You Had Me at "I Hate You"
21
"Hon, I can't let you in unless you're related," the nurse said. She spoke with a twangy accent, common in New York.
Jesse and I had been sitting out here in the waiting room for two hours, waiting to know anything about Linc.
"But I'm his best friend!" Jesse protested.
"I'm sorry, Hon. If you're not a family member, you've got to wait out here."
Jesse had been trying to get in Linc's room ever since we got here. The nurse was starting to get annoyed.
I hadn't said a word the whole way here. The doctors said I was in shock from seeing so much blood, but I knew they were wrong. I just didn't want to open up my mouth, lest I accidentally blurted out how I'd made Linc like he was...
Jesse was going to give himself an ulcer. He kept pacing and running his hands through his hair. He bit his lips up in anxiety, reducing the bottom one to shreds, and causing the top one the bleed a bit.
He gave in and plopped futilely down into the chair next to mine.
"You have to get in to see him," he whispered to me. This was the first time he'd talked to me since we'd arrived. "I'm so worried... Honest to God, I think I'm going to throw up."
I opened my mouth hesitantly, and said in a voice no louder than a feather on silk, "I... Can't."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Violet, you've got to try. I can't stand not knowing if my best friend is up there dying. You know that some people with his disease have bled to death? Huh?"
I nodded numbly, not able to produce any more tears.
"Then you're going to get in there... And you're going to tell me how he's doing. Got it?"
"Got it..."
"Good."
Jesse pulled me up my my arm, but in a firm yet gentle sort of way... Marking this as a temporary peace treaty.
"N-No..." I choked. "Just... Just give me a minute, okay?"
He nodded and we sat back down. His foot tapped impatiently. I could tell that he was practically being tortured by the knowledge that his best friend was hurt.
It was strange to see such a bond between two people. I think Jesse and Linc's relationship had gone beyond friends.
No! Not like, that! (What's wrong with you?)
I mean... They had gone past just being friends, and into being brothers.
Jesse laughed dryly, trying to fill up the white-washed silence. "You know... Linc and I have been best friends since the second grade."
"Really?" I asked, trying to take deep breaths to compose myself.
"Yeah... Ever since we both liked the same little girl. Her name was Janie Penn... She was a red-head, like you."
"What happened?"
"She let me push her on the swing one day, and Linc got so jealous that he punched me in the face."
I laughed a bit. "And you guys were friends after that?"
"Ever since."
"You two are so weird."
"Ready to try now?" he asked.
"Yeah."
He took me by the shoulders and led me towards the front desk, where the nurse sat.
"But Jesse..." I hissed out of the corner of my mouth. "I look nothing like him!"
"What do looks have to do with it?" he replied.
"But... How are we going to convince her that I'm his sister if... Oh! Wait!" I cried, trying to struggle, but Jesse was pretty strong for a skinny guy.
"This is Lincoln Fletcher's girlfriend," he announced, dragging me over to the large nurse. "Isn't that right, Violet?"
"Um... Yes," I managed.
The nurse sighed.
"I suppose we can make an exception for relationships..." she drawled. "Follow me."
I shot Jesse one last look, and trudged along behind the large nurse.
She led me up a flight of stairs, and around a corner into room 227, and stopped.
"Look, Hon, I know you're not this young man's girlfriend. Some people are so desperate to see the people that they know, they make up little stories-"
"Violet?" I heard a raspy voice call from a room behind me. "Dollface, is that you? Hey, nurse! Let her in!"
I turned to look in the doorway of the room we were standing in front of. I could see Lincoln, propped up in a hospital bed, with a huge grin on his face. He was wearing a hospital gown, and he had a giant patch of white gauze taped above his right eye.
"Mr. Fletcher, I can't let any one in to see you at the moment, you've just had stitches," the large nurse said with a touch of annoyance in her voice.
"Aw, come on!'
"Is she your mother?" the nurse asked in a don't-back-sass-me-young-man voice.
"What? No!"
"Your sister?"
"No..."
"Then I can't let her in. Go back to sleep," the nurse said with finality.
"I already told you!" I protested. "I'm his girlfriend!
Lincoln choked. "What?" he sputtered.
"I told her that I was your girlfriend... Sweetie," I said, throwing in the big hint.
The nurse raised an eyebrow.
"Wha- Oh! Yeah! Yeah... She's my girlfriend," Lincoln stated casually.
