Page 89 of Private Exhibit
“Please,” Andy said, crouching down to look up at him. “I've been over those files so many times, I can't see straight. And I can't find anything. Maybe your scans will show something new–”
Devon shook his head. “I don't want to be your patient.”
Andy winced. “I know.” He rubbed Devon's thighs, but Devon couldn't feel it. “But I have to find something. I have to. And if the answer isn't in all of those scans, it might be in yours.” He paused. “Let's at least get you out of the apartment for a few hours.”
Devon stilled at that. His gaze went straight to the nearest window. There wasn't anything to see from that angle but other soaring skyscrapers nearby. He missed the plants. The colors. The textures. Whether there or at the hospital, he'd be stucklooking at plain, white walls, but in between? “Alright,” he agreed.
Andy smiled at him. “That's my good boy.” He stood up. “Come on.”
Devon let Andy and Oliver take him downstairs and put him into the car. They'd barely pulled out of the garage when his phone vibrated.
Andy fished it out for him and handed it over. “Hayden?” he asked.
Devon held the phone awkwardly with his left hand. “No,” he replied, frowning at the screen. It was a new message fromGrim.
[BLOCKED]: You doing alright? I see you're finally going back to work.
“How–” Devon began, then breathed a laugh and shook his head. How didGrimalways just know these things?
[BLOCKED]: Haven't seen you online lately, either. How bad is it?
Devon stared at the screen. Somehow, he just knew thatGrimwas aware of his condition. How that was possible was beyond him. He set the phone on his lap and struggled through typing a response.
Me: I can barely type left-handed.
[BLOCKED]: Shit. Gerard having any luck finding anything?
Devon snuck a glance at Andy, who was staring out the window, scratching his chin, looking deep in thought.
Me: Not really.
[BLOCKED]: So it's getting worse?
Me: Yeah.
Devon waited, but nothing more came through. A moment later, he heard Oliver's phone beep from the back seat. Devon looked back and saw Oliver rush to snatch his phone out of his pocket, his gaze intense as he read whatever was on the screen.
“Who's that?” Devon asked.
“Nobody,” Oliver blurted out. He quickly typed something, then put his phone away, turning to stare out the window.
Devon turned the other way, hoping the sight of the lush city would distract him.
Except the car turned off the street and into the hospital's underground parking garage. Devon barely caught a glimpse of something green whizzing by in a hurry, too fast to truly appreciate. He'd entirely missed the view, and there was nothing he could do about it.
He almost wished the whole ordeal could be over already just so he could get his mobility back.
Chapter 32
ANDY WENT over Devon's scans and patient history a dozen times over the next few days.
But he found nothing.
Gods damn it all!
He'd taken several vials of blood and ran every test he could possibly think of. Then he'd done four holoscans, not to mention even firing up the ancient imaging machines they kept as an emergency backup, just in case the results showed something that nothing else could.
But he still found nothing. Even after he begged Devon to give him access to all the files from every clinic and hospital he'd ever visited, there were still no concrete answers.
