Burning for You (Blackwater) (19 page)

Ash sighs.  “I grew up with it too,
Leah.  My mother would just stop whatever she was doing and without warning, run
in the other direction.  We don’t know why they know what they do, but one
thing I can say is that she’s never wrong.  Sometimes she doesn’t know
everything, but when she feels something, you had better drop whatever it is
you’re doing and go along.”  I nod, knowing he’s right.  Ash and I haven’t
talked much about crafting yet, more intent on learning about each other.  I
make a mental note to explore the topic as soon as we have nothing going on,
which means never as far as today is concerned. 

We find a spot in the employee lot
and I notice a large crowd of police cars out in front of the main entrance. 
My heart begins to pound as we approach.  I have to show my hospital employee
badge to a policeman who stops us just before the entrance.  He waves me
through, but tries to stop Ash.  “He’s with me,” I tell the officer, who looks
ready to protest but then stops himself and nods.  I look at Ash, who has his
eyes on the officer, and we pass through the sliding glass doors and into the
lobby.  I’m almost positive Ash just changed that policeman’s mind.

Chaos ensues.  Police are
everywhere, and although it’s not unusual to see policemen at the hospital,
something about this seems to be related to my mother’s fears.  I’ve never seen
so many at once.  I remember my dad saying that if a police officer is shot or
injured, the rest of the force tends to gather at the hospital.  The mood isn’t
like a wounded officer, it’s far worse.

“What floor are you going to?” an
officer asks as we get to the elevator, stepping in our path.

“Fifth,” I say.  “I’m here to see
my friend who just had a baby.”

The officer shakes his head.  “I
can’t let you up there,” he says.  “No one is allowed on five unless they’re
police or hospital maternity staff.”

“I am hospital staff,” I say, but
don’t have much hope that it’s going to work.  “Can I call my friend?”  The
police officer nods and I step over to dial Eleanor.  There isn’t any answer,
and the feeling of dread increases.  Just then, the elevator doors open and I
turn and see Andrew Laurent, Eleanor’s husband and my ex-boyfriend, stepping out
of the elevator with two police officers on either side of him.  “Drew!” I
exclaim, and I’m alarmed to see that he looks a mess.  His normally neat, dark
blonde hair is standing up on one side, and his dark blue eyes are red and
bloodshot.  He’s definitely been crying.  He turns to me and blinks, as though
he has no idea who I am.  “It’s Leah,” I say.  “What the hell is going on?”

“Ma’am, please,” the officer
standing by the elevator says, grabbing my shoulder as if to pull me away.  I
feel Ash grab my hand and I hear the sharp intake of breath from him at Drew’s
appearance.

Drew stops the two officers on
either side of him and comes up to me, and gives me a huge hug.  I feel his
shoulders shaking as he sobs silently against me.  “Drew,” I whisper.  “What’s
happened?”

“The baby,” he says, pulling away
from me and wiping his eyes.  “Someone’s taken Phillip from us.”

The paper the next day doesn’t fill
in many of the gaps in my knowledge regarding what happened.  From the little
Drew was able to tell me and the bits and pieces I managed to seam together at
the hospital, Eleanor and Drew’s baby boy was taken for a routine test for his
hearing and reflexes by a nurse.  The nurse was found an hour later after
Eleanor and Drew began to panic about why their son hadn’t come back, locked
and unconscious in a supply closet with a needle mark in her neck.  She had no
recollection of being drugged or what happened after she took the baby from the
room.  There were no witnesses.

After we left the hospital, Ash
took me back to my mother’s house and held me until I fell asleep.  I didn’t
want to be apart from him, and I was terrified and devastated for Eleanor.  My
mother sat and listened to Ash tell her what happened, as I sat dumbstruck and
curled in a ball on the sofa next to him, and then called Renee to console her
after she heard our part of the tale. 

When I wake up, Ash is gone, with a
text on my phone.  “Errands 2 run.  Cya @ lunch.”  I get ready for work,
choosing a pair of slim black dress pants and a flowy turquoise shirt with a
black blazer and black heels to match.  There are muffins on the table when I
walk downstairs, and so I grab one and eat it on the way to the hospital, only
realizing as I take the last bite that it’s banana.  I hate bananas.