I could hear the soft, "beep-beep-beep-beep" of Linc's heart rate, coming from the machine that he was hooked up to via a little cover slip on his finger.
The nurse, who wore a name tag stating:
Hello! My name is Laverne!
rolled her eyes. She stepped aside and let me enter the white-washed room.
"Hey, darling," I greeted him, stressing the pet name.
"Glad you could make it, honey," he answered.
Laverne put her hands on her hips.
"I was not born yesterday. Come on little girl, you either need to exit the Hospital with me, or exit the Hospital with Security," she said, glaring daggers at the both of us.
Upon this statement, Lincoln grabbed my wrist, which was in reach from where he lay on the twin-sized bed. He pulled me down towards him, and placed his hand gently on my cheek.
The "beep-beep-beep-beep" of his pulse quickened.
I sort of froze, the excitement of the day came back and poured over me like ice water. He raised his head a bit and kissed me softly. His lips were cold, and so was his hand. I could feel myself flush slightly, and I could distinctly hear the beeping of the machine flutter to a heightened pace.
Then, it was over. Linc flopped back down on the pillow and smiled charmingly at Laverne.
"See? Told ya."
Laverne, now convinced that we were "romantically involved," ordered me not to get him so excited again, or his heart would give out.
The beeping... Linc's heart rate... slowed to normal.
I whipped my head around to face him.
"Lincoln Ferguson Fletcher!"
"What?"
"What the hell was that for?" I shouted.
"What was what for? Oh! The kiss!"
"Yes!" I cried, wiping my lips on the back of my hand.
"Well, you didn't want Security to haul you out of here, did you? Plus, it was no big deal. You liked it."
"I have a boyfriend!" I exclaimed.
He shrugged. "And I have a girlfriend."
I was speechless.
"No big deal, Dollface!" he repeated with a grin.
"No big deal? No big deal? Linc! We've been through this! You can't just randomly-"
"Aw, don't be a spoil-sport, Violet," he whined. "You're just lucky that I didn't throw some tongue in there!"
"Nevertheless," I breathed, still slightly stunned. "You can't just go around kissing random-"
"Where's Jesse?" he interrupted.
I rolled my eyes. Linc's got the attention span of a very hyper rodent.
"He's down in the waiting room, worrying himself to death."
"Why isn't he up here?" Linc asked, raising an eyebrow, but then wincing when he moved the one that was bandaged up.
"Well, we tried to pass him off as your mother, but that didn't go over too good."
He laughed.
"And then they said your fashion sense sucked, so the "boyfriend" plan failed as well."
"Well, I'm glad you came instead of him," Linc revealed.
I raised an eyebrow.
"No! Not... Not like that, it's just he always makes a big fuss over me when this happens. You know? He just treats me like I'm five."
I sighed and sat down on one of the tacky chairs they put in hospital rooms.
I flipped open my cell phone, and called Jesse. We had a short conversation that, on my end, went something like this:
"Hey, It's Violet... Yeah, he's fine... No, he's awake... Just a few stitches... Say 'Hi!' Linc!"
"'Sup, Jesse?" Linc interjected.
"No, I told you, he's fine... Alright... Okay... No, I promise to keep an eye on him... Okay... Bye."
I shut my phone and we were silent for a bit. Then Linc's heart rate increased again.
"Beep... beep... beep... beep-beep-beep-beep-beepbeepbeepbeepbeep!"
"What!" I cried. "What's wrong?!"
I stood up sharply and strode over to Linc's bed. He had been staring at my chest... Then I realized that the little tank top I was wearing had slipped down, and that a portion of my bright red bra was showing. I quickly pulled it up and covered up the offending undergarment.
Linc chuckled sheepishly and the beeping slowed.
"Uh... Well, that was embarrassing," he laughed.
I rolled my eyes.
"I think it's time to take this thing off my finger..." he stated, and tugged off the white, plastic slip on his middle finger.
He tossed it aside and the "beeping turned into one long "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!"
He swept his hair out of his eyes.
"It sounds like a mosquito on crack," he observed, referring to the high-pitched beep.
I laughed.
I was about to answer when five doctors tore through the room.
"He's gone in to cardiac arrest!" a blonde doctor shouted.
"CPR! CPR!"
"Commence ventricular fibrillation!"
"HEY!" Linc roared. Everyone froze.
"I'm okay!" he reassured everyone. "I just took the finger thingy off."
A few of the doctors stormed out, grumbling.
"Young man!" Laverne screeched. "Put your finger thingy back on!"
