“Right.” Robin nodded. “Get some rest.”
So super easy to do with nurses—dead and alive apparently—waking her up every hour or so. The last time she’d been in the hospital was when she’d given birth to Emma, and she’d hated it then too. She wanted to be in a dark room with a comfortable bed and no one poking or prodding her.
“Dr. Patel!” Robin caught her before she closed the door. “Can you tell me anything about my friends? The ones who were in the accident with me? Val—Valerie Costa and Monica Velasquez?”
Dr. Patel gave her a rueful smile. “I can’t. I’m sorry. I believe they have some family in the waiting room though. Maybe ask your parents to track them down.”
“I’ll do that. Thanks.” Robin settled back into her bed and had just closed her eyes when a nurse tapped on the door. Again. Philip Lewis, Robin’s dad, followed after her.
“How are you, honey?” Her dad kissed her forehead. “Was it all a weird reaction to the medication or something?”
“Probably something like that.” Robin felt instantly at ease around her dad, which was the opposite of how she felt with her mother. “They’re going to run more tests. Where’s Mom?”
“Talking with Val’s parents in the waiting room. She’ll be a while. Why don’t you try to sleep more?”
The young nurse at Robin’s bedside looked familiar and was wearing the colorful scrubs worn by most of the nurses on the floor. “Sorry to interrupt with all this. I’m Lucy.” She walked over and started in on the routine. “I’ll try to make this quick so you can sleep. You want me to close those shades?”
The sun had risen, and Robin was in an east-facing room. “Please.”
Lucy walked over and pulled the chain to close the shades while her dad picked up a magazine and settled in the corner. Robin checked out the nurse’s back. No bullet holes. Nothing weird. That was a relief.
“You know, you probably heard about it when you were a kid.” Lucy kept her voice low and soothing. “My mom’s a nurse.” Lucy pointed to her scrubs. “Family business. She was working here when it happened.”
“What?” Robin was so exhausted she could barely keep her eyes open. “When what happened?”
“Debbie Hawkins. The nurse you thought you saw?” The nurse slipped the blood pressure cuff over Robin’s arm. “She died in… eighty-two, I think my mom said? Early eighties anyway. You probably heard about it when you were a kid.”
Philip lifted his head. “You know, I do think I remember something like that.”
“Huh.” It didn’t sound familiar to Robin. “Who was she?”
“She was a nurse,” Lucy said. “Older than my mom. It was so sad. Her picture is still on a plaque in the lobby.” She shook her head. “She was shot and killed by her ex-husband. She was working emergency one night, and he busted in and shot her in the back. It was awful. One of the waiting rooms is dedicated to her.”
“She died right here in the hospital?”
Philip nodded. “I do remember that. It was in the newspaper. She was seeing one of the doctors here, correct?”
Lucy glanced at him. “Yes. Tragic, right? All those doctors and nurses around, but they couldn’t save her. In fact, the doctor she had just gotten engaged to—that’s why the ex-husband went crazy, I guess—was the one on call. Can you imagine?”
“Dr. McMurty,” Robin murmured.
Lucy’s eyes went wide. “Oh my gosh, how did you know that?”
“Must have read… remembered it.” Robin felt all the blood drain from her face, and her body went cold again. “That’s awful.”
“I know.” Lucy shook her head. “If it makes you feel better, you’re not the first person who’s seen her.” She lowered her voice to nearly a whisper. “One of the nurses swears that Debbie Hawkins still does night rounds sometimes. She was always really sweet with the babies—I guess she couldn’t have kids—and they find rocking chairs moving on their own in Maternity sometimes.”
Robin blinked. “Seriously?”
“I guess. I don’t really believe in any of that stuff, but I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I know a couple of nurses who swear she’s the friendly ghost of Bridger City Memorial.” Lucy finished up her notes and hung the clipboard back on the end of Robin’s bed. “Well, I’m done here. Sweet dreams. Try to get some rest.”
Her dad snorted a laugh.
“Right,” Robin said. “Sleep.”
