Wildflower Hearts

5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

S he felt so drained, she might as well have been running on empty. At almost nine in the morning, the hospital activity had failed to slow down, not that it ever did. She wasn’t sure she’d love it as much if it ever were to grow completely quiet. Something about the hustle and bustle made her come alive. She was taking a blood sample from a patient when there was a tap on the door. “Just a minute.”

“Lyla?”

She looked up. “Chief Stewart, what can I do for you?”

He smiled comfortingly at the patient, a twelve-year-old boy, and nudged his head at the hallway. “When you get a moment, your mother is here to see you.”

Her shoulders tensed, and she finished her sample as gently as possible. She held down the cotton ball, handed the syringe to a waiting nurse, and placed a band-aid over the ball. Lyla bent the boy’s arm up to his chest. “Hold your arm like that, Timmy. It’ll help stop the blood flow. You can lower it back down in one minute, okay?”

“Okay.”

She patted him on the shoulder. “You did a great job. Nurse Peters will get a sucker for being so brave.” Collecting her clipboard, she stepped out of the room with Bruce and allowed him to pull her to a sheltered part of the hallway. “I don’t think I can handle her right now, Bruce.”

“I’m afraid you have no choice. She’s been on every floor demanding to speak to you, and she said she’s not leaving until she does. She brought a slightly large fellow with her, a bodyguard or something.”

She let loose a dry laugh. “That’d be Bruno. Trust me, he’s like a big puppy dog. He follows her everywhere for show. I’ll get rid of her, don’t worry.”

“I’m not worried about her. I’m worried about you.” He shook his head. “You’ve been here for twelve hours straight. If you continue to push yourself, I’m afraid you might burn yourself out, and I don’t mean in a calm, recharge type of way.”

“You don’t have to explain it to me by connecting the dots. I’ll be fine.”

“I mean it, don’t overexert yourself. You’re too important for us to lose due to a bad judgment call.” He shook his finger at her. “I’ll watch your patients while you take a break and talk to her. If you need me, just page me.”

“Thank you, Bruce.”

Wiping the smile off her face, she approached the nurse’s station. She could already smell her mother’s intense perfume. Had she mastered invisibility along with the ability to repel all things human?

Lyla stiffened her shoulders, raising her chin as she came up behind her mother and watched Bruno point, muttering something. Her mother turned; her dark red lips pressed together in a flat line of annoyance.

“I have been all over this damn hospital looking for you!”

Veronica Hamilton had once been a beautiful, vibrant woman, but endless smoking, drinking, and an evil heart had tainted her. She was tall, almost five foot nine, with long black hair and green eyes. Years of the best cosmetic surgery and Botox had made her skin marble. Her lips were usually pressed flat, a straight line of disgust evident, but whenever she smiled, it made Lyla shiver, the look predatory. She was a snake that smiled right before she ate her prey.

“What can I do for you, Mother?”

“I told you not to hang up on me. Now I’ve had to drag myself to this…” Veronica shifted the fur scarf closer around her neck, “wretched place. I’ll simply have no choice but to take another bath to get the stink off me.”

“Why are you here?”

“I’m here to take you home. There’s simply no reason you should be here any longer. Amelia will be delighted you’ve decided to attend her engagement party. You’ll buy something nice to wear and a gift before we go.”

“I already told you I can’t attend her party, Mother. There’s no way I’m leaving the hospital. I have patients.”

“Why not? It’s not like it’s any concern to you when they die.”

Lyla flinched as several nurses look up at the station, Melissa’s hand hovering over the phone. “I’d be most appreciative if you never said anything like that ever again.”

“Don’t you dare try to order me around! I am your mother!”

“Well, you’re not my mother,” Melissa hissed as she rose from her desk chair. “If you can’t control your emotions, ma’am, I will have someone escort you out.”

Bruno grunted in disbelief, but Melissa refused to sit back down. She lifted the phone in warning.

Veronica rolled her eyes before focusing back on her daughter.

“You hang with such low-status people. It’s dragging you down and turning you against me. I’ve given you everything, bringing you into this world and making you into the woman you are today. This is the thanks I get?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I had a nanny from the day I was born until I moved off to college.” She narrowed her eyes, the wave of confidence coming off Melissa and those around her giving her strength. “Patricia was the only mother I knew growing up. She was the only one who ever gave a damn about me. Don’t you ever dishonor her memory like that again!”

“Lyla, you will-”

“I think it’s time you leave.”

Veronica’s mouth dropped. “You better think wisely about your choices, dear,” she hissed. “If you ever want to show your face in this town again with any sort of dignity, you’ll stop this nonsense this instant and come with me.”

“I think she told you to leave.”

Her eyes flashed angrily over Lyla’s shoulder, narrowing as they landed Elias. “And what concern is it of yours?”

“I’m her boyfriend,” he said firmly, moving to stand beside her. “And I don’t take kindly to people harassing my girlfriend.”

Veronica gazed between them, an amused expression appearing on her face. “When I thought you couldn’t sink any lower, you’ve found a street thug of our own. No wonder you’re afraid to come home and show your face,” she smirked. “Let me guess, you got her pregnant, and now she has no choice but to support the both of you?”

