Chapter 41 – Clover
Chapter Forty-One
Clover
Unfortunately, no one else agrees with me. I can see even Kola thinks I’m being too harsh. Thomas is just standing there, looking bored, as usual. He thinks nearly everything is too boring for his attention. Except me. He seems to find me a little too interesting.
Theo’s reddening face only proves my point.
He knows more than he’s letting on, he’s hiding something, or some combination of both.
We just have to wait for Sylvia’s sister to get here so we can find out.
The nurse won’t release any medical information without her here and the best we can drag out of her is that there will be a police investigation about the attack.
That ought to scare blondie over there, but he doesn’t seem perturbed.
He seems genuinely worried. But I still can’t shake the feeling that he’s hiding something.
If he’s the one that hurt Sylvia, we’re still out on our asses when it comes to the blackmailer, but at least we could do something to stop anything like this from happening again.
I can beat the shit out of someone who attacks me once I’m prepared.
Sylvia’s so damn sweet, she doesn’t expect anything like this to happen.
We don’t have to wait long before there’s a bustling in the hallway – an imperious, booming voice with an accent about as posh as Thomas’ blares throughout.
“YOU’VE KEPT HER HERE HALF-DEAD WITHOUT ENSURING THE BASTARD WHO DID THIS–
“Crispin, relax,” a smoother, soothing voice follows. That must be them. Theo rushes for the door, but I get there first, giving him a suspicious, knowing look. I’m onto you, white boy.
Crispin, the screaming guy, does not in fact relax.
“Relax?! She pays good bloody tuition so she can walk about without fearing for violence. Somebody, and I mean anybody will pay for this. I’ll squeeze every fucking pound out of Barnaby Fox if I have to. Well? Are you going to let us in or wait for her to decay?”
“Crispin, calm the hell down, or I will kick your ass.”
That must be Amina. I know the second I see her that she’s Sylvia’s sister.
She looks almost exactly like Sylvia, but much thinner and a bit taller.
She’s pregnant, too. Or she was recently pregnant.
I’m not exactly an expert, but I do remember a few details from my mom’s pregnancy with Chaos, not to mention the videos about it she had me editing between home school classes in middle school.
The tall blond boy next to her looks a bit like Theo, but with a sharper jawline and… a fake eye? One of his eyes doesn’t move at all. I bet there’s a weird story there, but I’m too dumbfounded once I see them to say anything that’s actually intelligent.
“Sylvia… She… There… Fine.”
What the hell, Clover?! You know when your awkwardness kicks in at the worst times and you sound like a fucking idiot? I do everything in my power not to bury my head in my hands.
“I mean,” I stammer before quickly regaining my ground. “She’s in the room and she’s fine. We came right over to visit her.”
Crispin continues scowling, but Amina’s face lights up.
“You’re Clover! And Kola! Thomas… not sure what you’re doing here.”
“It’s not suspicious,” Thomas answers extremely suspiciously.
“Okay,” Amina says, folding her arms. “Does Vi know you’re here?”
“Why would I tell Vi?”
“Good point. Well… I’d better go in and see her. Thanks for coming. You’re good friends for looking after her.”
Amina walks between me and Theo. She pauses for a second and then takes a few steps back.
“Theo? What are you doing here?”
Shit. I was right. The white boy turns even redder than before.
“I didn’t want to tell you,” he says. “I just thought… I mean, I found out. I called and then…”
“Tell me what?” Amina snaps. Crispin appears behind Amina, putting his hand on her shoulder.
“I sent him,” Crispin says. “Yes. I uh… I sent him.”
Amina glances over her shoulder. “You didn’t tell me that.”
“He did,” Theo says quickly. “And she’s out of it. Sorry.”
Amina narrows her eyes but accepts their explanation.
I don’t. I think her husband’s lying… But why would he lie to cover for Theo?
Is Spicy Freak making me conspiratorial, or is there something going on?
Kola introduces herself to Amina and Crispin, and she seems to like Theo just fine.
We all crowd into Sylvia’s hospital room with the nurse trailing behind as her concern grows that we’ll upset Sylvia’s recovery.
“We can wake her up soon,” the nurse says. “But she might wake up on her own.”
“I need to pee,” I blurt out and sneak out of the room.
Hospitals freak me out and seeing Sylvia there makes it worse.
There are too many people in the room and I can hardly breathe.
The nurse directs me to the hospital’s public “loo” as she calls it and I burst out of the room.
I hope Sylvia wakes up soon and I hope she can tell us who did this to her.
I get to the bathroom and close myself inside. I don’t need to pee as much as I need to breathe and get water on my face, stop thinking of hospitals and stop reminding myself of the worst night of our lives. I hope Chaos doesn’t remember that night the way I do. I miss him.
After a few minutes, someone knocks on the door. I’m not ready to leave.
“Clover, it’s me.”
Why did it have to be him? I don’t answer.
“It’s Thomas,” he repeats. Yes, Thomas. I can hear that annoying, fancy ass accent and know exactly who stands on the other side of the door. I crack the door open. He smiles and I open the door a little more.
“It’s a bloody zoo in there,” Thomas murmurs.
“I’m taking a shit.”
He never gives up, does he?
“Doesn’t smell like it.”
“Ew!”
He chuckles. “Listen, you okay? You seem… weird.”
“I’m fine.”
“They’re banging.”
“What?”
“Theo and Sylvia. Totally boning. He’s the secret boyfriend.”
“How the hell do you know that?”
“Come on, Clover. Did you really buy the way Crispin covered for him?”
I didn’t buy it. Thomas might be on to something. Shit…
“He’s old!” I blurt out.
Thomas shrugs. “It’s not really our business, is it? My business, right now, is wondering why you look like you’ve seen a ghost.”
“I hate hospitals. That’s it.”
We should go back to Sylvia.
Thomas, naturally, blocks the door and steps into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.
“That’s it?” he says. “You just hate hospitals?”
“Yes.”
“So do I,” he says. “But we can’t hide out here.”
“I was trying to leave,” I point out.
Thomas shrugs and approaches me, standing inches away. I know I should step back, but I can’t make myself.
“I know,” he says. “But I really want you to stay. Just for a moment.”
He puts his hands on my hips and I let him pull my body against his. No, Clover. Don’t let him do this. Thomas draws my chin up and kisses me softly on the lips.
“Feel better,” he whispers. “I can kiss you until you feel better.”
This is so wrong…
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