[Intertwined Souls 05.0] No Good Deed

by Mary D. Brooks

  “She had Eva in restraints. It was something out of my nightmares, and I hate to think what Eva thought. Waking with both wrists restrained terrified her.”

  “Oh god,” Tessa exclaimed quietly. “Eva woke up and found herself restrained?”

  “Yes. Nurse Stupid said Eva tore out her IV last night, which is impossible to believe. She didn’t do it.”

  “That’s not quite right. It is possible.”

  “That’s what she says. She said Evy did it, but I don’t believe her.”

  “Why don’t you believe her?”

  “Why now, Aunt Tessa? Eva’s been here for the last five days, and she’s woken up disoriented, but she hasn’t ripped out the IV tube. She’s been talking more, especially yesterday, but last night she woke up and found herself in those things.”

  “That does seem odd.”

  “She hasn’t done that in five days and all of a sudden she does? It doesn’t make sense.”

  “No, it doesn’t, but Nurse Avril, not Nurse Stupid,” Tessa gently admonished Zoe, “has good reasons. That’s what they do when a patient is hurting themselves.”

  “Eva wasn’t hurting herself. I know she wasn’t. It’s odd. Very, very odd.”

  “How was she last night after she got settled back in?”

  “She was crying and said she wanted to go home. It took me a while to calm her down and then she went to sleep. When she woke a few hours later, she had forgotten it. Thank God for that,” Zoe muttered. “I’ve been getting full sentences out of her, which is a good sign according to Aunty Stella.”

  “Yes, that’s a very good sign. Eva is recovering well, and before you know it, she will be back home,” Alexandra added.

  “OH HELL!”

  The expletive was heard down the corridor and was followed by a crashing noise, glass breaking, and swearing.

  All three women looked at each other and realized the noises were coming from the private ward. Zoe swept past the people near the entrance to the ward quickly followed by Alexandra and Tessa. She ran down the corridor and nearly slid on the floor before she reached Eva’s room.

  What greeted them was a room in utter chaos. Tommy was sitting on the floor nursing his head, which was bleeding. The IV stand had come crashing down and the glass bottle had shattered all over the floor. Eva’s IV tube had come out and she was bleeding over her arm.

  Zoe was expecting Eva to be agitated, but she wasn’t. She had a confused look on her face until she saw Zoe. She smiled on seeing Zoe. “Evy, are you alright?” Zoe reached out and grabbed the nearest thing she could find to stem the blood that was flowing out of Eva’s arm. Another nurse had rushed out and came back inside the room with bandages.

  “What the hell is going on here?” Stella raised her voice above the din as two orderlies raced into the room.

  “I got hit in the head with the bedpan,” Tommy said. Stella crouched down next to him and cupped his face.

  “I doubt Eva could throw a bedpan at you.”

  “She did!”

  Zoe spared Tommy a brief glance. “Hey.” She smiled at Eva.

  “Uh...loud noise.”

  “Yes, it’s very loud,” Zoe said and gently tapped Tommy with her foot. “Tommy just fell down and he hurt himself.”

  “Oh...okay.”

  “Evy, did you do this?” Zoe asked, not quite believing she was asking such a silly question.

  “Do what?”

  “Did you throw the bedpan?”

  “No. Zo…you’re pretty.”

  Zoe couldn’t help but grin at the look Eva was giving her. She didn’t seem to remember the restraint incident, which was a godsend. “Are you alright?”

  “Yes.” Eva nodded.

  “Did you have a good night?”

  “Woken up all the time.”

  “Really?” Zoe sat on the side of the bed and waited for Eva to continue while Alexandra inserted the IV tube back into Eva’s arm. Eva looked down at her arm with a quizzical look and then closed her eye. “Tommy said you didn’t want to speak to him.”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “Didn’t want to,” Eva mumbled. She opened her eye and watched Zoe. A smile crept across her face. “Zoe.”

  “Yes, love.”

  “You’re pretty.”

  “Is that right?” Zoe chuckled. “I think you’re very pretty yourself.”

