ambulance.” He blows his horn angrily as a car cuts in front of him and curses in Korean. “f**k! Why is this happening to me?!” He presses the on button of his radio and the pop station blares to life. The tension that had eased off with the change of temperature returns and I no longer feel sleepy, just miserable. I plan to remain silent for the next ten minutes of the ride, or he might put me out on the side of the road.

“f**k!” Jae shouts and slams on the breaks. I jerk forward, putting pressure on my sore foot and crying out. “Are you f*****g kidding me?! Now?! Really?!” My eyes are clenched shut breathing through the pain that sears up my leg. Once it eases to a dull ache, I open my eyes and have to stop myself from cursing. Cars are bumper to bumper in front of us. The exit ramps are backed up with a line of cars all blaring their horns like that will help the situation.

The exit to the hospital is still two miles away from our location. With this traffic, it would take another 45 minutes to an hour to reach it. If we were lucky.

Jae continues to curse under his breath, some in Korean and some in English. I purse my lip into a tight line and even slow my breathing in case I annoy him further. I focus on making my presence as small as possible and clutch my purse to my chest like a security blanket.

“Hey,” he snaps, then takes a deep breath in and releases it from his mouth. When he speaks again, he seems calmer. “Is your foot okay?”

I dare not look at him or make a sound. I just nod and stare at the small spot of dust floating in front of me. I feel fingers grip my chin, not forcefully but insistent, and I find myself looking straight into his eyes. He is only a few inches from me and when he talks, his minty breath mixed with coffee hits my nose. “I prefer spoken answers. Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I gasp, “yeah, I’m okay.” He holds my gaze for a moment longer before a blaring horn jolts us both back to reality. He flips off the driver behind us in the rearview mirror and crawls forward with the rest of traffic. My mind is whirling between reality and delusion. I could have sworn his eyes traveled to my lips for the briefest of moments. But, I’m a little unsure.