Once I fixed myself as best as I could, I ran back down the stairs. To my surprise it wasn’t Viktor at the door but instead, Vincent. He had his hands shoved in his pants pockets, looking skittish. When he saw me his eyes brightened.
“Amber,” Mom gushed a little too enthusiastically. “You didn’t tell me Viktor had a brother.” She pushed my arm and mouthed, “He’s cute.”
Color bloomed to my cheeks. If I could die of embarrassment now would be the time to do it. Unfortunately, I wasn’t that lucky. “Um, it hasn’t really come up.”
The door was open and lights flashed in the driveway. Mom glanced out the open door. “Who do we have here?” she giggled and opened the storm door, peering out.
“So, ah, what’s up?” I tried to ignore my mom.
“I just wanted to talk with you for a second,” he said, his eyes flicked nervously over to my mom. She was standing precariously close to him. Actually, she had her hand on his arm.
“Mom,” I gritted. “Who’s here?” I asked just for something to say. I was sure it was Viktor and suddenly felt trapped and didn’t know what to do. My heart was pounding really fast.
She ducked her head back inside, releasing Vincent’s arm. “It’s Ken,” she chirped, enthusiastically, all remnants of her earlier devastation completely gone.
“Great!” I said with a bit too much gusto to cover my profound relief that it wasn’t Viktor yet.
Mom grabbed her coat, shoved her feet in a pair of boots, and ran out the door to greet him. I should have been thankful she was gone but I wasn’t. It just made standing with Vincent all the more awkward.
“So, what’s up?” I shoved my hands in my pockets and looked up at him. His hair was wet and slicked back away from his face. Mom was right about one thing, he did look really cute. He had on a leather jacket and faded blue jeans and was sporting another one of his super hero t-shirts. This one was Iron Man.
“I ah…” He angled toward me. “I wanted to say sorry, for earlier…at school.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” I lied.
“Come on, Amber,” he exhaled and shook his head. “I was being a dick.”
“It’s okay.”
“No, it’s not,” he snapped, his eyes flickered.
“Ahhh,” I said slowly. “Well thanks…I guess.” I stepped back.
“This is not coming out right.” He dashed his hand through his hair. “Listen, I just don’t want to ruin the friendship we have over something stupid…you know.” It seemed like he was having a hard time voicing his feelings. I felt bad.
“You’re allowed to be in a dicky mood you know,” I said trying to lighten the mood. “Just don’t let it happen again,” I added in a stern voice.
“I knew you couldn’t stay mad at me.” His lips twitched.
“How’s that?” I deadpanned.
“I’m wearing my lucky t-shirt.” He plucked at his shirt and waggled his brows.
“Well, it is a pretty sweet shirt.”
“Yeah, I thought you might like it.”
“How could I not,” I laughed, feeling better. “It’s Iron Man. What’s there not to like.”
His gaze locked with mine, his green eyes glittering.
I felt a strange swooping in my belly. “So, does this one unleash one of your super powers too?” I lifted my brow.
“Yeah, my powers of persuasion,” he said. He widened his eyes. “Is it working?”
“That depends on what you’re trying to persuade me to do.”
“I want you to run off in the sunset with me.” His face was serious so I didn’t know if he was kidding.
I blinked stupidly, not sure what to say to that. “So how’d you know where I lived?” I asked changing the subject.
“You told me…remember?”
“Yeah, sure…right,” I said even though I didn’t remember telling him.
“So, you want to go grab a coffee or something?” he gave me a lopsided grin. The one that made him look utterly adorable. It was hard to deny that face but I had to.
“Um, I’m going to see Glinda with Viktor, remember?”
His smile vanished. “Oh, right,” he exhaled. “How could I forget,” he muttered. His entire demeanor changed. Gone was the easy camaraderie we just had and in its place was a stilted silence. He glanced over his shoulder and his body tensed. “Well…” he stepped forward. “Since you’re bailing on coffee with me, can I at least have a hug?”
“Um…” My brow creased. “Sure.”
His lips pulled up into a slow grin, he stepped up to me, wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me into a full body hug. My face pressed against his hard chest. I inhaled deeply. He smelled really good. My body relaxed against his as I hugged him back. It was strangely comforting being in his arms and something else…something I didn’t quite understand. I felt his warm breath on my neck as he nuzzled his face in my hair. Prickles of awareness sprang up on my skin. He pulled back, just a bit, and looked down into my face.
For one breathless moment, I transported back to the dance when he looked at me the same way. His face lowered, closing the distance, and I knew he was going to kiss me…
Someone cleared their throat and I was ripped back to the here and now.
