Page 53 of The Time It Takes
He lets out a harsh breath, shaking his head at me. “So, you can contact Taylor for some project, but you couldn’t reach out to me when my mother decided to pull the plug on my father?” He was almost yelling now, and I know that the words are being carried back to the shore.
I’m forgetting how to breathe. I open my mouth to speak again, but no words come out. They don’t have to because he’s already paddling away.
At this point, I wouldn’t care if the sea carried me away into its void of madness. I sit on my board until my skin becomes so pruned that it hurts.
I sit debating whether to allow him to believe me to be selfish and heartless—a ruthless woman who has no business touching his heart.
What I wanted to say is,I was.
I was there.
I was there in the hospital the night it happened.
Just ask the woman who waits for you on shore.
FIVE AND A HALF YEARS AGO
"BE—AU—GR—AY—SON,” I yelled exaggeratedly at the nurse sitting at the reception desk. What was she not getting? She stared at me as if she was debating whether she should call security.
“I’m sorry ma’am, you’ll have to come back during visiting hours.”
I shook my head. “No, that won’t work,” I exclaimed, wagging my index finger in the air. “You see, I have to be back on a flight in—"I glanced down at my watch-less wrist and squinted.—“Yesterday.” That wasn’t true. I planned to stay as long as Oliver and Colleen wanted me to.
She stood from her chair, and she was a lot taller than I’d expected. “How about a banana bag?”
I snorted.
“Are you alright?”
“No. I am not alright.” I scowled at her, throwing my hands in the air. “Have you been listening to anything I’ve been saying?”
“You mean what you’ve been slurring?”
“Ok.” I threw my hands down. “You are not my doctor. You can’t diagnose me.”
Hiccup.
My hands flew up over my mouth and a frantic laugh rushed through me. The nurse stepped out from behind the counter.
“I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to leave. If you refuse, I’ll have you escorted.”
People were starting to stare now. I threw both of my hands up, panicking.
“Ok, wait. Wait! Just tell Oliver that I’m here. Tell Oliver Grayson that I came back for him. Tell him I’m here for him. Whatever he needs. Please. Just let me wait here until you tell him that.”
She placed a gentle hand on my shoulder. “I can’t do—”
“Is everything okay here?” a soft voice sounded from my left. When I turned my head, I saw a beautiful blonde woman. She was wearing blue scrubs and her hair was tied in a messy bun at the top of her head. She looked as exhausted as I felt.
She took several steps toward me. “Did you say you’re looking for Oliver Grayson?”
I pointed at my chest in silent question to ask if she was talking to me like an idiot. I didn’t recover from it as quickly as I would have liked. “Do you know him?”
She gave the other nurse a side glance. A silent language I was too intoxicated to understand. I shouldn’t have stopped at that fucking bar, but the thought of being back in this city sober sounded worse.
Next thing I knew, the blonde angel was looping her arm through mine and started walking me somewhere. I felt bile rise in my throat at the thought of seeing Oliver. I started to run my free hand through my hair to look less sloppy.
I blinked and she teleported me into a waiting room. A waiting room that ended up making me gag a little. I took a seat and the nurse tucked a trashcan between my legs on the floor. I leaned over and gave her a thumbs-up. I lifted my eyes to read her ID badge.
