Until Then

Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

Kenneth

With my father gone and my eyes closed, my thoughts drift quickly to Mateo who'd been running behind me when I got shot. If I didn't make it out of there with my life, maybe he hadn't either.

I can hear the mechanical clank and then whoosh of automatic doors sliding open. I open my eyes and find myself inside an unfamiliar hospital. Nurses and doctors are walking about, and there is a baby crying somewhere in the distance. No one seems to have noticed my sudden appearance so I clear my throat and wait for someone to hear. Nothing.

"Excuse me," I say to a nurse rushing past me. She passes right by, her eyes never looking directly at me. How am I supposed to accomplish anything if I can't be seen? I don't even know how I got here and what I'm supposed to be doing.

"Patient was moved upstairs. He needed IV antibiotics and will be staying for a few days until we can get the infection under control. If he had gone to the VA hospital he'd be dead. I've heard they are making veterans wait up to three months to be seen. It's a fucking shame. Should be criminal." An older doctor shuts a file and hands it over to the woman in scrubs behind the counter.

I move behind her and watch as she inputs Mateo's name and updates his records with a room number. I'm so relieved I want to cry. He made it. Thank God. I memorize the room number and head in the direction of the large elevators just beyond the emergency room.

Being in the elevator only confirms that I can't be seen at all, one woman even steps so close to me I feel her brush against my arm. She turns quickly and stares through me and I wonder if she had felt it. She rubs her hand absently along her arm where we had touched and when the doors open on the second floor she leaves the small area quickly, glancing back over her shoulder in my direction and then shaking her head in disbelief as she disappears down the hall.

I step out on the third floor assuming his room will be here somewhere since the number starts with three. I move down the empty hall and past the double doors that lead to the children's wing. That's when I see her. I can't help but freeze in place as I watched her trying to choose a snack from the vending machine. I'm not sure how this middle world works and I'm a little surprised that my heart rate picks up just from the sight of her in those dark blue scrubs. I can feel something in my chest and it's much more powerful than anything I've ever experienced. I'm drawn to her.

She moves her long braid to her back and rolls her neck, her hand moving to massage the muscles at the base of her skull. She turns her head slightly my way, and I can see that her eyes look tired and a little red as if she's been crying. It guts me and I don't even know this girl. She can't be any older than I was when I passed, yet she looks like she has seen so much life it shows in her features and the wear of her sneakers.

I move to stand behind her and I swear for a moment our eyes lock in the reflection on the glass of the vending machine. She turns around as if she's looking for me and I want her to see me so badly I step forward. Only she must not be able to because she turns back around quickly, grabbing her snack from the drawer and heading down the hall.

I know I'm here to see Mateo, but I don't want to let this girl out of my sight just yet. I don't know why I feel so strongly about her, but I do. She pushes through the door of a small family waiting room and takes a seat in an empty chair. I sit down across from her and watch as she opens her candy and starts to eat them. Her name badge lets me know she's a nurse and that her name is Quinn. It feels familiar, but that's impossible. I'm sure I've never seen her before and yet it almost feels like we've already met once.