Winning the Lottery

Ch. 3 Taking the Plunge

"Britt? Britt, wake up," Jake whispered.

My eyes shot open. Jake. Crap.

I sat up and looked around, feeling really disoriented. When I realized where we were, I calmed down. I looked at Jake, who was under me.

He sat up and nodded towards the door.

A doctor stood there and smiled, "I need to take you to get a cast."

I got back in the wheelchair and went with him.

When we got there, he asked, "What's your favorite color?"

"Red."

He nodded and got the material ready, then he put it on me.

After that, he took me back to the room Jake was in. He had a cup of coffee in hand.

"Do you drink anything other than coffee? It can be bad for your health, you know," I smirked, getting back on the bed.

He shrugged. "I drink water."
I rolled my eyes.

When the doctor left us alone, I turned to Jake. "Thank you for staying and helping and, well, everything. It means a lot, especially because we don't know each other."

"I know a lot more about you now," he smirked.

"Yet, I know next to nothing about you."

"Okay. Let's even up the score a bit, shall we?"

I nodded, suddenly feeling a bit more awake.

"My name is James Sterling Hamilton. I joined the military right out of school and worked my ass off to get the ranking I have. I'm young for it, but I'm a rare case. I've been to Iraq, Jordan, the Persian Gulf. I live on a military base near the hospital and I do paperwork now."

I nodded.

"My last girlfriend was two years ago. She broke it off when I was deployed to Iraq. She didn't want to see me die, so she took the easy way out, which is good because she was a really dumb blonde."

I laughed.

"What else? Oh! I was born in this hospital. My sister and brother were as well. My sister is a nurse here and my brother sells houses for a living. Our parents live down the street, actually."

"So why do you go to the diner so much? I mean, you have all this family, it doesn't make sense."

He shrugged and spoke, "I'm a grown man. I like peace and quiet sometimes."

I nodded and smiled, "I guess that point was moot tonight, huh?"

"I'm glad it was."

I looked up. "You are?"

"Yeah, because I've gotten to know a very beautiful girl in the process."

I smiled.

Charlie came in with discharge papers.

I sighed and looked at Jake. "Will you sign them? My writing hand hurts too much."

He signed them while Charlie removed my I.V., then I got dressed in my clothes.

Jake helped me to his truck. He lifted me in and got in.

As he drove, I gave him instructions to get to my house. It was a quick drive.

When we got there, he helped me to the door.
"Are you working this week?"

"I'm quitting," I sighed.

"Really?" he asked sounding surprised.

"By the time my hand and ankle heal, I'll have to work at the hospital. There's no point in going back."