by Haley Nix
“Why didn’t you call for help?” asked Ida skeptically.
“I did. No one was around. He left out the back exit.”
“What was the patient’s name? We’re going to have to call the police.”
“No one knows his name. He was the one with amnesia,” I said, half-lying, not letting her onto the fact that he’d confessed it to me earlier.
Besides, I only knew his first name anyway, that wouldn’t help much.
“I’m still calling the police. With all the tests we put him through and all the doctors who looked at him when he came in, that man owes well over $10,000 in medical bills. That’s theft of services right there. You’re going to need to give them a statement, I’m sure. But before I call, is there anything else you need to tell me?” she asked as she stared me down.
She was definitely suspicious of my story but I did my best not to let on that I knew.
“No, that’s it. He just started running out of nowhere.”
“Alright then, wait right here.”
Ida went to make the call while Ellen, the other nurse who’d stood silently listening to my story came over to comfort me.
“You want a coffee, honey? Let’s go make some coffee,” she said, ignoring Ida’s orders as she took me gently by the hand and led me into the break room. For the time being, I was in the clear. But who knows what would happen once the police arrived.
***
Several minutes later, I was sitting across from Ellen at a table in the break room, each of us sipping our respective cups of coffee. Ellen looked up at me curiously. I knew she was dying to hear more details of my story, but I was still trying to make sure I had everything straight in my head. Now that I would be speaking to police within a few minutes, I had to be sure I didn’t say anything contradictory.
“You know, I had a bad feeling about that man ever since he came in,” said Ellen before taking a sip of coffee.
“How so?”
“I don’t know. Just this feeling that something was wrong with him. Maybe it sounds weird, but there was something evil there. I could feel it. And then when he regained consciousness earlier today, those eyes…”
She shivered dramatically.
“Weird,” I said casually, absentmindedly even.
Ellen shivered again at the thought of his piercing blue eyes. I tried to let on like I hadn’t felt the same nervousness around him. But in reality the only difference between myself and Ellen was that for some reason I’d been inexplicably attracted to him.
“And another thing. You remember how he had that gash on his face when he came in? His face was all cut up the first time I saw him. Next thing you know – woosh, perfectly healed! How do you explain that?” she asked pointedly, putting down her coffee and looking directly into my eyes.
I didn’t say anything, not wanting to let on that I’d noticed that as well, but I felt my heart beat start to rise, my face turning red. Ellen was beginning to make me feel guilty, like I was an accomplice or something. I guess I was an accomplice from a certain perspective. But what choice did I have? Caleb would have done whatever he’d wanted; he had that power. There was nothing I could do to stop him.
We finished our coffees and went out to the nursing station and found that two police officers had just arrived, one an older man and his partner a young kid who looked like he was straight out of the academy.
“Hello officers,” I said, trying to make my voice sound confident to build credibility.
“Are you Ms. Page?” asked the older of the two men.
“Yes, Alison Page.”
“We just want to ask you some questions about the incident that occurred here about thirty minutes ago.”
“Of course. Anything I can do to help.”
***
I was pleasantly surprised to find that their questioning was much less extensive than I’d anticipated. Both the men were exceedingly kind and polite. In all reality, I’d probably been asked harder questions when I was initially confronted by Ida.
The men were primarily concerned with getting a highly-detailed description of Caleb. I had to use all my willpower not to use the words “handsome” or “sexy” in my description. But I’d told them that he’d been wearing a hospital gown when he ran away, conveniently leaving out the part where he’d transformed into a werewolf!
They were puzzled by this information, wondering why they hadn’t heard anything come across their scanner. Surely, a man in a hospital gown in such a crowded section of the city would have been reported by now. The younger man wrote something down as we addressed this strange point.
After they finished their questioning, they got up to leave, thanking me for my time. As they walked out the door I heard something bizarre come across their scanner:
We’ve got reports of a large, wild animal loose in your precinct. We’re gonna need you to check it out pronto. The cross streets are…
The voice trailed off as the men exited this level of the hospital and disappeared down the staircase. I gulped as a fear-induced lump built up in my throat. Tonight had gone by so quickly that I hadn’t properly stopped to examine things. I’d been concerned with saving my own skin – avoiding blame so I wouldn’t lose my job or get in trouble with the police. But the fact was my life might still be in danger.
I had no idea who Caleb was or how dangerous he might be. Guilt washed over me. What had I let loose on these streets? What if he killed somebody, would I be responsible for that? I shivered and shook my head, trying to get these thoughts out of my mind. I set off to do another round of checks on my patients. Hopefully that would help me to relax and forget about all this mayhem, at least for a moment or two.
***
The rest of my shift went by relatively quickly. We had a few new patients admitted, not to mention some complications with my existing patients, so I was able to keep my mind off of events earlier in the night. When I clocked out at 9:00 AM I was completely exhausted.
Fortunately, tomorrow was one of my days off. Once I’d gotten back to my apartment, I collapsed immediately into my warm bed with my scrubs still on. The next time I woke up it was seven o’clock at night.
