Page 50 of Deck of Scarlets

“Your grandmother?”

“My grandmother? What does—” Suddenly, a woman in all white entered the infirmary, pushing a cart with medical supplies. She first took notice of Josh lounging casually on the bed and then me, where her eyes bulged from their sockets, most likely because of the absent IV and dried blood down my arm.

“Did you get into a bar fight since the last time I saw you?” she asked, coming to my side, examining the wound with her cold hands.

I flinched from the contact. “I move a lot in my sleep. I must’ve ripped it out by accident.” Better to lie than admit to my half-assed escape.

Josh coughed back a laugh, clearly amused by my feeble attempt.

A stethoscope hung around her neck, her nape exposed by the tight bun, crow's feet at the corners of her light brown eyes. She then put the rubber pieces in her ears and positioned the round part to my chest. “Breathe in and out deeply for me.”

I did it awkwardly a few times, Josh watching, peeking around the nurse to get a better look, which irritated me. Nosy bastard.

“You sound great,” she commented.

“As opposed to?”

She didn’t answer, just moved on to extract the portable blood pressure machine from the cart. Taking my right arm, she cuffed it securely in place and pressed start. “Having fun?” joked Josh over the sound of the cuff expanding.

“Can I stab him?” I asked the nurse.

She smirked. “Only if you clean up after.”

Josh found it hysterical by the sound of his chuckle, but I had every intention of kicking his ass after my check-up.

The cuff slowed, finally releasing the pressure and relieving my arm. She wrote something down on a clipboard, checking the time on her watch. Next was the eye and ear check, asking if I felt weak or sore, moving my limbs, and testing my reflexes. All were normal, according to her. Unbeknownst to me, a table was attached to the side of the bed, and she set it up, gave me a closed takeout container, a set of utensils, and snagged the water at the end of my bed.

“I want you to eat and drink all of this before you leave,” she instructed, handing me the water bottle. I took it without protest, getting a smug look from Josh, and flipped him off in response. He pretended to grab it and stuff it in his pocket for later, adding a sassy wink to top it off.

“I’ll come back in a little while to give you the okay to leave and some fresh clothes. It seems you were sweating a lot during your recovery.” The nurse strutted along with the cart, exiting as calmly as she’d entered.

“You can go now too,” I sniped, avoiding the steamy takeout container on the table. I wouldn’t lie, whatever she gave me smelt incredible, but I was too stubborn to find out.

Josh sighed, running his hands through his hair. “Please eat and drink something.”

I pursed my lips, holding in a nasty comment, and opened the white takeout container, discovering white rice, steamed broccoli, and two seasoned chicken breasts inside. The steam rose out and into the air as I took the fork out of the plastic and stabbed a piece of broccoli, eating it without acknowledging Josh and forgoing any snide remarks in my attempt to follow directions.

“I expected hostility. It’s not easy being chosen and going through the Blessing. I’m sorry, truly,” he said.

I halted mid-bite, the broccoli hanging on for dear life on the fork. The sincerity in his words struck a chord because not only did I get an apology for what had been happening, but I got it from somebody who belonged to the Order. I knew in my gut I most likely would never hear it from any other member. “You are?”

Josh nodded once and said, “Yes, Remi. I never got a choice either.”

Well, I’d had a choice, but my dumb ass decided to show up anyway to save my roommate.

And in the end, I was wrong to assume she needed saving.

I continued to eat my meal in silence. What I couldn’t understand was my own behavior. Before the Blessing, I never saw Josh in a negative light, or rather, in an intimate one. Yeah sure, the first night at Summerfest, I thought he was attractive, but I was also on drugs, and I’d accepted him choosing Nickie. But now, it felt like a weird invisible string tied us together, or maybe it was just me because he was now involved in my extracurricular activities. Then again, there were a few times he was not so nice to me, and that all revolved around the Order. It finally made sense.

Maybe if I played nice, Josh might be more forthcoming regarding my questions. He hadn’t tried to murder and hide my body yet, so that seemed like an okay sign to me. Even though warning bells went off in my head about pretty much everything else. “I’m sorry too. For being so hostile.”

Josh looked relieved and a little taken aback by my apology, but instead of a sarcastic comment, he smiled and said, “The Aces, who you saw in the white cloaks during the purification ceremony, run this sector of the Order. They will meet with you after you get the okay from Nurse Amelia to leave.”

I chugged the water Josh brought almost all in one go, surprised to find myself beyond parched. “They seemed… nice.” A blurry memory of the others in stark white cloaks came to mind, but I couldn’t recall much of their faces. Having no recollection of anything prior to last night didn’t sit well with me either.

He chuckled. “They can be.”

Picking up a knife, I began to cut off pieces from the seasoned chicken breast. “Is it normal to not remember the Blessing?”

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