by Rue Volley
He pointed upward. “I didn’t mean to, would you like to go to my office? It’s just right up there, on the second floor.”
I nodded to him as he walked me to the large glass elevator and we stepped in.
He smiled at me once or twice as we rose to the second floor. I had no idea what to say to him, I mean, what do you say? ‘Oh yeah, thanks for the boobie grab and near-miss on the fingering when we were teenagers?’ I was mortified. I didn’t know how he ended up here at the Mirror, but I had to guess that he didn’t attend the same college; he couldn’t have. I know that in a four-year span of time I would have run into him at some point.
The door dinged and he waited, holding a hand out to me so that I could exit the elevator first. A gentleman, very nice and refreshing. I mean, my initial contact with this building had been a smack to the side of the head, so I didn’t expect it to get any better.
We stepped into his glass office and I walked to one of the white chairs facing his desk. Everything was so open here, no hiding, no secrets. It was nice. I liked how the building made me feel. He walked to his side table and poured himself a glass of water.
“Would you like one?” he asked me as I turned and felt a bit dizzy.
I shook it off as I nodded to him. “Sure, thanks.”
He handed me a glass and I took a sip of it as he eyed me. I lowered the glass to my lap and smiled. His stares making me feel just a little uncomfortable. He must have noticed because he walked behind his desk and sat down, leaning back in his white leather chair and placing his fingers to his chin as his elbow rested on the armrest.
“So, how can I help you?”
“Oh—yeah. Well. I am doing a paper on the Landons, and I came across an article that was written about an accident, but when I pulled it up, the screen went blank.”
Sam lowered his hand and then scooted up to his desk. He laid his hands on the desk and interlocked his fingers. By all definitions of body language, I said something to bother him, but he looked behind me and through the glass, then back to me.
“By all accounts that article isn’t supposed to be online.”
“You can’t erase things from the internet.”
He laughed. “You can do anything if you have enough money, Abi.”
I leaned forward, and a small tinge of pain throbbed on the left side of my head. I took another drink and swallowed it quickly as I blinked a couple of times.
“Why—why erase it?” I said quietly.
He bit his lip as he looked down and then back up to me. “The Mirror is owned by Jack Landon. He purchased it a few years ago. Believe it or not, it used to look much different in here, but not after he had it gutted and re-done. Now it looks just like him.”
I tilted my head and listened to his words. I could tell that he had some animosity toward him.
“Did he do something to you?”
He hid his amusement with my question and leaned back in his chair. “I shouldn’t even be telling you this stuff, Abi. This is my job.”
I shook my head. “I would never say anything, I was just curious about the accident, the article, the one that was attached to him but I couldn’t open it.”
He sighed. “Well, I’m sure he bought the internet too.”
I snorted, and it came out louder than I meant to. He smiled at me. His eyes were watching my lips and then rising to lock onto my stare.
“You know what, Abi? I always had a weakness for you and your nerdy glasses and grasp on numbers. Call it my fetish.”
I swallowed as he leaned up again and spoke softly.
“Jack Landon used to be a party boy, and one night, well—he took it too far.”
“You mean party as in drugs?”
He nodded to me. “I heard pills; he was addicted to them, that and alcohol.”
My heart beat sped up as I thought about the last night I had been with him. How he reacted to me after I told him that I had taken Valium. I rubbed my neck and turned it as the ache was increasing on the side of my head.
“So—the article?”
“Well, the article was about the accident that he was in. The one where his close friend died and the girl that was with him never fully recovered.”
“Girl?”
“Yes, his wife.”
I sat back like a bullet had hit me in the chest. I must have looked fifty shades paler than I had just a second before. Sam stood up and walked toward me.
“Abi?” he asked as his voice echoed. I tried to stand and the room tilted. The last thing I remember was falling toward the floor and watching as Sam’s very nice shoes faded from my view.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
SLEEPOVER
I sat on the table and stuck my tongue out as the nurse compressed it. Sam stood off to the side, his coat draped over his arm as he watched on. I felt like an idiot. Evidently the bang to my head had caused me to black out. A concussion, utterly ridiculous, but so indicative of me. It had been a long time since I had been injured, but when I was little, I tempted fate (as Jack would say) many times over.
