Page 54 of The Time It Takes
“Nurse Wilson.”
She took a seat next to me and placed a comforting hand on my back, rubbing it in soothing circles. Yeah, that was what I needed. “Yes, Willow?”
I paused completely and sat up, glancing over at her. “You know my name?”
She nodded solemnly as if knowing my name wasn’t a good thing. Realization smacked me in the face, and I tucked my chin, forcing down a burp. “You’re a friend of Oliver’s?”
Her smile was anything but innocent as she said, “We’re very close, yes.”
I leaned back into the seat and rested the back of my head against the cool wall. “I see,” I said more to myself than her.
A long, very awkward moment passed. “Why are you here?”
My eyebrows furrowed in growing irritation. “Where else would I be right now?”
She crossed her legs as she took a deep breath. “In New York,” she finally insisted. “Where you should have stayed.” No apology—absolutely no remorse existed in those horrible, horrible words.
Angel, my ass.
She was the devil.
“He told me about you,” she murmured under her breath. “And I think it’s enough to say that you should just leave him alone. Let him go, Willow.”
“He’s my best friend,” I defended pathetically.
“No, he’s not. He’s not your anything. You’re just pieces of each other’s past.”
I glared at her—my eyes probably wild. “What kind of nurse are you?”
“An honest one.”
I sighed. “You know, I actually really liked you until about a minute ago.”
“I’m not here to impress you or make friends with you. I’m here for Oliver. I’ll always be here for Oliver.” Her eyes fell up and down my body. “Oliver’s not in his right head space right now. His father is dying. Seeing you will just—”
“You think I don’t know that? Why do you think I’m here?” I blurted. I sat up straight and tapped my fingers into my chest. “I’m trying to be there for him but you’re soul-blocking us!”
Her face knitted together in confusion. “Soul what?”
I shook my head in disbelief at her nerve. “I know exactly what he’s going through right now. I—”
“No, you don’t. You haven’t been here. I have. I know exactly what he’s going through, but you? No, Willow. You’re a mess right now. I mean just look at you, you can’t even take care of yourself, that’s clear. You’re precisely what he doesn’t need. I won’t let you ruin him anymore.” She pauses. “You know, it makes sense now, seeing you. I always thought something was missing.” She laughed under her breath. “And here it is, but I can fix him with you out of the picture. I can be good for him.”
My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. “Ruin him?Fixhim?” I sputtered, standing. “You bi—”
She held up her palm, cutting me off. “Finish that sentence and I’ll call security before you can slur another word.”
I bit back my anger. “All I’m asking is that you tell him I’m here. That’s it. So, if by chance you wake up in whatever dimension you’re living in and become a better person, please do that for me. When the sun rises, you can decide.” I pointed behind me at the glass double doors. “Because I’m going outside and I’m going to wait for him. When I see the sun, I’ll go. I don’t care who you are to him, but know that this is his decision, not yours.” I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. “Do we have a deal?”
She seemed to think it over for a minute before standing. “We do.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded warily. I watched her back as she started to walk away.
“Hey, Nurse Wilson?”
Hesitantly, she faced me once more.
My voice came out even and harsh, “Please don’t be the bitch that I think you are.”
