Tomorrow Is Never Promised

Chapter 8

Ethan

I paced back and forth outside the room, having been kicked out by the doctor and the nurse so they could work on Oliver. It was painful for me to be out here when really all I wanted was to be in there with him. But the doctor had said they needed room to work, so did I really have a choice? As far as I knew, all he needed was stitches, but I thought I heard the doctor say “nerve damage” and that didn’t set well with me.

I think back to our last encounter. Maybe if I wasn’t such a coward and had kissed him, then he wouldn’t have been alone and this wouldn’t have happened.

It’s all your fault, Ethan.

I heard the gruff and sinister tone of my father break through and I squeezed my eyes shut in defiance. The cup of cheap hospital coffee I was holding in my hand shaking slightly at the anger that coursed through me. I was gonna get whoever did this to Oliver.

The curtain whipped back, startling me, and the nurse appeared, her smile bringing waves of calm over me.

“How is he?” I asked. Trying to hide the panic in my tone and failing miserably.

“He’s fine. We just finished actually.” She stepped aside and Oliver came into my sight.

He was sitting on the edge of the gurney, his forearm wrapped in gauze. The doctor was explaining something to him that I couldn’t quite hear over the commotion of the busy emergency room. He looked exhausted and utterly defeated. I just wanted to wrap him up in the biggest hug and never let him go.

As I approached, his eyes left the doctor and found mine. There was a sense of relief in them at the sight of me and seeing that seemed to warm me better than any wool coat or this gross muddy coffee I was drinking.

“You’re still here.” His tone matched his eyes, that relief dripping from it.

I nodded shortly, trying to bury my worries about him. “Of course I am.”

The doctor spoke up next, his speech tired and boring, no doubt exhausted from his shift. If the ruckus outside was any indication, he had probably had a long day.

“I was just telling doctor Reagan that after examining him I didn’t see any nerve damage.”

I gave a sigh of relief and the tension in my shoulders rolled away slightly. “That’s good.”

“So,” the doctor stood and ripped off his exam gloves, tossing them in the trash can. “I’m recommending you for discharge. Once I put the orders in, your free to go.”

I felt bile rise in my throat. He was being discharged? Home?

“Great, what about the stitches?” Oliver asked.

“The stitches that I placed are pretty basic. You might see them start to fall out in about one to two weeks…”

I honestly couldn’t pay attention to their conversation. I was more focused on the fact that Oliver was going to be going back home. Alone. Seeing him like this, in this gurney, arm bandaged up, it brought about these new feelings in me, this feeling that I needed to protect Oliver. I needed to keep Oliver safe.

“Sounds great. Thank you Dr. Samuels. ” Oliver replied, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Great? No, it was far from great. He couldn’t go back to that house.

“No problem. Take care Dr. Reagan. Detective.” He tipped his head in my direction before stepping out of the room. I waited for the door to click before rounding on Oliver, my jaw feeling tense and heat rising in my face.

“You’re not seriously considering going back to that house are you?” I questioned.

Oliver gave me a confused look. “Well yeah, I kind of live there.”

“You were literally almost murdered by a psycho killer in your house and you want to go back there. Alone?” My tone elevated slightly, frustration dripping from my voice.

“I can’t just cower in fear because some deranged person targeted me as their next victim.”

I shook my head, a frustrated growl escaping from my throat as I carded my fingers through my hair. There was only one option then.

“Fine. A black and white will be posted outside of your house around the clock.” I informed.

He shook his head adamantly. “No way.”

“This is not up for debate, Oliver.” I growled, staring him down.

He matched my stare. “There will be no cops posted outside my house.”

“You almost died, Oliver!”

“But I didn’t.” He pointed out with a sly grin.

I stared at him with a flat expression, anger and worry rolling off of me like tidal waves. The sly grin that he was wearing fell from his lips. His gaze dropped down to his lap and he began picking at his cuticles.

“If you hadn’t shown up when you did, then I might have.” His tone was so small, almost scared. That’s all it took for me to cross the short distance and perch myself on the edge of the narrow gurney. He looked up at me, his eyes glassy from tears that were trying to escape. It took everything in my power not to reach out and touch him.

“How did you get away?” I asked.

He scoffed in amusement. “I may be little and have a PhD, but I’m also scrappy.”

I chuckled and shook my head. It didn’t surprise me one bit that Oliver could fight. Given what happened to him in his past, he probably picked up a thing or two.

He explained everything to me. The phone call, the struggle and the chase through his house. What I couldn’t understand was why the killer would call him. Not to mention chase him through his house. Was this guy just f*****g with us? Or was he after Oliver now?

“I’m just glad you're okay.” I unconsciously scooped his hand into mine, the weight and smoothness of it feeling right in mine.

He smiled back at me and ran his other hand over mine. The feeling sent a surge of energy up my arm and made my heart kick a little. “Me too.”

This was okay, right? Partners, even friends could comfort each other in this manner, right? I even had to admit that logic sounded stupid, but like hell I was going to argue with it. We sat there in silence for a moment, him staring into my eyes and me staring right back. It was the front door all over again, but this time I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass me by.

