Page 47 of Deranged
“I’m sorry, sir, but she’s not.”
I didn’t want to go there, but… “What about Minthe?”
“I’m the only one shift at the moment, sir. Did you want me to take a message?”
I sighed. “No, thank you. I’ll try again later.”
“Please be sure you get on her approved list, sir, and I’ll be able to put her on the phone for you.”
“Thank you.” I hung up and frowned at the phone.
Just when I thought maybe another new grenade wouldn’t be tossed at my head, my doorbell rang.
If I sat very still, maybe they would go away.
A harsh voice shouted through the door. “Doc, I know you’re in there. If you don’t answer, I’ll keep knocking until you do.”
Sunlight trickled in thought the slat in the curtains, and I lurched off the couch. Finally, someone I actually wanted to speak to. I opened the door to find Styx standing on the other side, her gray hair bound tight and her scrubs a soft lilac. “Styx, nice to see you.”
She brushed past me into my apartment and looked around the mostly empty and sparse space. “Do you even live here, Doc? Where is all your stuff?”
I waved at my desk and toward my bedroom. She was right I didn’t own much of anything. “It’s here and there. Plus, I work a lot. It doesn’t leave much time for homemaking and shopping.”
“I’ve seen people institutionalized with more possessions then you have.”
I sighed, closed the door, and faced her. “Did you come here to insult me, or did you just really miss my face around the office?”
She narrowed her steel eyes, but a dimple peaked on her weathered cheek. “Actually, I came to talk to you.” She sat in an arm chair and wiggled until she was comfortable.
I didn’t sit. Even though I was happy to see her, I didn’t want to get comfortable and for her to tell me something devastating. “What can I do for you?”
She stared at me for a long moment until I started to feel my skin tingle from her gaze. Then she looked away. “Are you having a good day, Doctor? I suspect you should be.”
“What does that mean?”
She met my eyes again. “It means I know why you’re having a good day. That girl finally grew some balls and stood up to her mother. For you.”
I didn’t pretend I had no idea what she was talking about. I crossed the room and sank on the couch, barely making it to a solid surface. “She what?”
My brain refused to process what she’d said with what I knew about Demeter and Kory’s relationship.
“Explain to me what happened.”
She twisted to face me better from her angle on the chair. “Demeter came to the hospital and threatened to expose what’s been happening to the media. But she did a better job of it than you did, my friend.”
If this was all because of Demeter, I didn’t trust it one bit. At any moment, things could tumble back down to reality, and I would be the casualty in which they fell upon.
“I tried to call and speak to her today but the nurse stonewalled me.”
She nodded. “New girl doesn’t know who you or Kory are.”
“Can you get me in to see her?”
Her gaze felt like a physical weight as if she were measuring me from head to toe. “Possibly, but I’m not making any promises. I won’t risk my job to save your skin. And I’ll protect her above all else.”
“Why?”
She shrugged, but I didn’t buy it. “You feel just as responsible for her as I do.”