Sure. Okay. No problem.
Robin had nearly drowned and was now seeing ghosts.
Apparently.
Who could possibly have trouble sleeping after that?
Chapter 4
Valerie Costa could hardly speak. “Mom, I cannot…”
No words. There were no words. Her mother had invited her ex to see her at the hospital, and the man’d had the nerve to say yes.
“Looking good, Val.” Josh smiled. “Like the hair.”
Val refused to talk to him. She refused to even look at him. She glared at her mother. “Why would you do this?”
“He was on the phone with Andy when you called, sweetie.” Marie Costa smoothed Val’s hair back and held her hand. “What was I supposed to do? Not tell him? The boys were upset.”
Josh held out his hands. “Uh… I’m here. In the room.”
Val finally turned her eyes on him. “Shut up, Josh. This has nothing to do with you.” She pushed the call button. “But since you’re here for once, why don’t you make yourself a tiny bit useful and help your kids find some breakfast.”
Everything about her was mixed up. Her head was cloudy, and she could hardly keep track of her thoughts. Her mom and dad were here. Josh had followed them. Her dad was sorting through paperwork and trying to talk to the police, who were in and out of the hospital. Andy and Jackson were roaming the halls of the hospital, looking for food, which was par for the course with an eleven- and fourteen-year-old. They were always, always eating.
“How are there so many people here?” The press of voices began to wear on her. She wanted the night to come back. She wanted darkness and quiet.
“Try to relax.” Marie squeezed her hand. “As soon as Dad gets back, I’ll tell him to take the boys back to our house.”
“No, I want the boys here.” She didn’t want to let them out of her sight. “Has anyone been able to talk to Robin and Monica yet?”
“Dad said Grace and Philip are in with Robin, and all of Monica’s kids are in the waiting room, taking turns going in and out.”
“Okay.” She closed her eyes and focused on Marie’s hand in hers. It steadied her, which was weird because Val had never been the touchy-feely daughter. But in that moment, her mom’s hand felt like a lifeline to normal.
Her mother was great. Val loved her mom. She was the most conventional woman on earth—probably the reason Val had as many tattoos as she did—but Marie was a maternal kick-ass. She was a killer wife, mom, and grandma. She did all the church fundraisers and volunteered for everything. She and Val’s dad had been married for fifty years, and they still liked each other.
Her mom was also convinced that Val and Josh would eventually reconcile. Because her heart was too big to let go of anyone, including a son-in-law who was fidelity-challenged.
Ignoring her request to take care of the boys—shocker—Josh reached to the chair behind him. “Hey, I got you something.”
Val and Marie exchanged a wordless conversation.
Can you get rid of him?
He’s trying to be nice.
I don’t want him here!
Honey, you almost died. Marie’s eyes filled with tears she blinked away. She cleared her throat and patted Val’s hand. “I’m going to track down Dad and the boys. I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t leave me with him.”
“I’ll be right back!”
Josh cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’m still here.”
Val swung her eyes toward him. “The question is why.”
Josh looked uncomfortable. And hot. He
was still so damn hot, which pissed Val off so damn much. He should have grown warts on his nose or developed middle-aged acne or something. Instead, the lines around his eyes were handsome and the silver stubble that flecked through his beard was attractive.
Asshole.
Her oldest, Jackson, was the spitting image of his father, which meant she couldn’t even hate Josh’s face, because it was her son’s. It was all so weird and complicated.
Why was it so noisy? The minute her mom stepped into the hall, the volume in her hospital room had been turned up to eleven. Monitors and beeping and her skin was aching.
And Josh was sitting beside her with a glittery purple bag in his hands.
Val rolled her eyes and held out her hand. “What did you get me?”
Josh gave her his best crooked smile and reached into a bag. “You’re gonna love this.” He pulled out what looked like a rolled-up blanket and held it out to her.
She unrolled part of it. “Is this Coraline?”
“Yep.”
She was… surprised. And pleased. “Seriously?”
