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A gasp flies past my lips, and I leap to the side, away from the direction of the voice.
A woman, only slightly older than me, I think, sits bent forward smoking a cigarette that dangles from her long, slender fingers. Decked out in navy blue scrubs, she must be the nurse. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you jump. When you didn’t look over at me, I figured one way, or another, you were going to be startled.”
“It’s okay. I’m just a little edgy right now, is all. First day.”
“Yeah. My first day sucked. Heard her yelling, but she always yells, so …” Her cheeks cave as she sucks in a drag of her smoke.
“She was calling for her grandson. Roark?”
Snorting, the woman shakes her head. “Roark’s been gone for five years. Amelia, too, in case she tries to get you to fetch her next.” Reaching around her cigarette, she extends a hand toward me. “I’m Nell. Anella, but just call me Nell.”
“Isadora, but just call me Isa. Hey, is she always ...”
“Out of it? Yeah. Dementia with Lewy Bodies to be specific. Similar to what folks with Parkinsons suffer from. Doc’s trying to get her meds right.”
“She seemed fine up until she started talking about Roark.”
“Unnerving, isn’t it? One minute, she’s prattling on about current world events, the next she’s playing hide and seek with her dead grandson.”
“He’s … dead? For sure?”
“Depends on who you ask. After five years? Yeah, it’s a safe bet he’s dead.” Taking in another drag, she leans back on the chair and blows the smoke away from me. “The nightmares are always a good time, too. Sometimes have to strap her down.” With a sigh, she stamps her cigarette out into an ashtray filled with used butts. “I should probably get her settled back into bed. She have her tea yet?”
“Yeah. Not much, after spilling it onto the floor. Broke the teapot.”
The girl flinches as she pushes to her feet. “That teapot, along with the tea, is worth more than I make in a month.”
“No kidding. I just got an education in tea.”
Her eyes dip to my outfit and back. “You’re young.”
“Nineteen. Just graduated last year.”
“Two weeks. That’s if you keep to yourself.”
Frowning, I mentally tease the meaning of her words. “What’s two weeks?”
“How long you’ll last. That’s giving you some credit, too. Girl before you lasted a week. One before her? Three whole days. You met Lucian yet?”
Why does everyone ask me that after scoping my outfit?
“No. Why do you ask?”
“You think his mom’s a whackjob? Wait ‘til you meet the Devil of Bonesalt, himself.” She steps past me, knocking me in the shoulder on her way to the door. “Whole damn place is one big asylum.”
“I didn’t say his mom was a whack--” The door slams shut before I can finish. “Job.”
Staring out over the yard, I can make out the edge of the bluff and the endless sea beyond it. Miles of isolation.
On one hand, I appreciate the peace and quiet.
On the other, I hope I didn’t make a mistake in taking this job.
Chapter 5
Lucian
Sixteen years ago …
