Wake for Me (Life or Death Series) (13 page)

“Oh, I see how it is,” she groused. “I thought we were partners in crime, but now I see you’re willing to nark me out for a pretty face.”

Viola shook her head, searching for just the right way to phrase a very complex joke.

“Not just…face. Nice…body. Too.”

Sam immediately blushed, and Nurse B. laughed out loud, exactly as Viola had intended.

“You better watch out for this one,” the elderly nurse told Sam, with a devious expression. “She’s only at half speed, and already you looking like a dog who don’t know what done bit him. God help you if she ever gets up out of that bed.” She looked at Viola, and her face softened. “Sorry, baby. I meant to say when you get up out of that bed. Not if.”

Viola raised her hand in a futile gesture of dismissal, as Sam smiled sympathetically and put the pitcher down on the table at the foot of her bed. She could tell he was seconds away from apologizing. Again.

“Alright,” she told them both. “Still rich…and pretty.”

Nurse B. snorted. “Don’t forget to add skinny, little Miss Humble.” She turned back to Sam, pointing a finger menacingly at his chest. “Now, I’m going to go get a Coke, and when I come back, you’d better be long gone.”

“Yes ma’am,” he said.

This time, when the object of his fear left the room, Sam didn’t come any closer. It made Viola wonder if it really was Nurse Bouchard he was so afraid of, after all. But if there was something to be said, he sure as hell wasn’t going to be the first one to say it.

Viola sighed, feeling suddenly exhausted. It always came on like that, so quickly, like someone had pulled the plug that powered her thoughts and actions. She let her head fall back against the pillows, too tired to do much more than watch Sam move nervously around the room.

She couldn’t help herself when he was around. From the first moment she’d woken from the coma, it was like her eyes wanted to follow him wherever he went. She couldn’t control them, any more than she could control the strange and rebellious images that sometimes flashed across her mind when she wasn’t paying attention. Sam’s arms tightening around her, as she ran her lips across his bare chest. Sam’s hand, sliding under her shirt—things she had no business thinking. It was getting to be a problem, especially since they felt less like fantasies, and more like memories.

Before either of them could say anything else, Nurse B. was back. Sam made some excuse about catching up on his charting, and left without saying goodbye. Viola’s eyes tracked his movement all the way to the door.

Nurse B. turned on the TV in Viola’s room and planted herself in the chair that Sam had so recently vacated.
The Young and Relentless
was just starting. Keeping her eyes glued to the screen, the old nurse cleared her throat.

“How are things with that rock star boyfriend of yours?” she asked. “From what they’re saying on the internet, it sounds like the two of you are getting pretty serious.”

That was an excellent question—even if it had been meant as a dig.

Viola flopped her head over to one side, because rolling her eyes would’ve been too much effort. Her eyelids felt so heavy, and they were already starting to close against her will. She still couldn’t control when she fell asleep, and she dreaded it every time.

Before the darkness crept up and took her, Viola couldn’t resist murmuring a parting shot.

“Lucinda…eat…your popcorn.”

The last thing she heard was the sound of Nurse B. chuckling evilly to herself.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

“The sexual life of adult women is a ‘dark continent’ for psychology.” –Sigmund Freud

Sam came in through the hospital’s back entrance, shivering. His hair was still wet from the pool, and the cold air outside had turned it into long, brown icicles that dripped freezing water into the collar of his hooded sweatshirt. Checking to make sure no one was in the area, he leaned over and shook his head like the lead singer of a metal band, splattering the floor and walls with large drops of chlorinated water.

Man, he thought, instantly feeling instantly guilty about the mess he’d caused. Viola was right. He really did need a haircut. Maybe he’d get one this weekend, when he was home. Barber shops were a lot cheaper upstate than they were in the city. So was everything else, for that matter.

He walked down the first floor hallway, thinking for the ten-millionth time how much it reminded him of the long, creepy hallway in
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
. Especially this early in the morning, when it was completely empty. His footsteps echoed hollowly against the walls as he tried to resist the urge to sprint all the way to the other end. He didn’t really feel like taking the south stairs, but he also couldn’t banish the image of Nurse Ratched appearing from one of the side doors and chasing him with a syringe.

As a compromise, he walked a little quicker.

