Page 46 of Hart of Darkness
15
Dillon
Idespised the bleach scents of a hospital. The aroma reminded me so much of all those nights my mom had cleaned up my old man’s puke on the kitchen and bathroom floors. I’d found her several times on her knees with a bucket on one side, a bottle of bleach on the other, and a sponge in her hands.
Fucker.
I squinted at the invading fluorescent lights that rained down like a lightning storm on a summer night. An older lady sat behind the information desk, with her glasses perched on the tip of her nose, reading a book.
Anger cemented my jaw. I’d ground my teeth from my house to the hospital, mainly because of Maggie’s presumptive nature that I’d wanted to whisk her off her feet. She was bold and so fucking sexy. My dick was still sporting a semi.
To say the woman was driving me to drink was an understatement. On top of that, my old man wasn’t helping my mood either.
“I got a call from here telling me my father had been admitted,” I said with so much scorn, the lady’s gray eyes began swimming in fright. “Jerome Hart.”
Her nails hit the keys, tapping at the speed of light. The sound ground on my every nerve. I didn’t have time to coddle my father. What was I saying? I’d always left his ass in jail when he’d reached out for my help to bail him out. If he thought I was paying his hospital bill, the drunk had another thing coming.
“Room 242. Elevators are that way.” She pointed an arthritic finger to her right.
“Stairs?” I asked.Fuck the elevator.I needed to keep my legs moving and collect my thoughts, one stair at a time.
The nice nurse who’d called me had been cryptic, only sharing with me that my father had been in and out of consciousness since he was admitted last night. She said she’d found my name in his wallet.
The old lady behind the desk said, “Stairs are next to the elevator.”
I hotfooted down the deserted hall. At nine at night, the hospital had little activity from what I could see. I pushed in the door. Once I was inside the stairwell, the bleach odor wasn’t as strong. In fact, I could smell cigarettes. Someone was disobeying the rules. I doubted smoking was allowed with all the chemicals in the hospital. But what did I know? I tried to stay away from hospitals since I’d been in and out of them when I was in a gang, yet here I was.
I blew out a breath, trying to figure out why I was coming to my father’s rescue.
Grace, man. Grace.
In light of the news I’d gotten from Syd about Grace being alive six months ago, I wondered if my old man had seen her. I didn’t think she would return home, but maybe she’d gone there looking for me, Duke, or Denim. I wasn’t sure if she knew about Denim’s predicament. He’d gotten arrested about the same time she’d left home.
The hospital was the perfect environment to corner my old man because at least he wouldn’t be drunk.
I climbed one step, then two, thinking of dancing dogs and jumping ponies, any stupid thing to keep me from replaying the scene with Maggie. A platonic relationship was good, yet not so good. I didn’t know how I would be able to keep my hands off the woman. I would’ve suggested a friends-with-benefits deal between us, but I was afraid that the more I touched her, the faster I would fall. Plus, with the breaking news on Grace, I needed my head clear. I also had to get my head clear to see my father.
I walked the second floor until I found room 242. I hesitated, or rather, I came to an abrupt halt.
A nurse came out of the room across from me. “Visiting hours are almost up,” the short woman said as she glided down to the nurse’s station at the end of the hall on the right, her white tennis shoes squeaking on the shiny floor. She was halfway there when she doubled back. Her brown eyes appraised me. “Are you Dillon Hart?”
I nodded.
She tucked a chart underneath her arm. “I’m Anita. I’m the one who called you. Your dad was found outside a bar last night, seizing and vomiting. He reeked of alcohol when the paramedics brought him in and was on the verge of being almost comatose. We’ve been giving him fluids. I’m sorry we didn’t call you sooner. Apparently, his wallet fell out of his pocket in the ambulance. The paramedic brought it in earlier. Anyway, we found that he has alcohol poisoning.”
No surprise there.“Thank you.” She didn’t need to know I hated my father or that I’d put up with enough of his drunken ways. Frankly, I was surprised he was alive. His liver had to be corroded.
“I’m down at the nurse’s station if you need me.” Anita bounced away.
I gritted my teeth and fisted my hands at my side. I hadn’t seen my old man in a year or more. I’d gone home to find out if Grace had returned or if he’d seen her. But each time I saw him, he had a bottle of booze in one hand and a cigarette in the other.
I pulled out my phone. I should call Duke. He was the older brother. He should have been the one taking care of our father. On second thought, reaching out to Duke wasn’t the best idea. He and I would get into a fight like we had the last time I’d spoken to him, although I did want to share the news that Grace could be alive and ask him if she had contacted him recently. Now that I was thinking of Duke, I wondered if he might have some insight on the Black Knights since he operated in the world of illegal activity.
Someone inside my dad’s hospital room coughed.
I rolled back my shoulders and walked in.
A light from the wall behind his bed glowed. Tubes were stuck into my father’s arm as the IV dripped. His eyes were closed as the machine near him took his blood pressure.