Linc slipped it on, wearing a scowl.
Jesse and I had been sitting out here in the waiting room for two hours, waiting to know anything about Linc.
"But I'm his best friend!" Jesse protested.
"I'm sorry, Hon. If you're not a family member, you've got to wait out here."
Jesse had been trying to get in Linc's room ever since we got here. The nurse was starting to get annoyed.
I hadn't said a word the whole way here. The doctors said I was in shock from seeing so much blood, but I knew they were wrong. I just didn't want to open up my mouth, lest I accidentally blurted out how I'd made Linc like he was...
Jesse was going to give himself an ulcer. He kept pacing and running his hands through his hair. He bit his lips up in anxiety, reducing the bottom one to shreds, and causing the top one the bleed a bit.
He gave in and plopped futilely down into the chair next to mine.
"You have to get in to see him," he whispered to me. This was the first time he'd talked to me since we'd arrived. "I'm so worried... Honest to God, I think I'm going to throw up."
I opened my mouth hesitantly, and said in a voice no louder than a feather on silk, "I... Can't."
He narrowed his eyes at me. "Violet, you've got to try. I can't stand not knowing if my best friend is up there dying. You know that some people with his disease have bled to death? Huh?"
I nodded numbly, not able to produce any more tears.
"Then you're going to get in there... And you're going to tell me how he's doing. Got it?"
"Got it..."
"Good."
Jesse pulled me up my my arm, but in a firm yet gentle sort of way... Marking this as a temporary peace treaty.
"N-No..." I choked. "Just... Just give me a minute, okay?"
He nodded and we sat back down. His foot tapped impatiently. I could tell that he was practically being tortured by the knowledge that his best friend was hurt.
It was strange to see such a bond between two people. I think Jesse and Linc's relationship had gone beyond friends.
No! Not like, that! (What's wrong with you?)
I mean... They had gone past just being friends, and into being brothers.
Jesse laughed dryly, trying to fill up the white-washed silence. "You know... Linc and I have been best friends since the second grade."
"Really?" I asked, trying to take deep breaths to compose myself.
"Yeah... Ever since we both liked the same little girl. Her name was Janie Penn... She was a red-head, like you."
"What happened?"
"She let me push her on the swing one day, and Linc got so jealous that he punched me in the face."
I laughed a bit. "And you guys were friends after that?"
"Ever since."
"You two are so weird."
"Ready to try now?" he asked.
"Yeah."
He took me by the shoulders and led me towards the front desk, where the nurse sat.
"But Jesse..." I hissed out of the corner of my mouth. "I look nothing like him!"
"What do looks have to do with it?" he replied.
"But... How are we going to convince her that I'm his sister if... Oh! Wait!" I cried, trying to struggle, but Jesse was pretty strong for a skinny guy.
"This is Lincoln Fletcher's girlfriend," he announced, dragging me over to the large nurse. "Isn't that right, Violet?"
"Um... Yes," I managed.
The nurse sighed.
"I suppose we can make an exception for relationships..." she drawled. "Follow me."
I shot Jesse one last look, and trudged along behind the large nurse.
She led me up a flight of stairs, and around a corner into room 227, and stopped.
"Look, Hon, I know you're not this young man's girlfriend. Some people are so desperate to see the people that they know, they make up little stories-"
"Violet?" I heard a raspy voice call from a room behind me. "Dollface, is that you? Hey, nurse! Let her in!"
I turned to look in the doorway of the room we were standing in front of. I could see Lincoln, propped up in a hospital bed, with a huge grin on his face. He was wearing a hospital gown, and he had a giant patch of white gauze taped above his right eye.
"Mr. Fletcher, I can't let any one in to see you at the moment, you've just had stitches," the large nurse said with a touch of annoyance in her voice.
"Aw, come on!'
"Is she your mother?" the nurse asked in a don't-back-sass-me-young-man voice.
"What? No!"
"Your sister?"
"No..."
"Then I can't let her in. Go back to sleep," the nurse said with finality.
"I already told you!" I protested. "I'm his girlfriend!
Lincoln choked. "What?" he sputtered.
"I told her that I was your girlfriend... Sweetie," I said, throwing in the big hint.
The nurse raised an eyebrow.
"Wha- Oh! Yeah! Yeah... She's my girlfriend," Lincoln stated casually.
I could hear the soft, "beep-beep-beep-beep" of Linc's heart rate, coming from the machine that he was hooked up to via a little cover slip on his finger.
