AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Oh, well, I guess I annoyed Nurse Dedra, and she took my clothes. Not sure where they are,” I admitted.
Meri burst out laughing. “She’s never done such a thing. You really must be getting on her nerves. What did you say to her?”
“Nothing. Just kept asking about you. That's all.”
“Ah. Which is as good as telling her you don’t have faith in her as a nurse. Don’t worry. I’ll go and locate your clothes. I can’t have you walking around with your boxer shorts showing. And even if I tell you to stay in your room, I know you won’t,” she said.
“Guess we have something in common. We’re both stubborn,” I stated.
“Yes we are. And since you’renota patient here, you might as well help me clean and prepare this room just in case it is needed by someone whoreallyis ill.”
“I should be keeping an eye open for Mombo,” I reminded her.
“You can. After the room is cleaned,” she said, tossing the pillow to me. “The dirty linen goes in the laundry bag in the hallway.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I asked.
She nodded. “Then the bed needs to be disinfected and made again. The floor needs to be washed and the trash emptied.”
“Don’t you have housekeeping to do this?” I asked.
“No. This isn’t America. In Tabiq, the nurse does a lot more than they do there. Trust me, I found that out when I went to nursing school in Boston.”
“I didn’t know you were in the States before.” There was a lot I didn’t know about her. Since I was stuck cleaning this room, might as well make the most of it and learn what I could. “Why don’t you tell me about it? What did you like best when you were there?”
“The education,” she replied.
“That’s it?”
“And the museums. But if I never see snow again, that would be okay with me. I wasn’t a fan of the winters there,” she said and shuddered. “Even thinking about it now gives me a chill.”
I know a good way to warm up.
“I’ve been to Boston once, during the summer. I have to agree with you. Snow is not for everyone. Not for me.”
She smiled and we spent the next hour talking about our likes and dislikes. Oddly enough we had a lot more in common than either of us thought.
Damn. Why did we need to meet here? Why now?
I was only going to be in Tabiq for another week and from how things were going, it was going to be one hell of a week. The time spent with Meri wasn’t going to be out on a relaxing date. It was going to be spent keeping her safe.
CHAPTER9
Meri
I hadn’t meant to share so much with Ryker. Granted it wasn’t too deep, but even talking about my time studying in Boston, and my likes and dislikes was more than what I shared with most people. And Tabiqians never talked about our real history, especially with anyone from outside of Tabiq.
I’d been thrown off when I caught him walking the halls. But his reason for being there still troubled me. I had tried to hide my fear from Ryker. Tabiqians were extremely good at covering up their emotions. It had been a necessity before because weakness and fear would only be used against us. After years of such behavior, it was now a habit that had become hard to break.
It had left me feeling overwhelmed. I couldn’t talk to Ryker about it, and Brice wasn’t from Tabiq either. They would have compassion and sympathy for me but would not understand. I had seen that in Ryker's eyes when I shared the past of Tabiq with him.
He was a good man, and I was so glad he was in my life, but I wasn’t ignorant of the fact he wasn’t staying. The countdown had begun and in eight days, he would fly back home.
Ryker wasn’t the shoulder I could lean on. I...I had no one. If Reesa hadn’t been pregnant, then I would already be on my way to meet with her so we could discuss how we were going to keep the people safe, and how the hospital should prepare, if we couldn’t.
I couldn’t even reach out to Finn for questions. He needed to concentrate on taking care of his mother right now.
For the first time in ages, I sat at my desk, buried my face in my hands, and cried. I was in charge, and all hell might be about to rain down on us. No matter how confident Finn had been in my ability to handle things while he was gone, I was sure even he hadn’t expected what might be coming.
