Teacher's Pet Complete Series (31 page)

I made my way to the front desk. No one was in the lobby that I recognized, so going to the information desk seemed to be my only option. The woman at the desk was a Latina, Mexican by her looks. She wore light blue scrubs and had golden brown skin with straight jet-black hair that brushed the top of her shoulders. “May I help you?” She had a faint accent. She smiled, and then hid a yawn with the back of her hand. Her eyes looked red, half-lidded, and tired.

“Yes, I’m here to see a patient, Simon Foster. Can you tell me what room he’s in?”

The lady turned in her swivel chair to type on the computer. “Last name Foster, you say? Simon Foster?”

“Mhmm, he came in last night, or maybe the night before. Motorcycle accident involving him and a truck.”

“Oh, yes, I see it here. He’s in intensive care. Are you a member of the family?”

I knew if I said no I might not get to see him, and she wouldn’t tell me what room he was in, so I had to lie, although I didn’t want to. “Yes, I’m his sister. Lynora.”

“Okay, if you go right around this corner and up the hall to the elevators, he’s on the third floor, room three-seventeen. You can also take the stairs to the left.” She gave me another tired smile.

“Down the hall?”

“Yes, elevators to your right, the stairs are to your left, room three-seventeen, intensive care.”

I nodded and left, following the instructions she gave, having flashbacks of my last elevator ride. I pushed the button to call the elevator and waited. There were three in a row, and all the square buttons next to the up arrows were lit. It was just a matter of which one would open first. I patted my foot restlessly, waiting. With a ding, one opened on the left, and I hurried to the opening. My mind was on getting to see Simon, hoping he was all right, but I also worried what I would do if I bumped into… “Caroline!” I said, as she walked out of the elevator.

As much as I cared about Lynn, the woman was a pain in my ass. I pounded a fist on the seat and bit back an expletive out of respect for her parents sitting in the limo across from me. Mr. and Mrs. Minnelli both threw concerned glances in my direction, and I muttered an apology for the language. How could Lynn leave me here, stuck with her fucking parents? There had been a long, awkward duration of silence after she had dashed away. I’d had to try and help calm the hysterical Mrs. Minnelli, who saw the near-fatal crash when a huge SUV almost slammed into her daughter. Then I had had to pacify Mr. Minnelli when he frantically yelled for me to go after her. There was no way I was running across a crowded street to chase her down.

I Lynn’s slender body weave through traffic and head for the sidewalk, and I knew she would be okay. “Everybody, get back in the car!” I climbed into the passenger seat next to Sam to better help him find Lynn. “She’ll probably get tired of walking soon, and we’ll catch her along this stretch. Just trust me.”

I was boiling with anger at Lynn’s recklessness and immature behavior. What made it worse was that she had humiliated me! I was here, prepared to share in the celebration of her graduation with her, and all she could think about was Simon. Like nails down a chalkboard, the situation grated. I muttered clipping instructions to Sam to get us moving, quick. As we navigated back into the thick stream of cars, this time heading in the opposition direction of the flow, Lynn’s parents didn’t utter another word, and I knew they could tell I was upset. I could also tell they weren’t pleased. Their daughter had abandoned the most important day of her life for a guy they hadn’t seen and barely knew about, other than he existed…my brother. I balled my other hand into a fist.

Traffic was a mother, but we were moving, no thanks to small favors or chance. Sam avoided damn near clipping the front end of the limousine and bullied his way across the congested street to get us out of the mess. We were headed to the hospital, which was a short drive away from the university campus. I knew that was where Lynn had gone, and if we hurried, we might be able to retrieve her in time to make a late appearance at the graduation.

“Is that her?” asked Sam, directing my gaze up the sidewalk to a woman talking to someone in a truck.

“That’s her!” exclaimed Mrs. Minnelli. “What is she doing? Did she just get in that truck?”

“Follow them,” I ordered Sam. The driver nodded and accelerated to catch up with the truck pulling away from the curb with Lynn inside.

“She knows better not to ride with strangers!” Mr. Minnelli huffed.