The nurse, who wore a name tag stating:
Hello! My name is Laverne!
rolled her eyes. She stepped aside and let me enter the white-washed room.
"Hey, darling," I greeted him, stressing the pet name.
"Glad you could make it, honey," he answered.
Laverne put her hands on her hips.
"I was not born yesterday. Come on little girl, you either need to exit the Hospital with me, or exit the Hospital with Security," she said, glaring daggers at the both of us.
Upon this statement, Lincoln grabbed my wrist, which was in reach from where he lay on the twin-sized bed. He pulled me down towards him, and placed his hand gently on my cheek.
The "beep-beep-beep-beep" of his pulse quickened.
I sort of froze, the excitement of the day came back and poured over me like ice water. He raised his head a bit and kissed me softly. His lips were cold, and so was his hand. I could feel myself flush slightly, and I could distinctly hear the beeping of the machine flutter to a heightened pace.
Then, it was over. Linc flopped back down on the pillow and smiled charmingly at Laverne.
"See? Told ya."
Laverne, now convinced that we were "romantically involved," ordered me not to get him so excited again, or his heart would give out.
The beeping... Linc's heart rate... slowed to normal.
I whipped my head around to face him.
"Lincoln Ferguson Fletcher!"
"What?"
"What the hell was that for?" I shouted.
"What was what for? Oh! The kiss!"
"Yes!" I cried, wiping my lips on the back of my hand.
"Well, you didn't want Security to haul you out of here, did you? Plus, it was no big deal. You liked it."
"I have a boyfriend!" I exclaimed.
He shrugged. "And I have a girlfriend."
I was speechless.
"No big deal, Dollface!" he repeated with a grin.
"No big deal? No big deal? Linc! We've been through this! You can't just randomly-"
"Aw, don't be a spoil-sport, Violet," he whined. "You're just lucky that I didn't throw some tongue in there!"
"Nevertheless," I breathed, still slightly stunned. "You can't just go around kissing random-"
"Where's Jesse?" he interrupted.
I rolled my eyes. Linc's got the attention span of a very hyper rodent.
"He's down in the waiting room, worrying himself to death."
"Why isn't he up here?" Linc asked, raising an eyebrow, but then wincing when he moved the one that was bandaged up.
"Well, we tried to pass him off as your mother, but that didn't go over too good."
He laughed.
"And then they said your fashion sense sucked, so the "boyfriend" plan failed as well."
"Well, I'm glad you came instead of him," Linc revealed.
I raised an eyebrow.
"No! Not... Not like that, it's just he always makes a big fuss over me when this happens. You know? He just treats me like I'm five."
I sighed and sat down on one of the tacky chairs they put in hospital rooms.
I flipped open my cell phone, and called Jesse. We had a short conversation that, on my end, went something like this:
"Hey, It's Violet... Yeah, he's fine... No, he's awake... Just a few stitches... Say 'Hi!' Linc!"
"'Sup, Jesse?" Linc interjected.
"No, I told you, he's fine... Alright... Okay... No, I promise to keep an eye on him... Okay... Bye."
I shut my phone and we were silent for a bit. Then Linc's heart rate increased again.
"Beep... beep... beep... beep-beep-beep-beep-beepbeepbeepbeepbeep!"
"What!" I cried. "What's wrong?!"
I stood up sharply and strode over to Linc's bed. He had been staring at my chest... Then I realized that the little tank top I was wearing had slipped down, and that a portion of my bright red bra was showing. I quickly pulled it up and covered up the offending undergarment.
Linc chuckled sheepishly and the beeping slowed.
"Uh... Well, that was embarrassing," he laughed.
I rolled my eyes.
"I think it's time to take this thing off my finger..." he stated, and tugged off the white, plastic slip on his middle finger.
He tossed it aside and the "beeping turned into one long "beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!"
He swept his hair out of his eyes.
"It sounds like a mosquito on crack," he observed, referring to the high-pitched beep.
I laughed.
I was about to answer when five doctors tore through the room.
"He's gone in to cardiac arrest!" a blonde doctor shouted.
"CPR! CPR!"
"Commence ventricular fibrillation!"
"HEY!" Linc roared. Everyone froze.
"I'm okay!" he reassured everyone. "I just took the finger thingy off."
A few of the doctors stormed out, grumbling.
"Young man!" Laverne screeched. "Put your finger thingy back on!"
Linc slipped it on, wearing a scowl.