Player

by DeLuca, Laura

  “God, my stomach hurts so bad.” Josh moaned.

  “It’ll be all right,” Rosa assured him, though she hardly sounded convinced. “Your mom should be back in a minute.”

  “I . . . I can’t . . . breathe.”

  Josh gasped. The oxygen attached to his nose was pointless. He heard a strange garbled wheezing come from his mouth. The lack of air in his lungs was making him feel dizzy. He wished he would pass out again so he would be oblivious for a little while. At least then he would get a reprieve from the awful pain that was tearing him apart from the inside out.

  “Try to calm down,” Rosa instructed. She continued to stroke his back. “Breathe slowly. In your nose. Out your mouth. That’s it. You’re going to be fine. Just breathe.” Josh followed her instructions, and found that it helped a little. Just her presence was comforting. He felt a little less afraid with her there. “Good. See, you’re getting better already,” Rosa said when his breathing became more regular.

  “And how are things going in here?” Josh immediately recognized the chipper voice of his mother, Robin.

  “Thank God your back! He’s having trouble breathing again.” Rosa wasn’t trying to hide the panic in her voice anymore. She was just as scared as Josh was. She moved out of her way so his mother could check his vitals, and stood in the corner biting her nails.

  “Hey there, kiddo. How are you doing?”

  “Mom.” It took a lot of self-control to resist calling her mommy. “The pain is really bad.”

  “I know, sweetie,” his mother said sympathetically. She walked up to Josh’s IV and inserted a needle with some mystery substance into the tubes. “I’m going to give you something to help you sleep. Don’t worry. You’re going to be just fine. I’m going to take good care of you.”

  The drug started to work almost instantly. Josh felt his eyelids growing heavy, and the pain started to ease just a little. His mother guided him back into his pillows. He shut his eyes but could still hear voices whispering around him.

  “What’s wrong with him?” Rosa asked, her voice bordering on hysterical.

  “We’re still waiting for the blood work to come back,” Robin told her. She, at least, sounded calm. “We think it’s some kind of food poisoning. Don’t worry. He’ll be good as new in a few days. These things just have to run their course.”

  Even in his stupor, Josh vaguely remembered the letter he had opened that afternoon. That letter had insinuated that if he was poisoned, it was no accident. When Josh tried to open his mouth to tell his mother his suspicions, he realized he was paralyzed. His mouth was so numb he couldn’t open it. Before long he fell into a drug induced sleep. It seemed only seconds had past when he heard his mother’s voice again. When he opened his eyes, the bright sun was shining in through the windows, and Josh knew that hours must have passed.

  “Good morning, Sweetie!”

  Josh wondered how his mother could think there was anything even remotely good about it. He felt like had been hit by a truck. Every single part of his body ached, especially his stomach, though it was hardly a shadow of the pain he had felt the night before.

  “You have great timing,” his mother continued. She flipped through his chart, even though she was in her casual clothes and apparently not on the clock. “Your girlfriend is on her way up. I thought you might want to freshen up a little before she gets here. I have the nurses stalling her.”

  “Rosa’s back already?” Josh asked. The clock on the wall revealed it was only a few minutes after nine. Visiting hours at the hospital had only just begun. Was Rosa really that anxious to see him?

  “If it was up to her, she would never have left at all.” His mother helped him to his feet. Josh was glad for the assistance. His legs felt like gelatin. “She rode over with you in the ambulance and didn’t leave your side for a second while we checked you out in the ER. I practically had to call security to get her to leave last night.” She snickered. “It was around two in the morning that she finally gave in and let me call her a cab. You had been asleep for hours by that time.”

  “Really?”

  Josh was surprised. The previous night was a little fuzzy, but he remembered Rosa being more than a little angry with him before he had gotten sick. He also remembered how tenderly she had taken care of him. As embarrassing as it was that she had seen him in that condition, it was still nice to know how much she really cared.

  “Really,” Robin repeated. “I think this girl must really like you. Now be careful not to pull out the IV while you’re in there,” she instructed. “I’ll be waiting out here to help you back to the bed.”

  Josh hardly recognized the face that greeted him in the bathroom mirror. He looked haggard and old, like he was thirty instead of seventeen. He had huge circles under his eyes and a jagged scratch on his cheek where Jasmine had clawed him. There was mangy stubble on his chin, but he had no razor handy to remove it. His hair was a tangled disaster. Bed head had never been so bad. The cheap plastic comb he found did nothing to tame his wild black shag. He had to settle for just washing his face off and brushing his teeth with the hospital toothpaste that tasted like stale gum. His mother had just helped him back into the bed when Rosa poked her head in the door.

  “Come on in, Rosa,” Mrs. Hanover told her. She brushed her blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m going to the doctor’s lounge to take a nap. I’ve been up for almost twenty-four hours thanks to my problem child over here. You can take over for me for a little while. Your dad is here too,” she added to Josh. “He’ll be in to check on you later.”

  She leaned down to kiss Josh on the cheek before she left. She tousled his hair the way she had when he was a kid. He was kind of sorry to see her go. It had been months since he had spent any quality time with her.

  “Thanks, Mom,” he told her.

  “Feel better, honey.”

  Mrs. Hanover glided past Rosa with a wide, knowing smile and headed down the hospital hallway. Rosa lingered in the doorway, even after his mother had vanished. She looked uncomfortable and shifted her weight anxiously from one foot to the other.

