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Benny is my mom’s cousin, and my only living relative that I’m aware of. He would have happily taken me when I was put into the foster system, but he has a record, and the courts didn’t approve of a child living above a tattoo parlor in the “bad” part of town. I guess they thought I’d be better off with people who beat or otherwise neglected me, but they’re the experts, right?
It wasn’t all bad, honestly. I do sometimes think about all the bullshit I could have skipped had I been allowed to go with Benny, but I have to give credit where it’s due, and say that I learned some really important life lessons from the good and the bad experiences. I learned to be tough, and how to watch out for myself and sometimes others.
I’m about to lock up and go when a text comes in from Bennet.
Bennet: Apparently our patient is a little genius. Does anyone have a chess set they can bring tomorrow?
Lukas: I have one.
Jackson: Does that mean you’re in?
Micah: He’s still deciding, but I’ll bring it if he doesn’t.
It only takes me a few minutes before I’m pulling into the hospital parking lot. Scoping out a spot that looks like it’ll be perfect for tomorrow’s plan, I park about a row over from the employee lot, facing it so I have the best vantage point.
I leave my duffel in the floor of the car and head back up to the room, getting a few curious looks as I walk by the reception desk. Some people might say that I invite negative attention with my tattoos or the way I dress, but I feel like that’s bullshit. You can’t tell someone’s character by what they look like. Besides that, when you grow up “trash”, everyone can see or smell it on you no matter what you’re wearing. I could be wearing one of Bennet’s suits and have every bit of ink covered and I’d probably still get questioned or at least eyed. So why not use my skin as a canvas for my own drawings?
I hold up my hand in a short wave towards Nurse Irene, who is sitting at her desk typing away, and she gives me a friendly hello.
Knocking first, I walk in to see Bennet sitting next to the hospital bed, looking amused. He questions me, but I give an evasive answer and turn my attention to the pretty girl with a very flushed face. I’m curious what I just walked into. I give her a kiss on the cheek, lingering a bit when I feel her push into me.
There’s an odd exchange that feels thick with tension before Bennet leaves the room to make a call.
“What was that about?” I question with an amused smirk, but she just shrugs.
“I think he’s butthurt because I beat his little puzzle game,” she grins, not sorry at all for showing him up.
“Did you now?”
“Yeah, now he thinks I’m some kind of genius, but really, I’m just thinking he isn’t as smart as he thinks he is, and is trying to play it off… I think he might be close to cracking.”
I laugh. “Why do I get the impression you would like to see that?”
“Oh, come on, tell me you don’t want to be there when it inevitably happens.”
“You’re something else,” I tell her, chuckling. How can someone who has been through so much trauma and uncertainty be so damn infallible?
I can’t help but stare at her in wonder.
“Luis?”
Hearing her say my name is intense. I’d like to hear her say it again. I wish I could make her say it over and over again. The unbidden thought shocks me and I push it down.
Off. Limits.
This is neither the time nor the place, and she’s too good for me anyway.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I answer her. “Yeah?”
“Why are you here?”
I don’t know exactly what to think about that question, but she is quick to explain herself.
“I don’t mean, like, ‘why are you here?’. What I mean is, why are you here with me? Why have you stayed beside me this whole time, and why did you come back when you had a chance to sleep in your own bed? Why are you just going along with this whole thing, like you have no other cares in the world?”
Ok, wow. I’m trying to think of what to say and how to say it, but I decide to settle on the truth, or at least most of it. I don’t want to scare her off.
“I haven’t left your side because I haven’t wanted to. I came back as quickly as I could because I wanted to be here. Something happened in the park when I saw you, and I don’t really understand it, but…”