It was a gorgeous blue, purple, and black throw blanket with images from one of her favorite movies and books. Val spread her hand over the soft picture. “Josh, this is perf—”
She blinked, and in the space between opening and closing her eyes, she saw an image of Josh handing the blanket to a blond girl with dark eyeliner and pouty lips.
“What’s this?”
“A Coraline blanket.”
“What’s Coraline?”
Valerie blinked again and lifted her hands from the blanket. “You got this for Rachel.”
Josh frowned. “What?”
Val shoved the blanket away. “You got this for Rachel, and she didn’t like it, so you’re giving it to me?”
She saw the truth flash like flip-cards in his eyes. Shock. Irritation. Denial. Shock. Denial.
“I didn’t— She wouldn’t even like— Why would you say that?” He grabbed the edge of the blanket and started rolling it up. “Rachel doesn’t like shit like this.”
“No, ’cause she’s an infant.” Josh’s girlfriend wasn’t an infant, but she was twenty-six, which was ridiculous when Josh was forty-four. “Why would you give me a secondhand present? That’s just gross. You didn’t need to get me anything, so why—?”
“You know what?” He stood and shoved the blanket back in the bag. “I saw it and bought it because it was cool. You don’t want it? Fine.” He picked up the bag. “I shouldn’t have come.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” She had the weird urge to scratch every inch of her skin, and she didn’t know why she was so certain Josh had given the blanket to Rachel, but she was sure of it. It was as if she’d been in the room when Rachel turned her nose up at the beautiful blanket. “I’m fine.”
His smile was grim. “Of course you are. You always are.”
“I’ve had to be.”
Jackson and Andy walked into the hospital room, both holding foil-wrapped burritos and looking between Josh and Val with wary eyes.
“You guys cool?” Jackson stepped in front of Andy by half a step.
Josh cleared his throat. “Yeah, we’re cool.”
Andy’s eyes were wide and hopeful. Jackson’s gaze was skeptical.
“Dad, are you gonna stay for a while?” Andy walked to Val’s bed. “There are breakfast burritos in the lobby. I can get you one if you want. I have money.”
Josh looked between all three of them and cleared his throat. “Uh, I think your mom wants to sleep. She had a rough night so…” He motioned toward the door with one hand in his pocket.
Val almost felt sorry for him. At the end of the day, Josh was a giant adolescent who needed to be the center of attention and had never really grown past his early twenties. He still thought he could skate through life with a crooked smile, good looks, and charm. He’d been a great boyfriend. He sucked as a father and husband.
She took Andy’s hand and squeezed it. As soon as she took his hand, the itching sensation in her skin calmed down.
Andy was her baby with a heart as big as a mountain. Jackson was her capable and responsible partner in crime, but Andy was her big squishy heart. Probably the only heart Val really had.
“Right.” Jackson was matter-of-fact. He walked over and grabbed the bag with the blanket from Josh’s hand. “I’ll take care of this.”
Josh let it go. “Yeah, okay.”
Jackson sat in the seat by the window and returned to his burrito. “Mom, are they bringing you breakfast soon? Do you need anything?”
“I think Grandma was going to check on breakfast.” She kept her eyes on Andy, holding his hand tightly. “I’m fine, kiddo.”
“Okay.” Jackson got his phone out, his father forgotten.
Josh walked over and mussed Andy’s hair. “See ya, kid.”
Andy’s expression fell a little, but he tried to hide it. “Yeah. I’ll call you later, Dad.”
“Okay cool.” Josh walked out of the room without a backward glance, which was the way he’d left Val when she confronted him about cheating.
Gone.
Exit stage left.
See ya.
Val took a deep breath and tried to remember what was going on in her life. “So this whole accident makes me kind of a badass, right?”
Jackson smothered a laugh. “Yeah, right.”
Andy rolled his eyes. “Mom, seriously?”
“I mean, I kicked my way out of a sinking car and swam fifty feet to the surface of the lake in the middle of the night, dragging my friend with me. I think that’s pretty badass.” She scooted over so Andy could sit on the edge of her bed. “Did you bring me a burrito?”
