Page 20 of Reckless
6
Kelly
“Has everything been calm?” I asked the nurse going off shift as Millie and I checked on the files of new arrivals, sent up from the ER overnight. As a float nurse, I was needed on the med-surge unit this shift, and I was thrilled that Millie would be working with me again.
The words were barely out before thesnap snap snapof multiple mouse traps sounded, followed by a shriek in the mini-kitchen.
“Well, there’s been no yelling as yet. April Fools.” The nurse laughed, her eyes lighting.
Millie, who hated April Fools, frowned and leaned against the nurses’ desk. “I was informed some of the staff have been making unneeded trips past the celebrity’s mom’s room, so we might have to put that part of the hallway off-limits.”
I sighed. “Is he here?”
“Yeah, he was here last night until they had to ask him to leave, apparently. Way past visiting hours.” Millie watched the other nurse get her purse out of the cabinet.
“I can imagine that. He’s always been really close to his mom. His dad wasn’t ever around, so they had a really tight-knit relationship. This must be so hard for him.”
Millie gave me an inquisitive look. “At least he has you.”
I moved my focus to the patient file in front of me, noting that Violet had been moved to a private room on this floor last night. Maybe if I stared at the computer hard enough, everyone would think that Millie’s words hadn’t had an effect on me at all, when, in fact, my heart was about to burst from my chest. “I seriously doubt he wants to be around me.”
“You think? It’s that bad between you?”
I let out a loud huff. “Yeah, I mean, our break up was terrible.Iwas terrible. I’m surprised he even wanted to talk to me yesterday. I’m going to check on Violet.”
Millie followed. “You were the one who managed to get him under control.”
I knocked and entered Violet’s room. She appeared to be resting peacefully, her color slightly better than yesterday. She would get paler though, and waste away before the cancer was done with her.
“He got himself under control,” I whispered as I straightened the IV tubing that looked about ready to kink. “The more time that passes, the more he’ll remember how much he hates me.”
“He can’t hate you—”
“Oh, he doesn’t hate you.” I jumped as Violet piped in from the bed and looked down into her now open twinkling eyes. I groaned.
Was this really happening again? It was truly unprofessional, but when Violet took my hand between hers, I was immediately grateful for her comfort and wisdom. Plus, being part of these conversations seemed to do the frail woman some good.
“No, trust me,” I interjected, needing to let Millie know where I stood so she would drop the subject and stop looking like she wanted to play Cupid. “He hates me.”
“What happened that you think he hates you, dear?” Violet zeroed in on me with her piercing dark eyes, and it was all I could do not to pour out every detail of the past. I was tired of not talking about it, tired of holding it in, tired of it being all my fault. Of everything being my fault.
Millie picked up where Violet left off. “I know you said it was all because of the crash, but what was so bad he’d still be mad seven years later?”
“Crash? Seven years ago?” Violet’s head ping-ponged back and forth between us. “Seven…” She closed her eyes, and a moment later they popped open again. “Oh! I remember that story. You lost your family in a tragic crash. But I didn’t know you also lost your boyfriend.”
I stared at her. “Um…”
She smiled and tapped her temple with a weathered finger. “Photographic memory. My poor dear, what you’ve been through.”
I squeezed my eyes closed, trying to block the memories. But they bloomed to life, and a physical pain burst across my chest.
“I was so nasty to him.” Tears I hadn’t realized had welled spilled down my cheeks. “I took all my rage out on him when he told me he’d been signed for his first band. I said I hated him, and I didn’t want to see him again. I told him I didn’t want to be part of the rock star life, and that he just needed to go.”
Millie rested her hand on my shoulder, and Violet tutted, saying, “I’m sure he understands more than you know. You’re adults now. Being young is hard, you don’t always know how to react to things.”
I wasn’t convinced. “It might be best for me to keep out of his way today, just in case.”
Violet let out a hacking cough and shook her head. “If there’s any time to make it up to him, it’s now.”
