Longing For The Beach Billionaire Daddy
Chapter 70

*Shelby*

“Good news Shelby,” the kind nurse with curly black hair said as she walked into my hospital room.

“I get to go home today?” I offered, hoping she was coming in with my discharge paperwork.

I had been promised I would get to go home today as long as I didn’t show any worrisome symptoms during the night, which I hadn’t. I couldn’t wait to get home and let my family and friends know that I was still in one piece. I knew that Lin must be frantic with worry after I told her I was on my way home, then fell off the grid for two days. I’d asked the nurses to call her, but it wouldn’t be the same as me calling her myself.

“Well, yes, that is good news, but this news is different,” she held something behind her back as she made her way to my bedside.

“Come on, the suspense is killing me,” I said with a little laugh.

“One of the officers working your case just stopped by. They found your wallet,” she said, pulling my black leather wallet from behind her back.

“Seriously? That really is great news,” I said, taking the wallet from her.

I opened it and checked all the slots. Everything was accounted for.

“How did they replace it?” I asked, relief flooding over me.

“I guess whoever took it dropped it a few yards into the woods. It is lucky they didn’t notice. Is everything still there?” she asked me.

“Yeah, it is,” I said with a weak smile.

“Good to hear. Now, what flavor of Jell-O do you want with lunch today?”

“Surprise me,” I laughed.

I could not wait to get out of there. I was relieved to have my wallet back in hand. It was the only thing they had recovered, but at least now I would be able to get back home without having to ask Bruce for help.

Bruce had stopped by every day to check on me, but I didn’t want to see him. I kept each visit brief, only giving him enough answers to get him to leave. I didn’t want his pity or the help he was offering. I knew Michael was behind those offers, and I wanted nothing more from him. All I wanted was to get back home and start living my life just like he wanted me to, without him.

“Why don’t you take a shower while you are waiting for lunch? A good shower always helps me feel like a new person again. I’ve brought some clothes for you to change into when you are done,” the nurse said, setting a folded set of clothes on the table.

“What happened to the clothes I was wearing before?” When I woke up, I was already wearing the hospital gown; I didn’t realize until that moment that I couldn’t walk out of there in a gown that fully exposed my backside. I never asked where my clothes had gone.

“Oh hun, what you were wearing during the crash was torn and covered in b***d. They actually cut you out of them down in the ER.”

“Oh, right,” I said, feeling even more like I had nothing to my name. I clung to the wallet even tighter.

“Take that shower, and after lunch, we will get your paperwork ready for you to be discharged,” the nurse offered, slipping out of the room.

I took my wallet into the bathroom with me, not daring to let it out of my sight. I knew it was irrational to cling to an inanimate object, but it was literally the only thing I had.

The warm water did help to calm my frazzled nerves and helped soothe my aching body. I wanted to turn it even hotter, but I had hit the max. I couldn’t wait to take a hot shower when I got home, the kind that made you lay in your towel on the bed to cool off before you could bear to put on clothes again because the water was so hot.

I dried my hair in the small hospital towel and molded it into a small bun on the back of my head before leaving the bathroom to get dressed. The pile of clothes was sitting where the nurse had left it, but this was the first time I really looked at them.

On top sat a moss green sweater. I ran my fingers over the material, which was so soft to the touch, it had to be cashmere. There was no way this outfit was something my nurse just ‘found’ for me to wear. It could only have come from one person. Michael.

I contemplated putting my old hospital gown back on, but when I pictured walking through the airport with my a*s out for everyone to see, I reluctantly slipped on the clothes.

I was sitting cross-legged on the bed, flipping through the channels on the TV when a soft knock sounded on the door. My nurse pushed a cart with my lunch on it and held a stack of paperwork under her arm.

“I just have to check your vitals one more time, then after you eat, we can get you discharged,” she said.

I ate the turkey sandwich and green Jell-O faster than I had ever eaten a meal in my life. Before I knew it, I was being pushed down the hallway away from my hospital room in a wheelchair–hospital policy.

“We will stop at billing before you go so you can give them your insurance card now that you have your wallet back,” my nurse said as she pushed me down the hallway.

“I will. Thank you for everything,” I told her.

I was wheeled up in front of the billing desk, a pane of glass separating me from the woman who sat behind the desk.