“You’re not supposed to eat burritos.” Jackson flipped through a magazine. “That’s why they bring you food.”
“It’s probably gonna suck,” Val whispered to Andy. “Go steal Jack’s burrito for me.”
Andy giggled, and everything was right in her world again.
Except the minute her son slipped away to use the bathroom down the hall, Val’s skin started itching again. Was her nervous system on edge? Was it some kind of weird reaction to the painkiller they’d given her?
She rubbed her face with both hands.
“Mom, you okay?”
“Yeah.” She looked up and took a deep breath. “Just tired, I think. Just… really tired.”
* * *
Monica Velasquez was not tired. Not even a little. But that didn’t stop her from keeping her eyes closed and pretending she was. It was a tactic the mother of four had used often in the twenty-six years since her oldest son had been born.
If you couldn’t find real sleep, fake it on the off chance they’d leave you alone.
If she kept her eyes closed, maybe she would dream again. In the watery, sporadic dreams she’d experienced since waking up, she’d seen beautiful things.
She’d been back with Gil, walking down the dirt road behind their house. He’d been teasing her that he was growing a beard since she wasn’t there to demand he shave his stubble. He’d kissed her, and it had been the same warm thrill she remembered.
She’d been dreaming about her oldest, Jake. Only in her dream, he’d been telling her about a girl he’d fallen in love with and Monica was ecstatic. She loved this new girl, and she was so happy.
Sylvia was walking across a stage, graduating with honors.
Samuel and Caleb flashed in and out. Caleb had a beard. Samuel was talking about a new job. All her kids were in her dreams, but they were never with Gilbert. She didn’t know what that was about.
“Mrs. Velasquez?” Monica felt a hand on her shoulder. “Mrs. Velasquez?”
She forced her eyes open, and there was a white halo around the edges of her vision. “Hmm?”
“Mrs. Velasquez, I need to take your blood pressure.”
She opened her eyes fully and saw all the wires and monitors around her. “Oh right.” She forced herself to sit up and remembered her arm w
as broken. “Ugh,” she groaned. “I’m a mess.”
“You’re actually doing great. Don’t stress.” The nurse slipped the cuff over her nonbroken arm. “How are you feeling?”
“Like I fell in a lake?” She glanced at the two chairs by the window. Jake and Sylvia were sleeping in them. Caleb and Samuel must have gone out to the waiting room. “What time is it?”
“Still pretty early,” the nurse said. “I see your entourage hasn’t left.”
“They won’t until I go home,” Monica said. “Their dad would tell them off if they left me.”
The nurse smiled. “Where’s your husband? Is he out of town?”
“He’s dead.” Because twenty-five years of utter happiness was all she was allowed, apparently. “About six months ago.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that.” The shocked nurse scrambled to recover. “Your kids must have been really scared when you were brought in.”
“Yeah.” She hadn’t even thought about that. No wonder all the boys had been so clingy. Now she felt bad for wishing a couple of them would go home.
Mom-fail, Monica.
The nurse was writing something on her chart. “You and your friends were so lucky.”
“Yeah.” She frowned. “Wait, how are they? Are they okay? I haven’t heard anything—”
The door creaked open, and Monica spotted Val’s mom. “Marie! How’s Val?”
Marie held her hands out and walked over to Monica. “Asking the same about you, of course.” She saw Monica’s arm. “Does it hurt?”
Everything hurt. Her body hurt. Her head hurt. Her arm hurt. She wanted Gilbert and he was gone, and that hurt too.
She nodded and fought back tears. “Yeah, it hurts. I’ll be okay though. The doctors told Jake that my MRI looked normal and my blood pressure and blood oxygen are good. I don’t remember anything after I lost consciousness, but they said that’s normal.”
“Do you remember waking up in the hospital?”
I wanted to kill myself. I thought about taking sleeping pills after Gil died because I couldn’t imagine my life without him. I thought about the future and there was just… nothing. There was nothing without him.
Suddenly Psychic: Glimmer Lake Book One Page 4