Page 24 of Tear of Destiny

I cautiously approach Rosie and ask, “What did you want to show me in this corridor? Did the man come here too?”

Rosie looks disappointed. “When he was standing here, he suddenly got very excited. He went all red and started to shake. But you can’t see it, can you? Do you even know him? Do you have an animal too? I like animals, and the man liked them too. He brought me chocolate and was always so nice to me. He listened to me for hours.”

“I’m sorry, I don’t really understand,” I say doubtfully. “But maybe you can explain it to me. I’m a good listener too, I promise.”

There’s that piercing look again, and the narrowed lips. Then she opens her mouth to say something, but at that moment I hear footsteps.

“There you are,” says a male voice.

I get a fright and turn around. It’s Andrew, the young caregiver with dark hair and piercing blue eyes. I can see that he’s flustered and not too happy to find me here.

“Your friend said you went to the bathroom. You were gone so long I figured I should check up on you.” His gaze is cutting, and I have the sense that he’s searching my face for some sign.

“Sorry,” I say quickly, feigning innocence. “I ran into Rosie on the way and stopped to talk to her. She wanted to show me something, and I figured it was okay to go with her. Sorry if I overstepped.”

Andrew sighs quietly and frowns at Rosie. “Rosie, what are you up to? You’re not supposed to be showing strangers around.”

“It’s not her fault,” I say quickly. “I wanted to go with her. She’s great company.”

There’s that penetrating look again, but his voice sounds less angry now. “Yes, she is, although she keeps us on our toes.” Exasperated, he runs his hand through his hair. “I think we should all go back to the recreation room.”

I nod, but Rosie folds her arms across her chest and only follows him reluctantly.

“Why do I always have to go to the recreation room? It’s so boring there. There are other much more interesting places.”

“I’m sure we’ll find something for you there,” Andrew insists with a friendly smile.

On the way home, Kate and I discuss what we saw and heard in the home, but we can’t really make sense of it. We’re still on the subject when we arrive back in San Francisco to catch one last bus back to school.

“I don’t know what Rosie wanted to show me,” I say. “That nurse arrived before she had a chance to tell me.”

“We can’t show up there too many times without arousing suspicion. So next time it would be good if we know what we’re looking for.”

I sigh and gaze meditatively through the window. We’re near the hospital, and I briefly consider visiting Mom. Then I see a person on the sidewalk who seems vaguely familiar. I turn to peer at them as the bus drives past.

“That’s Noah,” I say.

Kate turns around too. Something about him catches my attention, although I can’t say what. Maybe his gait, which looks less lively than usual, or his stiff posture. Whatever it is, I have a bad feeling, and I jump up from my seat.

“I’ll go catch up with him,” I say to Kate.

“Sure, no problem. I’ll go back to school. Say hi from me,” she says with a wink.

I get out at the next stop and run back to where I last saw him. I spot him a short distance away, marching down the street with his head down and his shoulders hunched.

“Noah,” I call to him.

He stops abruptly and turns around in surprise. “Hey, what are you doing here?” he asks, attempting his usual smile, whichdoesn’t really come off.

“Are you okay?” I ask, studying his face. And then I see the edge of a bandage at the neck of his t-shirt. “Are you hurt? What happened?”

He avoids my eye and tries to play it down. “Nothing major. We were ambushed by a couple of Tempes.”

I raise my eyebrows and can’t believe what I’m hearing. “You were attacked?”

“They must have been watching us,” I say. “I have no idea how the Tempes got wind of the fact that we were stationed in the hospital. And I can’t explain how they identified us. Orlow was attacked as he was leaving the building. There was a fight, and the rest of us noticed and went out to help him. Anyway, we all got away, but Orlow was pretty badly injured.”

I don’t know what to say and just keep staring at Noah’s bandage. “That’s sounds scary.”

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