Page 46 of Deranged
As much as I didn’t want to sit here and continue trading quips with my mother, our conversation needed to end, and soon, the longer it took to seal the deal, the longer it gave her to think of ways to circumvent things. “Your answer now…or I’ll contact my friend right now.”
“Do you forget that I hold guardianship over you. I can make sure you don’t make a single phone call for the rest of your life. Not a letter, not an email, not even a text message. You say you’ve been locked up…I can make it so you actually feel like you’re in jail. You’ve had it pretty easy until now. I think we should try that route first, see if I can make you feel a little more solicitous in your choices and decisions.”
I chuckled. “It’s a nice try, but there are always ways to talk to the outside world. I haven’t pursued many, but if I’m stuck 24/7 in my room with no freedoms, I think I could focus my attention on the one task pretty damn well. And as we both know, people will do anything for the right amount of money.”
My heart pounded in my chest, and for a minute, I thought I’d overplayed my hand. There were no other cards to play. If she called me, I would be toast. And not the good buttery kind, the burned to a crisp kind that stank up the entire kitchen for a day.
But then I knew by the way her eyes narrowed and her beautiful red lips curled up. “And what is stopping me from having your little boyfriend arrested? As your guardian, I can press charges against him since you aren’t legally able to consent to sex while here in the institution. What do you think would happen to his license, and his life, once that news was spread across the papers?
I stood and held the door open wider for her to leave and prayed she didn’t so much as brush my skin when she passed. “Do it and see.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Ash
The second the blocked number notice flashed across my vibrating phone, I hit the button and pressed it to my ear. Donny’s voice cut through the line harsh and cold. “You can stop fretting, Ms. Daisy. You’ll get what you wanted and soon. But you’re going to need to be patient and wait. Not even I can get it done instantly.”
I didn’t think he could do anything immediately, but every second which passed with her locked away felt like another gouge out of my soul. “Are you going to keep calling me with updates? How am I going to know you’ve held up your end of the deal?”
He exhaled deep and low through the speaker it almost sounded like a growl. “I always keep my word, and I thank you not to insinuate anything to the contrary. I’ll call you back when you can go pick up your little toy. Don’t call me, or my office, until I call you back.”
He hung up, and I stared at the phone. Me questioning his tactics or his word wouldn’t buy me any points. His temper already seemed to be on edge where I was concerned. I’d burned any credit being his fraternity brother provided me. But if he did what he said…I’d survive his disdain. Zeus was also avoiding my calls and refused to accept my begrudging apology. He wouldn’t accept he had a part in Kory’s lock up. And I wasn’t ready to forgive him for it either.
He also feared I would call Hera and out his extracurricular activities. I hadn’t exactly made being my friend easy lately.
A number I didn’t know flashed across my screen now, and I stared down at it, suspicious. The same number called me the other day about my license. I hadn’t even received the notice in the mail yet. Maybe they were calling to take away my license completely.
“Hello?”
“Hello again, Doctor. I’m calling on behalf of the state medical board to inform you the investigation has been cleared, and the suspension on your license has been lifted. We apologize for the mistake and any inconvenience or hardship you may have experienced because of our error.”
I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it. “Are you kidding me?”
A voice squeaked through the line too low for me to catch. I pressed it against my ear again, and the man was in the middle of a sentence. “Please call us if you have any problems or questions. Disregard any notices you may receive in the mail about the investigation. Have a nice day.”
He hung up, and I put the phone on the gray couch next to me. I stared at it like it might jump up and bite me. I didn’t trust any of it, and I was getting sick of Demeter and anyone else toying with my life and my mind. Was this some kind of plot to drive me crazy, discredit me that way?
My phone rang again, and I didn’t even bother picking it up. I let it sit and vibrate its way into the crevice of the couch cushion until it stopped and my voicemail took over. Then I let is sit there longer. I didn’t recognize the number, and of the people who would be calling me right now, the odds were good I wouldn’t like the news, or the person calling to deliver it.
Once the voicemail notification flashed across the device, I snapped it up, pressed the buttons to access my voicemail and waited for the message to play. After a few minutes, I hung up the phone and placed it gently on the table.
A hospital in California, a state I’d never been to, wanted me to come interview for a job there. A prestigious hospital in a very well-paying location would be good for my career. So why did my investigation get cancelled and then I was offered a job almost immediately afterward?
Either Donny was better at delivering than I ever expected, or someone else was behind these new developments. But who? Kory couldn’t do much from her prison cell. Zeus wouldn’t put me out if I caught fire right in front of him. Demeter wanted me crucified and castrated. And I made it clear to Donny all I wanted from our deal was Kory’s freedom. No one could do this, and no one got the benefits from it except me, at least that I could tell.
None of it mattered, because the only person I wanted to talk to through all this was Kory. I wanted to hear her smart ass mouth tell me in ten different ways it would be ok. She had a way of doing that, saying one thing but making me feel another. Sarcasm was her weapon when it came to hiding her own emotions, but by the time I left the hospital, it was almost as if I could hear her say she loved me under the words. She pushed me away more than once, but I could still hear her saying it in my head. A longing and a hope.
I hit a few buttons on the phone and waited for the directory on the end of the line to send me to the right floor. A nurse answered, but I didn’t recognize her name. Had they replaced all the nurses after I left too?
“I’m calling to speak to Kory Sito please.”
A long pause and I caught typing in the background. “And your name, sir?”
“Ash.”
Another pause. “I’m sorry, sir. You aren’t on her approved contact list. Can I take a message?”
I tried to keep the frustration out of my tone as I scrubbed my hands into my hair. “Is Nurse Styx around by chance?”