One of the toughest things about working the third shift is the sleep schedule. I slept during the days and worked through the nights. This meant my sleeping patterns were almost directly opposed to everyone else’s. I was usually waking up right when everyone else was sitting down to dinner, and going to work when they were going to sleep. And vice versa.
I’d gotten used to the pattern, but it was most annoying on my days off. I’d be up and ready to do something fun right when everyone else was getting ready for bed. This meant a lot of my time was spent just watching bad reality television into the early hours of the morning, or reading a book by myself as I enjoyed a glass of wine.
It wasn’t the worst schedule, but it did mean I got pretty lonely sometimes. I saw my friends on somewhat rare occasion. And it certainly wasn’t a fitting sleeping pattern for a boyfriend.
On this particular day, I was a bit weary. It was my first night alone after the encounter with Caleb. I’d be up all night by myself, with nothing to distract me but the television. I ordered dinner in and went to the cute little wine shop around the street corner to pick myself up something nice. I knew I would need more than a few drinks to maintain my calm through the night.
As I walked back from the wine store, I kept having this strange sense of anticipation, like something bad was going to happen. You might think I’m crazy, but I expected to run into Caleb every time I turned a corner. I knew it was unwarranted. In a big city like this, how could he find me? But I felt nervous all the same.
When I got home, I opened the bottle of wine, pouring myself a tall glass and taking a deep sip. That calmed the nerves a little bit. I sat down on the couch in front of the television and flipped on the TV.
On ESPN, the Knicks were playing the Heat. I watched the game for a few minutes. There was something rhythmic abou
t basketball that captured my attention. I didn’t watch games often, but found that when I did, I enjoyed them. My last boyfriend, Brad, had been a huge Knicks fan, so I’d become pretty familiar with the roster over the time we’d dated.
Our relationship, of course, had fallen apart long ago. He couldn’t handle my bizarre work schedule; it became harder and harder to make time to see each other. After we’d broken up, I’d put on a bit of weight. I was always a curvy girl to begin with, but the breakup took a toll on me. I stopped going to the gym (which I already rarely did anyway) and started ordering delivery a lot more. It was the one small luxury I could afford.
Over that same time, I’d taken on more hours at the hospital, so my free time had dropped down to basically nil. I spent my few hours of free time either lounging around or sleeping, completely exhausted from work. I still wasn’t over Brad, and hadn’t given a second thought to men until the encounter with Caleb the night before.
Caleb had changed things. What was it about him that had so possessed me, had grabbed me so completely? It wasn’t just his looks. Sure, he was shockingly handsome, his body large, but agile – athletic some might say. He was tall, with dark, dark hair. But it was something beyond his physical appearance that had captured my attention.
I tried repeatedly to turn my mind away from this course of thought, but the more I drank the more impossible it became. I replayed the events of the previous night over and over again, hearing the words spoken by his smooth voice, oddly enough with a bizarre hint of a growl underlying its calm tone.
He exuded this intense confidence, a faith in himself, both his capabilities and his aims. But there was something else I was attracted to: his dominance, his commanding nature, how I’d found myself powerless when confronted with his demands. There was some sort of animalistic attraction I felt towards him, primal and inexplicable.
Then there was the wolf thing. I shook my head and poured myself another glass of wine. How could I make sense of that? That was the part that truly scared me, that made me fearful that any second he might show up at my door. He was unpredictable, a wildcard. And what was I to make of the story about him fearing for his life in the hospital? That was another piece of the puzzle I hadn’t quite been able to place.
I was way too drunk now, and soon enough I was passed out on the couch. When I finally woke up it was 4:30 AM. Dammit, I thought to myself. This is totally going to throw off my sleep schedule.
I got up and decided to take a shower. When I was done with that, I made myself a quick breakfast. I had errands to run, but the stores weren’t open yet, so I hung around the apartment for a while, reading a book I’d just bought and drinking a cup of coffee. Daylight was breaking, and pretty soon I’d be able to go about my day.
I’d need to make sure to be in bed sometime around three or four o’clock if I didn’t want to be too exhausted for work the following night at 11 PM. Such was my life on the third shift.
***
When I woke up around 9:45 PM, I was tired, but at least I had the willpower to drag myself to work. I hopped in the shower and heated up some of the leftover delivery food for dinner. After eating I was on my way, only making a brief stop at Starbucks to grab a latte before my shift started.
As soon as I entered the hospital my nervousness returned. There was every reason to believe that if Caleb wanted to find me, he would come here to do it. I was on high alert all night long as I made my rounds and carried out the duties of my job.
But when I left at 9 AM, I found that everything had gone smoothly. It was a perfectly normal day of work. The rest of the week went similarly. No surprises, whatsoever.
