The Ninth Floor

by Liz Schulte

  Jack nodded as he stood up. “Ryan, this is our hospital administrator, Melinda Schaffer. Melinda, this is Ryan Sterling.”

  Melinda looked back at me, suddenly brimming with interest. She extended her bony hand with blood red fingernails in my direction. “What brings you to the hospital, Ms. Sterling? I hope things are well. If there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know.” She handed me a business card she seemed to produce out of thin air.

  “My aunt is Dr. Sadler’s patient,” I told her begrudgingly, hoping this didn’t mean she’d be in to check on us all the time now.

  “I’ll be right back,” Jack said as he stepped over to the side with Melinda. She asked him something about what was on the clipboard. Then she glanced back at me and smiled before she left. He sat back down. “Sorry about that. Now where were we? Oh yes, fraternizing, I believe.” He waggled his eyebrows, which made me laugh. His eyes drifted to Melinda’s business card on the table. “This is the first time she’s given her business card to a member of one of my patient’s family.”

  I shrugged. “Apparently my parents gave five million dollars to the hospital back in ‘86 to build a maternity ward.”

  Jack raised his eyebrow and nodded. “That makes more sense.”

  I leaned toward him and beckoned him with my finger. He leaned in too, smiling. “So how much money would I have to give to see the ninth floor?” I asked in my sexiest, throaty voice.

  Jack leaned back and cleared his throat. “So when does Vivian move in?” He gave me a pointed look, obviously not willing to talk about the ghosts now. “You don’t seem like the roommate type.”

  I shrugged. “She’s lonely and I understand that. I’ve never lived alone, and we get along …Besides I owe her.”

  “How?”

  “For all the help she’s given me. She even suckered Blair into moving the rest of the boxes out of the apartment for us, but I didn’t get the impression that she likes dogs, so it may be short lived.”

  “I always wanted a dog.”

  “Let me guess, and a roommate too.”

  He laughed. “Maybe.”

  “Why didn’t you get one?”

  “A roommate?”

  “A dog.”

  “My parents were allergic, and then I was in medical school. It’s only now my hours are regular enough that I can even think about pets.”

  “That was the first thing I did when I got my own place. I’m excited to get them back.”

  The rest of lunch went well. Talking about pets, music, and movies took my mind off of worry for a while. We cleared our table and walked back to the stairwell. I was enjoying my time with Jack, but more and more I was thinking of him as a friend and not really as a boyfriend.

  On our way back to the tenth floor, I paused on ninth’s landing and stared at its locked doors, feeling their pull as if they were calling to me. I didn’t just want to see what was on the other side. For some reason, I needed to. I would find a way to get in there. Soon.

  Chapter 12

  At 7:45 p.m. there was a knock on my door. Jack was smiling on the other side. Before I could say hello, he wrapped his arms around me and kissed me until I was out of breath. I pulled back and pushed the door closed. Jack’s mouth trailed down the side of my neck. “Seducing me isn’t taking things slow, Dr. Sadler.”

  He moved to the other side of my neck. “I’m not seducing you.”

  The warmth spreading through me disagreed. “What exactly are you doing then?”

  He grinned. “Donor cultivation.”

  I laughed. “You’re here to work.” I wagged my finger at him.

  He held his hands up innocently. “I live to serve.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck to kiss him one more time, but the door opened behind us and Vivian and Blair charged in.

  “Whoa, awkward,” Blair said, looking in the other direction. Vivian smiled from ear to ear.

  I cleared my throat and straightened my shirt, my cheeks burning. Oh, the joys of having a roommate. “Vivian, this Jack Sadler, Bee’s doctor.”

  “It’s nice to finally meet you, Jack—may I call you Jack?”

  “Sure.” He shook her hand. “It’s good to meet you too, Vivian. Hello, Blair.” Jack nodded, not at all embarrassed by getting caught.

  “What are you two up to?” I narrowed my eyes at Vivian.

  “We’re getting the last load of boxes out of the kitchen,” Blair said. “Bee really needs to start throwing shit away.”