Security is tighter than usual.  The
hospital is anticipating reporters from the Blackwater Bias trying to come in
and get information about the kidnapping, Gwen informs me as I get to my
workstation and turn on my computer.  Kelly and Linda are even in deep
discussion about it and I realize that very little billing cleanup will likely
be accomplished for the day.  I have to admit, part of the reason I came in to
work at all is because I want to see Eleanor.

“I know she’s a good friend of
yours, Leah,” Gwen is saying.  “Didn’t you talk to her at all?”

I shake my head.  “I talked to Drew
yesterday before it happened,” I tell her.  “He had mentioned she was getting
some rest and so of course I didn’t want to disturb her.  Then I came to see
her, and Drew was getting off the elevator.  I’ll never be able to forget how
his face looked.”  Kelly, Linda and Gwen are riveted by what I have to say,
which is a first for Linda, who usually blows off any words coming out of my
mouth with a dismissive hand gesture and a “yeah, yeah”.  I consider weaving in
some facts about revenue codes to try and make her absorb some relevant
information.  Something about the phrase “I went in to verify that Eleanor was
billed for revenue code 112 and found out her baby was stolen,” doesn’t seem
natural.   

I work well into the morning,
immersing myself in codes and provider issues and barely notice the message
light blinking on my phone.  It’s from Ash. 

“Need to reschedule lunch.  Caught
up in stuff.  Dinner?”

“K.”  I type back.  “B home @ 6.”

“Explain 2 U later.”

“NP.”

I realize my lunch hour would be a
great time to make another attempt to go see Eleanor and try and console her. 
Prepared with an excuse to speak with one of the obstetricians about unbundling
some CPT codes for a caesarian, I make it up to the 5
^th
floor via
the north stairwell, managing to avoid any illicit sex or smoking, though I can
smell a little of both.  The door swings open in my face almost the second I
put my hand on the handle, startling me.  “Erika!” I say, panting a bit.

“Are you okay?” she asks me. 
“Asthma attack?”

I shake my head.  “I’m fine, just
didn’t expect the door to open.”

She nods and is quiet.  I move to
go past her and she stops me.  “Leah, I…are you free for lunch?”

“Um, actually, yes,” I say warily. 
I’m somewhat relieved to know that Ash didn’t ditch me to go to lunch with
Erika.  “Right now?”

“Sure,” she says.  “Were you
planning on seeing Eleanor?  I just came from her room.  I can give you some
time to do that.”

“You saw Eleanor?” I say dumbly. 

Erika smirks.  “We’re friends,
Leah, believe it or not.”

“Oh, I didn’t mean that,” I reply. 
“I came by last night, wanting to see her.  Security was tight.”

She nods.  “It’s better now.  I
just wanted to see how she’s doing.  She’s going home today, so you can catch
her now at the hospital or wait until she’s home, but she might not be taking
visitors for a bit.”  She shakes her head sadly.  “She’s really upset,
obviously.”

“I believe it,” I say, feeling my
heart sink at Erika’s sentiments.  I’m not sure what I’d hoped for.  It’s going
to take a lifetime to forget about this for Eleanor and Drew.  “Want to meet in
the lobby for lunch?  Here or outside?”

Erika wrinkles her nose. 
“Outside.  I can’t eat that nasty cafeteria food.”

*

Eleanor is pale, which isn’t
unusual for a red head, but this is Eleanor.  I’m used to her usual radiant
appearance.  Her habitually bright and curly hair is hanging limply in dull
strings around her ashen face, making me want to cry.  “Eleanor, I’m so sorry.”

She sits in the center of her
hospital bed with her legs folded, Drew sitting behind her and rubbing her
back.  He’s not doing much better, and I can see from the dark circles under
their eyes that neither one of them has gotten any sleep.  Drew clears his
throat.  “Erika gave you something, honey, and said it might help you to relax
and get some rest.”

Eleanor still sits motionless,
staring down at her hands in front of her.  I see a solitary tear drop fall
onto the back of her hand.  She looks at it more closely, as though she can’t
make out what it is.  I glance at Drew, who makes a motion with his head,
indicating that I should leave the room.  I reach out to rub Eleanor’s
shoulder, and my touch makes her glance up at me, but it’s as though she’s
looking right through me.  I take a deep shuddering breath and lean over to
kiss the top of her head.  I can’t even say anything to her.  Nothing I say
will change how she’s feeling or what’s happened.