About three-fourths of the way down, the main hallway branched off into a series of smaller hallways, which most hospital employees referred to as the Labyrinth, because of how easy it was to get lost if you didn’t know where you were going. Sam personally thought they were more like capillaries, branching off of a main artery, because of how easily they could become clogged when more than two people walked abreast of each other.

He passed the first capillary, which led to central distribution and the blood lab. But he stopped right before passing the second, because he could’ve sworn he heard Viola’s voice. There was no reason she should be this far away from her room, even if it wasn’t oh-shit-hundred in the morning. But it was almost more disturbing to think that he hadn’t actually heard her voice; that his mind had simply become so obsessed that it was hallucinating Viola wherever he went.

Following the sound of her laughter, Sam found himself standing a few yards away from the Medical Records desk, staring at Viola’s silk pajama and satin robe-clad form as she leaned against it. Twelve days out of a coma and she was already ambulatory. Another week, and she’d probably be ready to indulge in some light downhill skiing. The thought made him proud, but also sad, because the more independent Viola became, the sooner she would leave the hospital. Who knew if he’d ever see her again, after that?

“I like cock,” she was saying. “It’s…better…than dick. Dick just sounds like…high school.”

Sam almost choked on his own tongue. Along with her coordination, Viola’s communication was getting more sophisticated by the day. Yet, he never would’ve expected to hear those words coming from her well-bred lips. Then again, he hadn’t realized she was the type to date rock stars, either. Damn, almost two weeks later, and he still hadn’t managed to get over that particular revelation. He needed to let it go already. So Viola was taken. It was just one more reason on top of a pile of other reasons Sam couldn’t let himself get too close to her.

“I totally know what you mean,” another voice was saying. Sam craned his neck to see who the voice belonged to, but he couldn’t get a good look without stepping around the last corner and revealing himself to Viola and whoever she was talking to. About dicks vs. cocks, no less.

“Sometimes, when I read historical romance novels and they’re all ‘Oh, Reginald! Joust your throbbing member into my cavern of love’ or whatever? I’m like ‘No thanks, I’d rather listen to my grandmother operate a phone sex hotline.’ Right?”

Viola laughed. “I don’t…really…not my area. I prefer…counter…no, contemporary romance.”

“Well then, you should definitely borrow this one. It’s equal parts steamy and quippy. I think you’ll love it.”

Viola’s hand disappeared over the desk and came back with a small paperback book, which she tucked into the pocket of her robe.

“Thanks, Julia. Can’t wait…to pick up…all kinds of tricks.”

When she turned toward him, Sam froze. He was suddenly left with only two choices: turn and go back down the hall the way he’d come, or get caught eavesdropping on a very scandalous, girls-only conversation. He chose option one. Unfortunately, Viola’s walking speed had progressed much faster than he’d realized.

“Hi. Sam,” she said, without even a hint of struggle in her voice. “What are you doing?”

He turned back to face her, positive that his expression would betray him before he even opened his mouth. She had a way of doing that, he’d learned. Making him blush, then making him feel ridiculous for feeling ridiculous.

“I was just on my way into work,” he said, “and I thought I heard voices, so I came down this hall. But then, I uh…I realized I was going to be late, so I turned around and started going the other way.”

Even to his ears, the lie sounded pathetic.

“It’s not even…five,” she said, glancing down at her ever-present designer watch. “You’re not on shift…until six.”

Sam was impressed, and a little flattered, that she’d memorized his work schedule. Then again, from what he’d seen over the past few weeks, he shouldn’t have been. There wasn’t much about her hospital environment that Viola didn’t seem to know, or find a way to charm someone into telling her. It had only taken her a few days to have Dr. Chakrabarti himself eating from the palm of her hand. That, in itself, was a feat for the record books.

“Come with me,” she said, holding out her hand. “There’s someone…I want you to meet.”

Obediently, Sam took her hand and settled it in the crook of his elbow. He knew better than to resist. This wasn’t the first time he’d caught her sneaking out of her room and walking the halls, and sooner or later she would tire out and need to lean on someone. Whether or not she wanted to admit it, Sam knew that Viola’s body was still weak and needed more sleep than she wanted to give it. It had become a serious problem over the past week, since she did everything she could to avoid sleeping, unless they drugged her. He worried about that, about her, more than he cared to admit.