“Hi, I need to give you my insurance card for my recent stay. I also wanted to set up a payment plan if that is possible,” I said.

“Of course, let me just look you up in our system. What was your name?”

“It is Shelby Hatton,” I answered.

She immediately started typing away at her keyboard. I couldn’t help but wonder what a three-day stay at the hospital was going to cost me. I had such big hopes of saving up so when I graduated school, I could put a down payment on a townhouse. This was really going to set me back.

“Ah, here we are, Miss Hatton. It looks like your bill was taken care of in full,” the woman said with a smile.

“No, that can’t be. Does it tell you who made the payment?” I asked.

“All it says is that the payment was made in cash, no name attached. It looks like you have yourself a guardian angel, Miss Hatton,” the woman said, still smiling.

I managed a nod as another nurse came to wheel me out the front door. I had arranged for a rideshare to take me to the airport, with help from the nurses, but Bruce was waiting at the front doors, holding the back door open on another one of Michael’s cars.

“Miss Hatton, I have been instructed to see you to the airport. Mr. Aston’s jet is waiting to take you back to Cambridge,” Bruce said.

“I don’t want any more of Michael’s help,” I snipped back at him.

My anger was misplaced on Bruce, who had orders from his employer to follow, but after replaceing out that Michael paid my hospital bill too, it all felt like too much. He wanted me out of his life, but he refused to let me walk away from him.

Now that I was allowed out of the wheelchair, I walked back inside the hospital, taking a seat in the waiting room to wait for the rideshare. As soon as it arrived, I marched right past Bruce and Michael’s exorbitantly expensive car.

Now that I was allowed out of the wheelchair, I walked back inside the hospital, taking a seat in the waiting room to wait for the rideshare. As soon as it arrived, I marched right past Bruce and Michael’s exorbitantly expensive car.

“To the airport, please,” I told the driver.

The drive to the airport was more difficult than I imagined. I watched nervously out of the front window, watching the other cars’ every move. The snow had been plowed from the highway, but there were still marks where others had slid off the road in the storm. I hadn’t realized I was gripping the seat until we arrived at the airport, and my hands were sore.

The driver pulled up to the front doors to let me out, and I paid him quickly before walking away.

“Don’t forget your luggage,” a passerby called out, seeing me walk into the airport empty-handed.

“Thanks, but I don’t have any,” I called back.

The man just lifted his shoulders in a shrug and walked away.

I bought the cheapest ticket they had back to Cambridge, but I had to wait around in the airport for three hours before my flight left. Once I got on the plane, I was stuck at the very back in the middle seat. A mom and her teething baby sat to my left, and a grumpy old man sat to my right. By the time the plane landed, I was about ready to elbow the old man for noisily sighing at every noise the baby made.

I could not wait to be home. The stress of the last three days completely shadowed my breakup with Michael, which, at least for the moment, I was grateful for. Maybe when the shock of what I had gone through finally wore off, then I would be ready to deal with the split.

The cab pulled up to my apartment, and before I was even out of the car, Lin and Aubrey were sprinting down the stairs toward me.

“Oh my God, Shelby!” Aubrey screamed, tears spilling down her cheeks.

Lin reached me first, pulling me into a tight hug. Aubrey wrapped herself around my back.

“What happened? I got the call from the hospital a day after I expected you home. I was so worried,” Lin’s muffled voice said.

“I came as soon as Lin called,” Aubrey added, not letting me go.

“I got in a car accident on the way to the hospital,” I choked out through the tears. “I didn’t wake up until the next day, and my phone got lost in the accident.”

Both Aubrey and Lin pulled back at my explanation. Lin’s hand immediately went to my face, brushing the bruise on my cheek.

“Oh my God, Shelby, your face is purple. I was so happy to see you alive I didn’t notice,” Lin said.

“Are you okay?” Aubrey asked concern etched in each one of her delicate features.

“I got thrown around pretty bad, but the worst I had was a concussion. They had to watch me for a few days because I was unconscious for so long.”

“Shelby, I’m so sorry. We would have come to where you were if we could,” Aubrey said.

“I know; I am so glad to see you both,” I replied, tears continuously running down my cheeks.

I finally felt safe with my two best friends in the entire world.

“Do you want to talk about what happened with Michael?” Lin asked softly.

“No, I don’t ever want to talk about Michael again.”