I got hit on my skateboard, ironically enough in front of the doctor’s office. I was rolling along, and someone opened their car door. I hit the pavement with the back of my head and saw stars. That was the first concussion that I suffered. That was followed up by being hit on my bicycle where I broke my leg and damaged my spine. That accident laid me up for a few weeks, but it wasn’t enough to detour me until I wrecked a dirt bike and damn near killed myself. After that, the daredevil in me was traded in for books and the idea of a future where I would be alive. Like I said before, I play it safe, probably because I never did when I was little.
That was who Jack had woken in me, the Abi who took chances, the one who had no fear at all. The one who got back up no matter how bad it hurt me. It was almost as if I enjoyed it.
She removed the wooden compressor and I closed my mouth as she wrote something down on her chart. I tried to eye it but she had it tilted, making it impossible to read.
“You are one healthy girl.”
I nodded to her. “Usually, unless I am trying to let a building kill me.”
Sam laughed under his breath as I glanced at him. He had brought me here and stayed. Two very kind things to do. Despite our awkward end, he had always been courteous in school. He would step aside to allow me to walk through the door to class first, he asked to hold my hand when we walked onto the dancefloor that night at prom. He was even a complete gentleman when we made out in the back of his car, asking me if he could kiss me, going slow, and minding his every move. I did remember his kiss. He was very skilled at it and I wondered how. Not to be rude, but he didn’t date, that I knew of,but man, he could kiss. I guess that is what escalated everything that night. But when I said ‘no’ he stopped and moved away from me right on cue, and that was that.
The nurse walked to the door. “The doctor will be right in to see you, he will go over the aftercare instructions.”
I held onto the thin white sheet on the bed as I sat there, feet dangling over the side of it. “Aftercare?”
“Yes, concussions can be a serious thing and you need to monitor it for a few days.”
“Oh man.”
She winked at me and then looked at Sam. “Good thing you have such a handsome man to take care of you.” I blushed as Sam let his million dollar smile mesmerize her. Neither one of us expanded on it as she left the room and closed the door behind her. I sighed and looked over at him. I let my hands drop on the bed beneath me.
“I’m so sorry; this is ridiculous.”
He walked toward me and shook his head. “It wasn’t your fault and what was I supposed to do, just let you lay on my floor? I like to leave at five.”
I laughed and then rubbed my head. The faint headache still lingered.
“Well, thank you. You didn’t have to bring me here.”
He snorted, I found it endearing. “No, I could have just tossed you out the window and hoped that the fall wouldn’t kill yo
u.”
“I don’t remember the quick witted sarcasm in school, Sam.”
“Well,” he paused and then went on, “you wouldn’t remember much, I didn’t say much. I wasn’t as forward as I am now.”
“Yeah, you certainly changed.”
He looked me over. “You haven’t, not really. I mean, you shed the glasses but you are still...”
“Awkward,” I said, and he shook his head no.
“Beautiful.”
The word bothered me more than it needed to. I looked down as the door opened up and the doctor strolled in. He was in his late thirties and the prime of his career. Handsome, a bit loud, sure of himself. He grabbed a silver stool and rolled in front of me as he read the chart, all in one fluid motion. Sam had to move so he wouldn’t run over his foot. I looked at Sam and he raised an eyebrow. I tried to hide my amusement as Sam crossed his arms on his chest.
The doctor looked up at me and pulled a small flashlight. He shined it in one eye and then the other. “So, Miss Watson, took a tumble did we?”
“Well, I was accosted by a revolving door.” He looked at me as if I was speaking another language. “Revolving door—on a building. It hit me, well, a woman ran out, and that’s what did it, but I doubt she even noticed. She was in a hurry and then I…” he interrupted me.
