Human Blend (13 page)

Finally, after about three minutes, Julie
lifted her head. “You never did tell me how that works,” she said,
stepping back.

“You mean how I stop you from having a
complete mental breakdown?” he teased. Julie rolled her eyes.

“How does it work?” she asked, lifting his
hands to look at them. Eli watched her examine them.

“What do you feel?” he asked.

Julie rubbed her palms across his. “It's
almost like a cloud descends over me. I feel safe. I feel I can say
anything, and it will be okay,” she tried explaining. Julie looked
at his lips. “When your voice and breath... when your lips...” she
trailed off, blushing. “Now answer my question,” she commanded with
a smile.

“It's just a calming technique, meant to
relax you and free your thoughts,” he explained, brushing the hair
back from her face.

“You have to teach me how to do that
sometime,” she said, releasing his hands. She closed her eyes.
“When do we have to do this?” she breathed.

“Better to get it over with,” Eli
advised.

“Okay,” she sighed, and collected the hotel
key she needed to return. “Let's get this over with,” she said.

The two drove in silence to the hotel. Eli
parked behind a cop car. He gave Julie's hand a squeeze. “You
okay?” he asked.

“No,” she said and let out a nervous
laugh.

“Follow my lead,” Eli said, getting out of
the car.

The lobby was a buzz of activity as Eli and
Julie entered. Julie instinctively pulled back, but Eli put his arm
around her. “Let's go to the desk. Stay with me,” he whispered.

“Oh, Miss Miller,” Patricia addressed her as
they approached. “The police were looking for you. I am sure you
heard the tragic news. The police are taking statements from all
the guests,” she informed. Eli nudged her when she didn't speak up
right away.

“Oh, yes. That's fine. Here is my room key.
I'm checking out as well,” Julie managed to get her lines out.

“I understand.” Patricia accepted the
key.

A policeman who had been watching the two
walked over. “Hello folks. I'm Detective Hopkins with the Marion
County Police Department,” he greeted, then recognized Eli. “Doctor
Elsworth. How are you? I'm Peter Hopkins. I don't know if you
remember me, but you operated on my father, Frank, a few months
ago,” the detective said.

“Of course I remember you, Peter,” Eli
greeted, shaking the cop's hand. “How is your father doing?” Eli
asked.

“He is doing fantastic; already back on the
golf course. You could never tell he was near death six months
ago,” Peter told.

“Excellent. I'm glad to hear he is doing so
well,” Eli commented.

“I hope you don't mind, Doctor, but if you
folks were guests here, I need to ask you a few questions,” the
detective stated.

“I understand. Actually, Julie was the
registered guest here,” Eli said giving her hand another
squeeze.

The detective looked at the guest list he was
holding. “Okay. Let's see... Julie... Julie... Ah, here it is.
Julie Miller, room 207. Is that correct?” he asked.

“Yes,” Julie replied, her voice cracked from
nervousness.

“She is a little shaken up by the whole
event,” the doctor explained.

“Understandable. Why don't we go have a seat
over here?” the detective gestured to the sitting area of the
lobby.

Once the three were situated, the questions
began. “Miss Miller. How long have you been a guest here at the
hotel?” he asked.

“Um, I checked in Saturday, so about six
days,” Julie answered, keeping her nerves in check.

“During that time, did you have any contact
with an employee by the name of Anthony Wolenza?” the detective
asked.

“I didn't know his last name but, yes, I did
see Anthony behind the desk a few times,” Julie stated, glad that
the questions seemed easy thus far.

“Did you have any conversations with Mr.
Wolenza?” he asked.

“Other than asking for directions, no, not
really,” she said.

“Are you currently a guest here?” the
detective questioned.

“I just checked out officially now,” Julie
informed him.

“What time did you come back to your room
last night?” he asked. Julie looked to Eli for help on this
one.

“Detective, Julie stayed at my place last
night. We stopped by here around ten PM to pick up her things. She
would have checked out last night, but no one was at the desk when
we left. We heard the news this morning. Needless to say, I was
glad she was not here last night,” Eli explained.

“So, the last time either of you were here
was around ten PM last night. Did you see anyone?” he continued the
questions.