Drew follows me outside of the
hospital room and into the hallway.  “Leah, thanks for coming,” he says
softly.  We are nearly eye level, and his dark blue eyes take in my face. 
Those eyes are so familiar, yet a distant memory of a lifetime ago.  “I didn’t
know you were back.”

“Eleanor didn’t tell you?”  He
shakes his head, no.  I smile slightly.  “Figures.  She doesn’t have to worry,
you know.”

Drew chuckles.  “Leah, I’ve known
that since the day you left.  Not that I haven’t missed you, don’t take that
the wrong way.”

“I already have.”

He shakes his head.  “Not what I
meant,” he says.  “Eleanor is my catalyst.”

“I knew what you meant, Drew,” I
reply. 

He nods.  “Ash Lavanne is yours,”
he says.  “Last night when you came by, I was…distracted, obviously.  But I
could see it.  I could feel it, too.”

“What kind of crafters are you and
Eleanor?” I ask him, realizing I have no idea.  Drew looks startled as a nurse
passes us, giving us a strange look.  “Sorry,” I say more quietly.

“Earth,” Drew replies.  “Both of
us.” 

I nod, wishing I could ask more,
but realizing now is not the time.  There is so much I want to learn about
crafting and the world I’ve been surrounded by and ignorant to my entire life. 
“I know you’re not okay right now,” I continue to say.  “So I won’t ask if you
are.  But if you need anything, Drew, you and Eleanor, anything at all, please
let me know, okay?”  He nods, looking so sad that I can’t help but reach out to
give him a hug.  So many years of history, and the fact that he’s seen me in
one of my most vulnerable states, makes it a natural gesture.  I turn toward
the room and see that Eleanor is staring at us from her bed with a hostile
expression on her face.  “Christ,” I mumble.  Without a word, I turn around and
walk quickly down the hall.  As I put distance between me and Drew and Eleanor,
I feel my face grow hot with my own tears.  Why did I have to touch him like
that?  I was back in town to rebuild the relationships I’d destroyed,
relationships I cherished and needed, and here I was fucking everything up.

I turn the corner to go toward the
elevators and slam directly into another person, knocking the wind out of me. 
“Shit!” I say, seeing scattered white roses all over the tiled floor.  I stoop
to collect them.  “I’m so sorry,“ I apologize, and look up into the yellow
cat-like eyes of Gabe Locke.  “Shit.”

“We seem to be running into each
other fairly often, much to your dismay,” he replies coolly, bending down to
help me reorganize the bouquet.  “Hello to you too.”

“Hi Gabe,” I say stiffly.  I decide
to keep things formal, handing him the last white rose and straightening up. 
“I’m sorry I crashed into you.  I wasn’t paying attention to where I was
going.”

“Have you been crying, Leah?” he
asks me. 

I blink and brush away at my
telltale reddened eyes..  “I…just came from seeing Eleanor.”

“Ah, yes, I was about to pay my
respects as well,” he says, indicating the rescued bouquet.  He points his chin
at me.  “You appear to be bleeding.”  I look down at my thumb and see the blood
pooling out of it, punctured by a thorn.  I press my thumb to my lips and suck,
tasting the metallic sweetness of my own blood.  “Leah, I know you’re already
not very fond of me,” Gabe begins.  “Running out on our date wasn’t exactly a
great first impression, but I get it.  Ash has clearly gotten to you, and I
have no intention of stepping between you.”

“What about the intention of
reaping my powers?” I ask him.  “Do you have any intention of doing anything
like that?”

He smiles, reminding me of how
handsome he really can be with friendly facial expressions.  “I wouldn’t do
that, Leah.  You’re not powerful enough for me to concern myself with, are
you?  I don’t think you have any intention of doing anything rash.”

I’m confused.  “What about Ash?”

Gabe’s smile diminishes.  “My
‘family’,” he says, using air quotes with his bouquet-free hand, “has cast me
out completely.  You can assume I hold a slight amount of animosity toward
them.”  I nod, knowing that is probably the absolute truth.  “Ash and I will
never love each other like brothers.  Lisette will never accept me as a son. 
You, however, I am hoping will be willing to accept me as a friend?”

“I…Ash wouldn’t-“

“Oh, so you care about what a man
thinks?” Gabe asks me.  “Does Ash control you?”  I stare at him, not answering
but I’m sure my eyes tell him everything he needs to know.  “I didn’t think so,
Leah.  I don’t get the impression you are the type of woman that would let a
man take advantage of you.  At least, not again. Am I right?”