Teacher's Pet Complete Series (32 page)

My first reaction to that was to swing at her, but I pulled my raised fist back before it could connect with her smarmy smile. “That’s a really fucked-up thing to say me, Caroline.” I smacked at the call button for the elevator again.

“Careful, dear. Your trailer park upbringing is starting to rear its ugly head.”

All I could do was stare at her while my anger boiled over. If I’d been a cartoon character, there would be steam pouring out of my ears. The rage was deep-seated and long-simmering. Caroline was wearing black yoga pants and a black top with yellow stripes down the sides, and black tennis shoes to match. Without her fancy clothes and incredibly high heels, she looked a bit less intimidating. She was just another catty bitch, similar to the power-hungry sorority girls on campus and just as childish.

Another elevator dinged and slid open, and I entered the empty box, but Caroline quickly followed. She laid her hand on the open-door button and pressed. “What are you doing?” I yelled at her.

She kept her palm there and leaned on it to keep the door open. “I don’t think I can let you go up there.”

“What do you mean ‘let me’? This is a free country, last I checked, and this hospital is a public place.”

“Yes, but ICU isn’t. Family members only. Now, maybe you got the nurse to tell you where Simon’s room is, but I’m assuming that involved a lie or two. So, all I have to do is go over there and let her know who
is
and
isn’t
family. Then I’m sure you can complain all you want to security as they push you out the door.”

“But Simon wanted me here and you said so yourself! Why don’t you just let me up? I’ll be quick. I just want to see how he’s doing.”

“Oh, now you care? I was under the impression you were with Dane now and Simon was with Katelyn, as everything should be. I’d rather you be with that bastard than my Simon. The last thing he needs at this point is some harlot hellbent on messing up his life. Ever since he merely mentioned you to me, everything in his life has gone haywire. No, this is for the best. Besides, the whole family was in his room: Katelyn, Selene, and Cornelius. There isn’t a Lynora in our family tree, and I couldn’t be happier because of it.”

“Are you two going up or coming out?” A tall, slim man in his mid to late forties walked up to the elevator doors. He wore a white lab coat, a stethoscope around his neck, and an irritated look on his face. “Well?” He had a clipboard in his hand, tapping it with the tips of fingers. “I do have patients to see…Mrs. Foster, isn’t it? One in particular is your son.”

“Oh.” Caroline flushed and released the open-door button. Straightened her clothes and brushed herself off, like removing some imaginary dust. “I’m sorry, Dr. McDonald. I, um…I was just having a discussion with—”

“A friend of the family. Hi, Dr. McDonald.” I reached out to shake his hand. “I’m Lynora Minnelli. I was just going up to see Simon. How is he doing?” I cut my eyes toward Caroline and had to muster enough strength to stop from sticking my tongue out at her.

“Nice to meet you, Lynora.” He shook my hand and smiled. The elevator doors closed. “As far as Simon is concerned…” He looked to Caroline as if to ask her permission.

She nodded while giving an exasperated sigh. “Go ahead. I wanted to know myself.” She leaned against the wall and folded her hands across her chest as if she was a spoiled child that hadn’t got her way. I smirked despite myself.

The doctor looked between us with suspicion. “So, as I’ve said to you before, Simon has suffered a minor brain injury. He did experience some mild swelling of the brain, but with steroids and anti-inflammatories, as expected, that has gone down significantly in the past couple of days. I think I can say with certainty he’s out of immediate danger. We’ll have to watch him closely a while longer, but his imaging, MRI scans, and CT scans—all of those look great today.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Caroline would’ve slumped to the floor if it weren’t for the elevator rail that held her up, and I felt the same sense of relief.

“Well, hold on now.” Dr. McDonald held up his hand. “We’re not out of the woods yet. There is the matter of him still being unconscious. Now, this is not uncommon, but I am a bit concerned. In cases like this you never know how the patient will recover. There could be loss of memory, issues with motor skills. We just won’t know until he regains consciousness. Until then, however, we’re giving him all we’ve got to keep him comfortable and stable. I still remain optimistic.”