Julie and Eli looked at each other and shook
their heads. “No, no one,” Julie confirmed.

“Miss Miller, during your stay here, did you
notice any unusual behavior in any of the guests or staff?” he
asked.

“Not that I recall,” Julie replied.

“One final question then, did you ever notice
anything missing from your room?” he questioned.

“No,” she answered.

“Okay. That's all the questions I have. If
you remember anything that you think would be helpful, please don't
hesitate to call,” he instructed, handing Julie his card. “Doctor
Elsworth,” he addressed, holding out his hand.

“It's good to see you again, Peter. Give your
father my best,” Eli said.

“I certainly will, and thank you both for
your time,” the detective smiled and walked away.

Eli looked at Julie. She was staring down at
the card she had been given. “You okay?” he asked.

“Hmm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Can we go? This
place gives me the creeps,” she replied.

“Yes. C'mon,” Eli agreed. Julie slipped her
hand into Eli's as they exited.

Once outside, “Why don't you go home and
rest?” Eli suggested.

“No. I'm fine really. I wanna go see Michele.
Besides, I have work,” she replied, smiling.

“I'm concerned about you. You don't seem
yourself,” Eli said, placing his hand to her face.

“I'm just tired. I'll be fine. Work will be
therapy for me,” she smiled, then tugged his hand. “Come on. I'm
hitching a ride,” she pulled him toward his car. Eli smiled despite
himself and opened the door for her.

Neither saw the man, who eyed them with keen
interest, smoking a cigarette a few store fronts away.
Enjoying
yourself, Laney?
the man thought.
Time's almost up
. The
man wrote the number four in a notebook and copied down the license
plate as they drove by.
Let's see how many other lives you can
ruin
. He laughed to himself and crushed out his cigarette.

Back at the hospital, Julie changed into her
uniform. Eli had told her that Michele had been moved back to
pediatrics and that they would be reducing her sedatives. She was
sad to see she wasn't scheduled for that floor. Eli promised to
come find her if Michele woke up. She was glad for the hustle and
bustle; it kept her mind occupied. She refrained from doing any
healing. The fatigue she felt was still dragging her down, but she
hid it well.

She was heading for the supply closet for
some clean sheets when a familiar voice called out to her. “Julie!”
Austin shouted, practically running up to her.

“Austin! Hi,” she greeted then saw the
troubled look on his face. “What's wrong?” she asked.

“What's wrong? How can you ask that? I was
crazy with worry when I heard the news about the murder. I went
there looking for you and they told me you checked out. I
thought... I thought...” Austin said, but did not finish his
thought.

“Oh, Austin, I'm so sorry. I haven't had a
moment to call you,” Julie apologized. She looked down the hall and
saw some of the nurses spying on their conversation. “Come on, lets
go somewhere more private,” Julie suggested and lead Austin to the
supply closet she had been heading to. Once inside, she could tell
he was upset with her. “Austin. It's been so crazy, I was going to
call you after work,” Julie tried to explain.

“I thought you left,” Austin said, finishing
his previous thought. “I thought you just left... and I was never
going to see you again,” he said leaning back against a shelf.

“Austin,” Julie said softly, putting her
hands on his face. “I'm not going anywhere. I got an apartment. I
move in tomorrow. I'm staying,” she reassured. Austin looked into
her eyes, looking for even more confirmation.

He placed his hands on her waist. “I know you
are running from something, Julie. I don't even know what or who,”
he said. “I hope someday you'll trust me enough to tell me,” Austin
stated. Julie put her head down and tried to move away from him.
Austin kept her close. She knew that she was being foolish. She
should push him away; keep him out of the danger that went with
knowing her. She looked into his eyes and couldn't do it. She
needed him. She needed the normality that he brought to her life.
Need or want?
She questioned herself. “Julie,” Austin
whispered. He kissed her softly on the lips. Julie lost all resolve
then. Need... want... it didn't matter. All that mattered, at that
moment, was that she was in his arms. After a few more stolen
kisses, Julie found a way to pull back.

“Can we continue this after work?” she
laughed at her own casualness.

Austin smiled, pulling her back against him.
“Where? I thought you checked out,” he teased, then asked
seriously, “Where are you staying? You said your apartment isn't
ready until tomorrow.”

