Last Player Standing

Chapter Fifteen

"Drivers in this state have no fucking decorum," I mutter as I chain up my bicycle in the parking lot of St Martin's hospital. I lug the massive get-well basket out of my bike carrier, fuming as I stalk towards the entrance of the hospital. On my ride here, some crazy driver chose to swerve into the bike lane. I barely managed to avoid getting hit, and for all my attempts to avoid death what do I get? A quick 'Oops, sorry. I didn't see you there.' and a mouthful of car exhaust. How the hell he did not see a whole person on a bike beats me.

I step around what seems to be a piece of gum stuck to the sidewalk, taking in deep breaths of air to calm my temper. I don't want to take my anger with me into Forrest's hospital room, especially when he was already putting up with the pain of a broken arm and an itchy cast. Forrest will be stuck in the hospital for 3 days, and I plan to visit him after school throughout his stay to support him a little.

I had taken Lucas's words to heart- maybe I really had been more focused on catching the culprit instead of caring for Forrest. The guilt had nagged at me throughout the entire school day, and I kept thinking of what I could do to make it up not only to Forrest but to Lucas too. I wanted to prove to Lucas that I would listen and work with him during this partnership, and more importantly, that I cared about his team as much as I did mine. Hence the huge basket of fruits, cake, and cookies baked by yours truly. Oh, and of course, the two orders of KFC that were currently burning up my hand.

Shoutout to Ms. Dayna I'm-totally-not-in-love-with-him-but-I've-memorized-his-KFC-orders.

I struggle with balancing the basket in my arms with the KFC all the way to the front desk, but I manage to plaster my politest smile on my face when speaking to the receptionist.

"Hi, I'm here to see Forrest Marshall?" I smile.
Her crow's feet deepen as she looks up at me before replying. "Room 315, honey. Go to the 3rd floor, and just walk down the hall, you're sure to see it."

I nod, smiling softly, before striding to the elevator. I'm almost too glad to put the basket on the floor of the elevator, and I lean against the railing, my arm muscles throbbing. The elevator music enters my ears, a soft clear melody, that must have been chosen specifically to calm the emotions of nervous visitors. In this quick moment of peace, I review everything that has happened in the past few weeks. Sunday night had limited our search greatly, and now we knew to search for blondes. Even though I hadn't managed to catch the culprit, I was grateful for how much the experience had advanced our investigation.

I step out of the elevator and start scanning the room numbers, eager to check up on Forrest's condition.

As I pull up to room 315, I quickly glance through the glass window on the door to make sure it's Forrest's room. I duck immediately when I see another person in the room with him, before sliding to the side of the door to be able to peek through the window without being seen.

Forrest is laughing in his hospital bed, and as he throws his head back to laugh, Dayna stares at him, grinning like a girl stupidly in love. I smile at the pair and set the basket down beside me before putting the two orders of KFC in it and wondering when Dayna had arrived.

I could easily interrupt the pair of them, or I could wait for an hour and give them time to talk. When Dayna heard about Forrest's 'accident' she was shell-shocked. Even though I was still irritated at Lucas for speaking to her the way he did, it made complete sense to her why he had been so touchy. I suggested that she visit Forrest, but she said she wasn't sure if he would want to see her. She was clearly here impulsively but I hoped that they would be able to sort their feelings out a little if they talked it out now. Forrest's vulnerable state had encouraged Dayna to drop her facade of nonchalance, and this period could do them good if they were given some space. I whirl around, determined to give them an hour of undisturbed conversation and immediately bump into someone.