Leading him back toward Medical Records, Viola stopped in front of the empty desk and pushed the call button.

After a few seconds, the door behind the desk opened, and a very short, striking-looking young woman poked her head out.

“Oh. Hey, darling, did you forget something?” The girl’s hair was dyed black, so dark it almost looked blue. She had big, baby-doll eyes ringed with a ton of eyeliner, and dark red lipstick that made her face look almost inhumanly white. Her earrings were gigantic, and at a second glance, Sam realized they were formed in the shape of handcuffs.

Viola shook her head, blue eyes sparkling. “Sam, this is…my new friend, Julia. She writes books. That’s why she prefers…working nights.”

Sam tried not to look as out of his depth as he felt. Not knowing what else to do, he reached over the desk and shook the girl’s hand, while trying not to stare. She eyed him speculatively in return, apparently not caring if he noticed how her eyes strayed to, and stayed at, the crotch area of his sweat pants.

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Dr. Philips,” Julia said. “I’ve heard so much about you.”

“Really?” Sam glanced over at Viola, who was smiling up at him with cruel glee. “I mean, thanks, I guess.”

“We’ll let you…get back to writing now,” Viola said, nudging Sam toward the hallway again. “Thanks again for…loaning me…‘Hot…and Bothered.’”

Hot and Bothered
? Wow. Sam refused to let himself think about the kinds of ‘tricks’ Viola was planning to pick up from a book with that title. There just wasn’t enough room in his sweatpants for that kind of thinking.

“My pleasure,” Julia said, raising an eyebrow in almost perfect imitation of Viola’s ‘I know something you don’t know’ face. “Don’t be a stranger now, Dr. Philips.”

“Okay,” he said. It was the only response he could think of that wouldn’t make things more awkward than they already were.

After they’d made it safely down the hall, Sam finally asked the question that he both dreaded and couldn’t ignore. She already knew he’d been eavesdropping. Why keep up the act?

“So…why does the word ‘dick’ remind you of high school?”

Viola laughed. “Maybe I knew…lots of guys…who were dicks.”

“Oh,” Sam nodded. “I guess that’s better than the alternative.”
She smiled. “Oh…I don’t know…about that.”

Suddenly they were at the elevator. Sam pushed the call button, but when it opened, he was almost afraid to go in. Viola was clinging to his arm with both hands, and smiling up at him like she had a secret. Or maybe like he had one, and she was the only one who knew about it.

Either way, it was nerve-wracking as hell, and without his white coat and scrubs, Sam didn’t know if the boundaries of their relationship were quite as clearly drawn as they should be. Stepping inside the small, enclosed space, he pressed the button for the seventh floor.

“I’ll take you back to your room first,” he said, keeping his eyes glued on the door as it slid closed in front of them. “Before I clock in and change, I mean. You should really get some sleep.”

“No.” She reached past him to press the button for the tenth floor. “I’m not tired.”

Sam looked at her sideways. “What’s on the tenth floor?”

“Telemetry,” she said, very carefully. “Endoscopy.”

“I know that.” Sam turned his body to face her, challenging her. It was obvious now that she was messing with him. “I meant what’s up there for you?”

She smiled sweetly. “Roof access.”

“Oh, no. Absolutely not. You’re not going up there, it’s freezing outside. Also, it’s dangerous.”

Viola rolled her eyes. “Relax. It’s not like…it’s my first time.”

Was it his imagination, or did those words carry a hidden message? No, he was imagining things. How could he not, after hearing what he’d just heard? ‘I can’t wait to pick up all kinds of tricks.’ Jesus.

“You’re telling me you’ve wandered up there by yourself before?” Sam tried to focus on the alarm he felt at her admission, instead of his growing arousal. “Viola, you could’ve gotten seriously hurt.”

“So don’t let me,” she countered, “go by myself.”

For a few seconds, Sam and his patient stared each other down, each refusing to back away. The air in the elevator seemed to grow warmer with each passing second. Then the elevator dinged, and Sam jumped. The doors slid open at the seventh floor, but no one tried to get on. Without breaking eye contact, Viola reached sideways and pressed the ‘close doors’ button.