“I’m sorry, Miss White. You need to leave the hospital.”
“Excuse me?”
“You need to leave the hospital grounds, Miss White.”
I stare at the security guard, not sure if I’m understanding him. I can feel myself getting dizzy, my face turning red, confusion settling over me like a thick wool blanket.
“I don’t understand,” I say.
He frowns, looks around nervously at the people walking past. I can tell a few of them are looking in our direction.
“Look, I’m sorry, I don’t make the rules. I just do what I’m told, and I’m supposed to get you to leave.”
I shake my head and back away from him. “My grandmother is here. I have a right to see her.”
“Please, don’t make a scene.”
“Why are you doing this? What the hell is going on?”
“Miss,” he says, stepping closer to me, hands raised.
“Don’t touch me!”
He freezes. People look in our direction. I can hear them starting to whisper.
“Miss, I’m not touching you,” he says softly, calmly. “But I will remove you if you won’t come with me peacefully.”
“Now you’re threatening me?” I shake my head, unable to fully grasp what he’s doing. “I want to talk to Dr. Hill. That’s my grandmother’s doctor.”
“I’m afraid you can’t do that. I’ve been instructed to make you leave.”
I turn away from the security guard and start toward the elevators. He hurries behind me and cuts me off.
“Miss, I’m serious,” he says. “This is your last chance.”
I stare at the guy and he looks pissed. I know he’s going to drag me out of here kicking and screaming, but I don’t know why I’m being removed.
Well, that’s not true. Not entirely true at least. I know one reason.
Liza. Aiden’s boss.
She wants him gone. She wants to use this relationship against him. Aiden said something like this could happen if we got caught.
The kiss from yesterday. I knew it was stupid, knew I shouldn’t. Hospital room doors are basically just big glass panels and anyone could’ve seen it. We weren’t even careful.
My grandmother just seemed so excited. I thought it would be nice, and since she’s doing so much better, it wouldn’t matter.
If Liza saw that, though…
Oh, shit.
The guard steps closer to me, eyes narrowed. “Miss,” he says.
I put my hands in the air. “Okay, okay,” I say. “I’ll leave.”
“Good.” He sighs, steps up next to me.
For a second, I consider making a break for it. Aiden or no, my grandmother is still here and still sick. I want to be there for her when she gets released, but it’ll be pretty hard if I get banned from this damn hospital.
I don’t know what to do. I need to see her, at least to explain why I’m not around.
The guard eyes me suspiciously and I sigh. I look away from him. People are whispering all around, some of them staring. At least one person has their phone out, probably recording.
I start walking toward the exit. The guard walks alongside me.
Fucking bastards. Fucking bastards. I don’t know what I did to deserve this.
I’m not even a real patient. Aiden can do whatever he wants with me, it’s not against the rules.
Or maybe it is. I don’t know. I don’t think I care, either way.
It’s not fair. Liza is just using me to hurt Aiden. I hate her so much for it.
We get closer to the door. I think I might start to cry, but the people staring at us keep my tears at bay.
I’m not going to break down and weep like some stupid child.
This is the problem with the world. Something good can so easily get crushed just because people don’t understand it. What I have with Aiden is good.
He’s older than me, sure, whatever. That’s not really a big deal, at least not for us.
But to those on the outside, it seems like a huge deal. It’s an enormous deal. It’s scary, weird, unusual.
And they’re going to win. The forces that want to tear us apart just because they don’t understand what we have are going to win. There’s no other way to look at it.
I know Aiden isn’t going to give up his job for me. He cares too much about being a doctor, and I can’t blame him. I’m not worth losing something he loves. Being a doctor defines him, gives him purpose.
I’d hate myself if I took that away from him.
So I trudge to the door like I’m walking to the guillotine. I’m going to lose something I love, something I cherish. All because the bastards want to ruin it.
I sigh, defeated. I don’t know what else I can possibly do.
As we reach the automatic doors and they slide open, I hear something. I stop walking, the wind of the city blowing in through the open glass. I turn back to look over my shoulder.
“Ruby, wait!”
Aiden’s striding toward me.