Rika, the Cuban Flame

14. Make Him Calm Down

Rika

I've seen this guy before... but where? His blonde hair shines in the sun and that's when it hits me. Is this the student with the hair who sat next to Lucas in the lecture hall before everything happened? I even remember him standing nearby as I submitted Lucas in all those holds. What I don't remember, however, is his name. "You're Lucas's friend, right?" I ask.

He nods. "Yeah."

I turn to face him. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name."

He gives a nervous laugh. "That's okay. It's Scott."

"Oh!" I clap my hands. "Right, get in."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah."

I sit in the driver's seat and watch Scott run around the front to the other side. The passenger door opens up, a butterfly door, and he sits down in the seat. I'll be honest, seeing all the jealous expressions and faces around us makes it worth it. I start the car and the engine roars, loud enough that the people in front of the car scatter in fear of being run over. That's a good fear, because I would have done just that if they don't get out of my way. When I get onto the road, I take the same route as the ambulance, turning right. I glance over at Scott, who suddenly acts like a giddy child. He's looking at things, feeling the seats, looking out the windows, looking behind us to see what's there. His eyes are aglow and that makes me snicker. He doesn't even say anything, just makes a bunch of noises, like a child watching fireworks for the first time.

When we get to the university hospital, the ambulance must have already come and gone because the ambulance bay is empty. Unfortunately, just like the school parking lot, I can't park in an ambulance bay or a fire lane, so I have to find a place to park. For obvious reasons, I park in the middle of nowhere, hoping that no other cars will park around mine. I don't take up more than one spot... I'm not that much of a bitch. Just a single parking space, but I park as far away from other cars as possible.

Scott and I exit the supercar and run through the parking lot. I'm considerably faster and by the time I reach the automatic doors, I have to wait several seconds for Scott to catch up. "Don't do a lot of cardio, do you?" I ask when he gets close.

He pants, already out of breath, and waves me off. "What gave it away?"

I nod my head inside. "Come on."

We walk up to reception and get the room that Lucas is in. He's been moved upstairs already to room 309. We have to weed through all the people to get to the elevators and we take it up to the third floor. I've always hated elevators. They are too small, compact, with too many people squeezing into such a tiny space. I don't think I'm claustrophobic, but elevators do give me the creeps.

Once the elevator doors open, Scott and I exit onto the main floor. We follow the signs and turn several corners until we see room 309. A rush of footsteps stomps down the hall and I turn to see a woman. She was one of the ones sitting behind the reception desk downstairs, but she wasn't the one who helped us find Lucas.

"Sorry..." the woman says. She pants and rises back up. "I overheard you talking downstairs and had to come up here, too."

"Allison?" Scott asks. "You're still working?"

"Yeah, rough morning, let me tell you."

I poke my head into the room and see Lucas resting in a hospital bed. I turn back to Scott and Allison. "Do you mind if I go in and talk to him first? Alone?"

Scott and Allison exchange a spooked glance, then smirk. "Oh, sure," Scott says.

"Not like we could stop you even if we disagreed," Allison adds.