Jaxon filed through paperwork as he worked. He’d been at it all morning and was yet to be burnt out. Just then, his phone pinged and he wanted to ignore it but decided against it. It could be Ruby, he thought. It wasn’t, it was Ruslan instead.
He didn’t know why but a feeling of dread settled in the pit of his stomach as Ruslan’s name flashed across the screen.
Ruslan didn’t call unless something bad happened. He just hoped that whatever it was, it had nothing to do with Ruby. It had everything to do with Ruby.
“What is it?” He cut to the chase as soon as he answered. There was no time for chit-chat. Ruslan seemed to know that too as he didn’t keep him waiting.
“It’s Ruby, she’s been in an accident,” Ruslan said and the air rushed out of his lungs. A thousand and one thoughts raced through his mind at what could have happened. Wasn’t she home?
“What do you mean she was in an accident? Isn’t she supposed to be home?” Jaxon said as calmly as possible though his voice already bordered yelling.
“Forgive me, I didn’t phrase it well. She fell down the stairs at home and we’re currently on our way to the hospital as I speak.” Ruslan clarified but that didn’t make him feel an ounce better.
His Gem was injured and he was miles away from her and couldn’t do anything to help her.
“How is she?” He voiced. He just hoped her injuries weren’t too serious. Falling down a flight of stairs could rough anyone up really badly.
“Not good at all. I think she has a broken leg, probably a broken hip but I’m not sure.” Ruslan told him and he sighed.
His hopes had been crushed again and he didn’t know if what Ruslan had told him was better or worse than he had imagined.
“I’m on my way, I’ll meet you at the hospital.” He told Ruslan and then ended the call. Not wanting time to waste, he stood to his feet and walked briskly out of his office.
He hadn’t run into Damon so he would have to call him and tell him the development with Ruby. He also needed Damon to clear his schedule for the time being because there was no way he was leaving Ruby to fend for herself in such a vulnerable state.
Jaxon all but raced against traffic to get to the hospital as quickly as he could. He may have driven over the speed limit but he didn’t care for that or anything else for that matter. The only thing centered in his mind was Ruby.
Ruslan had texted him the details of the hospital and Ruby’s room number so he didn’t need much help to navigate when he got there.
He took the elevator up and when he got to the floor Ruby’s room was on, he was taken aback to see Ruby’s sister balling her eyes out.
He had forgotten she was staying with them and would have probably come along. She and Ruslan were outside the door but Ruslan had stood far away from her.
Her eyes pinned his and that was when he noticed there were no real tears in them. He didn’t bother with her but he was surprised when she started to approach him with rapid steps.
Her arms were spread wide and he found it hard to believe she wanted to hug him. He found her bold to assume that they had a relationship simply because he was with her sister.
His whole body recoiled in protest as irritation flared through him. He sidestepped her and didn’t bother to turn to look back at her. He did hear her feet come to an abrupt stop though.
Ruslan was still where he was and hadn’t moved from that spot since he had gotten here. He did however notice the glint in Ruslan’s eyes, probably from the spectacle Ruby’s sister tried to pull off.
“She’s inside?” He asked when he got to the front of the door. Ruslan nodded then gestured for him to go in.
“With the doctor too,” Ruslan added after a moment. Jaxon nodded back and then pushed the door open.
Before he had gotten here, he had made sure to set up Ruby in the best room the hospital had, and they had done just that. The room was large and had its own bathroom and sitting area.
Jaxon’s heart squeezed at what he saw. His Gem was on the bed and she had a thick white cast around one leg which was elevated. The doctor was checking up on her and also telling her something he couldn’t quite hear. He walked up to them and greeted the doctor.
“Doctor, how’s she?” He asked after he gave the doctor a nod.
“She’s doing fine now, but I have to say she won’t walk for a while because she had quite the nasty fall.” The doctor said and he frowned.
“And when will she be able to walk?”
“I would have to do routine checks on her to see how fast she’s healing before I can estimate it but it will take weeks.” The doctor replied. The doctor left them shortly after and Jaxon immediately took her hands in his.
“Why weren’t you careful?” He scolded as he observed every inch of her.
“I was, I don’t know what happened, one minute I was on the first step, and the next, I was on the ground at the bottom of the stairs. It happened so quickly.” She explained and he sighed. Jaxon heard the pain and sadness in her voice and he let her be.
“How’s your waist?”
“Oh that, I just twisted it, it didn’t actually break. The doctor said the pain would go away quickly and he’s right, it feels better already.” She told him and he nodded. Her eyes were dropping as she talked so he told her to rest up.
Jaxon left the room and met Ruslan outside. He glanced around before Ruslan said,
“She went to the bathroom a second ago.” Ruslan said when he noticed the question in his eyes.
Jaxon nodded his head then gestured to Ruslan to follow him. They went outside and Jaxon faced him.
“What exactly happened?”
“She fell, but I did notice the stairs looked sleek. At first, I thought it would be water and it was mopped recently and I made calls to find out. The maids didn’t mop it so the only liquid I could think of was oil.”
“Oil?” Someone had poured oil on the stairs and he didn’t doubt for one second that it wasn’t intentional.
“And Kim?”
“She came after Ruby fell and seemed sympathetic.” He heard what Ruslan had said but he still wasn’t convinced. He found it suspicious that it was during Kim’s stay that Ruby fell down the stairs.
The stairs that she climbed several times every day. Jaxon had always felt something was off with Kim and his senses were tingling that something was also off with what happened.
“Keep an eye on Kim and report back on what she does. I don’t trust her.” Jaxon told him.