Page 51 of Nave
“Yeah. This place was fucking amazing for playing hide-and-seek or capture the flag when we were kids. Didn’t ever make it easy. But this is the hospital ward,” I said after pressing a finger into the buzzer.
The door unlocked, and we moved into the open patient room, lined on each side with metal beds, white bedding, nightstands, and privacy curtains. But with no active patients, all the curtains were open.
“It’s amazing how bright it is in here when there are no windows.”
“It’s the sunlight lamps. Can almost make you feel like you’re outside.”
“Hey, Nave!” Steph, the pretty brunette nurse, greeted me. “And you must be Lolly. Why don’t you come on in? We are just going to get things started.”
We were led into a little exam room where Lolly was weighed and had her vitals taken.
“We’re just going to need to take some blood,” Steph said, reaching for her kit.
“Do you want me to step out?” I asked.
But Lolly’s hand shot out, grabbing my forearm, fingers digging in hard enough to hurt. “Don’t you dare.” At my raised brows, she winced. “I don’t like needles.”
“No?” I asked, stepping closer to the exam table. “They’re not so bad. The trick is you can’t watch.”
“How can I not when it’s right there?” she asked, staring down at the needle like it might jump off the tray to stab her a dozen times.
Steph shot me a worried look. “We need to run a few tests.” Code for: I’m going to need a fair amount of blood.
“Alright, how about…” I said, stepping even closer as Steph prepped Lolly’s arm. I reached behind her head, turning her and pressing her face against my torso.
She tensed for the barest of seconds before relaxing into me. I kept my hand at the back of her head so she wasn’t tempted to look. She wrapped her free arm around me, holding on tightly.
“You won’t feel anything,” I assured her, earning a snort.
My fingers started to massage her scalp, feeling the way her body went lax with each little circle my fingertips made.
When a soft little sigh escaped her, I gave Steph a nod, and she was quick to find the vein and tap it.
Against me, as my fingers kept moving, Lolly’s breathing went quick and shallow. Her fingers dug into my hip.
And I couldn’t help but wonder if maybe she had a similar reaction to me as I had to her.
But that was almost certainly just wishful thinking.
“All done,” Steph said when she was sure to move the vials away. “Not too bad, right?”
“You were right,” Lolly said, pulling back. “I didn’t even feel it.”
“Okay. You sit tight. I’m going to have the doctor come in.”
“Thank you. I was pretty sure I would have flailed and painted the walls red if left to my own devices.”
“Is it the blood that is the problem, or—what?” I asked when she rolled her eyes at me.
“Men,” she said with a little laugh.
“Men what?”
“You guys forget that we’re kind of… used to blood,” she explained. “So, no. It’s not the blood. It’s just the needle going in.” Even saying that made her do a full-body shiver. “Do you come here for healthcare?”
“Not general healthcare, no. But for trauma injuries, yeah, we tend to come here.”
“Because the hospital will tell the cops if your injuries are suspicious?”
