Page 82 of Provoke You

24

What Is She to You?

Matt

I played different scenarios in my head. What could I say to get Ela to forgive me for walking out on her? She’d spent two days in that hospital, alone, thinking I wanted nothing to do with her. She’d be right to send me away.

“Would you mind if we took a small detour?” I asked the driver. We’d been on the road from the airport for thirty minutes. My plan had been to go home, drop off my luggage, and come up with a solid speech to apologize to Ela. But I couldn’t wait until morning to see her again.

“Not at all. Where to?”

“The University Medical Center.” I cleared my throat. “I won’t take long.”

“No problem.” He switched lanes as rain pelted on the roof of the car.

The service car pulled into the roundabout at the hospital entrance, and my hands turned cold and clammy. I climbed out of the car anyway and darted inside, using my coat to shield me from the rain. Even at this hour, the line at the receptionist’s was three people deep.

“How can I help you?”

“My girlfriend was admitted a couple of days ago. I’d like to see her.” If I knew where they moved her the day I left, I would have gone straight to her room. What an idiot I was.

“I’m sorry, but visitation hours ended an hour ago.”

“Okay. Would you be able to tell me what room she’s in? So I can come back tomorrow?”

“What’s her name?” She typed fast on her keyboard, then stopped to get a name.

“Rosela Leblanc.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t have anyone with that name here. Are you sure she was brought here?” She smiled politely. I glared at her, taking in every detail on her face. Her pupils remained the same as she waited for a response. The smile was real too. She was telling the truth. Was Ela released while I was away?

“Yes, I am sure. I’ll contact her dad.” I walked away from the desk and called Kitt.

“Hey, Boss,” he answered in a casual tone.

“Hey. Need a favor. Are you in front of your computer?”

“I can be.” He made a grunting noise, as if getting off the couch was a big effort. “Okay, shoot.”

“I wanted to check on Ela, but the nurse can’t find her in the system.”

“She’s there.” His immediate answer told he had already looked into it. He was a better friend to her than I was. “They have her under Rose Cook.”

Her dad probably changed her name so no one would know she was here. All he cared about was appearances. I couldn’t believe not too long ago I wanted to work for that guy. “You got a room number?”

“Yes, ten seventeen. North Wing, tenth floor. Chase and I went to see her, and they wouldn’t let us in. But we can try again tomorrow.”

“Thanks for doing that. I’m here now.”

Kitt chuckled on the other end of the line. He’d known I would not be able to stay away from Ela for long. “All right. We’ll see you here in a bit.”

“Thanks.” I hung up, eyeing the woman behind the receptionist desk. She kept her eyes on her screen. Every now and then, her gaze would switch down to something else on her desk. She couldn’t care less if I stayed or left. The hospital wasn’t a jail.

I followed the signs to the north wing elevator bay. The door opened, and I hopped on, pushing the button for the tenth floor. A nervous energy swirled in my stomach. Part of it had to do with seeing Ela again, but my gut was also telling me something was off.

The floor where they kept Ela was quiet and cold. I picked up the pace and headed straight for her room at the end of the hallway, past the nurse’s station.

“Oh, fuck.” I rubbed my cheek when I opened the door and found Ela’s nurse unconscious on the floor. I knelt next to her, turning her on her back. “Are you okay? What happened?”

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