  I laughed. “No doubt. Jack and I are painting tonight—a—”

  “Oh, so that’s what you call it?” Vivian said with a suggestive smirk.

  I shook my head but smiled as I continued like she hadn’t interrupted me. “I take it the paint stored in that room,” I pointed to the door farthest from mine, “is the one you want?”

  Vivian nodded enthusiastically. “Wait until you see the color. It’s gorgeous. I have the room all taped already, ready to go.”

  “Great, then all we need is a kitchen and it’ll be a real life apartment.”

  “We should hire someone for that,” Vivian said.

  I looked at the cabinets half falling in and the small, cramped area. “You’re probably right.”

  Jack tilted his head. “I think we could probably handle the kitchen.”

  I wrinkled my nose, but Blair hopped in. “I agree with Jack. You ladies step aside. Let the men handle it.”

  I laughed and Vivian rolled her eyes good-naturedly. “After we drop off the boxes, we’ll stop and grab take out for dinner. Then Blair and Jack can tackle the kitchen since they insist, and I’ll help you paint.”

  “Sounds good.”

  Jack and I helped load Blair’s truck. “Should we get to work?” he asked as we came back inside.

  “Yeah, probably.” I ran my hand down his arm, determined he could help me forget Briggs if I just gave him a chance. “Thank you for helping me.”

  “It’s purely selfish.”

  “How’s that?”

  “The sooner you’re comfortable here, the sooner you’ll let me take you out on real dates.” His arms snaked back around me.

  “I’m more of a homebody.”

  “Home is fine.” He let his hands drift down my sides and rested his forehead against mine.

  “You’re pretty confident. I might just be using you for home improvement.”

  “Use away. I’ll win you over eventually. No woman can resist a man who’s good with a hammer.”

  Jack and I were rolling a lovely deep plum color onto Vivian’s accent wall when Blair stuck his head into the room, a perplexed expression on his face.

  “Do you know what a Briggs is?”

  I froze mid-stroke. “Why?”

  “Dad texted to say there’s one waiting for you at the house.”

  I looked over at Jack, but he carefully avoided my eyes. Shit. Why couldn’t Briggs just do what I asked? “Did he mention whether he had two German Shepherds with him?”

  Blair typed quickly with his thumbs, and a couple seconds later his phone beeped. “Yeah, he has dogs. Ryan, who’s Briggs?”

  “No one. Will you excuse us for a second, Blair?”

  Blair shrugged and walked out.

  “You have to go, I know,” Jack said.

  “I’ll be right back.”

  “Do you want me to come with you?”

  I caught my lip between my teeth. “No. It will go faster if you don’t.”

  Jack sighed but nodded.

  I squeezed his hand. “Thank you for understanding.”

  We walked out of the room, and I washed the paint off my hands before grabbing my keys. “I have to run out to Mom and Dad’s. You guys go ahead and eat without me.”

  “I’ll come with you,” Vivian volunteered, jumping up.

  I almost protested, but Jack looked relieved at the thought of someone else being there, so I didn’t object. My brain whirled as I drove towards their house. What the hell was Briggs doing? Why was
he at my parents’ house?

  “I’ll kill him,” I muttered.

  “So you and DROMG are pretty hot and heavy, huh?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Dr. Oh My God.”

  “You’re talking in text now? Seriously?”

  “Dr. Feel Good?”

  “From texting to Mötley Crüe.” I shook my head.

  Vivian tilted her head. “Dr. Everything Gonna Be Alright.”

  This time I did laugh. “Hey, the artist formerly known as Vivian, can’t you think of any names that aren’t from songs?”

  “Sure. Dr. Hottie, Dr. Sexy, Dr. Love, Dr. Mc—”

  “Ah, ah, ah. No Mc-anything, thank you very much.”

  “What do you want to call him?”

  “Jack.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “I try.”

  “So the ex-boyfriend is hanging out with your parents. Yikes.”

  “I don’t know what his deal is. You’d think after breaking my heart he’d have the decency to drop off the face of the earth.”

