The Heart System

Chapter 857: Chapter 857

I entered the room with a small smile and found Esme lying on the hospital bed, looking considerably less injured than I had expected. Jasmine and Nala were sitting on the couches along the wall, with a small table between them holding a few half-empty cups of water. The room was fairly plain, with white walls, a monitor beside the bed, and a curtain separating the bed from the neighboring section of the room. There were no dramatic machines or anything that made the situation look worse than it actually was. It looked exactly like what it was, a room where someone who had been involved in a minor accident was being kept for observation.

"Hey," I greeted her as I walked farther into the room. "Esme."

"Oh, hey."

I looked her over once more before relaxing a little. She had a small bandage wrapped around her left pinky finger, but otherwise, she looked completely fine.

"I, uh, brought pizza for you," I told her, holding up my empty hands. "Unfortunately, there was a problem with the hospital policy. They took it from me at the entrance."

Esme’s eyes widened. "Are they eating it?"

Jasmine exhaled through her nose and shook her head. "She just got hit by a car, and she’s worried about some pizza."

"Yep." I exhaled, shoulders slumping.

"You weren’t kidding about her possibly being a Ninja Turtle," She added with a grin.

Nala covered a small laugh with her hand while Esme looked between the three of us with a completely serious expression.

"I was hungry," she defended herself.

"I know." I walked closer to the bed. "So, how are you feeling?"

"Good. No broken bones." She lifted her injured hand slightly and looked at her pinky. "But my left pinky finger hurts."

"That’s because you fell onto it," Nala explained. "The doctor said it should be fine, though. They just want to keep you here for a little while and make sure there’s nothing wrong with your brain."

I nodded and pulled the nearby chair closer to the bed before sitting down. "How did it happen?"

"The light was red for me," Esme explained, shrugging with her good hand. "But there wasn’t a car coming, so I thought I could cross. Then another car came out of nowhere."

"Jesus." I rubbed my face briefly before looking back at her. "You have to be more careful, Esme."

"I rarely go outside," she admitted quietly. "I’m bad at... uh... traffic."

I stared at her for a moment, trying to decide whether she was joking.

She wasn’t.

My God, she really was hopeless.

Knowing how Esme had lived most of her life, though, I couldn’t even get properly angry with her. She was probably one of the most antisocial people I had ever met, and if she rarely left her apartment, there was a good chance she simply wasn’t used to dealing with traffic. Still, learning to look both ways before crossing a street was about as basic as it got.

"You can’t just decide that there isn’t a car because you don’t see one," I told her, trying not to sound too harsh. "Cars have this annoying habit of showing up when you least expect them."

"I know that now."

"That is a very expensive way to learn something you could’ve figured out for free."

Jasmine laughed from the couch. "He’s got a point."

Esme lowered her eyes toward her injured finger. "I’ll be more careful."

"Good." I gave her a small smile. "That’s all I wanted to hear."

Before I could say anything else, the door opened and Eleanor stepped into the room.

"I came as soon as I heard," she said, looking around before her eyes landed on Esme. "Is she okay?"

She was wearing a black T-shirt and tight jeans, which I assumed were the clothes she’d worn to work. Her hair was slightly messy, and there were dark circles underneath her eyes that made it look like she had either just gotten out of bed or hadn’t slept properly in days. Considering the kind of job she worked, I honestly couldn’t tell which one it was.

"She is," Jasmine replied. "We’re just waiting for the doctor to come back."

"Any broken bones?" Eleanor asked as she walked over to the bed. She leaned forward and gently placed a hand on Esme’s shoulder.

"No," Esme muttered. "Um... I’m okay."

"Thank God." Eleanor let out a quiet breath and gave Esme’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. "They catch whoever hit her, Evan?"

"I don’t know. I just got here."

Eleanor looked toward me. "You didn’t ask?"

"I was a little more concerned with finding out whether Esme was actually okay."

"Fair enough."

The door opened again before the conversation could continue, and Delilah walked in carrying a small tray with three coffee mugs. She seemed surprised to see me and stopped in the doorway for a second before giving me a warm smile. She then stepped inside and closed the door behind her with her leg.

"Hey," she greeted us. "I got coffee for us. I didn’t know all of you would be here."

"Hey." I smiled back.

"Are you really okay?" Eleanor asked.

"I am."

"Good." She looked relieved before glancing at me. "I have to get back to work soon, but I wanted to make sure you were okay first."

"I’ll be fine."

"That’s good." Eleanor looked at me, then at Esme. "Wait, didn’t Evan bring you something?"

"He brought pizza," Esme answered immediately.

"Where is it?"

"The hospital stole it."

Delilah frowned. "They took your pizza?"

"It’s not stolen," I corrected her with a chuckle. "I can always buy another one later. You just have to ask."

Esme looked at me with the same wide, innocent eyes she’d been using since I walked in.

"I’m asking."

I laughed and shook my head. "You have to ask when you’re out of here."

"Aww."

"Aww, she says." I couldn’t help laughing as I leaned back in the chair. "You almost got yourself killed and you’re negotiating for pizza before the doctor has even cleared you."

"I wasn’t trying to get hit."

"I know."

Her expression softened, and she gave me a small smile.

I turned toward Eleanor. "I’ll drop you off at Stingy Ladies. I have some business to take care of there anyway."

"Really? Thank you."

"Of course." I replied. "Let me know if the doctor gives you any updates, alright?"

"I will." Jasmine nodded. "I’ll keep you posted."

"Good."

I looked at Esme one more time. She was already watching me with a hopeful expression.

"And no crossing streets by yourself until someone teaches you how traffic works."

"I know how traffic works."

"Apparently not."

Jasmine laughed again while Esme quietly pulled the blanket a little higher over herself.

"I’ll be careful," she promised. "Really."

"That’s better."

With that, I headed toward the door with Eleanor, feeling considerably less worried than when I had first arrived. Esme was going to be fine, and as long as the doctor confirmed that there was nothing more serious hiding beneath that little accident, the worst thing we’d have to deal with was apparently replacing a pizza.

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