“That’s enough. If you insult him one more time, I’ll throw you out of here myself. He’s a wonderful man, and he’s definitely a better man than your horrible excuse for a husband will ever be.” She slipped her hand into Elias’s, holding back her surprise when she felt him squeeze her fingers in a supportive motion. “I think you know the direction of the exit.”

Veronica snorted but threw the scarf over her shoulder dismissively. She flicked her fingers at Bruno. “Let’s go. The contaminated air in this place is beginning to dry out my hair. Do not even think about crawling back to us when this falls apart. From this point on, you don’t have a family anymore.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” She met her mother’s gaze. “The only family I need is right here.” She remained standing where she was until the elevator doors slid shut behind Veronica and Bruno. The tension immediately slipped out of her, and she let out a rush of air, blushing as the staff around her began to clap. Melissa shot her a thumbs up. Lyla glanced down at her hand still in Elias’s. ”Oh, sorry.”

He grinned and released her.

“I guess I should thank you. No one’s ever stood up to my mother like that before.”

“From the looks of it, that included you.”

“I’m afraid so.” She glanced past him to see Chief Stewart and waved with two fingers. He returned to the signal before he disappeared into the elevator. “My boyfriend, huh? That’s certainly news to me.”

“It was to your mother, too,” he laughed. “I enjoyed that part the most. Well, a close second behind you telling her where she could stick it.”

“I don’t know what came over me. That wasn’t me.” Lyla shook her head. “I’ve never been that rude. I don’t like how it makes me feel.”

“There’s nothing wrong with standing up for yourself. If you don’t do it, no one else will.”

“You and Melissa helped me…”

“You stood up to her first. Remember that.”

She managed to smile. “How is your brother doing? I was about to check on him, but since things were quiet, I figured Reba had him covered.” He studied her, and it made her fidget. “What?”

“After what happened, you still have your mind on someone other than yourself.”

“It’s my-”

“Job, I know. Noah’s fine, and Mark’s with him. We’ve decided to stay with him on rotating shifts until he gets better.”

“You plan on doing that for almost a month?”

“Trust me, it won’t take Noah long to recover. He’s a Kingsley.”

“I hope you’re right, Elias. He has a long road ahead of him. So far, despite the bumps, he’s doing great.” She began to say something else when she spotted Reba from the corner of her eye. “Yes, Reba?”

“Chief Stewart says you’re due to end your double in a few hours anyway, so you’re supposed to clock out now.”

“But I-”

Reba took the papers and folders despite her protests. “Your next shift is at ten o’clock on Friday. He instructed you to use your day off wisely.” The nurse pivoted on her heels, a smile on her face as Lyla left her standing there empty-handed.

Fatigue suddenly caught up with her, making her too tired to argue. “Fine, you guys win.”

“Go home,” Melissa muttered. “Rest those big brass ones. I bet they’re sore from all the beatings they gave today.”

“Melissa!”

All the nurses laughed as they began to work again, the phones ringing, and papers exchanging.

“Come on,” Elias nudged his head. “I’m headed home. I’ll give you a ride.”

“I drove here.”

“Damn, a golden opportunity missed.”

“Thank you again for what you did.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “It was nothing. You’re taking care of my baby brother. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. My family owes you. We won’t forget your kindness.”

“I wish nothing more than a speedy recovery for him.”

“Me too,” Elias whispered as she disappeared into the employee lounge.

Lyla stepped out of her warm apartment and into the cool morning air. Steam floated off her breath as she placed her feet wide on the concrete and reached down to touch her toes. She straightened and stretched her arms over her head.

“If I were young again, I’d still be asleep.”

She grinned at her neighbor, an elderly woman who had lived there long before she moved into the apartment complex. “What are you doing out so early, Mrs. Thompson?”

“Grocery shopping.” She lifted the two bags in her hands. “They had a sale on tomatoes and rutabagas at the market. I couldn’t help myself.”

Lyla quickly hopped down the steps, moving to take one of the bags. “Here, let me help you.”

“Thank you. You sure are a sweet woman.”

“How have you been? Gone on any dates lately?”

“Me? Heavens, no!”

“An attractive woman such as yourself surely has men banging down the door.”

The elderly woman opened her door and motioned for her to follow her inside. “I think I should be the one asking you that. Girls like you should be going on dates, not always working. Any men in your life? You know how I love to gossip.”

Lyla lowered the paper bag down on the kitchen counter. “Hospital life doesn’t leave much room for dating.”

“Don’t spend the rest of your life alone because you fear it might not work out. I never would have met my beloved Dale, God rest his soul, if I hadn’t gone out and caught him.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” she smiled. “Well, I hate to leave so soon, but if I don’t, I’ll never get my run done before lunch time.”

“Young people and the need to exercise when you’re already thin.” Mrs. Thompson shook her head, following her to the door. “I’ll never understand it.”

“I think it’s something that still puzzles us as well.” She bound down the steps. “Have a great day, Mrs. Thompson.”

“You too, Sweetheart. Be careful out there. Remember what I said!”

Waving, she jogged down the sidewalk. She pressed play on the playlist on her phone, putting in her earbuds right when an energizing pop song flooded her ears. She ran around the block several times before she turned off her music, breathing hard as she wiped the sweat from her forehead and climbed the steps to her apartment.

Hearing someone cough to signal they were standing there, she looked up wide-eyed to see Elias leaning against the wall beside her door.