Page 139 of Relapse

I couldn’t resist the taste of water to try and rid the glass-shard feeling. I drank, being sure to pace myself. The water soothed my throat, and I nodded once I had my fill.

“Noah Hansen,” I said, finally able to hear myself in a normal register. “Is he at this hospital? Is he okay?”

The nurses eyed each other skeptically. “Sir, we apologize, but we can’t disclose other patients’ statuses with you. It’s against the law.”

“Then get someone who can tell me,” I hissed. Those seven little words took so much effort to get out.

The first nurse smacked her lips at the second as she rummaged through the nearby cabinets. “That isn’t possible at the moment, Mr. Thorne. We have to abide by the rules of patient privacy.”

My monitor beeped in response. These bitches were lucky I was strapped to fifty thousand wires.

“Get out of this room…before I lose my shit on you,” I grounded out through clenched teeth. These idiots were no help. I had to know if Noah was okay. I had to check on him somehow.

The nurses ignored me, and continued to check my vitals. “We understand your frustration,” they said. “We’ll be quick.”

As one of the nurses turned to wash her hands at the sink, the other looked at me, catching my line of sight. She nodded slowly, took a pen off her lanyard and quickly scribbled some numbers on my styrofoam cup.

I read them silently to myself as she wrote them.

3…0…5…

Could that be Noah’s room?

She eyed me, asking, “Did you need another drink?”

I nodded and she leaned in, steadying the straw with her gloved hand. I opened my mouth for the straw and she whispered, “He’s okay,” just quiet enough for me to hear it.

A wave of relief rushed through me.

I took another drink of water for the sake of appearances. The other nurse was already at my side once again, pulling blood out of the port in my arm. I watched her in cold silence as she withdrew six vials, stickering each one with my own little label and shoving them in a bag. Fucking vampire. Hadn’t I lost enough already?

“All done. Please press the red button on your remote if you need anything. We have another dose of pain killers for you in about an hour, and the reconstruction surgeon will be coming in to look at that hand of yours.”

I glared at that one.

They left me then, for a while. I stared at the same ten inch screen in the corner of the room in silence, mindlessly watching whatever flashed across. The room itself was empty, but evidence of Serenity was there: a single stuffed animal, a “Get Well Soon” balloon already deflated and mindlessly floating from side to side. A note.

Other than that, the room was empty. I didn’t quite realize how much I enjoyed the silence until I figured out there wasn’t going to be much of that left.

The doors swung open before my pain medication arrived, and my favorite of all people, Damian Hansen barraged in. Maybe it was all the medication I was on, but I couldn’t even deny it, I was kind of relieved to see him.

Seeing him had to mean Noah was okay, and hopefully nearby.

“So, are you going to talk?” he asked, pulling a chair up next to my bed.

I studied him, badge glinting off his button up shirt. Of course, he was here on police business.

“You should know better than to ask me that,” I said, letting my eyes do the majority of the talking for me.

“Right, right, I forgot,” Damian enunciated, throwing his hands into the air. “You Thornes are all the same. You meddle in crime, you enact violence, you keep secrets, then you repeat the process all over again.”

My eyes narrowed. “Sounds more like someone in your own circle.”

Damian’s lip curled. “I expected more out of you, Silas, honestly.”

“I’m no snitch,” I growled.

What did Damian expect of me? He had to know something about the beating, which is why he asked. He was looking for me to confirm his suspicions.