I flinch, playing it off with a shake to my head. “I’m EMS. I’ve seen and heard worse, ma’am.”
“Uh-uh!” There’s a tap on my shoulder that brings a small smile to my lips. “None of thatma’amnonsense. We didn’t spend the last three days rubbing elbows for me to be ama’am.”
Snorting, I snag the trash fromEmmett’smedications on the bedside table and dump it into the bin for Bobbie.
Even his name is one I wasn’t expecting.
Emmett.
I eye the board he mentioned to double check the spelling.
Don’t ask me why I do.
None of my actions make sense, but I guess they never really do to anyone but the gremlin operating this meat suit of mine.
“Yes, ma’am,” I mutter and watch her through my lashes.
She spins so fast, snagging the pillow Emmett’s not using, that I don’t get a chance to get my arms up. She wails me right in the face with it, knocking loose a laugh, only to cock it back once more.
“You done, child?”
I snort through a grin and hold my hands up to protect my face.
“Okay, okay.Bobbie. I surrender.”
She narrows a tired eye, then hides the almost lift of her lips by turning back to the computer, dropping the pillow back to Emmett’s bed.
“You going to hang around tonight?”
I pull in a quick breath that puffs my cheeks when I blow it out.
“If I leave now, I can still make the races.”
Another quirk to her brow is thrown my way when I make no motion to move.
“Well, why don’t you grab us some coffees, then? His toast should be up soon, and he needs to eat.”
Something lifts inside my chest over the fact that she’s not pushing me out. It’s weird, but it’s like I weigh just a little less now that the worry of being dismissed or called out for hanging around is lifted.
“Sure thing.”
It’s sludge that I find at this hour, but its burnt and dark and the perfect dose of caffeine for my sleep-deprived tastebuds to ignore. I have to search for Bobbie, but when I find her coming out of another patient’s room, she smiles at the second cup in my hand.
“Thanks, hun. Make sure he eats, please?”
I nod and let her get back to her rounds as I make my way to Emmett’s room.
Emmett.
Blond-haired and amber-eyed feisty little shit with a death wish.
I consider jostling him awake when the toast finally comes, but it’s already cold and half-soggy.Yum. So, instead, I settle back in the uncomfortable chair and sip at the slurry warming my palm.
Again, I’m struck with the sudden burning question ofwhy the fuck am I here? It makes my face go hot and my fingers tingle when I can’t come to a logical answer. One that I’d be okay with explaining to Hat if he asked where the hell I’ve been disappearing to after shift for the last few days.
Not that he’s paid any attention to my whereabouts. Sometimes we end up at the same party or at the track at the same time, but most often my time with my best friend is spentwith him behind the wheel of our rig. Running into the danger. Chasing after the souls not yet meant to leave this planet.
Like Emmett.