A slow wicked smile spread over Vincent’s face.
Reeling from my almost kiss, I stumbled backward and tried to disengage my body from Vincent’s. His hand lingered on my waist though. I looked over at Viktor and my heart stopped. He was looking at me with such intensity, I couldn’t seem to form a coherent thought, let alone catch my breath.
“Hey,” I mumbled stupidly, stepping away from Vincent until he was no longer touching me. I didn’t dare look at him though, I was afraid at what I would see on his face.
“You ready to go or did you change your mind?” Viktor’s face was unreadable.
I felt like there was a double meaning in his words. “No,” I croaked. “I just need to um, grab something and I’ll be ready to go.” I tried to sound breezy but by the look on his face I wasn’t doing a very good job. “I’ll be right back.” Being a coward, I rushed from the room, not even saying good-bye to Vincent and ran up the stairs to the bathroom.
Once I was safely closed inside, I could finally breathe. Leaning on the sink, I tried to get my rampant emotions under control. “What am I doing?”
I turned and looked at myself in the mirror. The face that stared back at me, I didn’t even recognize. My cheeks were flushed and my eyes looked overly bright. I splashed cold water on my face and ran my brush through my hair. I swished some mouthwash around and spit it into the sink. Knowing I couldn’t prolong the inevitable any longer, I left the bathroom.
When I descended the stairs, Viktor was making small talk, saying something about football with Mom and Ken. When I didn’t see Vincent, I expected to feel relief that he was gone, but I didn’t.
“Are you ready?” Viktor asked.
“Yep, just need to put on my jacket.”
“Where are you kids off to?” Ken asked, stepping aside so I could grab my jacket off the hook behind where he stood.
“We’re going to visit Glinda.” I grabbed my jacket off the hook and pulled it on.
“That’s nice,” Ken said absently and pulled out his little book from his pocket. “Before you go, did either of you see a red convertible at the tour on Saturday?”
Immediately, I recalled the girls Viktor had been talking with. I stared at him, waiting for his answer. Maybe I would finally find out if he had hooked up with them.
“No, I don’t think so, but there were a lot of people there.” Viktor shrugged.
“I know.” Ken crossed something off in his book.
“Why do you ask?” Viktor shifted his position, angling his body in my line of vision.
“Oh, nothing,” Ken sighed and shook his head. “It was a long shot, anyway.”
I couldn’t help wondering why Viktor didn’t say anything. Maybe he didn’t remember t
hem, which would indicate he didn’t leave with them like I had thought.
“What about you Amber?” Ken gave me a pointed look, his pencil poised.
“Um, not really,” I lied, not sure why I was even doing it. “Did something happen to them?” I asked glancing over at Viktor, his expression bereft of emotion.
“Them?” Ken gleaned onto that one word. “How’d you know there were two people?”
“Ah, didn’t you say that?” I flustered.
“No, I didn’t.” Ken’s baby blues narrowed.
“Yes, you did,” Viktor interjected, saving me.
Ken rubbed the crease between his brows. “Well, if either of you remember anything, let me know.”
“Sure,” said Viktor, opening the door, putting an end to any further questions. “You ready, Amber, we really need to get going.”
“Kay,” I said. I waffled in place. Not sure what to do. Part of me wanted to go but the other part felt like I should confess. But I didn’t even know what there was to confess to, so instead of saying anything, I followed Viktor out the door.
“See you kids later,” Ken said nicely enough but I felt like I heard an underlying accusatory tone. I was sure it was just guilt making me feel this way.
“I won’t be too late,” I told my mom, who was surprisingly silent during the entire exchange. I glanced back at her to see she was staring at Viktor with the strangest look on her face. A shiver of unease crept over me. I ignored it and walked outside into the fog-ridden night.
twenty four
Climbing into his Escalade and situating myself on the soft leather seat, I hooked up my seatbelt. “So did you get stuck in traffic?”
Viktor turned and glared at me. A shiver of unease swept over me. Without saying a word, he turned and looked out the back window, backing out of the driveway. Once the tires hit pavement, he threw his SUV into gear and stomped on the gas. My neck jerked back from the action.
“All righty then,” I muttered, irritated, rubbing my neck. “Donkeyhole!”
His lip tilted upward and he reached forward, cranking the volume on the stereo. The Cult blared out of the speakers and the bass thumped so loudly I could feel it in my chest. Turning, I looked out the window at the blurring landscape.