This was the first time I’d heard of any of this, and my relief dissipated instantly as I realized the gravity of the situation and what Caroline hadn’t told me. I felt my stomach go queasy as the doctor began to explain just how extensive Simon’s injuries were. He spoke as if things could’ve been worse, but I still had a hard time keeping my feet underneath me. I just didn’t know what to say. My mouth hung open and my eyes began to water. Caroline nodded as Dr. McDonald chatted, knowing full well the extent of the danger Simon faced, and I quelled the urge to confront her for keeping me in the dark.

The elevator doors slid open. I offered Caroline my hand to steady her on her feet, and to my surprise, she took my help. She slowly walked out of the elevator, dusting off her clothes again. I walked out just behind her and caught what seemed to be appreciation in her eyes as she gave me a tiny smile. I realized suddenly that, as much as Caroline might hate me personally, Simon, her son, was in a bad fix.

She couldn’t be expected to be bothered with coddling my feelings and making sure I stayed aware of the latest information. Inwardly, I forgave her selfishness. At this point, it was more important that I see Simon than fight with Caroline.

The ICU was much different than I had expected, having never been in this unit of a hospital. It was smaller than the rest of the wards on the expansive hospital campus, from what I had seen walking the hall after leaving the elevators. The ICU somehow seemed more sterile, with white walls and an antiseptic smell.

The nurses flitting about the flow seemed more focused. The few doctors we saw making rounds appeared more determined. Everything and everyone seemed a lot more serious, quiet, and intense. It shot my anxiety through the roof. As we got closer to Simon’s room, room three-seventeen, my heart began to pound in my chest. My skin started to tingle again, and my breath went only as deep as my throat. If I hadn’t been mindful, I would’ve choked.

The doctor stopped on the outside of the door to Simon’s room. Caroline was set to go in. Through the window, I caught a glimpse of Katelyn sitting in a chair next to Simon’s bed. With a curtain blocking my view of his face, I only saw from his waist to his feet. To the right of the bed was Cornelius in a white button-up shirt, standing with his hands in the pockets of his black pants. Near Katelyn sat Selene, mostly obscured from my view.

“I’ve already been in to see your son today, Mrs. Foster, so I have to make my rounds and check on my other patients before I return. Is there anything you’d like to ask me before I step away?”

She walked in through the doorway, and her eyes swept the room before she answered over her shoulder, “Yes, there is, actually. I know the hospital has rules about these sorts of things, and I’d hate for you to be the victim of any upcoming lawsuits. That being said”—Caroline turned around to face me with an ominous smile on her face—“this woman here is not a friend of the family, nor is she a family member. I didn’t want to cause a fuss in the elevator, but now could you kindly call security and have her escorted from this floor? The sight of her is literally turning my stomach.”

I kicked and I scratched. I planted my feet to the ground, but two guards picked me up and carried me out like a child. I was helpless to stop them, though I tried. I really did, but they were just so damn strong—it was embarrassing. The noise I was making brought several people out of the rooms, hospital staff and family members of other patients, who stood outside the doorways to see who was making a fuss.

I glared at two nurses shaking their heads. Some of the voyeurs quickly turned around and closed their doors, but a few onlookers even started to clap as I was forcibly ousted. “Get your God damned hands off of me!” My blustery cry was answered with a firm threat by one of the security guards that authorities would be called, and I’d face prosecution for disorderly conduct. I bit back another shout and calmed myself down.

As the guards pushed me forward, I peeked over my shoulder to see Caroline turn her back to me and walk into Simon’s room. “I didn’t even see. I didn’t even get to see him,” I whimpered despondently. And the missed opportunity was doing something awful to my insides. Such emotional pain overpowered me; it seemed physical. I crumpled beneath the weight.

I hadn’t been able to see if he was wrapped like a mummy, with bandages around his head, or if his body was in a cast. I didn’t get to see if he looked peaceful like an angel or near death like a vampire, pale and devoid of any warmth. Worse fears of his condition battered my thoughts, each one more terrible than the last.

The need to have my fears assuaged would drive me crazy. The need to see his face was strong, shocking, and telling at the same time. Was he lying in his bed tormented by his last memory of me, calling my name, unable to open his eyes? If he did open his eyes, would he care to not see me sitting beside his bed? Helpless, hot tears spilled down my cheeks.