“Oh—yes. Nasty things, I hate them. We should banish all doors.”
I laughed and then rubbed my head. “Maybe it would be better for me.”
He tapped my knee. “I have to agree.”
Sam looked at his hand as it rested on me and I noticed as I adjusted on the table and the doctor took it off of me. He meant nothing by it, but for a moment the tension in the room felt awkward. Sam cleared his throat. “So the nurse said that there would be aftercare?”
“Yes.” He turned to Sam. “So, as the boyfriend—or husband it will be…”
Sam looked down and then up at me as I interrupted him. “No, neither,” I said without hesitation.
“Okay then, well.” He turned back to me. “There are a few things you should know and watch out for. It would be best if you had someone with you, just in case. At least for a few days, to make sure that nothing worsens.”
“What could worsen?” I asked as Sam stepped up to the side of the bed; he listened closely.
“Well.” The doctor said as he glanced at Sam and then back to me. “Even a lover would do.”
My cheeks reddened as Sam smiled at me. “Okay, what are we watching out for?”
The doctor cleared his throat. “A few things. I will give you the paperwork on it, but I am obligated to go over it, verbally, so... You may have trouble with your memory.” I looked at Sam. “Who are you, again?” The doctor stared at me and then pulled his flashlight back out. I looked at him. “I’m kidding, sorry.”
“Oh, okay, well you could have issues with memory or concentrating on things. You could also have issues with sleep, too much or too little. Changes in mood, becoming angry or depressed, and sexually, you may deviate from your normal sexual patterns.”
“Normal patterns?” I asked as he looked into my eyes. He gently inspected the bump on the side of my head with his fingers. I hissed, and he winked at me. His voice lowered a bit. “You may want to be very sexually active for the next few days.”
“Oh,” I said as Sam looked down and then back to the doctor.
“Anything else?”
He looked up at him. “She may get dizzy or light headed. If anything severe occurs, memory loss, extreme fits of rage, passing out, or she seems overactive, you know—in the bedroom, then she should come back. It could be more serious.”
He said it all like it was an order for take-out. I looked down, thinking about how sex was something I had not even had yet, so the need was great, greater than great, on a scale of one to get some now.
The doctor stood up and shook Sam’s hand as if to congratulate him. I sat there trying to ignore the idea of sex altogether.
“Well, young lady, try to avoid any more run-ins with angry doors.”
I nodded to him as he left the room and Sam turned and grinned at me.
“Stop,” I said as he held his hands up.
“What?”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t even go there.”
He stepped up and moved my hair, I couldn’t look at him,so he removed his hand just as quickly as he had tried to show me a bit of compassion.
“I won’t let you ravage me.”
I laughed and then looked up at him. “I don’t ravage people, Sam.”
He let his eyes linger on mine too long until the door opened back up. He stepped back from me as the nurse smiled at the two of us.
“You’re being released.”
I slid down and happily left the room before the situation could become any more awkward than it already had. The truth was that I enjoyed the attention, but unfortunately it was from the wrong man.
We sat on my couch and ate Chinese take-out. It sounded so good and I was starving. The doctor didn’t mention food, so I guess I was doing okay. No sudden urges to pounce on Sam and the headache was almost gone. The only thing that lingered was the depression, but that was built-in. Although I had to admit, running into Sam had eased that just a little bit.
Avery came racing into the apartment and sat down next to me. She looked me over and then hugged me. Sam watched on as she ignored that he was even there. She leaned back and touched my face.
“You okay, hun? Why didn’t you call me right away?”
“Avery, it’s your last day in the city before you take off for the summer. I didn’t want to ruin it by having you sit in the hospital while they told me that I would be fine.”
“That doesn’t matter to me; I love you, Abi.” She followed it up by touching my face. Her concern was genuine for me as it always had been.
I nodded to her. “You didn’t have to come rushing home. I'm all right. Sam was…”
Avery let her eyes land on him and her expression said it all. “Well, hello you.”