  Eva’s smile made Zoe’s heart almost skip a beat. “Oh my god, you are adorable when you’re fruitloopy.”

  “Nah, we got it...um...” Eva stopped and blinked for a moment. “Right.”

  Zoe’s smiled widened. “What are you trying to tell me?”

  Eva shook her head from side to side. “No...um...yes.”

  “Don’t do that. You’re going to hurt your head.”

  “I want to kish you.”

  Zoe wanted to laugh, but there were far too many people in the room for her to act on Eva’s wish. “I want to as well.”

  “Not making it up.”

  “Did Tommy give you anything for the pain?”

  “She’s pretty.” Eva smiled and indicated to Alexandra, which made Zoe smile in reaction. Eva was indeed drugged and there was no way she would have been able to throw anything, including a bedpan.

  “Yes.”

  “Zo…” Eva said and turned her head towards Alexandra, who was quietly chuckling.

  “Yes, love?”

  “She should date my...um...Henry.”

  Zoe shook her head. Despite everything that had happened yesterday, despite her worrying, seeing Eva in this condition was comical. “Henry is going to marry Alexandra.”

  Eva giggled. “Really?”

  “Yes, really. Alexandra is going to marry Henry. You’re going to be Henry’s best man and I’m going to dress you up in a tuxedo.” Zoe gently teased, making Eva smile.

  “Okay,” Eva said quietly and closed her eye momentarily before she opened it again. “Henry and Alex…getting married, Zo.”

  “Yes, I know,” Zoe replied. “Evy, what day is it?”

  “Um…Friday, I think.”

  “Well, that’s good.” Zoe leaned down and kissed her. “You get a kiss for that. Do you know how much I love you?”

  “I knew dat,” Eva exclaimed and then grimaced again.

  “You’re still getting nauseous?”

  “Yes,” Eva said through gritted teeth. She played with Zoe’s shirt. Zoe cupped her cheek.

  “I love you…” Zoe stopped when Eva licked the palm of her hand. She laughed at Eva’s antics.

  Zoe gazed at Eva in wonder. She shook her head in wonder at how Eva had survived in Aiden after her horrendous ordeal. With a sigh she rose from the bed and left the room to find out what Tommy had done to himself.

  Zoe stood outside the room for a moment. She looked up to find Stella, Tessa, Alexandra, and Tommy staring at her.

  “Eva sounds like she’s in happy land,” Stella laughingly said.

  “Yes. She thinks Alexandra is pretty and suggested she should date Henry. I told her they were getting married, but I’m not sure if she will remember that,” Zoe replied and went over to Tommy. She noticed the small cut above his eye. “You are so lucky that bedpan was not full.”

  “What I want to know is how she managed to throw the bedpan when she was asleep. That thing is heavy,” Alex asked as she put her arm around Tommy.

  “She threw it at me. I’m sure of it.”

  “And the IV stand?”

  “That too…” Tommy replied.

  “Yes, she’s so strong, Tommy, I kept her from moving using two fingers.” Zoe shook her head. “I think you just slipped and hurt yourself.”

  “I didn’t slip.”

  “Head injuries in this family have to stop,” Stella announced. “I don’t want any more head injuries.”

  “I’m never going to hear the end of this, am I?” Tommy asked rhetorically and looked around to the grinning faces.

  Stella merely chuckled as she ruffled hi
s hair and she went on her way for morning rounds.

  CHAPTER 21

  Zoe was bent over her notebook to finish the sketch she was drawing and stopped. She looked up at Eva, who had gone back to sleep. It had been quite a morning, especially for Tommy. Eva’s drug induced silliness made Zoe shake her head, but it was Tommy that had her intrigued.

  “Something funny is going on around here,” she muttered. She got up from her seat and went over to Eva. She was asleep and the IV was still in place, as it should be. Zoe looked around the room for a moment. “Very strange.”

  She left the room and went to the nurses’ station to sharpen her pencil. When she went back into the room she stared at the seat for a moment. She was sure she had left her notebook on the seat.