“Relax,” I muttered. We were close enough that Lynn was safe. I studied the dashboard, feeling like Sam wasn’t driving fast enough. Whenever I saw Lynn again, I would give her more than a piece of my mind. I had had enough of this “running back to Simon” bullshit. She didn’t know how much her actions could hurt me, and it wasn’t in my nature to share or speak of my weaknesses, let alone have to address them. Yet I couldn’t abide by her carelessness with only my emotions. I also wanted to get to the hospital to be there for her in case Caroline caused any trouble. My father’s wife lived off being a bitch toward Lynn.

“Dane?” The voice pushed its way through my thoughts.

“Yeah.” I slowly looked from the window.

Lynn’s father said, “So Simon’s your brother, eh? And you two aren’t close?”

“Not at all. In our case, ‘brothers’ is a very loose term. I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m not exactly fond of him.”

“Well, I certainly understand that. Right now I’m not thinking very highly of him myself. You, however, I’m thinking might be good for my little girl. I know she can be a bit headstrong, but you’re the right sort for her, to help keep her steady.”

“Thank you, sir.” I nodded. “If you could do me the courtesy of telling her that, I’d appreciate it.” I went back to looking out the window, dismissing the conversation, although it wasn’t my intent to be rude. I just… I just wasn’t in the mood to keep talking.

“Dane?”

I sighed to myself. It was Lynn’s mother talking this time.

“Are you and Lynora together? I mean, have you been together?” Lynn’s father nudged his wife’s shoulder. “No, I didn’t mean it like that, Carl. Our little girl is grown up now, so that’s none of my business. What I mean is, are you two a couple…officially?”

I paused for a moment to think of how to answer her question. I didn’t want to be too blunt, and I didn’t want to lie. Lynn and I had fucked before, and plenty, but nothing between us was official. Then again, as far as relationships, nothing with me ever was. “At one time I thought so,” I answered as honestly as I could. My breath fogged up the window; I wasn’t sure if what I was saying was a blatant stretch of the truth. “Now, I’m not so sure. Simon”—the name left my mouth with disdain—“seems to have his hooks in her pretty bad, as you can tell. She skipped her graduation just to see how he was doing. How’s that for a definition of us being officially together? It’s not like any relationship you’ve ever heard of, I’m sure.”

“Oh, right,” said Mrs. Minnelli, a hand over her mouth, looking embarrassed and a little bit confused. She straightened her posture and sat, rigid and stiff, with her legs crossed at the knees. “I’m so sorry, Dane. My husband and I raised Lynora better than that. We raised her to stick to her convictions and commitments, to have integrity, and we wish her actions reflected her upbringing. I’m sure she’ll come around, right, Carl?”

Carl made a sound in his throat, like a grunt. I saw him through the passenger mirror turn his body to the right, away from his wife. His body language spoke volumes. They seemed an odd pair. Mrs. Minnelli seemed prudish and circumspect, and Mr. Minnelli seemed brash and fiery. “I do appreciate you calling us, young man, and setting up this surprise for our baby girl. Although it didn’t turn out as you might have planned, it was a very honorable effort.” He reached across the divide between the seats and patted my shoulder.

“I appreciate that, sir. I’ll feel better when we find her.” I kept looking out the window to see if I could spot her.

“Hitchhiking, of all things! Silly girl. But she’s resourceful, that one. Did she ever tell you about the time when I was working at the shop trying to fix the transmission on this beater of a Buick?”

“No, sir.” I turned my head to the side to hear him better and appear attentive. “No, she didn’t.”

“Okay, well.” He chuckled. “I—”

“Carl, don’t tell that story again.” Lynn’s mother seemed irritated and antsy.

“I’m going to tell it, Liz, if Dane wants to hear it. You do want to hear the story, don’t you?”

I wondered how he would react if I said no. I had other things on my mind, like trying to find his daughter, and how could this story possibly help? “Yes, sir, I’m intrigued. Go ahead.”