In fact, everything was exceedingly typical over the next couple of week. I got back into the familiar rhythm of my work schedule. I never forgot about Caleb and the kiss we had shared, but the threat, that element of unpredictability seemed to disappear entirely. I figured he had moved on, escaping from whatever danger he’d been concerned about. Apparently, he’d forgotten all about me.
The strange things I had witnessed that night seemed vague to me now. Had I really seen a man transform into a wolf, or was it my imagination? In hindsight, it did seem likely that my mind might have been playing tricks on my given the stress I was under that night.
It might sound odd, but something about this struck me as disappointing. Yes, despite all the nervousness and anxiety I’d felt, the underlying intensity of what I’d been through had excited me. Maybe it was the sick thrill of helping him escape from the hospital or the spontaneity of the kiss, but that night had offered respite from what had otherwise become a somewhat boring, routinized life.
I know that’s weird to say. I should probably just feel contented just to be safe, right? But it didn’t end there. Right when I thought I was in the clear, he showed up again.
It happened on an otherwise normal evening about a month after our first encounter. It was my night off and I was engaged in my usual day-off activity, some wine and a reality TV marathon. I’d saved a bunch of episodes up on my DVR during the week and now it was time to kick back and relax.
I’d ordered food around an hour ago. So when I heard someone ring the doorbell to my apartment, I buzzed them through the locked outer door of the entrance to building. About a minute later there was a knock at my door. I hurriedly ran over to open it, not bothering to look through the peephole.
As I swung the door open, I had a momentary feeling of dread sweep over me. Before I even saw him, my body was overpowered by anxiety. It was as if I was frozen in time. The process of opening the door had initiated a sequence of events I was powerless to turn back on. I knew he was standing there before he even came into view, felt the powerful attraction of his desire before he even laid those blue eyes on me.
“Hello, Ali,” Caleb said calmly, a smirk on his face. “Miss me?”
I was about to scream when he put a finger to my lips and gave me a glare that told me that doing so would be a bad idea. I covered my mouth to muffle my cries.
He touched my shoulder and ran a hand down my arm sensually.
“Got anything to drink?”
I nodded.
“Good. I can help myself. Why don’t you have a seat?” he said, walking into my apartment uninvited and waving a hand towards the couch in my living room.
He walked into my kitchen and found the bottle of wine.
“Got anything stronger?” he asked.
I nodded again, indicating with my eyes the top of my refrigerator where I kept several liquor bottles, mostly for making drinks with my friends on those rare nights when we went out on the town.
Caleb looked through the bottles before finding something he liked. He selected a bottle of vodka and took a glass out of my cupboard, pouring several shots into the glass and tossing in a few ice cubes.
“You want one, too?” he asked casually.
It was a weird dichotomy. Here he was, showing up uninvited and unannounced, yet he was acting as if it was his apartment and not my own. But I felt incredibly anxious and I nodded “yes” hoping that a drink would calm my nerves and help prepare me for whatever was to follow.
He walked over with the two glasses and set one down in front of me.
“Cheers,” he said, holding up his glass.
He took a deep gulp, emitting a sigh of pleasure at the biting coolness of the vodka. I took a sip of my own drink, far too strong for me, the alcohol numbing my throat. But I liked the distraction it provided, so I took another sip, bigger this time. I felt my pulse slow slightly from its peak. Finally, I felt calm enough to talk.
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see you,” he said, as if that was a perfectly normal reason given the circumstances.
“How did you find me?”
“It wasn’t hard.”
“How?”
“Your scent. I’m drawn to it. Impossible for me not to be.”
“That’s weird,” I said, my nerves returning.
I t
ook a sip of the cold vodka to settle them down.
“Not for me,” said Caleb, matching my sip with one of his own.
“What the hell are you?” I blurted out.
“A werewolf. A shifter. You can call it whatever you want. But you know what I am; you’ve already seen both sides of me.”
“Why did you come here?” I asked, feeling scared as I realized that my mind hadn’t been playing tricks on me.
How could there possibly exist someone, something like Caleb in real life? Wasn’t this fantasy?
“I’ve already answered that question. I wanted to see you.”
“But why did you want to see me?”
He pushed a lock of my hair behind my ear, bringing his face closer to mine.
“I guess you could say I want to finish what I started back at the hospital.”
I flinched, feeling small next to him, wanting to run or hide. I still had so many questions. There was no understanding him, no unraveling the mystery of the creature that stood before me. I felt powerless, lost and confused. I wanted him to leave right now, to forget about me and I about him. But deep inside I wanted something else – something I couldn’t even admit to myself at this moment.
“I can tell you want to ask me something,” said Caleb. “Go ahead, ask away.”
“No, I don’t. I just want you to leave me alone.”
“Ali, I can read minds. Don’t try to fool me, because you can’t.”
I couldn’t exactly tell whether he was joking or not.
“Why now? Why wait until now to track me down?” I asked.
I heard my own voice and recognized a note of sadness, or disappointment, as if I was bothered by the fact that he hadn’t come to find me sooner. I hadn’t intended it that way, but my voice gave resonance to my unconscious desires.