Page 22 of Dark Obsession

CHAPTER FOUR

Friday afternoon, Cody was still smiling about the night before. Demmy had surprised him with filet mignon, and afterwards they’d exchanged long, slow blowjobs on the couch. He kept smiling as he pulled into the parking structure attached to the side of Memorial Hospital. Jugs muttered and sighed in the seat beside him, tugging at the cervical collar as Cody wound up and up, searching for a spot.

“Thanks for doing this,” Jugs said. “I appreciate it.”

“No problem. I’m looking forward to all the new things you’ll be bitching about now that you’re losing that collar.”

“Gonna start with my employer.”

“How dare you bad mouth Demmy. He’s a saint.”

He found a space not too far from the skywalk, and they crossed the bridge and entered the hospital. Cool air tinged with cleaning products washed over them, and Cody shivered slightly as the air touched his sweat-damp skin. After all these years, and so many monsters, they both knew the way to Emergency without needing to follow signs. Once they’d passed through the metal detector, Cody grabbed two face masks from the box. He put one on and handed the other to Jugs who frowned at him.

“You saying something about my breath?”

Three people sat in chairs around the small waiting area, and, in a miracle of perfect timing, one let loose with a salvo of deep, wet coughs. Jugs quickly put on the mask. Cody remained standing close to the wall, far away from the coughers, as Jugs approached the check-in desk. Before Jugs had taken more than a few steps back to Cody, the doors to the interior of the ED swung open. Zenona waited for them, tan slacks and a high-necked, long-sleeved black shirt beneath her white coat. She raised her eyebrows at the sight of Cody following Jugs inside.

“Are you his bodyguard?”

“He should be so lucky,” Cody replied.

Jugs snorted.

Zenona led them down the hall of curtained-off triage spaces. “More coughing out there today?”

“Yeah,” Cody said, removing his mask. “But there’s only three of them now. The virus must have taken out the rest.”

Jugs also removed his mask. “You’re dark as hell, Bonker.”

Cody’s usual scowl at Jugs’s nickname deepened when he heard Zenona whisper, “Bonker.” She pulled back a curtain and directed Jugs to the bed inside. Jugs sat on the gurney, the paper sheet crackling beneath him. With his big hands on the cushion, fingers splayed out, and his eyes wide, Cody thought Jugs looked like a kid who had maybe gotten into a batch of growth hormones.

Zenona pulled on a pair of gloves as she approached Jugs. “I’m going to remove the cervical collar and conduct a quick examination. Then I’ll have you do some slow and careful movements for me, all right?”

The staticky sounds of the Velcro being loosened were loud inside the white curtained space. Zenona eased the brace from around Jugs’s neck and placed it on a metal table nearby. Sweat darkened the inside of it.

“Probably going to have to incinerate that thing,” Cody said.

“Ignore him.” Zenona’s voice was calm as she gently pressed fingers into the muscles along the sides of his neck. “Any pain?”

“Nope. Nothing.”

As Zenona worked with Jugs, Cody took the opportunity to study her more closely. She looked even better than she had two days before when he’d come in. The skin of her face was smooth and flawless. Her dark hair, flat and limp for the past year, was full and shining, today gathered into a single braid that reached halfway down her back. Her dark eyes were sharp, and the tiny lines at the corners appeared to have lessened.

He really wanted to know the brand of vitamins she was taking.

“Any pain at all?” Zenona asked as she observed his movements.

“None. I feel good as new.” Jugs’s smile was big and bright.

“Well, don’t push it, but you no longer need the cervical collar.” She pulled off the gloves and dropped them into the trash.

“So, don’t get carried away and play naked Twister with Agatha,” Cody said.

“Dude!” Jugs’s eyes bugged out.

Cody held his hands up, palms out. “I’m trying to help you keep from injuring yourself again.”

Jugs said, “We like naked Candyland, anyway.”