Page 6 of Kill For Her

He smiles. “Just you.”

I’m not sure how to feel about that answer. Maybe he has a savior complex. They say that every firefighter does, but I don’t need saving or fixing.Shit happens.I survived and tomorrow I can go back to my normal life. Until then, I’m stuck in this damn hospital.

“I-.” Theo begins to say something but is interrupting as Jennifer runs into the room and practically jumps on the bed.Ow!Doesn’t she realize I just had surgery? If she rips the incision open I might have to stay.

“Is this the guy that called me?” she says, giving her full attention to Theo. “Who is he? I’ve never heard of him. Have you been dating someone behind my back?”

Typical Jen making this about her. She gives me the look. When the hell would I have time to date someone, especially without her finding out about it? When we aren’t together, I’m asleep or at school.

“No, we aren’t dating. He was the firefighter that took care of me on the scene.”

She sizes him up and then smiles at me. “Well, if you aren’t enjoying him, someone should.”

Theo shifts in his seat. “That’s my note to leave. See you around.”

Jen takes his seat and starts asking me questions. Isn’t he cute? Why aren’t you hitting that? I wonder if he has ever worn his suit in the bedroom? She’s insane. Guy crazy, if you ask me. If she wants to date around, that’s on her. Hell, I've never been able to understand how she can keep up. When I get off from work, I barely have the energy to take a shower, let alone go out on dates, and try to impress someone. Kudos to her.

A doctor in dark blue scrubs appears in the door frame. “Good evening, Ms. Marrow. I’m glad to see you awake. I’d like to look at the incision before I head out for the night.”

He walks over to the bed. Holy shit. I try not to barf when he lifts the bandage. That’s going to leave a scar.

“The surgery went well, but we will need to keep you overnight for observation. I’ll come by and check on you in the morning.”

He is short and to the point. I wish he would just let me go home. I have lost too many people in this hospital, and my name doesn’t need to be added to the long list.

“You should head into work, anyway. Don’t wanna be late,” I say.

Her forehead crinkles. “You think I’m leaving you here alone? Girl, I am a better friend than that.”

“I’ll be fine. You wanna stay here and watch me sleep when you could save lives?”

She rolls her eyes. “Okay, when you put it like that. Call me if you need anything. I’ll let work know what’s going on.”

“Shut off the light on your way out, please.” Carefully, she hugs me and then struts out the door, probably to hit on a few doctors before leaving the premises.

I clutch the pillow and hope to sleep for a couple of hours before they need to poke or prod me. The longer I sleep, the less time I’m awake in this place. Jerry is still somewhere in this hospital, down in the morgue, and now I’m in this damn bed.

I hate hospitals. Maybe Theo’s company wasn’t so bad after all.

4

THEO

A college campus isn’t my happy place. Being surrounded by adolescent individuals who have no real word experience. They are still trying to figure out how to juggle classes, do homework, and hang out with their friends. They have no idea yet that as they get older, friends start to disappear because of life. It’s a given. So hopefully they enjoy college and being young while they can, because once they get out into the real world, it will all disappear. I’ve only ever had one constant in my life, and that’s myself. Even before my dad went away, he was never around much, leaving me to fend for myself anyway. So, I might have colleagues, but if I were to quit my job tomorrow, would they stop talking to me? Most likely.

One more semester, and then I am away from this place for good. It’s hard when you are surrounded by naive people. They think the worst thing that happened to them is their boyfriend texting another girl, or failing an assignment. Hate to break it to them, but life gets worse. Mommy and daddy can’t bail them out. They might need to get used to these things now and how to deal with them. But what do I know?

Everyone must have had the same idea as me to pick up their textbooks today. The quad has students throwing around footballs or sitting on the benches along the pathways. Being here makes me feel old. Plus, I always get this occasional weird look when someone notices me. They aren’t sure if I’m a new professor or a student. The wind in the trees rustles the papers out of the hand of a woman handing out flyers to everyone that passes by. I laugh as I get close and she turns to look the other way. It must be a party or something that they don’t want anyone my age going to. Oh well, wouldn’t attend anyway.

The guys think I’m crazy for continuing school, but my job isn’t the end all for me. Firefighting is dangerous. I always knew that this isn’t my career, just something fulfilling to do in the meantime. This degree can help me get into something different. It seems like now more than ever, people are starting businesses and becoming their own bosses and I have to say it’s appealing. Over the last four years, I have acquired an immense amount of knowledge on a variety of topics related to starting and managing a business that I think will help me succeed. Or at least put my all into it.

The lady coming out of the bookstore holds the door open for me, and I smile. The line is about ten deep, and I try to be patient, but can’t help but overhear a conversation going on between two students.

“Did you look at the itemized breakdown of the tuition and fees? I nearly had a heart attack when I realized I’m forced to pay fees for something I’ll never use.”

Colleges make bank off of the students. I’m glad I’m not the only one that noticed the breakdown. The fees are almost equivalent to the tuition. They have a fee for everything: cafeteria, gym, health center and library. No wonder people go so far into debt just to get a piece of paper. Lucky people might get a scholarship or have their parents pay for the college, but the ones that don’t have that luxury, get lodged into student loans that they will pay on for the rest of their lives. Who can afford to pay 35% interest rate on the balance that takes ten to fifteen years to pay off? It basically triples in just a few years, and you are never going to get it paid down to where you aren’t just paying interest.

Thankfully enough, being single gives me a leg up. I might have a house, but I eat cheap, and put the rest toward college expenses. They aren’t making tens of thousands of dollars off of me in interest.

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