With the Mario Andretti way Viktor was driving, it was no wonder we arrived at the hospital quickly. Turning the wheel, he swung into the parking space. The wheels made a slight squealing noise. He killed the ignition and opened his door.
“Viktor…”
“What?” He turned, his eyes locked with mine and suddenly I wished I didn’t bother.
“Aren’t you going to talk to me?” I asked.
“I am talking to you.” He shook his head and let out a heavy sigh. Light slanted into the window basking his face in the fluorescent glow. “What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know.” My stomach clenched.
“It’s getting late,” he said and pushed open the door. “We better get inside before visiting hours end.” He jumped out and slammed the door.
“Oh—kay,” I muttered and grabbed the handle, jumping out. I slammed the door with a bit more force than necessary, but it did feel good.
Viktor didn’t bother waiting for me, which irked me even more. Sprinting across the lot, I tried to catch up. Once I was at his side, we silently walked into the hospital. As soon as I stepped through the sliding glass doors, the strong smell of antiseptic and someone recently being sick hung in the air. My stomach lurched, protesting against the gross odor. I covered my nose but it did little to buffer the putrid smell. To make matters worse, I really detested hospitals. Couldn’t stand them, which was ridiculous. If there weren’t hospitals, I would already have died from an acute case of appendicitis in sixth grade. I had to have an emergency appendectomy. The doctor even asked me if I wanted to see it, which was just wrong—like what eleven-year-old wants to see that. Gross.
We paused at the L shaped sitting area with burnt orange chairs and ugly brownish carpet. There was a big wet spot in the corner with a little plastic t-pee propped up in front. Taped to the front was a piece of paper that said, “Do not move.” A girl that looked to be in her mid-twenties sat behind a glass partition, talking on the phone. A hot pink highlighter stuck out the side of her loose bun and wispy pieces floated down over her eyes, giving peekaboo glimpses of her iridescent blue eye shadow through her white blonde hair.
She glanced up at me and narrowed her eyes. I shivered and stuck my hands in my pockets. I wanted to leave. There was a sign on the far wall beside a pair of dingy white doubled doors that said “No Visitors beyond this point.”
Viktor came up behind me and pressed his hand against my back. “Wait here for a minute.” He walked up to the girl behind the glass and said something that I couldn’t hear.
A moment later a buzzer sounded and the doors creaked open.
Viktor stood between the doors, stopping them from shutting. “Come on.” He signaled me over.
Hurrying across the room, I walked through the doors and waited for him on the other side. Again, the strong smell of antiseptic and sickness glutted the air. If I had eaten something more substantial, I was sure I would have lost my cookies on the floor too, just like the person in the waiting room.
“You ready?” Viktor looked down at me as if he was reading my thoughts—his expression seemingly sympathetic to my plight.
“Yeah,” I lied, trying to be strong.
“Stay close to me.” He walked past me down a long hall and I followed him closely. I wanted to bury my face in the back of his jacket, he smelled really good. At the last door on the left, at the end of the hall, he stopped in front of a gray door. A fluorescent light flickered off above my head. “She’s in here.” He pushed open the door.
A blue chair with metal legs partially blocked the door, and I stepped around it into the room. Pulled halfway shut, blocking the top of the bed was a patterned curtain in muted colors, and the faint yellow glow of lamplight barely illuminated the corner near the bed. A cream-colored heater was in front of a window, whirling warmish air into the room. It smelled better in here from all the flowers set about the room but there was still an underlying smell of disinfectant.
A lump formed in my throat when I saw Glinda. She looked so helpless and small. Metal guards were up on the sides of the bed, to stop her from rolling out on the floor. Tubes snaked down into her arms from a bag filled with clear liquid, dripping steadily. There were purple and yellow bruises on her face. Her skin looked see through, and I could see every vein in her translucent skin. A huge bandage was on the side of her neck and large scratches were sticking out from under bandages on her arms. The constant beep, beep, beep of the monitor made me feel strangely unsettled. I knew it was only a machine tracking her heart rate but I was afraid the beeping would stop and turn into one long beep –a flat line.
The door flew open and a heavyset nurse in flowered scrubs bustled into the room carrying a tray filled with more flowers and a stuffed animal with a balloon, which she set on the table near the bed. The little teddy bear had a bandage on its arm and held a balloon that said, “Get well soon.” It was ridiculous. A gurgle of hysterical laughter slipped out from the absurdity of it all. I faked coughed to cover up my outburst. “Scratchy throat,” I lied. The nurse gave me a nasty glare
“How is she doing?” Viktor asked the nurse, speaking for the first time since we entered the room. The nurse turned from me and perched her hip on the edge of the bed. “Her condition really hasn’t changed since the last time you were here, I’m afraid.” She lifted her hand and smoothed the covers over Glinda’s little feet.
