Page 11 of Keeping Her Under
But when I had to shake the small tube of glass in order to mix it, I let my fingers loosen just the slightest bit.
The vial dropped to the floor and shattered.
Setting off a ticking time bomb.
Dantrolene bolus needs to be administered within ten minutes of the patient being diagnosed with MH, and I knew we didn’t have another vial of it in the operating room. By the time a nurse had run down to get some more from the pediatrics unit, my plan had succeeded. Summer Wintry was in a medically induced coma.
The rest of her surgery went well, but we won’t know if we saved her ability to walk until she wakes. Her spinal cord suffered a severe injury to her atlanto-axial segment, between vertebrae C1 and C2, severe enough to paralyze the left side of her body. The surgeon had to use parts of her ribs to graft it back together.
“Has anyone come to see her?” I ask.
A dark cloud passes over his face. “Her boyfriend did this morning,” he says, his voice full of disgust, “but he didn’t stay more than five minutes. He didn’t even ask what her chances of recovery were.”
My lips tighten as fury hits me. That girl has nothing. No love in the walls of her home – that safe space that should be hers. Even if she rents it, there should be some warmth enclosed within it, some hanging pictures or treasured trinkets. But it is as cold as the rest of the world. So hearing that her so-called boyfriend doesn’t even care about her? That she truly has nothing and no one to love her… It twists something inside me.
Pity perhaps. Like seeing a flea-infested dog starving on the streets.
Reminding me too much of a boy who had no one to look out for him, whose own mother –that person who should’ve protected him and loved him– sold him to any bidder with two dimes to rub together.
No one should be alone in this world.
Even as fucked up as I am, I have my cousin Asher. How can she have no one?
Ryan’s phone vibrates, and an undeniable glow washes over him before he even looks at it. He’s clearly expecting a call.
Slipping one hand under the table, he pulls it out of his pocket while his other grabs a napkin and wipes hurriedly at his mouth. He still has a good portion of his lunch left to eat, but he leans back in his chair now, his meal entirely forgotten.
Whoever’s called him, he’s giving them their full attention.
“Hey,” he says, a grin spreading across his face.
“Hi, honey, how’s your shift going?” A woman’s voice drifts across the line.
“Better now that you’ve called.” He glances at me, then stands. Lifting his hand in a casual farewell, he strides away. “A guy came in that was an absolute tool. He’s the boyfriend of one of my patients. I love this job, but shit like that…”
His voice merges with the hubbub of the cafeteria, the noise now hiding his secrets from me, but I never take my eyes off him.
He’s given me a lot to think about.
First, my girl has a boyfriend.
He won’t be a problem here – he can only visit the ICU during certain hours, and by the sounds of it, he doesn’t care enough to linger anyways. But he could prove trouble if he catches me at her house.
And second… Ryan has someone he loves.
Which means if I can’t find anything on him, then all I’ll need to do is threaten her.
A smile twitching at my lips, I stand and pull out my phone. As I take the elevator back up to the operating rooms, I do a bit of shopping for my girl.
Seven
My cock twitches as soon as I step into Summer’s ICU room the next day. I arrived early, so I have about five minutes until I need to be prepping my station for surgery. It’s not long enough for what I want to do to her, but I can’t linger today. I’m just here to drop off her gift – a teddy bear with a bandage on its head and a dark-teal shirt saying, ‘Get Well Soon.’
And in its eye is a tiny, undetectable camera.
After placing the teddy down on the table by the door, giving it a clear view of her bed, I take a step towards her. My pulse kicks up with every foot gained until it’s hammering in my cock. My eyes dart to the open door. I didn’t close it this time or even pull the curtain shut, knowing that’d be too suspicious, but it’s only a few minutes to seven, which is when the nurses change shift. The two that are currently on have more important things to do than to watch a trusted doctor.
I walk to the side of Summer’s bed where I’ll have a clear view of the door, then keep my eye on the open space as I lean down. My heart hammers as my ears strain for the sound of footsteps or a nurse’s scrubs. Hearing nothing but the pounding of my blood, brought on by both the anticipation of touching her and the risk of being caught, I lower my head to her legs and breathe in the smell of her pussy through her hospital gown.
