Page 47 of Now Until Forever
“Yes, Lia. They needed a baseline for figuring out what everyone was dosed with, so I hung around for tests.”
Of course, he had.
“See you in a second.” He hung up.
She flipped her phone closed, then got out. Beeped the locks on the truck and headed for the front entrance.
Inside the hospital was chaos, as if half the city was packed in here, milling around and waiting for news. A group that lookedlike a multigenerational family headed her way, so she had to move to the side, which put her in a blind corner over by the visitor’s elevator.
Nope.
It would be a while before she wanted to get in an elevator again.
Eliana picked her way back to the front doors and heard someone clear their throat through a microphone.
“Thank you, everyone.” It was a woman talking, but where was she? “If I could have your attention, we’ll try and get through this as quickly as possible.”
Eliana craned her neck, though it wasn’t far to see over people’s heads to the far corner of the room. A podium had been set up and cameras flashed while an older woman with gray hair in a tight bob with heavy bangs leaned into the mic.
“We appreciate your patience waiting on news of your loved ones. As we anticipate you’ll have questions about recompense in the aftermath of the attacks, our colleague here represents a local law firm specializing in community action and victim assistance. She’ll be able to advise you all on next steps after you leave here. Hopefully tonight.”
Seemed a bit early to be talking about lawyers and compensation, which made Eliana wonder if it wasn’t a giant distraction from the fact that none of these people were going to be happy. She wouldn’t be either, crowded in a hospital lobby waiting to know if her loved one was all right. That was bad enough. So she hoped the administrator up there behind the podium wasn’t about to give them more bad news.
People crowded around as the spokesperson answered some questions about the compound inside the canisters, which was still being tested. Someone asked how long it would take the city to pay out for people’s pain and suffering.
The woman who stepped up to the podium next wasn’t more than ten years older than Eliana. Her dark-brown hair was pulled back behind her head, and she wore a dress with a suit jacket over it. A simple gold chain.
Eliana couldn’t make out much more than that from this distance, but something drew her to the woman. She almost seemed familiar. Where had Eliana seen her before? She’d never met this woman. How could she have had occasion to? She didn’t even hear what the woman said, since she didn’t talk into the mic and Eliana wasn’t close enough to the front.
She worked her way around the edge of the crowd and saw the woman pick up a navy coat from a chair and slip it on. Something about the collar, and buttons, and the tie around her waist pricked a memory, or something else, and Eliana stared at the woman.
I know you.
But in this epically crowded lobby, how was she supposed to get over there to even ask her how they knew each other?
Her phone buzzed in her hand. She saw a text from Carlos scroll across the tiny screen on the front.
Just stepped off the elevator.
Eliana looked again, but the woman was gone.
She worked her way back to the entrance doors and spotted Carlos cross the lobby on the other side, making his way to her. When he came near, it just seemed so natural to hug him. This guy she’d grown up with. He pulled her in tight, as if he needed the reassurance. Which seemed strange to her. Why would this big, strong guy she’d known forever need a hug? Whatever the reason, her eyes burned with unshed tears again and she held on. Probably longer than she should have. Finally giving him another squeeze before she pulled back.
“You all right?” He searched her face.
Eliana didn’t know where to start with all of it.
He nodded. “Pizza. Then we talk.”
She managed to smile and turned with him to the door, where they headed outside. “Are you all right?”
“I will be,” he said. “Your place? I don’t feel like being on my own.”
She eyed him, wondering how he was saying exactly what she was feeling. “So you think you’re gonna sleep over?”
“You have a couch.” He shrugged. “And you brought my duffel, didn’t you?”
“It smells. You probably need to wash what’s in there.” There was so much she wanted to tell him, but talking about nonsense was oddly reassuring.