  The frazzled maid answered our knock, and the sound of two huge dogs barking and barreling toward us made her jump aside. I knelt down to greet them. “Sid, Nancy. Have you missed me, babies? I’ve missed you.” I nuzzled against the dogs as they licked and pawed at me.

  When I finally stood back up, Vivian looked astonished. “You said you had dogs, not horses.”

  “They’re babies. Vivian, this is Sid,” I pointed to the one on the left, “and Nancy.”

  The dogs tilted their heads at her and waited to be adored. Vivian patted each of them but didn’t look overly thrilled. The distinctive sound of my mother’s heels clicking across the marble floor made me look up. She was flanked by Briggs and my father.

  “Ryan, dear, it was so fortunate we were home tonight. We’ve had such a nice visit with Briggs.”

  I smiled tightly. “I’m glad to hear it. I have to go. Thanks for accompanying the dogs, but you really didn’t have to.” I turned around and whistled for Sid and Nancy to follow. They trailed behind me to the car where I opened the back door and the two of them squeezed into the backseat.

  “That was rude.” Briggs’ voice made my spine stiffen.

  “You have a lot of nerve.” I whirled around, brimming with anger. “I told you not to come. You don’t have any right to be here. If I remember correctly, you broke up with me via a letter on the door telling me you moved out and not to call. You won’t even talk to me about it. This was all your choice, your doing. Stay the hell out of my life.” I accented “your doing” by poking him on his chest.

  “I’m ready to talk.”

  “Yeah, well, I don’t care anymore. There’s nothing to talk about. We’re over.” I got in the car and Vivian rushed to get in the other side. We rode in silence until we were nearly back to my apartment.

  “Wow,” Vivian breathed.

  I shook my head.

  “I don’t know what he did, but it must’ve been bad because he is hot. I mean, the doctor is cute, but he is—” She fanned herself.

  “I don’t want to talk about Briggs, Viv.”

  Vivian was quiet, but I had trouble getting him out of my mind anyway. He was hot. He had black hair that was wavy and worn back from his face. His strong jaw was peppered with a permanent five-o’clock shadow—and he had the most startling, knee-buckling blue eyes I had ever seen. Jack was handsome, but Briggs was gorgeous.

  Vivian, the dogs, and I trudged upstairs to the apartment. The dogs ran room to room, checking things out, while we ate dinner. Everyone talked and laughed, but I couldn’t focus on the conversation. Old pain had been churned back up. Why did he have to come here?

  The dogs finally settled down on either side of my chair while I stared at my plate. After dinner, Vivian dragged Blair out with the excuse she was tired and needed a ride home, but I knew she was giving me space. Jack drifted out to the balcony where he sat in one of the lawn chairs and tried to tug me down onto his lap. I pulled away, leaned on the railing, and stared at the hospital in the distance, both mesmerized and repelled by it.

  “That bad, huh?”

  “It stirred up a lot.”

  Jack stroked my hair, tugging on a loose curl. I looked back at him. “I don’t know what I’m doing anymore.”

  “The same thing you were doing before—I hope.”

  “And what was that?”

  “Moving on.”

  I was about to nod when I saw a room on the ninth floor light up. “Do you see that?” I asked, pointing towards the hospital.

  Jack squinted, his face creasing in a frown. “That’s weird.”

  “It’s a lot more than weird. The floor is supposedly sealed off. How in the world is a light coming on? Everything about that place is suspicious.”

  He laughed and shook his head. “It’s the ghost.”

  “Are you joking?”

  Jack rubbed the stubble along his jaw. “I don’t know what’s happening there, but I also don’t care. What I do want to know is what’s happening in here.” He tapped my head.

  “Why do you keep telling Bee she’s dreaming this stuff up and blaming it on her illness when it might be the hospital?”

  “I just suggest more logical possible scenarios—so sue me. Do you think she’d feel better to have it confirmed that the ghosts can smell death on her?”

  I shook my head, trying to wrap my mind around his last comment. Bee’s practical, scientific doctor was telling me there could be more to the creepy story. “How do you know the hospital’s safe? I’ve asked you twice, directly, if I should move her, and you said no.” I was fighting hard to keep from getting angry.

