Page 92 of You Were Invited
“Everyone’s stressed out. It wouldn’t be a fun visit. I’m just sitting here.”
“Are you worried I’ll be uncomfortable? Because your comfort matters to me more.”
Annie hesitated. He held his breath. Julian would drop the subject if she continued to deny she needed company, but to his relief she said,“Thank you, Julian... I’ll see you soon. I’mso scared for them.”
“That’s okay.” He scratched the back of his head.Keys. Find keys.“It is scary. I’ll see you in no time. Can you text me the hospital address?”Wallet.
“Yes.”
“Okay. Now, you can still text even if I won’t see it immediately.”
“Thank you... Drive safe, okay?”
“I will.” Julian said goodbye. He locked up the cabin, and jumped into his rig. Without thinking about it, he glanced over at Molly and Peter’s empty cabin on his way out. He had no genuine sense of what they were going through– he couldn’t imagine how scared they all were. But he hoped everything would be fine in the end.
And he pictured Annie, sitting alone. Coming out of her skin, waiting for any news. He knew she had a big heart, and surely it was breaking for her friends.
Julian drove ten over the speed limit most of the way, praying any cops he crossed paths with would look the other way. The morning sun burned his retinas. It was close to nine in the morning when he pulled into the hospital parking lot.
He found Annie in the waiting room, a magazine on her lap. Her eyes were half-closed as she sat, deep in thought; he could tell her worries were enough to distract her from her reading and the morning news playing on the wall nearby.
“Annie.”
Her head shot up at his voice. She sprang to her feet and into his open arms. He felt her exhaustion through the fabric of his shirt, straight to his skin.
He asked, “Have you slept at all?”
“Maybe an hour or two.” Her eyes were pink-hued and puffy.
“Is Molly okay?”
“Peter says she’s hanging in there. They don’t know what’s quite wrong yet. Now they’re waiting for text results to get back.”
“Hmmm...” Julian hugged her for a moment longer before they sat down. “You eat breakfast?”
Absently, Annie looked at the black and white clock on the wall next to the TV. She shook her head.
Julian frowned. She probably had no appetite, but he hoped putting something in her stomach would ease her worry. He was helpless to comfort her otherwise. Every hospital had a kitchen, even if the food was mediocre.
“You wait here,” he said, standing. “Anything that you’d like to eat in particular?”
“Not really.”
“I’ll find you something small... Perhaps a banana?”
With a tiny smile, she nodded.
In the hospital cafeteria, which smelled just as sterile as the rest of the building, he ordered himself a small breakfast platter.Maybe I can get her to eat a couple of bites.A basket of shining fruit tempted him at the register. There were only apples and oranges. Unsure which she liked more, he grabbed both. There were a few tables nearby, and he sat down while he waited for his food.
His phone rang.
Julian pulled it out of his pocket, checking the number ID, then frowned. With his line of work, he was used to answering the phone for strangers. He tapped the little green phone icon.
“Hello?”
A robotic female voice came over the line.
"Hello, this is a prepaid call from-”