What? I looked over at Viktor, wide eyed. When had he come by? “Has she woken up?” I managed, finally.
All pleasantries went by the wayside when the nurse turned her head and her beady eyes bore into my own. “No,” she snipped and shook her head.
“Do you think she will?” Viktor asked, shoving his ha
nds in his pockets, his eyes never leaving Glinda’s face.
The nurse stood up and placed her hands on her ample hips. “We just don’t know.” She glanced over at Glinda. “We are hopeful though.”
“What does that mean?” I asked, my voice coming out surprisingly calm even though I felt like I might need to throw up now.
“It means we don’t know,” she said in a condescending tone, then turned and adjusted something on the monitor.
“I don’t understand,” I plodded onward. “I thought she was doing better.”
“It’s too soon to tell if she has any permanent damage to her brain.” The nurse gave Viktor a sympathetic look and then looked down her hawkish nose at me.
“I’m sorry,” I flustered. “I thought she was recovering.”
“She is.” The nurse rolled her eyes and mumbled something under her breath that I was sure was an insult directed at my intelligence.
“An officer stopped by earlier to check on her condition.”
“Really?” Viktor asked, lifting his brow. “Do you remember who it was?”
“Oh…” She crossed her arms and pressed her finger on her lips. It looked like she was propping up her nose. “What was his name again? Good-looking guy though…blonde hair, built…” She waved her hand. “It’ll come to me.”
“What did he say?”
“Oh, he said that Glinda was fortunate that boy came by with his dog or else she may not have survived.”
“What boy?” I asked before I could stop myself.
“The one that found her,” she snipped, adding an eye roll that was unnecessary. “I guess it was one of the boys over at the reservation.” She bustled over to the opposite side of the bed and fluffed the pillows. “That boy and his dog probably saved her life.” The nurse nodded in my direction and tucked the blankets around Glinda tighter, making her appear even smaller.
“Where was she attacked,” I asked, immediately thinking of Lucky.
“Not sure.”
“Why would someone want to attack Glinda?”
“Who knows, but I’m sure by the way her neck was tore up it was another one of those crazy copycat attacks.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
The nurse gave Viktor a cursory glance and then lifted up the tray. “I’ll give you five more minutes but then I’m afraid you will have to leave until tomorrow.” She stopped beside Viktor. “We are already bending the rules for you.”
“I appreciate that Nancy,” he said, calling her by name.
Nancy wobbled toward the door with her tray, her orthopedic shoes squeaking on the linoleum tiles as she made her way out of the room.
Relieved she was finally gone, I let out a pent up breath. Viktor was still looking at Glinda. I cleared my throat trying to get his attention but he didn’t even flinch. Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore and just spit out what was on my mind. “You were here before?”
“Yeah,” he murmured and smoothed Glinda’s hair back from her face.
It was an endearing gesture and made me uncomfortable watching it. I felt a twinge of hurt from the action even though I didn’t have any right to feel that way. Nothing made sense.
“You came by after you left my house?”
“Yeah,” he said and glanced up at me, his light gray eyes flashed with something I didn’t understand.
“Wasn’t it was too late though?” I asked. “I mean for her to have visitors?”
“Not for me.” He lifted his shoulders, like this explained everything. He looked back down at Glinda, a small smile playing on his lips. I wasn’t sure if it was for me or her. “We better go.”
Reaching out, I touched a part of her arm that wasn’t bandaged and immediately snatched my hand back. “Why is she so cold?” I rubbed my fingers on my jeans.
“I don’t think she feels cold.” He gave me a strange look and stepped away from the bed, heading out the door.
“Maybe it’s just me,” I covered and slowly followed. I turned to glance at Glinda. She was staring right at me, her eyes swimming with hatred. I tripped, and my body flew forward. All I could see was a sharp metal object headed right for my face. Whether by sheer luck or God’s Grace, I hit the wall instead.
Pushing off the wall, I turned to the bed fully expecting Glinda to say, “Gotcha, back!” But her eyes were shut now and she looked exactly as she did before.
“Guilt must be making me see things,” I muttered and pushed a blue metal chair out of the way. I walked out into the hall, looking for the other chair…but it was gone. Only then did I realize the chair that almost had taken me out must have been the one that was in the hall earlier… but how did it get into Glinda’s room?