It seemed we were in the same boat. Simon and I were both trapped by our circumstances, not able to see what was right in front of us. He was in a coma, but I was trapped by emotions I couldn’t ignore or suppress any longer. Was I not giving respect to what I could stand to lose, not giving Dane the love that he deserved? More puzzling, had I truly not given Simon the chance he needed to show me who he could be?

The elevator dinged and the door slid open. The guards looked at me and one asked, “Do we have to push you in?” I slowly shook my head, relenting to the inevitable, and walked in of my own accord. I couldn’t stand to experience any further embarrassment. Once in the elevator, the guards relaxed and so did I. In a calm voice, I warned, “I feel it’s only fair to tell you ahead of time there’s no way I’m leaving this hospital while someone I care about is upstairs, lying in bed, practically in a coma. So, I’m just giving you full disclosure—do with that what you will.”

The guards looked at each other and didn’t speak a word, but it was what they didn’t say that alarmed me. “Hmm. Does that mean you’re on board with the idea, or do you plan to discuss this later once we’re all out in the hall?” I peeked at each of them in turn. They glared at me, unfazed. Sighing, I knew I should learn when to shut the hell up sometimes.

The guards scooped me under my arms again, lifting me clear off my feet. I was a kid in a swing, like when your feet can’t reach the ground, legs swinging helplessly. I was helpless to change the outcome of what was about to happen as the doors opened and they practically dumped me out into the hall.

“Dane?” I said loudly as I looked up from my position on my knees. He was there, like a knight in shining armor in blue jeans that fit like they were made for him and a white polo shirt with his chest bulging out, here to save me from the punishment I was enduring for my transgressions.

I stayed knelt at his feet to pay homage to his beauty and timing. I realized I hadn’t paid attention to him much, too busy with freaking out after the call from Caroline. Suddenly I appreciated his presence so much more. He was my ticket back up to Simon’s room!

He didn’t look pleased, and he didn’t look surprised, but he held out his hand to help me up. “So, I’m curious, gentlemen.” He gave the two security guards a hard and steely look that was cold enough to freeze over hell and make the devil run for a heater. “Is this how you treat visitors at this hospital, because if it is…” Dane pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and placed it to his ear. “Now, I could threaten to call your boss and have you two fired for treating the love of my life like trash, but no. That’s not what I’m going to do. Considering the CEO of this hospital is a good personal friend of my father’s, I will call him to not only have you two boneheads fired, but whoever hired you and whoever hired him.”

“But—” they said unison.

“Shut up. Now, here’s what you’re going to do to avoid all of that, because I’m in a foul and irritable mood and having to listen to this dial tone in my ear is grating on my nerves.”

“Okay, whatever you say, sir, we’ll do it.”

“You’re going to first apologize to the lady. Then you’re going to apologize to her parents behind me for having to see their daughter treated in such a way. And then…” He chuckled some. “And then what you’re going to do is get out of my sight, because I’m sick of seeing your faces…
capisce
?”

My father stuck out his chest upon hearing that. Carl Minnelli was Italian, after all, and I suspected Dane knew it, most likely the reason for his mob-boss-speak in the heat of the moment. Dane was no dummy.

The security guards followed Dane’s instructions to a T. He had that kind of presence to command people to do things, much like his father did. It was easy to see where he got it from. Plus, threatening to ruin their lives might’ve helped.

When the guards left, I fell into Dane’s arms and hugged him on instinct right in front my parents, which they’d never seen me do. I had never shown affection for a boy (much less a man) in front of Mom and Dad. Mom shielded her eyes and Dad stared at the floor.

“Gosh, Mom.” I laughed. “It’s not like you’re watching porn!”

“I know, it’s just… I know, sweetheart. I can’t wrap my mind around how grown up you are. Next thing you know you’re going to be married!” It wasn’t a suggestion. Dane disengaged from my embrace and stepped slightly away from me.

“Well, um…” My dad stepped in. “I, for one, would like to thank you for sticking up for my little girl like that, son. I’m getting a little too old to scrap with the young and disrespectful.” He shook Dane’s hand and clapped him on the back, my dad’s go-to sign of respect. “I guess we should probably get going, huh? I’m starting to get a little hungry.”