What The Water Brings In

14

"Are you ready, Miss Sang?" Dr. Green asked me.

We stood side by side in front of Ms. Jackie's hospital room door. It was latched and fully closed. I looked up into Dr. Green's eyes, pulling confidence from his gaze. The hazel ring among the green of his irises stood out more boldly than before.

A plan had come together in the basement office. I was to be the one to approach Dr. Green's blood mother, gauge her mood and receptiveness, and hopefully introduce her long lost son.

Mr. Blackbourne had stressed that I was the important part to it all, since Jackie already entrusted me with her secret.

I couldn't help but feel as if I betrayed Jackie's trust for letting her lifelong secret leak. So many people were now involved, acting to investigate and exploit this knowledge behind her back. There was a big chance she would hate me before the storm was through. Yet, that didn't weigh on me as much as another worry: the worry of her reaction to the news. If she were to lash out in anger, how much would her rejection hurt Sean?

Dr. Green seemed back to his normal self and insisted that he'd have my back the entire encounter, even if he was in the middle of the fray. He planned to accompany me into the room posing as the attending doctor while I assessed Ms. Jackie's condition. If all went well, he'd be right there waiting for the big reveal. Of course, since everyone except me was Academy, they had a backup plan just in case the situation were to get out of hand. Mr. Blackbourne, Silas, and Dr. Pickett would be waiting just outside the door, the middle aged doctor equipped with a couple of syringes of sedative in his pocket as a last resort. When I whispered to Silas my concern that Ms. Jackie surely didn't need two doses, Silas quietly responded that the second one was for Dr. Green – just in case.

But nothing was going to happen until I stepped through that door. "I'm ready as I'll ever be," I answered looking at the closed door. I'd stood before this door so many times today. Each time, my nerves were alight with jitters. This time was no different.

Silas grabbed and squeezed my shoulder as I took in a deep breath of courage. I syphoned a measure of comfort and support in the small moment he touched me.

My hand grasped the metal handle and twisted. The knuckles on my other hand rapped on the wood to announce our entry. "Ms. Jackie?" I called out.

The lights inside were dim, but not completely out. The flat screen television mounted high up on a wall was on at a low volume. Other than that, the room was quiet. There was no answer to my call.

I said her name again, louder this time as I stepped into the room and looked around. I felt Dr. Green's presence shadow me.

Still no answer, but I saw feet under the blanket on the bed. The anxiety in me instantly fell several notches. A contingency plan was in place in case Ms. Jackie was asleep. We all would simply return later to approach her again. We all agreed it would be harder to break this important news to her when she wasn't fully awake. I'd still have to face the music later, but for now, I could relax.

"I'll tell them she's sleeping," I whispered to Dr. Green while turning on my heel.

"Wait." Dr. Green grabbed my arm gently, preventing me from leaving. His brows were furrowed in seriousness as he stared at the foot of the bed. "She's not here."

My eyes grew wide in confused disbelief. I whirled around and ventured further into the room to confirm it for myself. If Jackie wasn't here, who was unconscious in her bed? My eyes focused no the feet sticking out under the covers, and I saw what Dr. Green had obviously seen first; a pair of huge hairy feet that did not look like they belonged on a woman.