Page 9 of Deranged
A sense of something…pride, satisfaction, shot through me as he put distance between us the second he finished his search.
“We have our first session tomorrow. Get some rest and behave. Please.”
I couldn’t help but bait him. “You learned last night. I’m not very good at behaving.”
He glared at the door, but no one was around.
“We’ll talk more about that tomorrow when we are alone.”
He crossed to the door, and I watched him go. Would things be different right now if I’d been nice to him? If I’d let him take me home, play the big spoon, make him breakfast?”
“Ash,” I said.
He turned back, not correcting my use of his first name. For that, I said what I shouldn’t have. I gave him a glimpse no one has ever gotten. “I ran because of you. Seeing you here, in this place, in charge of this place, taints the memory of my freedom. The memory I needed to keep me sane through the next six months.”
“I thought keeping you sane was my job.”
I smiled as he walked out, but it was for his naivety, for his innocence. For all the things my mother would soon rob him of.
Chapter Four
Ash
Iwoke face down on my laptop keyboard, a kink in both my back and my neck, and too much sunlight spilling in the windows. The smell of musty fabric and old dust surrounded me until I sat up and inhaled the soothing scent of coffee and breakfast cooking somewhere in the hospital. Coffee sounded so good right now.
I checked my watch. Oh good, a few hours to clean up, eat something, and make sure my VIP didn’t successfully slip away in the night.
I checked on Kory first. The nurses had nothing to report, and I peeked into her room. She was asleep covered with a copy ofThe Count of Monte Cristo. I quickly checked my literally two other patients, also both asleep, and crept back to my office.
A nurse had told me I’d find a staff room with a shower a couple floors below. I snagged my duffle bag by my office door and took the back stairs, refusing to think about Kory’s strong thighs gripping mine yesterday.
The staff lounge was both deserted and clean, thankfully. I’d been in hospitals with worse showers than truck stop restrooms. This one appeared well maintained, and the showers were stocked with travel size bottles of soaps and shampoos. I tested the water pressure and temperature while whistling a song I’d heard on the radio over the weekend.
I quickly stripped and hopped under the scalding hot spray. I shuddered for a moment until I adjusted to the heat. I kept travel toiletries for this situation, but the hospital’s were much nicer. The private sector knew how to seduce a man. Give me high quality toiletries, and I’d sign another control in a heartbeat. It took minutes to clean up, and considerably longer to force myself out of the shower without taking the edge off. Kory’s smile flashed in mind, and I shook my head. She was a patient for fucks sake. A reminder quickly morphing into a mantra. One I knew I’d be repeating over and over before my term ended here.
People started to arrive for the day shift, and the sounds of lockers opening and slamming hurried me into dressing. I made it back to my office without having to exchange fake pleasantries with strangers. First things first, I needed to rearrange the place and update it. This wasn’t a good look in the seventies, and almost fifty years later, it hadn’t aged well. Not to mention the wet, lingering musty smell which seemed to permeate everything.
I hung my lab coat and my suit jacket on the back of the door and went to work shifting things around. It wasn’t a very large space, but it would serve. I put the arm chairs near each other in front of the desk, pushed the filing cabinet to the corner, and dusted every inch. Then I watered the neglected plants, cleaned out the drawers of my desk, and sat down to breathe.
“Not bad,” Minthe said, poking her head into the doorway. “Just seeing how you are doing. Heard you guys had some excitement last night.”
“I wouldn’t say that. More like a misunderstanding.”
She entered the room and looked around. “A lot cleaner in here. I’m sure your patients will appreciate it.”
“Patient.” I corrected her. “You mean the one person I really have in my charge right now.”
“I take it no one warned you when you took this job.”
I threw my arms out. “No, but they were all probably locked down by contracts and NDA’s”
She laughed. A light, sweet sound. “Oh yeah, they love those around here.”
“Speaking of…” I stood and came around the desk to grab my jacket. “It’s almost time to earn my paycheck.”
She ducked out the door, and I caught her entering the room further down the call. I headed the opposite way toward Kory. She sat on her bed surrounded by books again when I entered.
“Ready?”
