Raina's Story (2 page)

“Here we are,” Raina said, looking dismayed at the line snaking from the main office. A second later, she perked up. Along the hallway, a table had been set up, and behind the table sat a teacher. Above him, taped to the wall, was a sign that read
PARKING PERMITS. UPPERCLASSMEN ONLY. “Can they possibly be this organized? I'm stunned.”

“Go get your permit. I'll wait over here,” Kathleen said, stepping out of the stream of foot traffic. She leaned against the wall, wondering how Carson's first day was going. Bryce Academy took Tampa's elite and wealthy, so it probably wasn't as chaotic as Cummings. She longed to hear his voice, see his face. Yet for all his attentions, Kathleen still felt insecure. He could have any girl he wanted. Why had he chosen her? She wasn't beautiful like Stephanie, who also attended Bryce. Stephanie was a model, and her pictures were all over newspapers and magazines. Kathleen caught sight of herself in the plate glass of the case across the hall that housed the school's sports and academic trophies. Her long red hair looked frizzy with the humidity and her shirt was droopy. Maybe it
was
better that Carson went to another school after all and couldn't see her at the moment.

“Got it.” Raina waved the permit and decal at Kathleen. “Let's go hook up with Holly.”

Kathleen fished for her class schedule as they walked. “Umm, it says here that I have geometry first period. How about you?”

“English lit. Lunch at twelve-forty.”

“I'll miss you by fifteen minutes.”

“Last period on Tuesdays and Thursdays are our volunteer times. We can meet in the parking
lot and all go together. And don't forget—orien-tation's this Saturday morning. I'll pick you and Holly up. You going to break out of Admissions and record filing?”

“I like it there. No blood.” Kathleen wasn't crazy about hospitals, so remaining in the admissions office and working with paper and files seemed logical to her.

“Just remember, we're getting a school credit this time around, so diversity counts.” For Raina, the credit was an unexpected bonus. She'd have worked without it, but the Pink Angels program offered a high school credit if a student volunteered a hundred and sixty hours a semester. A volunteer could work more hours if he or she had a parent on staff. Raina's mother, Vicki, was director of nursing, so Raina already knew she'd be at the hospital beyond the requirement for credit.

“The difference between us,” Kathleen said, “is that you want a career in medicine, while I just want to graduate from high school and get into a decent college. I volunteer to be with my friends.”

Raina sighed. “You're just too honest.”

“What's this?” Kathleen asked, seeing Holly barreling toward them, dodging clusters of students along the way. Her face looked pinched and pale, and she was clutching her notebook to her chest with a death grip.

Holly stopped short in front of Raina and grabbed her arm. “Don't go to the atrium.”

“Why? What's wrong?”

“You look like you've seen a ghost,” Kathleen said.

“Worse than a ghost.” Holly's voice trembled. “I've seen the devil himself.” She looked Raina in the eye. “I—I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Raina, but Tony Stoddard's back.”

R
AINA'S STOMACH LURCHED
as if she'd just fallen twenty stories in an out-of-control elevator.
Tony Stoddard
. The one person who could ruin her life. “Are you sure?”

Holly nodded and scowled. “Oh, he's older and more beefed up and his hair's longer, but it's the same old Tony. He's in the commons now, bragging and greeting all his old friends from middle school. Seems they still remember him.”

“I thought he was gone forever.” Kathleen sounded dismayed.

“I guess not,” Raina said, her heart thudding with dread.

“I overheard him saying his father got reassigned to McDill.” Holly named the big air force base in Tampa where Tony's father had served when they were in middle school together. “How can the air force do that to you?”

Raina offered a wan smile. “I'm sure they didn't single me out.”

“I don't think we should go down to the commons,” Kathleen said. “It's a big school. Maybe you won't run into each other.”

“For the whole year? Unlikely,” Raina said. Hunter's image leaped into her mind. “Oh no … what about Hunter?”

Holly shook her head. “He never knew Tony. Remember, Hunter was here at Cummings in ninth grade while we were still in eighth.”

Raina hadn't begun dating Hunter until she was a sophomore at Cummings and Hunter was a junior.

Holly continued. “And since Hunter's a senior now, I don't think he'll travel in the same circles as Tony. Why would he?”

“Plus, you've already told us that he's really busy with his job at the burger place, and of course, busy with schoolwork and
you,
” Kathleen reminded Raina.

“It's nice of the two of you to help me feel better about this. Truth is, it's hard to keep a secret in this school and you know it. I'm just going to keep a low profile and hope for the best.”

Kathleen didn't see how that was possible, because Raina was so popular, but she kept her opinion to herself.

“Sounds like a good plan,” Holly said. “Besides, maybe Tony's forgotten what happened. I mean, it
did
happen in eighth grade.”

“Years ago,” Kathleen said enthusiastically.

Raina smiled politely, but they all knew they didn't believe it. Not for a minute.

On Saturday, Raina picked up her friends and they all reported to Parker-Sloan General Hospital for orientation about their upcoming volunteer duties for high school credit. They had gone through an orientation at the beginning of the summer, but this time it was different. There would be little leeway for skipping days, tighter controls on their work, and supervisory reports filled out and turned in to their high school. The room where this orientation was held was much smaller than the teaching auditorium from the summer. As they took their seats, Raina recognized a few faces from the summer program but saw new people too. In all, she estimated that about sixty kids had signed up from schools all over the city.

