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Chapter Ten
Tess
“Are you family?”
“Uh, well, not by blood.”
I shrunk back into the wall behind the door of my room and held my breath.
Someone was at the nurse’s desk asking for me.
Five minutes ago, I was gingerly getting dressed and ready to go home when I heard my name.
Now some guy and a woman were asking for me.
I didn’t know who would be asking for me.
I had no one.
“I’m sorry, but that patient does not want visitors,” the nurse replied.
“We’re not visitors,” the woman insisted. “We are Tess’s family but not in the traditional sense.”
“Well, since we have been explicitly told by the patient that she does not want any visitors or nontraditional family, you’re going to have to leave.” I wasn’t sure which nurse they were talking to, but she had become my favorite person.
I had barely spoken to any of the nurses or doctors while I had been here, but I was able to get across my point of not wanting anyone but nurses or doctors in my room. They had kept me for the past three days to make sure I didn’t have any internal injuries. All I had was a concussion and quite a few bumps and bruises that would all heal on their own in time.
One time I had asked about Zag, but no one knew who he was.
Two detectives had come to talk to me shortly after I had been admitted, and I had been able to tell them everything that I could remember. All they could tell me about Zag was that he was alive and should be fine.
That was all I needed to know.
Zag was alive.
“Can you at least tell us how she is doing?” the man demanded.
“I think we’re headed back to me saying I can only tell the family that, and then you tell me that you’re not a traditional type of family, and then I’ll tell you that doesn’t matter, so let me save you and myself some time. She doesn’t want visitors. Nontraditional family or not. You’ll have to catch up with her when she gets released.”
“Uh, when will that be?” the woman asked.
“There hasn’t been any word that’s happening,” the nurse replied.
“She is still here, right?” the man asked.
“If she wasn’t here, I would have, again, saved myself some time by telling you that,” the nurse drawled.
“You’re sassy,” the woman laughed. “I like you.”
“We’ll be back, Nurse Bronwyn,” the man grumbled.
“Just call me Bronwyn, and you’ll get the same answer if you come back,” the woman warned.
“Just leave,” I whispered. I didn’t know who either of those people were, and I didn’t want to talk to them.
A knock sounded on my door, and I clenched my hand to my heart.
“Tess?”
It was Bronwyn. “C-c-come in.” I stepped out from behind the door and tucked my hair behind my ear.
Bronwyn opened the door and peeked her head in. “You had a couple of visitors.”
I nodded and shifted my weight from side to side.
“I told them you didn’t want any visitors.”
“I was listening.” And I was thankful Bronwyn had chased them off.
“They wanted to know when you were going to be discharged. I said nothing has been decided.”
The discharge papers were done. I was getting out of here as soon as my taxi arrived. “Thank y-y-you.”
Bronwyn smiled sadly. “You’re welcome, but I still don’t understand why you didn’t have or want any visitors.” She stepped into the room and leaned against the door frame. “Everyone you know should be here jumping up and down that you survived that explosion.”
I smiled weakly. I was cleared to go home, which was all I wanted to do.
For two weeks, I had been trapped in a dark basement, and then Malcom had tried to kill me with a ton of dynamite.
I was going home and planned on not talking to anyone except for Kit the next month.
I had gotten comfortable with Zag rather quickly, but now he was gone, and it was back to normal.
The phone on the nightstand rang. My eyes darted to the phone, and I froze.
“Are you going to get that?” she asked.
I didn’t know who would be calling me.
No one should be calling me.
“Uh, how about I answer it?” Bronwyn grabbed the phone and put it to her ear. “Room 302.” Bronwyn nodded her head and listened to the person on the other end of the phone. “Right, right. Sounds good.” She hung up the phone and smiled.
I held my breath and wondered if I was going to be stuck in this room for a while longer if that was the man and woman who had been looking for me at the nurse’s station.
“Your ride is at the front door.”
I let out the breath I held and dropped my chin to my chest. “Thank god.”
“You are a funny one, girl.” She put her hands in the front pockets of her scrubs. “I swear you were going to pass out when the phone rang.”
She wasn’t that far off.
