7. LILLY
7
LILLY
“ S o he just removed all your subscribers?” Hazel whispers, her brow wrinkling as she widens her eyes.
“Yes.” I change Mr Wilson’s saline fluid while he sleeps.
“How is that even possible?” Hazel tucks his bed sheet under the mattress.
I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know. It was like he hacked into my account. But he paid me one thousand pounds in advance and he said I get another grand at the end of the month if I only talk to him.”
“So he wants you to perform for just him?” she whispers as we walk back to the front desk on the ward.
“Correct. But he wants me to keep my clothes on. Said he just wants to talk.”
“What’s he want to talk about?” Hazel fills in a chart on the front desk while I tidy up some paperwork.
“Just random stuff. Nothing in particular, really.”
She points the pen in my direction. “You know you’ve hit the jackpot there.”
I furrow my brow. “You don’t think it’s weird?”
“Honey, if a man wanted to pay me two gees a month to talk to him, I’d quit my day job.” She throws her head back with a laugh. “I wouldn’t even care what he looked like.”
“I don’t know what he looks like. He never showed me his face.”
“Maybe he’s ugly.” She nods her head. “Maybe he’s scarred or disfigured.” Her hand grabs my wrist. “Have you ever nursed a disfigured man back to health?”
I shake my head with a half laugh.
“What’s funny? He could be a patient that wants to thank you for taking care of him.”
“Your imagination is wild.” I check the time on my fob watch. “Sadly, I haven’t nursed any rich disfigured men back to health.”
Dr Fletcher strides onto the ward with a bright smile against his tanned skin. “Morning, ladies.”
We both give him a fake smile, then grimace as he walks around the desk and into the office.
Hazel nods in his direction. “Rachel was on the night shift with him last week. You should have seen her flirting with him.” She screws her face up and shakes her body as if a cold shiver went through her then goes about her rounds, checking on the rest of the patients.
I find it difficult to see how anyone would want to flirt with him, but most of the nurses find him charming, which makes me think it’s just me and Hazel that hava a problem with him. Maybe it’s because he triggers me. Growing up, my brother’s friends would slime all over me, Ash was always high to see what was going on right under his nose.
The buzzer sounds from bed four, making me jump, and I make my way over to Mrs Riley. “Morning. How are you today?”
She tugs at her oxygen mask and pulls it down over her chin. “Feeling a little better, my love.”
“That’s good to hear. Do you want to sit up?”
She nods her head, holding her bruised elbow from her fall.
I press the button on the side of the bed to lift it, bringing Mrs Riley into a sitting position, then check her catheter and oxygen levels.
“Thank you, dear.” She pats my hand with her frail one.
“You’re welcome.”
Margot, the senior nurse, wheels the drug trolley to the foot of Mrs Riley’s bed, ready to spot me with her meds. “Morning Mrs Riley. Did you sleep well?”
She lifts her oxygen mask from her face. “Not a great night, dear. The gentleman in the bay over was coughing all night, bless his soul.” She has a little cough herself before she continues. “Sounded awful. I was ever so worried for him.”
“I’ll check on him after your meds. Then it will be time for your breakfast. It’s your favourite this morning.” I adjust her pillow so she’s more upright and hand her a glass of water in a sippy cup.
Margot hands me her chart. “Check the patient information. Date of prescription, dosage and check the medication is in-date.”
I do all the steps and take the pills from the packet while she watches over me. I’m used to the routine now, but until I’m a registered nurse, I won’t be allowed to administer medication without supervision.
“Lilly, your policeman’s here again,” Hazel says with a hint of a smile as she sidles up next to me with a cart of fresh bedding.
Margot raises one of her grey, bushy brows before staring back at Mrs Riley’s chart.
I glance over my shoulder and catch Shane’s gaze. He stops in the middle of the ward, his mouth parted as if something just knocked the wind out of him.
Biting my lip, I try to hide my smile, but give him a subtle wave while Margot studies the chart.
His mouth curls up in the corner, and he nods in my direction before continuing to Mr Brown’s bed. The poor man was attacked in his home and robbed last night. The only thing they took was a lousy few hundred quid.
I follow Margot around the bays, administering the necessary medication and checking on the patients as I do every day. This is what I love about nursing; interacting with the patients. It’s the simple things in life like a nice cup of tea and being comfortable that mean everything to them. Some just want someone to talk to or hold their hand so they don’t feel so alone.
It’s why I enjoy doing lives with my subscribers. Most people see a bunch of pervs wanting to get off, but often they’re just lonely, and I offer them an escape. Somewhere they can express themselves without judgement, and they can be seen and heard. I know what it’s like to be in a room full of people and still be lonely.
I’ve spent the last few years trying to have a relationship with a man who was emotionally unattainable. Kane never saw the real me. He was a bit of fun and nothing more, especially when he wouldn't even sleep in the same bed as me. I just wish I’d realised that sooner. We both took what we wanted from the other, and he was good with his hands in more ways than one. But that’s where it ended. He was never going to be one for deep and meaningful conversations. At least not with me, anyway.
Violet did me a favour when she showed up. Not hanging out with Kane gave me some extra time to work on my content. What started out as feet videos turned into something more that makes me feel confident and sexy. Having acne and rosacea growing up, I’ve never felt confident in my own skin. Having a bunch of subscribers log on every night to watch me is empowering.
Hazel told me about the app and how her friend makes a shitload of money walking around the room in her police uniform. So I bought a few sexy costumes and started creating content.
One particular client sent me a naughty nurse costume to wear along with a nice payment and it became a fan favourite, pulling in the most views. I know it’s wrong to wear it in my profession, but I only did it because the clients kept asking for it. Over time, the outfit got shorter and shorter until I was ready to wear something more revealing.
