Page 47 of Small Sacrifices

Reid ends up calling Ms. Greene from the hospital. She doesn't pick up. He would've been surprised if she did.

It leaves him standing uselessly in the middle of the reception area. The place is just busy enough to leave him at a loss for what to do. The waiting room is somewhere to the left, but injured and sick people are spilling over onto the chairs in the entrance hall. Someone is always moving. A woman in the corner of the room is coughing so hard that it shakes her entire body.

The nurse at the reception desk glares at him when he dares to ask if she’s allowed to give out information on Robin Greene. "Are you a family member?"

"No." It makes him wonder—would Mr. Wright want him to lie?

"Well, then."

Her expression only darkens when he asks about Ms. Greene. It's for the best that he doesn't say why he wants to know. He has a feeling that it's best to let her think he's a journalist.

When he asks if he can sit leaning against the glass window front that the front door is incorporated into, she snorts but waves her hand in a way that he reads as "whatever". So he does just that. It's the best vantage point to observe the hallway that leads further into the hospital. If she wants to leave via the front door, then she's going to have to walk past him.

Only when he's sitting down does he realize he has a problem. If he wants to be sure that she doesn't leave through this door, then he can't leave. Not to buy himself lunch, and not to go pee. That's... not good. He has some snacks that he can eat. But if he can't go to the restroom, then can he even drink? There's no telling how long he'll need to wait.

Getting down a granola bar without drinking anything proves difficult, but he manages two. That's something, at least. And then he waits. And he waits. And he waits some more.

The coughing woman gets called up about two hours in. That makes everything more bearable. Sadly, that's also the point in time where it gets difficult to pay attention.

He'd need to take another dose of his meds right around this time, but he can't take them on an empty stomach. That would only make his thoughts race faster. It's bad enough already. He can't tell if his thoughts are swirling because of that or if it's the beginning symptoms of dehydration. Either way, he can feel a headache building.

Around 5 p.m., when he's already waited about four hours, he starts to wonder if maybe they've warned Ms. Greene. Could they have told her there was someone waiting for her, and she slipped out through a side door? Has he been waiting in vain?

He's tempted to call Mr. Wright to ask him when he's waited for long enough, when he can go home. But there's somethingniggling in the back of his mind, telling him that wouldn't go over too well. Instead, with plenty of looking up and down from his phone, he texts Marisol to tell her what happened with Everett—both earlier that day and the day before—and ask her what the hell she thinks it means.

It means that the boy is an idiot.

You really don't know?

Know what?

Well, let's put it like this: You wouldn't be the first staffer to get close to him. Only the last time it definitely WAS inappropriate.

How delightfully precise. If Reid weren't so tired, the temptation to throw his phone would probably be even stronger.

Do you understand why he wants to talk to you?

He said he wanted to explain.

Yes, but do you know why?

Please tell me you know why.

For a second, Reid squeezes his eyes shut. When he opens them again, he just catches the tail end of a push notification. It's gone before he can read it. But he doesn't investigate. One thing at a time.

Why don't you tell me?

I don't think that'd be very cool of me.

What on earth is that supposed to mean? Usually, Marisol is quite cool. Cooler than him, at any rate.

Just talk to him. But if he surprises you, please take a moment to think about it. Don't react too instinctively.

What do you mean?

I mean don't run away.

He should probably feel insulted. Instead, he smiles. She knows him. And, most importantly, she isn't mocking him. It's a nice feeling.

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