Kiss me under the Hollywood sign

Chapter 16

My eyes opened slowly, as if they were rusted shut with grime and yesterday's mascara. My belly felt like it was on fire with each breath. Beeping noises and bright lights surrounded me. A blurry person sat by the bed, choking back sobs. "Emily! You're awake!"

It was Sarah, looking pale and like she'd been crying. Her eyes filled with anger as she glared at the man standing at the end of the bed. He had tired eyes- Stevo.

He stood with his lanky frame leaning against the wall, exuding the casual air of someone waiting for a bus that was forty minutes late.

"How could he let this happen to you? What kind of office security does Daniel Hunter have that someone can just... stab his employee!" Sarah asked Stevo.

Sarah wailed, her voice climbing several octaves until only dogs could hear. Ouch. Ouch. I tried asking her to pipe down before the nurses rushed in with earplugs and a muzzle, but it came out as more of a wheeze than actual words. "Sarah, it's...not Stevo's fault," I croaked.

Sarah didn't look convinced. "I thought getting a PA job to Daniel Hunter would come with some perks, at least some security... but this...this is way worse!" she cried.

I was confused. Sarah seemed mad at Stevo but they didn't know each other. "Sarah...you don't even know Stevo."

Stevo spoke up gently. "Actually, I found Sarah's number in your emergency contact list so I called her. Standard procedure and all that."

But Sarah kept yelling. "Where is Daniel Hunter? Shouldn't he be here when his employee is lying in a hospital bed?!... and not just his assistant?"

"Not assistant...manager," Stevo corrected with a cryptic half-smile that made me think he found the whole scene absurdly hilarious, if not for the stabbing pains pulsing through my body.

My head pounded with each loud word. Talking aggravated the stab wound in my belly. I breathed through the sting.

Stevo kept his voice even. "I understand you're worried for your friend, but getting angry doesn't help Emily recover."  But his Zen-like tone only seemed to inflame Sarah's emotions further.

"Don't tell me how to feel!" Sarah snapped. She turned on her heels and stomped out of the room. Stevo let out a sigh and shrugged as if to say "such is life in the bizarre drama we call existence."

~

Sarah had been shouting at me from outside my hospital room for a good ten minutes, blaming me for the whole pathetic mess. I was recovering from major abdominal surgery, could a girl get a break?

When Sarah finally stormed off, the silence was somehow even more uncomfortable than the yelling had been. Stevo let out a deep sigh as he dragged his feet over to my bed as if understanding my gaze. I wanted to know everything!!

"Emily," he began gently, "you need to rest.  We can talk about this later when you're feeling better."

As if! The pain pills had worn off and my stomach was doing the rumba. But I wanted answers and I wanted them now, damnit.  "No," I insisted, my voice weak but firm.  "I need to know... what happened?  Why... why did Olivia attack me?"

Stevo hesitated like he was waiting for a soap opera intro song to start playing. He shot me a worried glance. With a grunt, he plopped down in the squeaky plastic chair and leaned in close, like he was about to tell me the family recipe for meatloaf.

"Okay then...Olivia," he started, "she... she was a childhood friend of Daniel's.  Their mothers, Evelyn – Daniel's mom – and Olivia's mother, were practically best friends.  When Olivia's parents died in a plane crash... well, Evelyn took Olivia in, raised her like her own daughter."