“Good.” He shot a sideways glance at his wife. “So, as I was saying, I was fixing the tranny on this fireball-red Buick Skylark, a 1965, all original parts. It was cherry on the inside but worn on the outside, paint oxidation, some chipping, a few dents—you know, what you’d expect with an old car like that. It belonged to old lady Margret, and she had no idea what a treasure she had. Well, anyway, I was under the car by myself in the shop, and Lynn was supposed to stay put in the office, draw and play with her dolls, what she usually liked to do.”

Her mother sighed audibly and sort of rudely. I chuckled softly to myself.

There was another sideways look shot at Liz by Carl. “Basically, what had happened was my little girl saved my life. I was under the car, and the compression failed on the lift somehow, and I was pinned under the safety supports, but not in any pain. Well, Lynn being Lynn and not being where she was told to be, wandered her way into the shop after I had been lying there for at least twenty minutes, and she managed to stack some boxes from the corner to climb atop and flip the switch on the backup air container. Up went the lift, and I slid out from under there!”

“Oh, you weren’t in any danger. The only reason you got stuck is because your belly was so big. Between that cushion and safety supports, you could’ve been under there for day and you would’ve been fine.”

“You see what happens when you’ve been married for over two decades?”

“Yes, I’m starting to see the pattern.”

“Sir, we’re here,” said Sam.

I looked out the window and saw the hospital to my left. I hoped Lynn was there, because we’d somehow lost the pickup truck in traffic. If she wasn’t at the hospital, I’d be lost for where to look. As useful as I was with gathering information, I didn’t really know her friends that well, nor did I know where any of them lived now that they’d moved out the dorms.

We got out of the car, all three of us, after the driver opened the doors. Carl stepped out first and lent an impatient hand to his wife. She delicately gripped his meaty hand and stepped out of the car with an elegance and reserve that struck me as genuine, and I felt like Lynn’s parents couldn’t be more different.

As we reached the entrance, I heard a commotion to my right. A gut feeling made me follow the noise down the hall, the Minnellis in my wake. We saw two security guards with their hands around a woman’s arms, forcibly escorting her out the hospital. A familiar voice rang through the corridor, and the Minnellis and I shared looks of surprise. We knew before the woman came into view that the voice was none other but Lynn’s.

Caroline stepped out of the elevator right in front of me, and I didn’t know whether I should run or stand my ground. Either way, my nerves were frazzled. I felt an instant hypersensitivity along the surface of my skin and my fine hairs stood up on end. What was it about this lady that made me want to cower and run away screaming?

What was it…exactly?

She jumped when she saw me, like I had startled her. Well, at least she was human, I thought wryly. She had fears just like the rest of us, and she could be caught off guard just like the rest of us. I’d keep that tiny bit of information in my pocket. I needed all the help I could get.

“Lynora.” Caroline said my name with disdain and looked my way with annoyance. I could tell she was on edge, but she tried to keep her composure, true to her controlling ways. She knew I’d seen her reaction to being confronted with my presence with the opening of the elevator doors, and she was irritated by that. I was slightly amused, some of my terror receding. However, once again, we were going to start off on the wrong damn foot, I could tell. “So, I see you’ve made it.”

“Well, after that phone call, how could I not?” I asked innocently. I knew she had been deliberately vague on the call, and I was sure she was trying to manipulate me. If nothing else, she had probably intended to ruin my graduation by causing me to worry incessantly about her son instead of enjoying my success. I had one-upped her, apparently. She’d never expected me to forgo my graduation and come straight to the hospital.

Her eyes were slightly puffy and red, like she hadn’t been sleeping, or crying all night—maybe both. “How’s Simon? Is he doing all right?” I tried to get around her, but she blocked the elevator, stepping in front of me. When I shifted to the right, she shifted again. She wouldn’t get out of my way. “I thought you wanted me here?” I stared her in the eyes, seeing her determination to keep me out. Shaking my head, I let out a short, angry laugh. She wouldn’t defeat me so easily. I walked toward the other two elevators and pressed the up buttons again.

“Correction: I didn’t want you to be here.” Caroline came up behind me. “Simon wanted you here, crazy as that is. He’s been unconscious since the night of the party—the only words he’s said since were
Lynora…Lynora
. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think he was implicating you in the only way he could. Do you happen to drive a truck?”