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“We’ll get back to the real world soon enough,” Mora agrees.
They both hug me, then I watch as they leave my room, their friendship remaining with me. My room’s once again filled with silence, but I’m okay with it this time. I settle into my bed and let the hope they left with me give me comfort. With friends like them at my side, I can face anything thrown my way. Now, if only I can figure out what to do about Hunter. That’s the million-dollar question... and I have no answer.
Chapter Four
Jasmine
Bored! I’m so dang bored. I’m about to be sprung from this stinking hospital, but not until tomorrow. I love the staff who have been wonderful to me, but I’m not a girl who likes to sit around and wait for anything. I want adventure, and I want it all of the time. Those who sit around and wait for something to come to them are assured failure.
I pout in my hospital bed, gazing out the window as restlessness courses through my veins. The starkness of the white walls and the scent of sterile cleaners is about to drive me positively mad. It’s suffocating me after being in this boring place for weeks. I long for the taste of freedom and escape.
My fingers tap against my leg when an idea begins to spark within me. No! I can’t do that. Even as I try to tell myself not to do it, it’s already too late. A mischievous smile shapes the corners of my lips upright. If it’s something I shouldn’t do . . . then I want it even more.
If this is my last day here, why not make it a memorable one? I need a break from the constant monotony of this dang room. I’m alive, and I need to live like I am. We only get one chance in this life to show who we are . . . and I’m Jasmine Anderson, a badass no one can stop.
I slip from my bed, grateful to be wearing my own pajamas, which I’ve insisted on from the time I woke up. No thank you to the scratchy hospital gowns that show far more of my goodies to the world than I’m comfortable showing. I move over to the wheelchair in the corner of my room I never use. I’m not an invalid and hate being rolled around in the stupid contraptions. They might want to treat me like I’m made of glass, but that will never be who I am.
I scoot out of the room and move down the hallway to a patient gathering area where two other women I’ve gotten to know are sitting on a couch chatting. They look up and smile at me. Their eyes brighten when they see the sparkle in my gaze.
“Want to get into trouble?” I whisper.
Gina nods. “What do you have in mind?”
“Monica grins. “I’m in.” They don’t even have to know what I’m up to before they’re ready to play. I love it. Somewhere my conscious is telling me I should probably reconsider, but to heck with that voice. It’s no fun at all.
These women are just as eager to get out of this place as I am. We’re grateful for the medicine that can fix us up, but not for the rules and regulations that bind us down. People need to seriously lighten up a lot more in their lives. Too many rules make it impossible to follow any of them. A person can only take so much before they scream for freedom.
I move over to them, and we bend our heads together. A nurse walks in, and we go quiet for a moment. She leaves, and our plan begins again. We’re all beaming by the time we figure out how to carry out our adventure.
“Okay, be calm, and don’t give anything away,” I tell them.
“Would never consider it,” Monica says.
“You’re going to lose,” Gina says.
I laugh. “I don’t lose,” I assure them. They have determination written all over their faces. Good. I want a battle . . . not an easy victory.
Gina and Monica climb into their wheelchairs and we all wheel ourselves from the room. We each turn in different directions. I get a few suspicious looks as I wheel past the nurses station. I’mneverin this chair and they’re smart not to trust me now that I am. I simply smile, and keep on going.
Gina, Monica, and me are about to start a race. We’re each going to separate corners, then in exactly fifteen minutes, the silent buzzer will sound. The first person back to the patient room with a stolen prize wins. I’m going to win. I reach my corner, and bounce in my seat as I wait to begin. I like to win . . . and there’s no way I’ll cheat by even so much as ten seconds. I want toownmy victory.
I stare down at my watch, and as soon as it clicks over to ten AM on the dot, I shoot out from my corner, my wheelchair effortlessly rolling down the sterile corridor, my laughter echoing off the walls, causing some heads to turn in my direction trying to figure out what in the world is going on.
Nurses and doctors turn as I pass by, momentarily caught off guard by the sight of me flying past them. I hear more laughter from somewhere far away and it makes me push myself even harder. It’s not easy to do as I keep an eye out for other patients. All I need to do is mow somebody down and feel like crap for the rest of my life.
I assure myself I’ve got this. I’m a skilled ninja who can navigate these wide hallways quickly without harming anyone else. I’m past the initial nurses when they figure out I’m doing something I shouldn’t be doing. When I pass the next set of staff, I see a flash of mild annoyance and covered amusement as they spin, attempting to stop me. I wonder if Gina and Monica have staff hot on their tails as well.
I duck and weave, skillfully maneuvering through a maze of hallways, my wheels spinning in a symphony of my rebellion. “Freedom!” I call out, making more heads turn my way as I pick up speed and feel the air brushing against my cheeks, my hair flying behind me as adrenaline roars through my veins.
I make a sharp turn, feeling my wheelchair teeter for a moment, causing laughter to rush out of me as I pump my hands harder, making my wheels pick up speed again. I catch my gramps coming out of the elevator, his expression shocked for a moment before his face lights up with delight as his eyes meet mine.
“You go, Jazz,” he hollers behind me as his laughter rings out behind me, his joy infectious, filling the corridor with a warmth that permeates my very soul. Gramps gets me, and knows I need adrenaline running through my body. It will heal me beyond anything this hospital can do.
As my wheelchair race continues, the thrill of rebellion pulses through my veins. I zip through more corridors, laughing and whooping with each turn I take, loving the frustration in the voices from behind me. They might be amused for a moment, but now that they haven’t been able to catch me for a few minutes, they’re probably ready to tie me down. As I draw closer to our ending point, I hear Monica and Gina drawing closer. It’s going to be a camera flash finish to the room. I push harder.
I round the final bend, approaching the nurses station where I see one of the larger male nurses standing by with his arms crossed. He’s trying to appear stern, but I see the glimmer of amusement in his eyes. I wink at him, throwing him off. It’s time to collect my prize.
With a skillful turn of my wheelchair I veer straight toward Billy, then spin at the last second, avoiding his capture, as I swing out my hand and grab his coffee sitting on the edge of the desk. He looks at me with a mixture of shock and respect as I don’t even slow as I take my prize with me, leaving a trail of chaos behind.
