Five Feet Apart(7)

Even though she just got here this morning, she clearly knows where she’s going. Judging from her pace and the fact she apparently knows every single person in the building, I wouldn’t be surprised if she were actually the mayor of this place. I’ve been here two weeks, and it took me until yesterday to figure out how to sneak safely from my room to the cafeteria over in Building 2, and I am by no means directionally challenged. I’ve been in so many hospitals over the years, figuring out how to get around them is what counts as a hobby to me now.

She stops short under a set of double doors reading EAST ENTRANCE: NEONATAL INTENSIVE CARE UNIT and peeks inside before she pushes them open.

The NICU.

Odd.

Having kids when you have CF falls into the super difficult category. I’ve heard of girls with CF bumming hard over it, but going to stare at the babies she might never have is a whole other level.

That’s just fucking depressing.

There are a lot of things that piss me off about CF, but that’s not one of them. Pretty much all guys with CF are infertile, which at least means I don’t have to worry about getting anyone pregnant and starting my own shit show of a family.

Bet Jason wishes he had that going for him right now.

Looking both ways, I close the gap between me and the doors, peering inside the narrow window to see her standing in front of the viewing pane, her eyes focused on a small baby inside an incubator on the other side. Its fragile arms and legs are hooked up to machines ten times its size.

Pushing open the door and sliding inside the dimly lit hallway, I smile as I watch Converse girl for a second. I can’t help but stare at her reflection, everything beyond the glass blurring as I look at her. She’s prettier close up, with her long eyelashes and her full eyebrows. She even makes a face mask look good. I watch as she brushes her wavy, sandy-brown hair out of her eyes, staring at the baby through the glass with a determined focus.

I clear my throat, getting her attention. “And here I thought this was gonna be another lame hospital filled with lame sickies. But then you show up. Lucky me.”

Her eyes meet mine in the reflection of the glass, surprise filling them at first, and then almost immediately changing to something resembling disgust. She looks away, back at the baby, staying silent.

Well, that’s always a promising sign. Nothing like actual repulsion to start off on the right foot.

“I saw you moving into your room. Gonna be here awhile?”

She doesn’t say anything. If it wasn’t for the grimace, I’d think she didn’t even hear me.

“Oh, I get it. I’m so good looking you can’t even string a sentence together.”

That annoys her enough to get a response.

“Shouldn’t you be procuring rooms for your ‘guests’?” she snaps, turning to face me as she angrily pulls her face mask off.

She takes me off guard for a second, and I laugh, surprised by how up-front she is.

That really pisses her off.

“You rent by the hour, or what?” she asks, her dark eyes narrowing.

“Ha! It was you lurking in the hall.”

“I don’t lurk,” she fires back. “You followed me here.”

It’s a valid point. But she definitely lurked first. I pretend to be taken aback and hold up my hands in mock defeat. “With the intent of introducing myself, but with that attitude—”

“Let me guess,” she says, cutting me off. “You consider yourself a rebel. Ignoring the rules because it somehow makes you feel in control. Am I right?”

“You’re not wrong,” I shoot back before leaning against the wall casually.

“You think it’s cute?”

I grin at her. “I mean, you must think it’s pretty adorable. You stood in the hallway an awfully long time staring.”

She rolls her eyes, clearly not entertained by me. “You letting your friends borrow your room for sex isn’t cute.”

Ah, so she’s a real goody two shoes.

“Sex? Oh, heavens no. They told me they would be holding a slightly rowdy book club meeting in there for the better part of an hour.”

She glares at me, definitely not amused by my sarcasm.

“Ah. So that’s what this is about,” I say, crossing my arms over my chest. “You have something against sex.”

“Of course not! I’ve had sex,” she says, her eyes widening as the words tumble out of her mouth. “It’s fine—”

That is the biggest lie I’ve heard all year, and I’m practically surrounded by people who sugarcoat the fact that I’m dying.

I laugh. “?‘Fine’ isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement, but I’ll take common ground where I can get it.”

Her thick eyebrows form a frown. “We have nothing in common.”

I wink, having way too much fun pissing her off. “Cold. I like it.”

The door bangs open and Barb busts through, making both of us jump in surprise at the sudden noise. “Will Newman! What are you doing up here? You’re not supposed to leave the third floor after that stunt you pulled last week!”

I look back at the girl. “There you go. A name to go with your little psych profile. And you are?”

She glowers at me, quickly pulling her face mask back over her mouth before Barb notices. “Ignoring you.”