I felt myself slowly moving towards him, our faces becoming closer. Oliver’s eyes were searching mine, as if they held the answer to some mystery he wanted to solve. His eyes darted to my lips and I swallowed hard, the anticipation of what his mouth must taste like killing me.

Just two more inches. Two more inches and my lips would finally feel his. All of this wanting would come to an end if I could just taste him-

“Ollie! Oh…”

I jerked backward, my arm colliding with the small instrument tray and sending clamps and tools clattering to the floor with a loud bang.

“s**t. Bad timing.” Gavin shifted his weight from foot to foot as he stared between the two of us.

“We were just talking.” Oliver shifted on the gurney, putting more space between the two of us. I hated that added space.

Gavin c****d an eyebrow. “Uh-huh.” He drew out in a non-believing tone.

“Oh god, it’s like an orgasm in my mouth!” Wolf appeared next to Gavin in the doorway, his tone muffled as he chewed on what looked like a donut if the frosting covered bread he was holding in his other hand was any indication. His eyes met mine, seeing me sitting on the gurney, and then they moved to Oliver, who was trying to look as innocent as possible and failing miserably. I could see the gears moving in his head, slowly, but moving nonetheless. “Oh s**t,” He swallowed the mouthful of baked bread. “Were you guys like having a moment or something?”

“Well, not anymore you idiot.” Gavin muttered with a roll of his eyes.

“We weren’t having a moment!” Oliver relented in an annoyed tone. “What are you doing here anyway?”

“I came to check on my best friend.” Gavin stepped into the room and approached the foot of my uncomfortable gurney.

Wolf stood in the doorway, his large frame taking up every square inch of it. “I was sent by the powers that be.” He stated.

“What does that mean?” Oliver asked.

I gave a little smirk and turned my gaze back towards him. “That means, no matter whether you like it or not, you’re gonna be on the buddy system.”

Oliver’s face went stern. “No.”

“Sorry Ollie,” Wolf gave an apologetic look. “This is coming from the Captain himself.”

“I don’t need protection.”

I felt my face getting hot from frustration. “Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

His eyes met mine, throwing daggers. “Why do you have to be such a control freak?”

I shook my head, my face pinching. “I’m not a control freak.”

“Great. Then drop it.”

“You drop it.” I replied with an immature tilt to my voice.

“What are we five?” He asked incredulously.

I scoffed and stood from the gurney. I turned around, not being able to look him in the face at that moment. I rubbed my hands over my face out of frustration, groaning at the pile of emotions I was holding back.

Gavin eyed me for a second. “Wolfie.” He then directed his gaze towards Wolf, who shot him a confused look. “Buy me a cup of cheap hospital coffee.”

“It’s Wolf, not wolfie.” He growled in response.

He gave a facetious grin. “Whatever. C’mon.” He ushered Wolf to move out of the doorway, giving me a reassuring pat on the arm along the way. Wolf followed reluctantly, closing the door behind him.

It was just Oliver and I now in this quiet closet of a room. I could hear him give an impatient sigh behind me before he spoke.

“Why is this so important to you?” He questioned in a calm tone.

I could feel his stare boring into my back, but I didn’t want to turn around and face him. How could I tell him why without making s**t awkward? I turned around to face him, a look of confusion split across his handsome features. God, what did I do to deserve this?

“Isn’t it obvious?” I closed the gap between us and grabbed his shoulders, dropping slightly to his eye level. “I care about you, Oliver.”

Okay, that wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I watched as his expression relaxed and transformed into one that I couldn’t put a finger on. It was like a mixture of wanting and confusion and it swirled around in his searching eyes.

His body seemed to relax into my touch. “Oh.”

Oh? What kind of response was that? I mean it’s better than nothing, but my heart was beating a million miles a minute and I felt like I was going to have a stroke from how nervous I was. I had never, ever, told another person I cared about them. Well, with the exception of Abby, but she was my sister. This was Oliver, a person that, until a week ago, wasn’t even on my radar of people that I knew about. But these overwhelming feelings that were surging through me, they were enough to drive even a man with the best self-control completely nuts, and I was close to voluntarily admitting myself to the hospital's psych ward.

“I don’t need a babysitter.” He stated in a soft tone.

I nodded. Very well, then there was only one way to get what we both wanted.

“Fine,” I dropped my hands to my sides. “Then I’ll stay with you until I know you're safe.”

Oliver

“Wait, hold up!” Gavin held up a hand, huffing and puffing as he tried to catch his breath. I stood patiently and waited, stepping off to the side so other people could pass on the trail.

Gavin and I usually did a morning jog together in the park between both of our houses. However, this time I was telling him about me and Ethan’s interaction at the hospital the previous night. Mix talking with jogging and he ran out of breath quickly.

“You almost kissed him?”

I rolled my eyes and placed my hands on my hips. “Is that seriously what you’re focused on right now?”

“It’s the only piece of information that I’m interested in to be completely honest.” Gavin huffed.

“Not even the fact that Ethan is going to be crashing at my place for the unforeseen future?”

“Wow, you work quickly.” He teased, which forced me to scoff.

“For protection Gavin.” I gritted through my teeth.