“Oh, Doctor Elsworth is letting me stay with
him. He owns the apartment building that I'll be renting in. He had
heard about the murder and offered me his spare bedroom until the
apartment is ready,” Julie explained.

“He is, like, top gun here,” Austin
commented.

“Hey, you never told me. How did finals go?
Wasn't your last one today?” she asked.

“Yes. It was. Good memory,” Austin answered
and began kissing her neck. “You look really cute in this uniform,”
he remarked.

“Stop changing the subject,” Julie laughed.
“How do you think you did?” she asked again.

“At this very moment, I don't care,” Austin
breathed as his kisses became more passionate. Julie was pulled in
by Austin's amorous kisses, forgetting where she was until the door
was pulled open.

“Oh... um... sorry,” Joy said. Julie turned
around, red-faced. She was glad to see it was Joy, and not someone
else. “You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend,” Joy said closing
the door.

Julie had trouble finding her voice and it
didn't help that Austin had a big grin on his face. Finally, “Joy,
this is Austin. Austin, Joy,” she introduced.

The door opened again and Neal stepped in.
“Oh, cool, a secret meeting in the supply room. Count me in,” Neal
said, slipping an arm around Julie's waist, before noticing Austin.
“Austin, dude. What are you doing here?” he asked.

“Visiting my girlfriend,” Austin replied,
pulling Julie away from him.

“No way, I thought she was just trying to
play hard to get when she told me she had a boyfriend,” Neal
confessed.

“Nice to know you told someone,” Austin
teased, draping an arm around her shoulder. Julie smirked.

“You two are friends, I assume,” Julie
surmised.

“Neal is Rick's older brother,” Austin
explained. Julie and Austin shared a knowing smile.

“Explains a lot, actually,” she smiled.

Before Neal could question the meaning of the
comment, the door opened again. “Which one of you wants to tell me
why you are hanging out here instead of working?” Nurse Hacher
asked.

“Busted,” Joy laughed.

“Move along, all of you. Oh, Julie. Doctor
Elsworth was looking for you,” she said.

“He was?” Julie questioned.

“He said when I found you to tell you Michele
was awake.”

“Oh, great, okay. Thank you.”

Back out in the hallway, “I gotta go,” Julie
said to Austin.

“You're off work in an hour. How about I take
you out to dinner?” Austin suggested.

“Sounds great,” she said and smiled.

“I'll pick you up out front,” he said.

“What are you picking her up with, your
skateboard? You don't own a car,” Neal reminded.

“Shut up. I borrowed my mom's car,” Austin
answered. Austin and Neal bickered back and forth down the
hall.

Julie and Joy looked at each other and rolled
their eyes. “He's cute,” Joy gushed. Julie blushed. “When we get
time, you are so going to dish,” Joy warned. Julie laughed and made
her way to Pediatrics.

Chapter Six-- To Be Normal

A nurse was attending to Michele when Julie
arrived. She waited for her to finish before approaching the child.
Michele was lying on her back with her eyes closed. Julie lightly
touched her head and the child's eyes opened. Julie smiled down at
the beautiful brown eyes staring up at her. “Hi, Michele. My name
is Julie. How are you?” she asked. A small croaking sound escaped
the girl's lips. “Shh, I'm sorry. Don't try to talk. Your throat is
dry,” Julie advised. Still, the child tried to communicate. It
sounded as if the girl was asking for water. Julie looked up at the
IV's hooked up to the girl. She was getting fluids and shouldn't be
thirsty. Julie wanted to be sure she was absorbing the fluids that
she was getting. She touched the girl's arm and explored. Julie
found that she was absorbing some, but at a slow rate. Her body was
still adjusting to its new role in healing itself instead of
battling the cancer. She was about to help the process along when
she felt a hand grab her arm. She was immediately pulled back out.
Doctor Elsworth was glaring at her.

“We need to talk, now,” he said quietly,
mindful of other nurses nearby. Julie could tell he was angry with
her. She followed him into an empty conference room and jumped when
he slammed a chart down on the table. “What the hell do you think
you are doing?” he barked. Julie was surprised. She had never seen
him like this before.