sloshes. I drop to my knees and grope until my fingers hit condensation sweating on a plastic bottle. When I crawl back to the wall, I read Abby’s face like braille until feeling her cracking lips.
“Drink it slowly,” I caution, twisting off the cap. “It’s cold.”
Water splashes on my thighs as she takes a few messy gulps. “Thank you.”
It’s hard for her to catch her breath after she swallows. My spine melds to the shape of the tiled wall when I sag against it and screw the lid back on. I keep my legs sealed to limit what the audience of peeping toms get to see.
“Isn’t this darling,” he says with a happy sigh that speaks volumes of pleasant memories past. “Two days and you’re already bending over backward for each other. Such fast friends.”
TWENTY-ONE
Lisette is irritated when a nurse comes to check on me. I’m fine with the interruption—it means I can plead my case one more time.
“Is Abby still in the morgue?”
She nods. “Her husband wants to cremate her when the medical examiner releases the body.”
A whole life reduced to ashes. Maybe it’s what Abby would have wanted. I’d love nothing more than to burn the canvas of my own life and start fresh.
“Can I see her before they release her?”
She looks at me like I’m a word in a crossword puzzle she can’t figure out. “Nobody will allow that, Brooke.”
“Her husband got to see her.”
“Because he’s her husband . He saw her face over a monitor—not inside the morgue—because he had to make official identification. I don’t think I would have let him see her either, if it wasn’t for that.”
I’m starting to get annoyed. I’ve cooperated, haven’t I? Helped as much as I possibly can while Velcroed down like a head case. “She was my friend.” Our goodbyes were pathetic, full of snot and tears and practically incoherent. “I just want to say goodbye.”
“I understand. I really do.”
She’s lying. It’s obvious. What right does she have lying to me when I’ve been nothing but truthful? “I really doubt that.”
She’s not taken aback by the venom dripping from my words. She looks at her hands, stretching skinny fingers against her other palm until the knuckles pop. “Six years ago my fiancé was out for a run. I was in vice at the time, the worst pretend hooker in the world. He dropped dead of a brain aneurism while I was in a motel room wearing a fucking tube top and spiked heels. I didn’t get to say goodbye either.”
The nurse flips through charts on a clipboard with her back turned. “Brooke needs to rest now.”
“Give us a minute.”
Nurses must study that glare in school. They all wear the same one when someone dares to disagree with them. “I don’t think you heard me, Lisette. Clearly she hasn’t had uninterrupted sleep for days. Weeks, even.”
That must mean I look like death warmed over. Dark circles, sallow skin, the whole enchilada.
“ Clearly you don’t realize what’s at stake. She’s all I have to find this douche, and I need a few more minutes. I’ll arrest you for obstruction if you give me any trouble. There’s a goddamn Sergeant in front of that Lisette.”
The nurse gives her a nasty look and swishes out the door. Lisette turns to me once she’s left. “How long were you naked?”
“I don’t know. A few hours, I guess. I put my clothes back on when he didn’t say anything for a while.”
“What happened when he came back?”
***
“Did you miss me, ladies?”
Like I miss geometry homework.
“If you keep glaring like that I might get angry, Brooke. Maybe you need a little inspiration to find some proper respect.”
I’m not frightened by that sentiment, but Abby is. Her lips find my ear. “Don’t make him mad. You don’t know what he’ll do.”
Taking stock of what’s happened so far, I decide he’s not as scary as Abby seems to
“Drink it slowly,” I caution, twisting off the cap. “It’s cold.”
Water splashes on my thighs as she takes a few messy gulps. “Thank you.”
It’s hard for her to catch her breath after she swallows. My spine melds to the shape of the tiled wall when I sag against it and screw the lid back on. I keep my legs sealed to limit what the audience of peeping toms get to see.
“Isn’t this darling,” he says with a happy sigh that speaks volumes of pleasant memories past. “Two days and you’re already bending over backward for each other. Such fast friends.”
TWENTY-ONE
Lisette is irritated when a nurse comes to check on me. I’m fine with the interruption—it means I can plead my case one more time.
“Is Abby still in the morgue?”
She nods. “Her husband wants to cremate her when the medical examiner releases the body.”
A whole life reduced to ashes. Maybe it’s what Abby would have wanted. I’d love nothing more than to burn the canvas of my own life and start fresh.
“Can I see her before they release her?”
She looks at me like I’m a word in a crossword puzzle she can’t figure out. “Nobody will allow that, Brooke.”
“Her husband got to see her.”
“Because he’s her husband . He saw her face over a monitor—not inside the morgue—because he had to make official identification. I don’t think I would have let him see her either, if it wasn’t for that.”
I’m starting to get annoyed. I’ve cooperated, haven’t I? Helped as much as I possibly can while Velcroed down like a head case. “She was my friend.” Our goodbyes were pathetic, full of snot and tears and practically incoherent. “I just want to say goodbye.”
“I understand. I really do.”
She’s lying. It’s obvious. What right does she have lying to me when I’ve been nothing but truthful? “I really doubt that.”
She’s not taken aback by the venom dripping from my words. She looks at her hands, stretching skinny fingers against her other palm until the knuckles pop. “Six years ago my fiancé was out for a run. I was in vice at the time, the worst pretend hooker in the world. He dropped dead of a brain aneurism while I was in a motel room wearing a fucking tube top and spiked heels. I didn’t get to say goodbye either.”
The nurse flips through charts on a clipboard with her back turned. “Brooke needs to rest now.”
“Give us a minute.”
Nurses must study that glare in school. They all wear the same one when someone dares to disagree with them. “I don’t think you heard me, Lisette. Clearly she hasn’t had uninterrupted sleep for days. Weeks, even.”
That must mean I look like death warmed over. Dark circles, sallow skin, the whole enchilada.
“ Clearly you don’t realize what’s at stake. She’s all I have to find this douche, and I need a few more minutes. I’ll arrest you for obstruction if you give me any trouble. There’s a goddamn Sergeant in front of that Lisette.”
The nurse gives her a nasty look and swishes out the door. Lisette turns to me once she’s left. “How long were you naked?”
“I don’t know. A few hours, I guess. I put my clothes back on when he didn’t say anything for a while.”
“What happened when he came back?”
***
“Did you miss me, ladies?”
Like I miss geometry homework.
“If you keep glaring like that I might get angry, Brooke. Maybe you need a little inspiration to find some proper respect.”
I’m not frightened by that sentiment, but Abby is. Her lips find my ear. “Don’t make him mad. You don’t know what he’ll do.”
Taking stock of what’s happened so far, I decide he’s not as scary as Abby seems to
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