Page 85 of Black Roses

Nurse Ratched doesn’t acknowledge me, going back to handing out forms to the increasingly large line of people before her.

Amanda and I find an empty bench, parking ourselves as close to the front counter as we can get. “We should call Hailey’s grandmother,” I say, remembering Cassidy once said she would stay with her on occasion. “Do you have her number?”

Amanda gives me a deer-in-headlights look. She shakes her head. “I’m locked out now. All of the emergency numbers were on the refrigerator. Mr. Lawrence was the next one down after Ms. Whitmeyer’s number. But the front door locks when you shut it. I forgot about that when we left. All my stuff is still there.” She fidgets with the seam on her jeans. “Do you think I’ll be in trouble?”

I look at her and see how scared she is. I almost forgot she’s just a kid herself. “How old are you, Amanda?”

“I turned fifteen last week.”

I remember fifteen. Fifteen was good. Carefree. Fun. And I was babysitting Maddox a lot of the time, who was about as old as Hailey is now. I put a reassuring hand on her knee. “No, you won’t be in trouble. It was an accident.”

She takes a deep breath, swallowing her relief. Then she narrows her eyes at me. “Don’t you have Hailey’s grandmother’s number? I mean if you’re Mr. Lawrence’s girlfriend and all.”

“Yeah, well that’s a fairly new designation.” I look down at my phone. Mason’s phone. I scroll through the contacts hoping to find another Whitmeyer. No luck.

“I’m looking for the family of Hailey Lawrence.”

I spring to my feet at the words, looking over to see they came from an older male doctor. He’s got longish hair, like he’s not had time for a decent cut lately. Lines that reveal his age dent his forehead, and his white doctor coat sits over a wrinkled t-shirt of a sixties band. Not very professional if you ask me. Maybe he was called in on his night off.

He’s not smiling.

Shit.

I almost trample a few people in the waiting area on my way over to him. Amanda follows closely behind me.

“Me,” I say, trying to look like I belong here. “I’m with Hailey Lawrence.”

He eyeballs me, taking in my nose piercing, my messy ponytail and my clothing that I didn’t bother to color-coordinate in my haste to leave the townhouse. “And you are?” he asks with a raised brow.

“Piper Mitchell,” I say, leaving it at that.

“Your relationship to the patient?”

I sigh, glancing over at Nurse Ratched. “Um . . . I’m her father’s girlfriend.”

“Girlfriend,” he says flatly. “I’m sorry, young lady. I can’t discuss a patient with anyone but family.”

I look at the phone in my hand, willing it to ring with news that Mason is on the way—Cassidy even. “I have her dad’s phone,” I say blindly, as if that somehow qualifies me as family.

He gives me a hard, unwavering stare.

“He gave it to me because I lost mine,” I explain desperately. “And now he doesn’t have one and I’m trying to find him. I mean, I have sisters who are out looking for him. And Cassidy, uh, Hailey’s mom, is out and also can’t be reached.” I gesture to Amanda, who is still standing behind me. “Hailey’s babysitter brought her in. Please, can you tell us if she’s okay?”

He shakes his head and pulls a business card from his coat pocket. “I’m sorry, Piper, is it?” He hands me the card. “Have her mom or dad track me down when they arrive.”

Someone comes through the double doors behind him and I hear a child screaming. It’s the same gut-wrenching, high-pitched shriek I heard through the phone. I point to where the awful sound is coming from. “That’s Hailey,” I tell him. “She’s back there all alone. Can’t you hear her crying?”

“She’s not alone,” he says coldly. “There’s an aide with her.”

“Anaide? You mean a stranger.” I raise my voice at him, causing more than a few heads to turn. “She’s not even two years old yet and you’ve got her surrounded by strangers. She’s obviously hurt.” I motion to Amanda’s blood-stained shirt. “She’s probably scared to death with all the medical equipment and unfamiliar faces. You have to let me see her.”

The doctor holds up a hand as if he knows I’m about to charge past him. “Those are the rules. If her parents don’t show up soon, a social worker will be called.”

“A social worker?” I shout. “But that would just be another stranger. She must be terrified. Please let me see her.”

The door behind him swings open again and Hailey’s piercing screams echo through the waiting room. He looks behind him. “I have patients to attend to.” He nods at the card in my hand. “Have them find me.” Then he walks off through the double doors that require a special badge to open from the outside.

I stand stunned; unable to move. I feel the wetness run down my cheeks as I think of a little helpless girl alone and scared. Does she feel abandoned?

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