“Who are you?” I asked my voice thick with sleep.
“Listen to me. We don’t have much time. You have to get out of this hospital. I don’t care what you do or how you do it, but you must get out now.” What the hell?
“Why?” I asked trying to sit up in bed to get a better look at her. It was dark outside and the lights were off. I could only make out part of her face and nothing more.
“I, I have to go.” She was out the door before I could ask her anymore questions. Maybe my meds were too strong, or not strong enough. That was weird. I needed to find out who she was, but my thoughts were interrupted when the nurse came in.
“Hey girl! How about we get this catheter out and let you do a little moving around.” I nodded my head in agreement. Hopefully I could walk to the shower. I was beginning to smell funny. The nurse removed the catheter and took my vitals which were perfect. Maybe I would be out of here soon after all.
“Do you know who that girl was that just left?” I asked the nurse while she helped me to a sitting position on the side of the bed.
“What girl honey? It’s two o’clock in the morning. Ain’t nobody here except you and me. We ran the other ones out of here because they had not had the flu vaccine. We still aren’t real sure if that’s what ya got. The blood work hasn’t come back yet.”
What? I was so confused. Shit, maybe I imagined it. I shook my head to try and clear my thoughts, and with a lot less energy than I thought I would need, I made it to the bathroom.
I owed Red. She had pulled through for me. I was able to shower with my own shampoo and body wash and she had not only bought me a brand new set of pajamas, she washed them too. After I was clean and dressed, the nurse helped me to the recliner in the room and I sat feeling much more refreshed. I was still tired and my body achy, but it was tolerable.
“I am so fucking hungry,” I announced, more to myself than the nurse. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow and I remembered that my language was probably not suitable for her ears. “Sorry,” I muttered.
“The doctor is on the floor. I will see if you can have some jello or something light.” Fuck the jello. I wanted a hamburger. Maybe one of those Wards’ big one with chili and cheese, or a chili cheese dog covered in onions and mustard.
“You need anything before I go?” the nurse asked interrupting my imaginary buffet.
“Would you hand me my phone please?” Someone, probably Red, had been kind enough to put it on the charger for me. She brought my phone to me and left the room. I must have pissed her off with my foul language. Oh well, I was the patient.
My phone had been turned on silent, so the notification tone that would have gone off twenty-three times went unheard. I had text messages from Lindsey letting me know that she had everything under control. I had one from Scott telling me that the tenants were moving out over the weekend. A few more were from various people from the office expressing their concerns, which surprised me. The greatest surprise was the eleven missed calls and the two text messages I received from Luke.
*I love you babe. Sorry I can’t be there for you. Call me when you can.* *I miss you so much it hurts. I love you.*
Luke was so frustrating. What could be so important that he couldn’t be here? Well, there was only one way to find out. I didn’t care that it was almost three in the morning. I dialed Luke’s number and held my breath as it rang.
“Yeah,” came a groggy voice from the other end of the line.
“Hey stranger,” I said. I was still upset with him, but just hearing his voice had me smiling.
“Dallas?” His voice was clearer and I could picture him sitting up in the bed.
“It’s me,” I replied still smiling.
“Hey baby! How ya feeling?”
How did I feel? Lonely… Hurt… Betrayed…
“I’m feeling better. Sorry to call you so late, but I just woke up.”
“Don’t apologize, baby. I’m glad you called. What has the doctor said?” I could hear Luke up and moving around. What I would give to be there with him right now. I choked back my tears and forced my voice to remain steady.
“I haven’t seen him yet. I think it’s the flu, but it hasn’t been confirmed. This is the first time I have gotten out of bed since I have been sick. What are you doing?” I didn’t want to talk about me. I wanted to talk about why he had not been here to see me.