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The nurse grimaces as her gaze flicks across my body. “This is a hospital. Not the Ritz. Take a seat and wait for the doc like everyone else.”
Iris hops on the bed without any complaint, and I’m tempted to grab her and go elsewhere. The nurse doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by all the noise happening around us as she checks Iris’s vitals and asks some routine questions.
Iris answers each one while chewing her bottom lip raw. This atmosphere couldn’t put anyone at ease, least of all her.
The nurse hangs the clipboard at the foot of the bed, and I decide to try again.
“I’ll pay whatever it takes to have her seen somewhere quieter. Money is no object.”
The nurse only replies by shutting the paper curtain in my face.
Iris laughs while I stare at the curtain, dumbfounded to be treated like this.
“You find this funny?”
She nods, her eyes alight for the first time all day. “Did you see her face when you said money is no object? I think if she didn’t put the clipboard away, she would have slapped your face with it.”
“It’s not my fault she isn’t accustomed to how things are done in the real world.”
“Wake up, dear. You’re living in the real world.” She waves around ourroom.
“It’s terrifying.”
“Come here. I’ll make it better.” Iris pats the bed.
Doubtful, but I’m a glutton for giving her what she wants lately. Paper crinkles as I sit next to her. I take up most of the bed, giving her little room to get away from me. My thigh brushes against hers. She tries to scoot away, but there isn’t enough space.
“Isn’t this cozy?” she quips.
She eyes the IV bag with horror before checking out the exit.
“What’s wrong?”
She leans closer to me and whispers, “Is now a bad time to admit I pass out whenever someone tries to stick a needle in me?”
My lips lift at the corners. I don’t know why I find the idea hilarious, given her ability to watch eight consecutive hours of scary movies without so much as flinching. “You’re afraid of needles?”
She sputters. “No. I’m not afraid. It just happens to be a bodily reaction I can’t control.”
“That’s good then because the nurse needs to set you up with that IV when she comes back.”
“No! Don’t tell me that! I thought she was one of the good ones.”
I nod, pressing my lips together to prevent myself from laughing.
“She lied to me!” She bolts from the seat and would have tripped over her own heels if I didn’t reach out and catch her.
“Careful.” I place her back on the bed and decide to stand guard in case she gets any ideas to flee the scene.
Her eyes flit from me to the gap between two curtains, as if she is thinking how she can get past me.
“I’m joking.”
She scans my face for the truth before she slaps my shoulder with her good hand. “Asshole! I believed you!”
Laughter explodes out of me like a bomb, stunning her.
“Did you just laugh?”
