Page 159 of The Night Shift
I take it out of my lab coat pocket. It’s Parker.
“Fuck.” My throat locks up, my thumb hovering uselessly over the screen.
Holly steps into my space, glancing down. “Don’t answer it. Just let it go to voicemail.”
The phone keeps ringing, buzzing against my palm, demanding something from me I don’t have the strength to give. Three more rings. Then silence.
I sigh inwardly.
Holly’s phone goes off.
“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” She pulls it out, barely glances at the screen before answering. “What?”
Parker’s voice filters through, muffled but impatient, April’s voice cutting in somewhere behind him.
I raise a brow and mouth:speaker.
She shows me her teeth.
I move to grab the phone. She jerks it away. I try again. She slaps my hand. I catch her wrist. She shoves my shoulder. We go back and forth like that for a second, until she finally relents and puts it on speaker.
The phone hovers between us.
“Are you at work?” Parker asks.
Holly shifts her weight. “I was, until you felt the need to waste my time.”
“If I wanted to waste your time, I’d ask you to explain basic human empathy.”
“Wow, did April teach you a new word today?”
“Cute,” Parker says flatly. “Is Theo around?”
Holly and I exchange a look.
“No,” she says. Then quickly corrects, “I mean, sure. He must be somewhere in the hospital.”
“He’s not answering my call.”
“Good for him,” Holly says. “Maybe his frontal lobe finally developed.”
A shuffle. April’s voice replaces Parker’s. “Hi, Hol! Listen, when you leave for Cooperstown tomorrow, can you grab me some Advil, please? I would go, but I don’t have the time to even breathe right now. There’s been some fuckup with the flower arrangements.”
“Why can’t Parker go buy the Advil?” Holly asks.
“Because there’s been afuckup with the flower arrangements, Holly. Keep up.”
Holly sighs. “Right. And we can’t risk either of you dropping dead because you were separated for more than twenty minutes.”
April hums. “Glad we’re on the same page.”
Some more muffled rustling on the other end. Parker mutters something too low to catch.
April sighs. “What? My god, you’re being so impatient — Hol, is everything okay with Theo? His other half is worried.”
In the background, we hear Parker’s voice,Ask her to tell him to send me more pictures of Dog.
Holly doesn’t look at me when she answers. “I don’t know. Haven’t seen him all day.”
