Page 16 of Two Weeks
Elise squinted at her reflection. Something was different in her eyes. More light. Whatever it was, she felt good to come here three times a week and help. Besides, being here was something she had to do if she wanted to get accepted to NYU.
By now she had the application memorized. She had the grades—even from last year, when she acted crazy with Randy. And she had extracurricular involvement from the two years she sang in her old school’s choir. But she still needed community service, and now she had it for one reason.
Cole Blake.
The cute guy she couldn’t stop thinking about. The one she laughed with and studied with and, yes, even pretended to be a champion bowler with. She smiled. Cole was there in her thoughts, always. She’d been having lunch at school with Cole whenever he wasn’t with his baseball friends. And a few times Cole had picked her up and taken her out—bowling or for ice cream. When he didn’t have practice. Not a date, exactly. They each paid for their own food. But still it was fun being with him.
Tall and strong and lanky. Blond hair that swept over his forehead. Cole was the most incredible boy she’d ever met. Elise only hoped he couldn’t see how he took her breath away. He mustn’t see. Elise wouldn’t let herself have feelings for Cole. Because this semester wasn’t about friends or boys or falling in love. It was about just one thing:
Getting accepted to NYU. Only that.
Still there was nothing she could do about this one fact: Cole was the first person she thought about when she woke up and the last person on her mind when she fell asleep. She couldn’t stop herself.
In one of their first conversations, she had told him about her need for a service project. Volunteering at the hospital had been Cole’s idea. His grandfather had worked here most of his adult life and even though he was retired he still taught students here a couple times a week. Three phone calls later and Elise was invited to come in for a background check.
The sorts of things she and Randy had done to get in trouble didn’t show up on a fingerprint test. When she cleared, Cole’s grandpa, John Baxter, called and welcomed her to the program and explained the position. Elise would come in three hours a day, three days a week for eight weeks.
That would earn her a volunteer certificate, exactly what she needed to get accepted at NYU. Already the university knew she was taking care of that requirement. Her first day at the hospital she had met up with Dr. Baxter at the fourth-floor nurses’ station. The man was so nice.
He held out his hand and shook hers. “My grandson says you’re very special.” Dr. Baxter smiled. “I’m sure you’ll be a big help around here.”
“Yes, sir.” Elise thought Cole looked like the older man. They had the same blue eyes. “Thank you for the opportunity.”
“Cole has the biggest heart of anyone I know.” Dr. Baxter crossed his arms. “If you mean a lot to him, then you mean a lot to me. And to our whole family.”
Elise hadn’t expected to feel so appreciated. “Thank you, sir.”
Dr. Baxter gave a slow nod. “Some of our volunteers listen to the patients’ stories or pray with them. Some sing to them.” He hesitated. “Just be there. The patients will let you know what they need.”
Aside from that first day she’d only seen Dr. Baxter one other time, but even still she felt a connection to him. Though she didn’t tell anyone, she pretended he was her grandpa. The way her grandpa might’ve been if she’d ever had one.
Elise looked over the sheet she’d gotten from the nurses’ station. A rundown of the patients, their first names and room numbers. One woman was bad off. She wasn’t expected to live long, according to the notes. Elise would visit her last. So she could spend the most time with her.
As she went to leave the bathroom, a wave of nausea came over her. She stopped and leaned against the sink. What was this? She’d felt it several times in the last few days. Out of nowhere her stomach would turn and send her straight to the toilet.
Twice she’d thrown up.
She breathed in deep through her nose, anything to keep herself from losing her lunch. It was in the guidelines. Rule No. 1: Never volunteer on a day when you feel sick. It was probably just the salad at the Clear Creek High School lunchroom. Who knew how many kids coughed or sneezed on the salad bar each day? Plus the dressing probably didn’t agree with her.
Yes, that had to be it.
The wave passed and Elise looked at herself in the mirror again. She wasn’t really on speaking terms with God. But if she was, this would be a good time to pray. Not just that she would avoid getting sicker. But that whatever she was feeling wasn’t something worse.
Something a person couldn’t catch.
For a long moment she did the math. This was late January, and the last time she and Randy had been together was about two months ago. Just before Thanksgiving. He had taken her to his house that day, because his parents were never home. And after, when she was still in bed wondering what had happened to her life, she had caught a glimpse of her reflection in his bedroom window. Just the shadowy outline of her face. And a thought had occurred to her.
She no longer recognized herself.
Randy came back in the room, his shirt off. And he sneered at her. “Don’t just lay there, Elise. Get up and get dressed. I’m hanging with the guys tonight.”
And she could remember how his words made her feel. Like she was trash and he couldn’t wait to get rid of her. And in that moment, she wanted just one thing—to be as far from Randy Collins as she could possibly get. She wrapped the sheet around herself and gathered her clothes from the floor.
“What are you doing?” He laughed at her. His voice sounded meaner than usual. “Like I haven’t seen everything.”
He was right, of course.
He’d seen her body too many times to count. But he had never seen her soul. And Elise made a decision that afternoon that he never would. She held the sheet tight around her as she brushed by him.
