“Regardless of where we put the blame, she’s still gone.”
“And we know what it feels like to have someone we love taken from us. I’m just saying we have more in common with the good doctor than you might think.”
Noah sighed, and I pictured him running his hands through his hair. “I will admit I was wrong about her. She’s done an excellent job with you, and she’s gone to bat with her coworkers to ensure you have the best doctors while you’re here under someone else’s care.”
“See, was that so hard?”
Noah scoffed. “Not only does she not have family, but the nurses here talk shit about her. They don’t even try to hide their dislike.”
The bed shifted under Benito’s weight. “That’s just cruel.”
I figured that was my cue to ‘wake up.’ I didn't want them to continue talking about me; it was too embarrassing. Yawning, I stretched and sat up, blinking for real in the bright lights and avoiding Noah’s sharp gaze. “Did I fall asleep?”
Benito patted my shoulder. “It’s alright, dear, you’ve been through an ordeal.”
“I didn't mean to end up on your bed.”
“I know.” He chuckled. “You went over like a house of cards, and I didn't have the heart to disturb you.”
I rotated my neck to get the kinks out. “Sorry, I guess the movie wasn't as interesting as I thought.”
“Do you know when they’ll discharge you?” Noah asked.
He was probably hoping to get a break from me. Folding my hands together in my lap, I lifted my chin to look into his eyes. “As long as my scans come back clear today, then most likely they'll release me in the morning after rounds.”
“My father will be staying at the Ritz-Carlton once he’s discharged. I’ve booked you an adjoining suite.”
My jaw dropped open, and I shook my head vigorously until it hurt enough that I had to stop. “No, absolutely not.”
“Cara—”
“No!” I yelled, interrupting Benito and standing abruptly. “I have an apartment in the city, and I’ll be happy to continue looking in on him every day as I’ve been doing.”
“It’s no hardship on me to do something nice—”
“Money is no object for you, I get it.” Tears threatened to drown me, and I couldn't catch my breath. “But you won’t be spending a dime of it on me.”
Blindly stumbling for the door, I heard both men calling my name from behind me. I couldn't turn back; my betrayal went too deep. They’d never forgive me if they knew the deal I’d made. If they knew what I planned to do to them.
They certainly wouldn't be using terms of endearment on me and dropping a wad of cash on one of the most expensive hotels in the city for me. It wasn’t my home that was bombed, and I wasn't the one who’d been displaced.
I was a traitor. A snitch. The very person they’d find a cruelly constructive way to kill if they ever found out the truth.
And I would deserve it one thousand percent.
I felt his hand on my arm seconds before I heard my name coming out of Noah's mouth. He sounded confused.
“Please drop it, Noah.”
He followed me down the hall, and heads turned to watch us go. “What did I do wrong?”
“It’s too generous,” I whispered, hoping my stupid fucking coworkers would all fall into a giant crater that would spontaneously open up in the earth. I wasn't trying to make more of a spectacle of myself.
“I only meant it as a kind gesture, sort of like an apology for you coming so close to dying in my house.”
We neared my room, and I had to stop short. Once again, the nurses were in there talking shit about me.
“—seen them? They cover most of her stomach.”