  “I am now going crazy.” Zoe looked around the room and spotted the notebook sitting on the floor. “How the hell…” She sat down in the middle of the floor with the notebook.

  She flipped to the page she was working on and her eyes widened in surprise. Under the portrait of Eva she had been drawing was the word ‘PRETTY’ in capitals. She looked up at Eva and then back down.

  “I wonder…” Zoe got up from the floor and went to Eva. She gently tapped her on the shoulder. Eva stirred but she didn’t wake. Zoe glanced back down at the notebook. She watched the notebook for any movement but it remained still.

  “Now I really know I’m going crazy.” Zoe walked out of the room. Alexandra was at the nurses’ station talking to another nurse. “Um...Alex… I’m going to ask you a really silly question.”

  “Is everything alright in there with Eva?”

  “Yes, fine...um...did you go into Eva’s room while I was out here sharpening my pencil?”

  Alexandra shook her head. “No.”

  “No one went in, right?”

  “Not as far as I know.”

  “Alright.” Zoe nodded and went back inside the room. She immediately noticed the notebook was not where she had left it. “Alright, Evy, this isn’t funny,” Zoe said. Eva was still asleep. “Oh, boy.”

  Zoe twirled around slowly, trying to find where the notebook had ended up, but she couldn’t find it. She shook her head and looked under Eva’s bed. Lying there was the notebook. She retrieved it and flipped to the artwork. The word ‘PRETTY’ was still there. “Pretty and crazy pants,” she muttered. She got up and decided there was only one person who could have an explanation for this.

  ***

  Zoe found Tessa in Stella’s office and walked in without greeting her. “I need to ask you a question.”

  “Alright,” Tessa replied and patted the seat on the sofa. “Sit down.”

  “No, I want to stand.” Zoe held the notebook in her hand and tapped it against her chin as she paced. “Now, this is going to sound strange, but when you do that moving objects with your mind trick…”

  “Telekinesis.”

  “Yes, that. How do you do it?”

  Tessa watched Zoe pace and took a deep breath. “Why do you want to know?”

  “I’m curious. How does it work?”

  “I concentrate on what I want moved and it happens.”

  “You’re in complete control, right?”

  “Yes. I can’t control my visions but I can control this gift.”

  “Can you do it in your sleep?” Zoe asked and stopped her pacing.

  “No.” Tessa shook her head. “It’s not possible. Why are you asking me?”

  “Look.” Zoe opened to the page in the notebook and gave Tessa the book. “You see that? I drew that today.”

  “Yes, she is pretty,” Tessa said. “What’s the matter with it?”

  “That’s not my writing. I didn’t write that.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Very, very sure. It’s not my writing, but…it’s Eva’s handwriting.”

  Tessa looked up at Zoe and then down at the artwork. “Hm. It’s possible Eva wrote it.”

  “It’s not possible. Eva was asleep, unless she’s been foxing.”

  “I don’t think Eva’s in any shape to play games with you.”

  “I know. That’s what is so odd. I left the notebook on the chair and when I came back it had moved to the center of the room. I left again and it moved again under Evy’s bed,” Zoe explained. “That’s telekinesis isn’t it?”

  “Yes, it sounds like it.”

  “Is it possible that this is one of Evy’s gifts?”

  “Yes, it’s possible, but Eva would have to be awake for that to happen. Did you see anything like this before the accident?”

  “No. It definitely doesn’t work when you’re asleep?”

  “Not for me. We know she finds it easy to learn languages, she has seen visions…”

  “Vision. She only saw one vision on the ship.”

  “That doesn’t mean she hasn’t seen any others and wasn’t aware of them.”

  “Great Aunt Irene said that the gifts become stronger with each generation, didn’t she?”

  “Yes, but she also said that sometimes the gifts are not present or they are weak. It’s not predictable.”

  Zoe shook her head. “This is maddening.”

  “What is, darling?”

  “Not knowing how this gift thing works. She may be moving the notebook or she may not and I accidently kicked it under the bed when I got up.”