She stood up and walked over to him. He let the noodles drop from his lip back into the white box. “Hi.” He set it down and stood up. She watched him rise and glanced back at me with the holy shit he’s hot look on her face. She shook his hand.
“So you were the knight in shining armor who took her to the hospital huh? Thank you!”
“This is Avery Brown, Sam—Avery, this is Sam Quinn, I went to high…” she didn’t care.
She let his hand go and hugged him. He looked as if he felt awkward and slowly hugged her back while he stared at me. I shrugged my shoulders and shoved my chopsticks into my take-out box. She finally let him go. She turned back toward me. “So, hun. No worries about the thing tonight. You relax, just hang out here.” She turned back to Sam. “You are staying the night, right?”
Sam sat down and picked up his box. He stuck his chopsticks deep inside and played with the noodles. “I—am I?” he asked as he looked at me.
“Oh my God, you don’t have to. I’m sure that I’m fine.” I started to stand and lost my balance as they both moved toward me. I sat back down and rolled my eyes. “Dizzy, not bad or anything, seriously—it isn’t.”
Sam sat back down. “I’m staying.”
Avery looked back at him. “Thank you! I leave in the morning, for Europe. I will be gone until the end of summer, months.”
I dropped my food. Her Cheshiregrin was annoying me. I knew what she was doing. It was a complete setup. Damn you, Avery.
“So you won’t have anyone here with you at all?” Sam asked me, and I sighed. “I’ll be fine, honestly. I managed to survive the last four years.”
“After today I don’t know how.”
I laughed. Then he just laid it all in my lap.
“I’m staying, as long as she lets me,” Sam said as Avery tapped him on the knee.
“Oh good, well I will be home late…like late, late, maybe morning…But if anything happens…” she looked at me and wiggled h
er eyebrows. “Anything at all, call me.”
I bit my lip and raised an eyebrow. I mouthed the word “Seriously?” as she winked at me.
“Thanks again, Sam. Honestly, Abi is amazing, the best. I would just die if anything happened to her.”
Sam nodded to her. “Nothing will happen on my watch.”
I looked down at my food and took another bite. Happy to have him here and surprisingly pleased to hear those words coming out of his mouth. Not on his watch. Like I said. Sam felt comfortable, safe, and—kind of like home.
We watched an old black and white movie. Jimmy Stewart all the way. I was a huge fan girl and had no problems admitting to it. I started to feel tired and my head would lean toward his shoulder, but each time it did, I caught myself like a three-year-old refusing to lay down for a nap.
The movie credits started to roll and the music helped wake me up a little. I stood up and held onto the side of the couch as Sam touched my arm and started to rise. I held a hand up to him.
“I’m fine, honestly. Just tired.” He watched me and the glow of the television made his eyes look soft and inviting. I swallowed hard and headed toward the kitchen. I yelled back to him.
“Coffee?”
“Please,” he said as I started to make a cup for myself, and then I grabbed a second cup and made one for him too. I turned and he was in the doorway, it startled me. I flinched and he shook his head. “I’m sorry. I creep like a ninja. My mom used to yell at me about it. She said she could never hear me coming and that one day she may knock me out with a frying pan.”
“I have to agree.” I handed him the cup and stepped back. He sat down at the island in front of me and I took a few sips. The heat felt good and the caffeine helped wake me up. Truthfully, my sleep had been crap since Jack… I mentally paused. It had been the first time that Jack had entered my mind all night and for that I was grateful.
“So, are you really feeling okay?”
I nodded, lowering my cup from my lips and enjoying the warmth between my hands. It was the beginning of December and the snow had already begun to fall. The apartment would get chilly, but I enjoyed my layers and coffee. Both helped combat it. I looked down at my goofy mukluk slippers that had a crazy pattern all over them and back up to him. I had changed into my comfy gear without even worrying about it with him, and I can’t say that I hated it. In fact, it was refreshing to feel that old comfort again. The same that he always had.