|
really
pisses her off.
“You rent by the hour, or what?” she asks, her dark eyes narrowing.
“Ha! It
was
you lurking in the hall.”
“I don’t
lurk
,” she fires back. “
You
followed
me
here.”
It’s a valid point. But she definitely lurked first. I pretend to be taken aback
and hold up my hands in mock defeat. “With the intent of introducing myself,
but with that attitude—”
“Let me guess,” she says, cutting me off. “You consider yourself a rebel.
Ignoring the rules because it somehow makes you feel in control. Am I right?”
“You’re not wrong,” I shoot back before leaning against the wall casually.
“You think it’s cute?”
I grin at her. “I mean, you must think it’s pretty adorable. You stood in the
hallway an awfully long time staring.”
She rolls her eyes, clearly not entertained by me. “You letting your friends
borrow your room for sex isn’t cute.”
Ah, so she’s a real goody two shoes.
“Sex? Oh, heavens no. They told me they would be holding a slightly rowdy
book club meeting in there for the better part of an hour.”
She glares at me, definitely not amused by my sarcasm.
“Ah. So that’s what this is about,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “You
have something against sex.”
“Of course not! I’ve had sex,” she says, her eyes widening as the words tumble
out of her mouth. “It’s
fine—
”
That is the biggest lie I’ve heard all year, and I’m practically surrounded by
people who sugarcoat the fact that I’m dying.
I laugh. “ ‘Fine’ isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but I’ll take common
ground where I can get it.”
Her thick eyebrows form a frown. “We have
nothing
in common.”
I wink, having way too much fun pissing her off. “Cold. I like it.”
The door bangs open and Barb busts through, making both of us jump in
surprise at the sudden noise. “Will Newman! What are you doing up here?
You’re not supposed to leave the third floor after that stunt you pulled last
week!”
I look back at the girl. “There you go. A name to go with your little psych
profile. And you are?”
She glowers at me, quickly pulling her face mask back over her mouth before
Barb notices. “Ignoring you.”
Good one. Ms. Goody Two Shoes has some spunk.
“And clearly the teacher’s pet, too.”
“Six feet at all times! You both know the rules!” I realize I’m too close and
take a step back as Barb reaches us, coming into the space and the tension
between us. She turns to look at me, her eyes narrowing. “What do you think
you’re doing up here?”
“Uh,” I say, pointing at the viewing window. “Looking at babies?”
She’s clearly not amused. “Get back to your room. Where is your face mask?” I
reach up to touch my maskless face. “Stella, thank you for keeping your mask
on.”
“She didn’t five seconds ago,” I mutter. Stella glares at me over Barb’s head,
and I give her back a big smile.
Stella.
Her name is Stella.
I can see Barb’s about to really ream me out, so I decide to make my exit. I’ve
had more than enough lecturing for the moment.
“Lighten up, Stella,” I say, sauntering to the door. “It’s just life. It’ll be over
before we know it.”
I head out through the doors, across the bridge, and down C Wing. Instead of
going back the long way, I hop on a much shakier, nonglass elevator, which I
discovered two days ago. It spits me out right by the nurses’ station on my floor,
where Julie is reading over some paperwork.
“Hey, Julie,” I say, leaning on the counter and picking up a pencil.
She glances up at me, giving me a quick look, before her eyes swing back
down to the papers in her hands. “Just what were you up to?”
“Eh, roaming the hospital. Pissing off Barb,” I say, shrugging and twirling the
pencil around and around in my fingertips. “She’s
such
a hard-ass.”
“Will, she’s not a hard-ass, she’s just, you know . . .”
I give her a look. “A hard-ass.”
She leans against the nurses’ station, putting a hand on her super-pregnant
belly. “Firm. The rules matter. Especially to Barb. She doesn’t take chances.”
I glance over to see the doors at the end of the hallway swing wide open again
as Barb and the goody-goody herself step out.
Barb’s eyes narrow at me and I shrug innocently. “What? I’m talking to Julie.”
She huffs, and the two of them walk off down the hallway toward Stella’s
room. Stella fixes her face mask, looking back at me, her eyes meeting mine for a
fraction of a second.
I sigh, watching her go.
“She hates me.”
“Which one?” Julie asks, following my gaze down the hallway.
The door to Stella’s room closes behind the both of them, and I look back at
Julie.
She gives me a look that I’ve seen about a million times since I got here. Her
blue eyes fill with a mix between
Do'stlaringiz bilan baham: |