  “I think you shouldn’t be thinking about that now. Eva is recovering well and maybe we can test her abilities again when she’s at home,” Tessa suggested. “That’s the only way we will find out.”

  “When you tested her before you went to the mountains, she didn’t have anything more than what we knew, right?”

  “That’s right. Stella mentioned Eva’s eyes were green. Are they still green?”

  “Blue. They’ve gone back to normal.”

  “Well, all we can do is wait and see what happens.”

  CHAPTER 22

  May 8, 1951

  “Ah, Zoe, come in.” Stella waved to Zoe, who was waiting by her office door.

  “I’m a little early. These days I get up so early. I think I’ve gotten used to the morning rounds and I wake up before they are due,” Zoe said before she kissed Stella on the cheek.

  “Well, that’s going to end soon.”

  “It is?” Zoe sat down on the visitor’s chair and smiled. “Evy’s going home?”

  “She is. Dr. Harvathe and I agree that she can go home tomorrow. I took out her stitches this morning. Eva will feel self-conscious about the incision, but she’s on the mend.” Stella sat opposite Zoe.

  “I thought about that and I got her this.” Zoe leaned down and took out a multi-colored scarf from her bag. “She’s going to look so pretty in this.”

  “That’s beautiful. I’m sure she will love it. Eva still has a long recovery period but we think she’s well enough to go home.”

  “I’ll get Theo and Earl to get the bedroom ready like we discussed.”

  “I know Eva will want to get back to normal, but it’s not going to be normal for a long time. She is going to get frustrated and she is going to get angry, but she needs to take it easy. The memory problems will continue but they will get better. It’s going to take six to twelve months or longer for her to get back to feeling normal.”

  “Is that normal?”

  “Yes, that is normal. Sometimes it takes longer depending on the patient and if they listen to their doctor.”

  “I think I can get Evy to behave.” Zoe grinned. “She’s going to be home and that’s going to be good for her. She hates hospitals so much, and just the fact she’s at home will be good for her.”

  “Oh I’m quite sure she will want to be out of here. I know we talked about this last week, but I want to go over this with you again. No alcohol at all, and the most important thing is that she needs to take her pain medication,” Stella said and exchanged knowing looks with Zoe. “We both know this is going to be the hardest. Eva will resist taking anything for quite some time before you realize she hasn’t
taken any medication.”

  “I know. Evy has a very high pain threshold.” Zoe nodded. “I know the lengths she went to avoid taking pain medication in Larissa and when she was recovering from the shooting. She’s very stubborn.”

  Stella smiled. “Yes, she is, but you have to convince her that taking her pain medication is in her best interests, even if does make her feel that she isn’t in control,” Stella said and leaned over to the desk to get another piece of paper. “Tell her she has a good reason for healing quicker if she takes her medication.”

  “I think her good reason would be not to feel like the village idiot,” Zoe quipped. “I really hate it when she says that about herself, but I know that’s how she feels.”

  “Well, that won’t be the only reason.” Stella smiled and took Zoe’s hands. “Tell her that she will have to get better because she will have a baby to contend with.”

  Zoe’s eyes widened and a smile creased her face when she realized what Stella was talking about. “I’m pregnant?”

  “You’re pregnant, darling,” Stella announced and laughed as Zoe hurled herself into her embrace in celebration.

  “We’re pregnant.” Zoe looked up into the heavens and shouted. “We’re really pregnant!”

  “Indeed you are.”

  Zoe tapped her finger against the multi-colored scarf and smiled. Oh, no, it can’t be…can it? I wonder if it is true… “Aunty, you know all the symptoms that should show up for a pregnancy?”

  “Hm, yes, I know them.”

  “I don’t have them. I know I’ve been preoccupied with Eva’s accident, but I don’t have any morning sickness or anything else.”

  “Not to worry, sweetie—you will. All pregnant women do.”

  “I don’t have them because Eva does.” Zoe grinned and Stella’s eyes widened. “She’s been going through them since before her accident. Now that I think about it, she was throwing up and all the other things pregnant women go through.”