  “A few lights flicker, there’s an odd sighting or whisper reported …So what? It really isn’t anything to freak out about.”

  “You swear they will not hurt her?”

  “ Ghosts aren’t going to hurt your aunt, Ryan.” He twined fingers through mine. “Bee is already fighting for her life. She doesn’t need the extra stress of worrying about a ghost, and honestly, neither do you.”

  I tapped my foot, my mind still reeling. To have such a strong confirmation made my stomach knot.

  Jack traced my lower lip with his fingertip. My eyes met his. “Come back inside.” He tilted his head towards the apartment.

  I glanced back to the hospital. The light was off again. I wondered if that light was for me. Did the hospital somehow know I was watching it at exactly that moment? I sighed—a crazy thought, that’s what that was. I let him lead me back inside. Sid and Nancy greeted us with happy doggie smiles. I smiled back at them and scratched behind their ears as Jack watched on from the couch.

  “I love it when you smile and laugh.”

  I looked up, not sure what to say. It felt like everything was moving so fast with him, especially with Briggs back in the picture. “Do you?”

  Jack patted the couch beside him.

  It would have been so easy to fall into bed and a relationship with him. Part of me wanted to do nothing more. The flirting and the teasing and the kissing were all fun, but it was safe. He couldn’t hurt me the way it was now. Earlier this evening, I’d considered letting Jack maneuver me into a more serious relationship, but the reemergence of Briggs had me off kilter—not to mention the freaky hospital. Once again, Jack and I just seemed like a bad idea.

  “I’m tired. I think I just want to get cleaned up and go to bed.”

  He sighed heavily. “Don’t do this, Ryan. Don’t let him come between us.”

  I tugged on my ear and looked at the ground. “He’s not. I really am tired—and I have a lot on my mind. What we have is fun, but I don’t know how I feel. I need to be alone for a few hours.”

  He nodded and kissed my cheek. “Have a good night.”

  “You too.”

  I closed and locked the door behind him, showered, and walked around the apartment, straightening things up. There was a thump on my door. My muscles tensed. I waited, listeni
ng, but couldn’t hear anything else. I looked through the peephole but saw nothing. After a couple deep breaths, I opened the door. Another package sat on the doormat.

  “Damn it,” I whispered. I reached down to pick it up when the door at the bottom of the stairs banged open. I screamed.

  Aiden bolted through the just opened door and took the stairs in leaps and bounds. “Are you okay?” I rested my head in my hands. “No, I’m not okay. You scared the bejeezus out of me.”

  He stopped a couple stairs away. “You got another box?”

  “Yeah, just now. Did you see anyone?”

  “I thought so. I came over to check.”

  I nodded. “You want to come in?”

  He picked up the box and motioned me to go back inside.

  Even though receiving another psycho gift made me want to throw my hands up and scream, I was calm with Aiden here. “You want to hear something strange?”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “Out of all of the men in my life right now, you are the only one who doesn’t stress me out, but you’re only here because I’m being stalked. You should be the most stressful one.”

  He gave a one-shouldered shrug. “I’m the only one you aren’t dating or related to.”

  It was a fair point. I sat on the couch. “Have a seat.” He took a chair between me and the door. “I assume you know more about the men in my life than most.”

  A slight smile cracked his stern shell. “Reasonable assumption.”

  “Any advice?”

  “I’m not paid to give advice.”

  “What good are you then?”

  “I keep you alive. That’s my only function.”

  I didn’t have anything snarky to say to that. We stared at each other for a minute. I broke eye contact first. “I was looking for you earlier. Where do you normally set up?”

  “I’m in the lift across the street.” He handed me a card with a phone number on it. “If you get scared—or if you receive another package—call me. I’m only seconds away.”

  I looked at the box. “I guess we should open it.”

  He pulled out a pocket knife, extracted the obligatory note, which he read without expression, and handed it to me.

  Learn from the past or suffer its fate.

  When I looked up, Aiden held out my “present.” What looked like a hospital badge lay in his palm.