Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
Caleb
I’m seeing the Center with different eyes now. The nurses, especially the one that hates me, all talk down to the residents.
Like we’re dumb.
Maybe we’ve had a different journey in life than most, but that doesn’t mean we’re not smart.
The hospital is sending in a homecare nurse to change bandaging on my wound and check for infection. I’m happy about that.
Dr. Xiong wants to talk about my attack today. Matt’s warning about the staff is on my mind. I don’t want to tell her anything. “Caleb, I can’t tell you how relieved I am that you’re going to be okay.”
One of the pictures on her wall is crooked. I can’t stop looking at it. “Oh…” Someone tried to kill me. “I don’t feel very okay.”
Dr. Xiong’s eyes widen slightly as she gapes at me. “I didn’t mean to downplay what you’ve been through. Not at all.”
“Uh huh.” I stand to level the picture out because I can’t concentrate with it crooked like that. “What does schizoid behavior mean?”
I look at her intently. It’s been bothering me since overhearing the talk she had with another doctor about me after an appointment.
“Where did you hear that, Caleb?” Her cheeks flush red and her hand flutters near her throat.
I shrug. “Does that mean crazy?”
If one thing is clear to me now, I’m not. Keir’s suspicions that I was drugged may be accurate.
Why would anyone want to do that to me?
“Is another resident saying these things to you, or one of the graduate students?” She sounds horrified, but I wonder if she’ll make excuses if I tell her I heard it out of her mouth?
“I’m going to pray for you,” I say to her as I leave her with her mouth hanging open.
“Did you notice anything weird today?” Eden asks as she bites into her burger across from me at the café.
We’ve been meeting here for lunch for a couple of days. Just being in her presence for these precious hour allotments makes me feel almost… giddy?
“Amora told me that Jolie is acting weird. Nice… overly nice? Tempest said that the red-haired nurse, Kim, the nice one, and Ronnie, the one that hates me had a big fight. She didn’t know what it was about.
Rhen thinks that Hutton is going to kill everyone, but he’s always thought that.
” I stop eating to watch Eden. Her eyes draw me in, then she starts to talk, and my eyes are drawn to her lips.
“That’s not exactly helpful.” She taps the table five times before humming for a few seconds. “Are you really refusing to talk to the doctors right now?”
“I don’t need it.”
“Agree to disagree?” She pulls her hair up into a ponytail. “Don’t you think talking about the abuse you went through could help you?”
“Like you talk about yours?”
Her eyes narrow at me. “Caleb Smith… are you shaming me? Are you really throwing my hypocrisy in my face?” She laughs before I start to think she’s mad at me. “Well played. I think you’ve been spending a bit too much time with Blaine.”
I like it when she’s smiling.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to tell her about Keir. I can’t keep a secret from her like Matt and Blaine. I witnessed how upset that made her when we’d all met in her room.
How do you explain it, though? He's different right now. Even though he doesn’t remember some of the pain he had to go through, it’s all fresh in his mind.
He’s less open.
“Whatever you’re thinking about has to be heavy to distract you from your french fry feast.” She smiles broadly at me leaning forward to pluck a fry from my plate. “Here I thought you’d only ever eat healthy. You just hadn’t had the right kind of junk food.”
I want to bridge the distance and kiss her. I want to so much, but she just wants to be friends. I have to honor that.
I pat my stomach. “There wasn’t a lot of variety in my diet before.” It never bothered me to live off the land. That’s what was always intended for humans. “If I don’t slow down on eating french fries, I won’t have such a flat stomach.”
“Not that I’m complaining, but it’s strange how Dr. Hart is choosing to ignore how much time you and I are spending together,” Eden says, picking her burger back up.
“I guess our association is less of a problem than our attempted murders, huh?” She winks at me and all the blood in my body rushes to one area.
Friends. That’s what we are… friends.
Blaine told me to ease up on the calls to Keir, but I can’t. I hear the fear in his voice when he talks about the fact no one is giving him straight answers about his mom. He’s convinced that she’s still at the compound and might not know where he is.
“Hello?” Keir’s voice rings out when he picks the phone up.
“It’s Caleb. Did they bring your television back yet?” He told me they had to ‘fix’ it and took it from the room shortly after he woke up. Blaine said that they probably didn’t want him to realize the years he’s lost if he caught the date on the television.
I think that’s cowardly. He should be told.
“Umm, no. I can’t leave my room, either.
The doctor said that someone is contagious on this floor.
Do you think you could do me a favor?” Keir’s voice lowers, “Can you call the police for me? I’ve tried but maybe they’ll listen if someone else calls, too.
The doctor was going to, and they still haven’t been here. ”
The desperate tone in his voice makes me want to promise I will. I silently ask God for guidance. What do I do here?
“Has anyone been in to see you… other than the doctors or nurses?” They are keeping his waking up quiet for now.
Matt was livid when he learned I knew and had been calling Keir’s room phone. I was sworn to secrecy.
I don’t like it.
“A dark-haired girl. She told me she knows me, but I… I think she’s confused.” An alarm goes off in my mind.
Jolie? She’d been poking around at the hospital, what is she doing?
“I think you should tell your doctor.”
“Really? I don’t mind the company. It gets boring. She’s nice, too.” All I can think about is how Eden would feel. She’d be terribly hurt.
“You should tell your doctors or nurses. You don’t remember her, right? She could be trying to trick you.” God, please help him see reason.
“Oh.” He sighs. “I just want to talk to my mom. I hope the police come soon. Will you call and make sure?” Maybe when Matt gets back from work, he can go and see him.
“Can I read you my daily devotional?” I miss us discussing it together, the gym workouts, the walks. He’ll recover; I need to believe that.
Please God guide his healing.
“They don’t make sense to me.” His voice sounds sad. “I’ll talk to you later. Please… call the police.” He disconnects before I can talk to him more.
I put my cellphone down on the bedside stand and look around the room. I wonder if there are eyes watching. The sense that I’m being observed has followed me since being back here.