The extra money helps. I’m in a lot of debt after taking a pay cut and with Mum in the care home and Ash needing help, I had no choice but to keep paying my mortgage with nowhere else to go.
“Have you checked the dose, Lilly?” Margot gives me a stern look.
“Of course.” I furrow my brow.
“It’s just every time the policeman comes in here, your brain turns to mush.” Her foot taps against the linoleum floor as she digs a fist into her hip.
It’s more like my vagina turns to a weeping mess. I’m still able to keep my wits about me. A little like last night when I was talking to my new subscriber. I rarely get turned on by a client, but then I’ve never had one be so forceful and dominating before.
“Finish up with these patients, and you might get to see him before he goes.”
My head snaps up. Birds take flight in my stomach.
Her mouth curves in the corner. “Don’t act so surprised. I was young once, you know.”
“Thank you. But there’s nothing between us.” The flutters turn to nausea, knowing he’ll never be mine. “He’s my sister’s ex-husband.”
She makes some notes on the patient’s chart. “That certainly puts a spanner in the works.”
Back at the nurse’s station, Shane approaches the desk in full uniform. Black’s always been his colour to match his black curly hair and his black beard peppered with grey. “All done with Mr Brown. He was asking for someone to help him.”
“I’ll see to him.” Hazel jumps from the chair, leaving me alone with Shane.
“How’s the investigation?” I shuffle some paperwork and tidy up the desk, anything to distract me from him. Something about him in uniform does things to me I can’t explain.
He adjusts his tie under his police vest. “It’s hard to convict anyone with no cameras, no fingerprints, and no way of identifying the perpetrators, but I needed to ask a few more questions. There was another break in last night on the same estate. Luckily, the old lady wasn’t harmed and slept through the whole thing only to wake up this morning with her door busted open and her purse missing.”
My hand flies to my chest over my heart. “Thank goodness she was okay.”
“How about you, anyway? Are you all right? You seemed tired last night. Did you get some rest?” He strokes his short beard, eyeing me as if he can extract the answer without me speaking a word. As a troublemaking teenager, he could always tell if I was lying. Thank goodness he was on tour most of the time.
“Yeah. I had a long soak in the bath.” I give him a wide smile. At least I’m not lying. I had a bath before I went online and was hacked by a man of mystery with a deep voice that could make me do anything he asked. And he doesn’t need to know about how I got myself off after my live ended. That was the most relaxing thing I did last night.
“Good. You look refreshed.” His fingers sweep a lock of my hair from my cheek. “You’re glowing this morning.”
Two orgasms from my rosebud is better than any skincare routine. But that’s probably sweat he’s seeing from lifting Mr Wilson a moment ago. I should check my foundation. So much for a long-lasting matte finish.
“I just needed to recharge.” If anything, I need to recharge my rose after last night. I look up through my lashes and bite my lip with a smile.
“What’s that look for?” Shane huffs out a laugh.
“What look?”
“That dirty smile like Mona-fucking-Lisa. You have a secret you want to share?” His head dips to meet my gaze. Without my heels, he’s a little taller than me.
I swat his shoulder. “No. Don’t be ridiculous. You know it’s impossible to keep anything from you.” Even though I’ve managed to keep my crush on him a secret. Since he’s been coming round more to help me with jobs around the house, my feelings for him have developed from a schoolgirl crush to something more.
I guess he’s just doing big brother stuff like he always has, but it feels different and last night when I touched myself, it wasn’t just the mysterious man I was picturing.
Dr Fletcher walks by the nurse’s station. A stethoscope draped around his neck over his white shirt. “Lilly, can I see you in the office for a moment?” He glares at Shane, giving him a once over, his upper lip curled with disdain.
Shane squares his shoulders and straightens his vest, waves of dangerous energy rolling off him. “I’ll let you get back to work.” As he swaggers away, he brushes past Dr Fletcher, giving him the same death glare in return. Only the intensity of Shane’s stare is reminiscent of a doberman, making Dr Fletcher look like a pug chewing a wasp.
Once Shane’s off the ward, Dr Fletcher flicks his head, pointing to the staff room. I follow with a deep breath, my hands wringing the hem of my blue tunic.
He closes the door behind me and stands too close for comfort, almost backing me up against the wall. “What did he want?”
“He was here to see a patient.” My back hits the window behind me, rattling the blind.
“I know that. I meant, what did he want with you?” His hands slide down my arms, then back up again, squeezing the soft flesh there. “He looked a little too comfortable with you for my liking.”
The irony.
“He’s my brother-in-law,” I say in a rush, hoping that’ll satisfy him, and I can go back out to my patients. Every second I’m in this room with him, the walls close in on me. I’m practically panting and for all the wrong reasons. No doubt this narcissist will think otherwise.
The strong, acrid smell of stale coffee assaults my nostrils, making my stomach churn with nausea. Someone offer this douche a mint.
“I see. As long as you’re okay.” He smiles, rubbing my arm again.
“I’m fine.” A sick thought causes acid to rise in my throat. Could the mystery man be him? Then I remember him telling me to keep my clothes on and let out a sigh of relief. Dr Fletcher would order me to take them off. I check the rota over his shoulder to be sure.
He was working until ten last night. My muscles relax, knowing it couldn’t have been him.
“Good,” Dr Fletcher says, but as he lets go of my arm, his thumb grazes the side of my breast. With anyone else, I would have thought it was unintentional. But with him, not a chance.
With a sigh of relief, I slip back onto the ward, and go about my job with one thought occupying my mind for the rest of the day. Seeing the mystery man again and finding out more about him.
Roll on nine-o’clock.