The noise must have alerted the room as Chyna immediately scrambled to her side. Her face was tear-stained and the most imperfect Lexi had ever seen her. It was a relief to see her this way. And though she knew this had something to do with her, she couldn’t remember what had happened.
“Oh my God, you’re okay,” Chyna gushed, a fresh wave of tears threatening to break loose. “I was so worried. Oh my God. Oh my God.” She was fanning herself with her hand as she perched on the side of the bed. Her face was stricken with worry.
“C, what happened?” Lexi asked weakly attempting to sit up in bed.
“Whoa there,” a man said rushing forward and pressing her shoulder gently back into the bedding. “You’ll want to stay lying down for a little while longer. Looks like you had quite a spill.”
The wave of nausea that hit her when she tried to get up was the only reason she hadn’t fought this man. “Yeah, I guess so,” she said turning her face to look at Chyna again. She wanted answers.
“Oh, this is all my fault,” Chyna muttered covering her face with her hands. Lexi glanced back to where the crowd had been, and saw that everyone else was beginning to exit the room. She figured it must be hotel staff of some sort.
“Ma’am, I’m sure this was not your fault,” the man said putting his hand reassuringly on Chyna’s shoulder. “People faint for all sorts of reasons,” he stated calmly. His hand rubbed down her arm gently in an effort to halt any further bouts of despair.
“I fainted?” Lexi asked trying to put the pieces together.
The man reluctantly stepped away from Chyna. He was a bit older with graying across his temples, but with a look that showed he must have been very attractive in his younger years. Lexi didn’t miss the glance he sent Chyna’s way before focusing his attention back on Lexi. “Yes, as far as I can tell, you just fainted. I’m Dr. Mike Cutler. You can call me Mike if you like,” he said flashing Chyna another brief smile.
“Will I be alright, Mike?” Lexi asked using his name to snap his attention back to the person who was bed ridden.
“You took a pretty nasty fall and managed to smack your head into the side of the coffee table. There is a large knot on the back of your head, but that should be gone in a matter of hours. You’ll have some tenderness over the next couple days, but nothing to trouble yourself over. No concussion or any serious damage. You’ll need to take some ibuprofen for the pain. Seems to have frightened your friend here quite a bit though,” he said readjusting his focus again. Lexi rolled her eyes. “If either of you need anything further, give me a call,” he told Chyna as he handed her a business card.
Lexi was almost certain that his cell number would be scrawled on the back side. Even in her darkest of hours, Chyna continued to get hit on.
“Thanks, Mike,” Chyna muttered not paying him much attention.
He gracefully exited the room leaving the two girls alone once again.
“Did you get his number?” Lexi asked pointing at the business card.
“What?” Chyna asked oblivious. Then she glanced down at the tiny piece of white paper. She flipped it around experimentally in her hands a few times before noticing that, indeed, there was a number scratched onto the backside. “Yeah, I guess I did.”
Lexi couldn’t hold in her giggles. Chyna looked aghast at her sudden onset of laughter, but quickly joined in. Soon they were both laughing uncontrollably. Lexi put her hand on her head and groaned as the pressure of her laughter cut across her injury.
“Oh, Alexa, I really am so sorry. I didn’t mean to be so…so mean. I had no idea you would faint,” she muttered vehemently, her emerald eyes wide.
Lexi chuckled. “Me either. I’ve never done that before.” She gingerly scooted up to rest against the headboard, wincing as her head protested the movement. She could hardly believe that this had happened to her. When Dr. Cutler had told her that she had fainted, the memories had flooded back to her. She remembered the argument with Chyna, and the sting of Chyna’s words still rang in her ears. She knew she had overreacted, but thinking about what Chyna had said made it difficult to breathe.
“Does he mean all that to you?” Chyna whispered wringing her hands.
Lexi sighed and turned her head to look at her friend. She pushed her hair behind her ears several times before answering. “He’s always meant everything to me.”
“But he’s with someone else now,” Chyna stated hesitantly. She was afraid to set her off again and have a repeat of what had just happened. She had never been so afraid for anyone in her life.
“I know. I know. He said he wants to make things right with me. I told him we could only be right if neither of us are attached. I need to give him the time to become unattached.”
“And how do you know he’ll do that?” Chyna asked. “I mean, didn’t he call you down here because he was ready to commit in the first place.”
Lexi bit her lip. “Not exactly. It was more for her benefit. It just seemed to backfire on her. He realized that he knew what he really wanted when I was around. That he wants me. You should have seen his jealous face when he found out that I went on a date with Ramsey,” she said smiling fondly at the memory.
“And what about him? Just one date? You told me that you kind of liked him,” Chyna mentioned hoping that something…anything would snap her friend out of this.
“Ramsey’s…ya know. Whatever. I had a good time, but he’s so…all in your face. His personality is all encompassing. I can’t breathe around him,” Lexi told Chyna, surprised by the reality of her words.
Chyna cleared her throat. “Some people think these are good qualities. It’s called passion,” she mumbled peaking at her friend from under her thick dark lashes.
Lexi scowled at her friend. She didn’t want to think about Ramsey, mostly, because she didn’t know what to do about Ramsey. He wasn’t like the other people she had dated. She had thought that he would be easy to figure out, a cookie-cutter sort of character. Yet, she couldn’t deny that she had enjoyed herself on their date, uncharacteristically so. She had lost herself in his strange, in-your-face personality for a time. She had even forgotten about Jack. It had surprised her that she had been able to forget such strong memories while with another man. She had become so accustomed to measuring up every guy to Jack that, if she was honest with herself, it had been a pleasant reprieve from the tireless drone of unimpressive desperation that most guys wore like cloaks.
“I don’t know about that,” Lexi replied biting her teeth and averting her eyes.
Chyna chewed on the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at her friend’s reaction. It was the same disbelieving tone she had used on the phone when talking about this Ramsey character. Chyna simply couldn’t wait to meet him to find out what exactly was so special about him. “I think you do.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I can’t go out with him again when this stuff is going on with me and Jack,” Lexi told her.
“What? Why not? He’s going to be with Bekah!” Chyna cried forgetting her promise to herself that she wouldn’t get too excited while talking to Lexi. She bit her lip waiting for Lexi’s reaction.
“Shit!” Lexi cried, her eyes lighting up with worry.
“Oh God, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to bring it up again.”
“No, not that,” she cried closing her eyes and smacking her head backwards against the headboard. She cursed again, louder this time, with the pain of slamming her head.