Connie, the coordinator from the summer program, greeted everyone warmly, then introduced a petite young woman named Sierra Benson, the coordinator for the credit program as part of a work-study exchange. She was a senior at the University of South Florida seeking a degree in medical community relations. More and more hospitals needed good PR, according to Raina's mother. “Hospitals are businesses,” Vicki sometimes grumbled. “I wish it wasn't so much that way, but it is.”

Still, Raina had her heart set on becoming a nurse herself, despite her mother's flagging enthusiasm for her own career as the years passed and her profession faced ever-changing challenges. Raina considered her summer as a Pink Angel, and now her for-credit sign-up, as one step closer to fulfilling her dream.

“Hello,” Sierra said with a smile. “I'm really looking forward to working with all of you. Let me begin by saying that I want us to be friends as well as colleagues. I want you to come to me with any concerns about your work and your schedules and your supervisors—in short, come to me about anything. This is going to be a good year and with your help, we'll build the most successful high school volunteer program in Parker-Sloan's history.”

“She doesn't look much older than us,” Holly whispered to her friends.

Sierra went on to explain the rules and routines. She passed out paperwork and told them that the new assignment room would be next to the medical library. “While you're on duty, you'll each be given a pager for use in the hospital. You'll check it in and out each day, and when it buzzes, go to an in-house phone and call your supervisor. Some of you will be assigned to the same nursing unit for weeks at a time. Some will be assigned to a resident during his or her
specific rotation, and you'll be totally available to help them, run errands for them, whatever. Any questions?”

“My very own resident.
That
sounds like fun,” Holly whispered.

“I was hoping to stay in Admissions,” Kathleen mumbled.

“Spread your wings,” Raina urged softly.

Kathleen made a face.

When the orientation was over, Raina led her friends up to meet Sierra.

“Are you related to Vicki St. James?” Sierra asked after the introductions.

“My mom.”

“I like her.”

“Me too.” Raina often thought of her mother as a best friend.

Sierra smiled. “I've looked over the comment sheets from the summer program, and everyone you all worked with gave you high marks. Congratulations.”

“I—I really like Admissions,” Kathleen ventured.

“I'm going to be moving people around,” Sierra said. “By reading the comment sheets and talking to various supervisors, I think I can fit skills and personalities better.”

Kathleen was disappointed, but she kept it to herself.

“Then we'll see you Tuesday,” Raina said.

Holly kept up a running stream of conversation as they walked to Raina's car in the parking garage, but when they arrived at the vehicle, Carson Kiefer stepped out from behind a concrete pillar. “Hey, beautiful,” he said to Kathleen.

“What are you doing here?” Her mood shot straight up.

“Seeing you. How'd the orientation go?”

“Fine. Wish you were signed up.”

He shrugged. “I've got to get my grades up. I need to focus. That's hard to do when I'm around you.”

“Uh—why don't we wait for you in my car,” Raina said, nudging Holly.

“Better yet, why don't I take you home,” Carson said. “I mean, take you to Holly's house. We'll grab a burger first.”

Kathleen looked at her friends. “I'm sure you won't miss me.”

“We'll cope,” Raina teased.

Kathleen took Carson's hand, and Raina and Holly watched them walk away. Holly sighed heavily. “Wish I had a boyfriend.”

“Does Carson seem more serious-minded to you?” Raina asked.

“What do you mean? He's serious about Kathleen, I think.”

“I know. But ever since the night he resuscitated
Kathleen's mother, he's seemed less like the party guy we first met.”

“I haven't noticed. Whenever he calls her, I leave the room so they can have privacy. I'm such a good girl.”

“Come on,” Raina said with a laugh. “Hunter said he'll be off at five and if I hang around your house, I can be there when he arrives.”

“Well, doesn't that work out nicely,” Holly grumbled.

“Oh now, don't be a grouch. We can go shopping first if you'd like.”

“Mom's got a list of chores for me to do.”

“I'll help you.”

“Really?”

Raina looped her arm through Holly's. “Really. We could become sisters-in-law someday, you know.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“I missed you today,” Raina whispered in Hunter's ear.

They were on an old blanket in a wooded area on the grounds of her town house complex, one of the few places where they could be alone together. She was wrapped in his arms, and his mouth was pressed against her throat. The night air felt warm and sticky, slick with the promise of
September rain. Pale light from the moon flickered through the branches of overhead trees, dripping with Spanish moss.

“Same for me,” he said. “I'm crazy busy at my job, but I still have time to think about you. About us.”

She was cradled against the length of his body, every one of her nerve endings on fire for him. “
Us
. I like the sound of it.”

He kissed her, long and deep, and the taste of him was so familiar that she could have kissed a hundred others blindfolded and still known his mouth. Her head swam with passion and every inch of her skin tingled. No matter how many times they kissed, she always wanted more of him. “What about us?” she asked when he broke away.

“That it's getting harder and harder to be alone with you and… and not …” He didn't complete the sentence.

Her heart hammered inside her chest as if it wanted to break free. “I—I know,” she said. She would have given him anything he asked of her.
Anything
. “I love you, Hunter.”

He buried his face between her breasts, ran his hands down the long arc of her body rising to meet his caress. “And I love you.”

She thought she might die from longing for him. There was only him. He was all she wanted. All she had ever wanted. “It's … okay….,” she said. “I…want…us to…”

His hands stopped moving. She felt his body tense, and his slow, languid kisses ceased. A sound halfway between a moan and a growl escaped his throat. He pulled away, sat up very straight, grabbed his knees and pulled them tightly against his chest. “We can't, Raina,” he said dully. “We just can't.”