The Pros of Cons

14 | His Name is Sala

"Antoinette Harvie," Cons repeated to ER reception nurse, spelling out my name for her.

I was hunched over, sitting in a chair in the corner of the waiting room where Cons had left me. I had to admit, I never thought I would be in a situation like this. Was it strange that I found it mildly entertaining? Aside from the constant waves of nausea and dizziness, hanging out with a cop all night in a hospital was one of the most random things to ever happen to me. That was... if he really was a cop. Another gross feeling washed over me just then.

I wasn't sure how I would react if I found out Cons was involved with the people who tried to kill me. I wouldn't just feel betrayed, I would be heartbroken. I had developed some trust in this man over the weeks, and to have that potentially be all for nothing? It gave a me a different kind of feeling entirely. One thing was for sure, once I was out of this hospital mess, I would find out once and for all why Cons' car was there that night. I was either going to clear his name or expose him for everything he's done. Everything he's done to me.

I felt a shadow approach and I glanced up to see Cons looking down at me.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

I half-heartedly shrugged in response.

"Okay, well, they need to run some tests on you. I think they're going to keep you overnight."

"What? No! No, no..."

Before I could further express my feelings about the situation, he placed his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. I wasn't sure why, but it reminded me of when he squeezed my leg to comfort me when I had a bomb strapped to my leg.

"It will be okay. I'll talk to Levi and let him know what's happening," he said. "You have to go through this."

I just shook my head. I was frustrated and tired. I just wanted to go home. That's all I wanted. I never wanted to go with Cons to his stupid gala. A few hot tears made their way down my cheek. I didn't even try to stop them.

I didn't realize Cons was leaning down in front of me until I felt his touch on the back of my legs. Now he was looking up at me, barely touching me, but the warmth of his hands could very much be felt against my skin.

"Why are you crying?" he asked, and for once he didn't seem annoyed by it.

I shook my head again. I didn't want to talk because then I would be crying even more.

"Do you still feel sick?"

I shook my head, even though I was.

"You can tell me."

I shook my head again. That was just it, I wasn't sure I could tell him. I looked at him just then, and wondered if he was going to hurt me. It wasn't like Cons and I were friends, but he had unexpectedly become someone I felt I could rely on.

"I'm just tired," I breathed, shakily. "I want it to be over. I want to feel safe. I want to carry on with my life without having to worry about being killed over something that I have zero knowledge about. I'm not a liability, Cons. I don't understand why they think I would be one. I don't know anything, I promise. The police don't believe me." More tears were making their way down my face. "Do you even believe me?"

Cons' hands made their way up to the tops of my knees. I briefly wondered if he could see on my face the effect he had on me. I sure hoped not. "I believe you, Toni. You don't have to worry about that."

"Cons?"

"Yeah?"

"Why... why did you say I could call you 'Sala' when we were in that building that night?"

I could tell that my question had caught him off guard, yet his eyes didn't waver from mine.

"Because that's my name." He said it very matter-of-factly. I wasn't expecting him to actually say it. I thought he would brush it off with an angry growl again, but he surprised me.

"Sala... Sala Conlins?"

"Yes."

"That's... beautiful." I could feel my face heat in that exact moment. I was embarrassed at my choice of words. "Where is it from?"

Cons blinked at me, his face showing no emotion, which only made me feel worse. I hoped and prayed that he wasn't thinking I was crushing on him now – even though I could feel myself well on my way to it (and it wasn't just because he was looking extremely attractive right now). "It's Argentinian," he finally said.

Ah, that must be where he gets his dark features. I suddenly found myself wanting to know more about his family history. "Well, it's a nice name," I told him. "You should use it more."

He shrugged. "Nobody calls me that, and I don't want them to. Including you," he added.

"Why?"

"Because, Antoinette, I said so."

I narrowed my eyes. "Hey, that's not –" I couldn't finish my thought because I was suddenly clutching at my stomach again.

Cons wasted no time before calling a nurse over. This was going to be a long and uncomfortable night.