mess of mascara with his thumbs. "Are you kidding? There is absolutely no reason for you to be apologizing. I couldn't have done this without you. You saved that little girl's life."
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What do we do now?"
He handed me the sweatshirt and pointed to the bathroom behind us. "First, you change."
In the bathroom, I scrubbed my hands clean and splashed my face with cold water a few times. I unbuttoned my blouse and, though it was probably washable, shoved it in the wastebasket. I washed my hands again before pulling the black hooded sweatshirt, with the letters S.W.A.T. across the back, over my head. The strong smell of Nathan's cologne and sweat about made my eyes roll backward. It was the only pleasant feeling I had experienced all day. I combed my fingers through my hair and retied my mangled ponytail before leaving the bathroom.
Nathan was leaned against the wall making notes in a small black notebook. He looked me up and down. "Did you forget your shirt?"
I shook my head. "I trashed it. I'm never wearing that thing again."
He nodded. "Come on, let's try and sneak out of here and find some food. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
I pointed back toward the entrance to the emergency room. "I assume the waiting room is full of reporters?"
"Yep. You definitely don't want to go out there." He held the door at the end of the hall open for me.
I hugged my arms to my chest as we passed down the fluorescent lit hallway that reeked of antiseptic and sickness. "What are they saying?" I asked.
He looked over at me with an expression that made it clear he was worried I might either cry or punch him in the face. "They're talking about you quite a bit. Apparently, News Channel 2 is replaying some video of you carrying Kayleigh out of the house. Everyone wants to know why you were there."
I sighed. "Honestly, right now I don't even care. I'm just glad it's over."
As we followed the signs to the hospital cafeteria, his cell phone rang. I realized my purse, along with my wallet and phone, was still under the seat of his car. If my mother had seen the news she was probably frantic with worry. My voicemail inbox was probably full.
As Nathan talked, I couldn't help but listen in on his conversation. "Hey. Yeah, it's over. The guy was dead when we got there, and we found the little girl in the attic." He paused for a few seconds and then looked over at me. "Yeah, she works in public relations for the county. I just, uh, happened to be in her office when I got the call, and she wanted to tag along."
I rolled my eyes. "You're a terrible liar."
He ignored me. "Yeah, I'm going to have a late night. A ton of paperwork, ya know," he continued. "I'll grab dinner on my own. Probably at the office. I'll try and call you later if it's not too late." He paused and listened again. "Yeah, me too. Bye."
I shook my head with mock sadness. "Lying to your girlfriend already? That's not a good sign."
"What was I supposed to tell her? That you're psychic or something?" he asked.
"Then we would both sound crazy," I said.
We finally reached the bustling cafeteria. The smell reminded me of elementary school lunch trays and cartons of milk. He stopped at the vending machine and looked at me. "You hungry?"
"No, but I would love a Diet Coke if you could spot me the change. My purse is still in your car," I said.
"I'm sorry. I meant to grab it for you and I totally forgot. I can run out and get it if you want," he said.
I waved my hand. "I'll just get it when we leave. I don't have the headspace to deal with the phone calls right now anyway."
He fed a dollar bill into the drink machine. "I'm pretty sure a Diet Coke is the least I can do for you."
When he handed me my drink, I watched him buy a bag of Skittles, a Snickers bar, and pack of Nerds. I looked at his toned physique and then cocked my head sideways. "I had you pegged for a health nut or something."
He shrugged. "I'm a candy
I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "What do we do now?"
He handed me the sweatshirt and pointed to the bathroom behind us. "First, you change."
In the bathroom, I scrubbed my hands clean and splashed my face with cold water a few times. I unbuttoned my blouse and, though it was probably washable, shoved it in the wastebasket. I washed my hands again before pulling the black hooded sweatshirt, with the letters S.W.A.T. across the back, over my head. The strong smell of Nathan's cologne and sweat about made my eyes roll backward. It was the only pleasant feeling I had experienced all day. I combed my fingers through my hair and retied my mangled ponytail before leaving the bathroom.
Nathan was leaned against the wall making notes in a small black notebook. He looked me up and down. "Did you forget your shirt?"
I shook my head. "I trashed it. I'm never wearing that thing again."
He nodded. "Come on, let's try and sneak out of here and find some food. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."
I pointed back toward the entrance to the emergency room. "I assume the waiting room is full of reporters?"
"Yep. You definitely don't want to go out there." He held the door at the end of the hall open for me.
I hugged my arms to my chest as we passed down the fluorescent lit hallway that reeked of antiseptic and sickness. "What are they saying?" I asked.
He looked over at me with an expression that made it clear he was worried I might either cry or punch him in the face. "They're talking about you quite a bit. Apparently, News Channel 2 is replaying some video of you carrying Kayleigh out of the house. Everyone wants to know why you were there."
I sighed. "Honestly, right now I don't even care. I'm just glad it's over."
As we followed the signs to the hospital cafeteria, his cell phone rang. I realized my purse, along with my wallet and phone, was still under the seat of his car. If my mother had seen the news she was probably frantic with worry. My voicemail inbox was probably full.
As Nathan talked, I couldn't help but listen in on his conversation. "Hey. Yeah, it's over. The guy was dead when we got there, and we found the little girl in the attic." He paused for a few seconds and then looked over at me. "Yeah, she works in public relations for the county. I just, uh, happened to be in her office when I got the call, and she wanted to tag along."
I rolled my eyes. "You're a terrible liar."
He ignored me. "Yeah, I'm going to have a late night. A ton of paperwork, ya know," he continued. "I'll grab dinner on my own. Probably at the office. I'll try and call you later if it's not too late." He paused and listened again. "Yeah, me too. Bye."
I shook my head with mock sadness. "Lying to your girlfriend already? That's not a good sign."
"What was I supposed to tell her? That you're psychic or something?" he asked.
"Then we would both sound crazy," I said.
We finally reached the bustling cafeteria. The smell reminded me of elementary school lunch trays and cartons of milk. He stopped at the vending machine and looked at me. "You hungry?"
"No, but I would love a Diet Coke if you could spot me the change. My purse is still in your car," I said.
"I'm sorry. I meant to grab it for you and I totally forgot. I can run out and get it if you want," he said.
I waved my hand. "I'll just get it when we leave. I don't have the headspace to deal with the phone calls right now anyway."
He fed a dollar bill into the drink machine. "I'm pretty sure a Diet Coke is the least I can do for you."
When he handed me my drink, I watched him buy a bag of Skittles, a Snickers bar, and pack of Nerds. I looked at his toned physique and then cocked my head sideways. "I had you pegged for a health nut or something."
He shrugged. "I'm a candy
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