I even had to admit that sounded stupid. I understood his reasons, but I didn’t need watching and I didn’t need him sleeping in my guest bed. I wonder what he slept in, or if he slept in anything at all. The idea of seeing Ethan in my house half naked, miles of muscles and tattoos-

“Earth to Ollie!”

I shook my head, effectively wiping the image out of my head. “What?”

An evil smirk split across Gavin’s smooth features. “God, you got it bad.”

I scoffed and shook my head, turning and walking in the opposite direction. I didn’t have it bad for Ethan, I just didn’t know how I was going to walk around my house without staring at two hundred and fifty or so odd pounds of meat and muscle taking up residence in my once ordinary home. I didn’t have it bad. I was screwed.

“When does your protector show up anyway?” He teased, falling into step with me.

I crinkle my nose. “Please don’t call him that… and I don’t know. He said maybe around three?”

We both had the day off, so I didn’t suspect he would be at the station. Although, from what I already knew about Ethan Beck, the man was a total workaholic. It was kind of the only thing we had in common at the moment. We both had a common goal in mind; catching this killer. The only problem was, we were still no closer to that than before. The only real break in the case is that they attacked me, and I do mean they, since I didn’t have a real discernible s*x on the killer. I mean, it could very well be a woman. This is 2021 after all, women can be cold-blooded killers just like men, sometimes even worse.

“Would you stop thinking about the case. Your making my brain hurt.” Gavin groaned and I had to crack a smile at that.

“What would you prefer we talk about then?”

“How about the almost kiss between you and the ruggedly handsome detective?” He wiggled his eyebrows and I groaned. I walked right into that one.

“No!” My tone was annoyed. “I wanted to kiss him, but I was able to contain myself.”

His face crinkled out of confusion. “But why?”

“Where have you been, Gav? In what world would it be okay to kiss my partner-“

“Extremely hot partner.” Gavin interrupted me and began leading the way down the trail again, this time in an even walk.

I made a frustrated noise and shook my head. It was true, Ethan was hot. His muscles, undercut hair, beard, tattoos and piercings, making him look like some kind of Viking god wet dream.

“Why do I even attempt to talk to you about things?”

A smug grin crossed his face at that. “Because you love me, and because you know I’m going to tell you what you already know, which is to stop being a p***y and go for it already.”

He wasn’t lying about that. Gavin and I were like two sides to a coin. He was more free-spirited, willing to try new and exciting things, and was fearless regardless of what was in his way. I, on the other hand, was more reserved, comfortable in what I knew and my own abilities. If the roles were reversed, Gavin would have already kissed Ethan, probably gone out on a date and then had it end in flames. A hard knot formed in my stomach a the thought of Gavin kissing Ethan. Was that jealousy? That’s stupid. How could I be jealous over something that hasn’t happened? Quick to change the subject, I steered him back to his own love life.

“How was the date with that hot cardiothoracic surgeon?”

He rolled his eyes, clearly sensing my tactic. “It was fine. He’s wealthy, paid for dinner, we went back to his place and we f****d. I don’t know, there’s not much there. Totally hung though.”

I snorted at his rapid and shameless date description. Sometimes I wished I could be like that.

“Why don’t you stop trying to find someone based off their checkbook and instead someone based off their personality.” I suggested.

He feigned surprise and clutched at his pearls. “I have no idea what you mean.”

I gave him a humorless expression. Before this date it was a Neurosurgeon, before that, a lawyer, and before that, a fashion designer from Italy.

“You have no room to give relationship advice mister, too-scared-to-make-a-move-on-my-extremely-hot-partner.”

“Hm, that’s an extremely long title.” I remarked.

He rolled his eyes and we picked up the pace, continuing our jog through the narrow path in the park.

Maybe Gavin was right, maybe I just needed to make a move. Maybe if I kissed him then I would see that there was nothing there, nothing at all. Then I could get past this weird almost crush that I had on Ethan Beck and get back to my work.

I even have to admit I wasn’t that stupid though.

The rest of our jog was spent mostly in silence, mainly because Gavin couldn’t talk and jog at the same time, but also because I didn’t want to talk about Ethan anymore. At least not with my best friend, who insisted that I suck face with him and get it over with already.

Before too long, I was back at home, and after a much needed hot shower, I was walking around the house nervously tidying up clutter and dusting. I hated dusting. However, I couldn’t get rid of this gnawing sense of nervousness that was flooding through me. Ethan Beck was going to be staying in my house. Just the two of us. All alone.

My stomach gave a nerve-wracking flip as I fussed over the throw blanket draped over the back of my couch that my Aunt Gloria made me.

This was the baddest idea of bad ideas. If there were a kingdom of bad ideas, it would be made king, and the queen would be the handler of the bad idea. They would probably have a prince or princess as well, who would be married off to the bad idea and then have bad idea spawn that took over the once peaceful kingdom.

As I spiraled, there was a light ding, indicating that someone had rang my doorbell. Bile began to work it’s way up my throat as I knew there was only one person who could be ringing the doorbell at three-thirty in the afternoon and I really, really didn’t want to answer the door.