  “I don’t think I’m contagious.”

  She twittered lightly. “If you were, I think I’d already be screwed.” Then she turned more serious. “Are you feeling better?”

  “You do care just a little bit, don’t you?”

  He reached out his hand, and Rosa walked over to accept the offering. She sighed and sat down on the edge of his bed. “Maybe just a little. Are you still hurting?”

  “A little. Nothing like last night though. It’s no big deal.”

  “That’s easy for you to say,” Rosa complained. “You were unconsciousness half the time. I was the one who had to worry that you were going to die in my arms. And that you would think that I . . . that I. . . .” Rosa stopped in mid-sentence and stared at her shoes.

  “Think what?” Josh asked. He lifted her chin back up, just in time to wipe away the one tear that had snuck through. “That you hated me?” She nodded. “Don’t you? I wouldn’t blame you after what happened last night.”

  Rosa sighed again, a little louder this time. “No, Josh, I don’t hate you. I almost wish I could. It would be so much easier.”

  “I really care about you, Rosa,” Josh told her. “Is there anything I can say that will make you believe that?”

  “I really want to believe you,” Rosa told him. “But put yourself in my place for a minute. I just found out you had four girlfriends at one time. You couldn’t have really cared about any of them. Why should I believe I’m any different?”

  “Because you are different, and I think you know it.”

  “Even if I did believe you, it doesn’t change what you did to those girls,” Rosa said. “It was still wrong.”

  “I know. I was a jerk,” Josh admitted. “I regret it for more reasons than one. I treated them badly, and they didn’t deserve it. Not even Elena.” She smiled just a little at that. “But I swear I’ve changed, Rosa. Ever since I started to
spend time with you, you were the only girl I could think about. I know it must be hard to believe after everything I’ve done, but I swear it’s true. You have no reason to trust me, but I’m going to ask you to anyway. I know that I’m a big risk, but am I a risk that you’re willing to take?”

  Rosa was silent for a long time. Josh was a little worried that she had only come to see him at the hospital to say goodbye. The fact that she hadn’t let go of his hand kept him slightly optimistic. Then her face broke into a big smile, and she squeezed his fingers.

  “Yes,” she replied. “I think you’re worth the risk.”

  Rosa leaned over to brush his lips with her own. He silently praised his mother for getting him to brush his teeth before she had gotten there, saving him at least the humiliations of morning breath. When Rosa hugged him, Josh pulled her closer, and buried his face in her hair, breathing in her fresh clean scent, and feeling a little embarrassed that he probably didn’t smell nearly as good. It felt so nice to hold her in his arms that he tried to hide it when he had a minor relapse, but she saw him flinch in pain and immediately starting fussing over him.

  “You’re still hurting,” she fretted. “Should I call the nurse?”

  “You’re the only nurse I need,” Josh insisted when she started to gently massage his shoulders. “Wow, you are so good at that.” He gave her a weak smile to show her he was all right. “By the way, thanks for taking such good care of me last night.”

  “It was nothing.” She brushed his hair out of his eyes. “But you better not do this to me again. This whole food poisoning thing has taken ten years of my life. You need to be more careful about what you eat.”

  Josh’s face fell into shadows when she mentioned food poisoning. He had almost forgotten about the note. He was still a little sleepy, and the drugs hadn’t completely worn off, so his brain was fuzzy. But he knew it wasn’t just bad fish or some other random ingestion that had caused his sickness. Someone wanted to hurt him, and they had succeeded. They may have even intended to kill him. Rosa gave him a quizzical look, and after a moment of deliberation, Josh decided he could confide in her.

  “Rosa,” he said. “I don’t think this was an accident. Someone poisoned me on purpose.”

  Chapter 10

  A long time passed without a word. The clock’s tick echoed in the silence, and Josh could hear the voices of other patients and staff members speaking in hushed voices in the next room. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Rosa replied.

  “You . . . you can’t be serious? Why would anyone want to do something like that to you?”

  Josh scratched the tender area of his arm where the IV was still attached. “I can think of a few reasons.”

  Josh recounted everything that had happened in the last three days, from the reactions of each of the girls when he had ended their relationships, to his fight with Bryan in the gym. He told her about his vandalized vehicle and ended the story with the note he had found in his mailbox. He didn’t realize how ridiculous and paranoid the story sounded until he spoke the words out loud. Nevertheless, Rosa listened patiently, and at least seemed to be open-minded.

  “That letter does sound a little scary.” She shivered. “But do you really think that someone hates you enough to poison you?”

  “I know there are a lot of people who are angry with me right now,” Josh told her.

  “And I’m one of them!” The familiar voice came from the doorway, and both Josh and Rosa turned in surprise. “What are you trying to do? Give me a nervous breakdown?”

  “Hey, Andy,” Josh said, and shrugged. “Sorry about that.”

  Josh waved when he saw his friends in the doorway. Andrea came in, a bunch of balloons that read “Get Well Soon” in one hand and Josh’s backpack in the other. She deposited the balloons and the bag in the corner of the room and bounced onto Josh’s bed to give him a hug. Jim and Kevin sauntered in behind her. Kevin shook his hand and slapped his back in greeting. Luckily, they had only caught the tail end of the conversation with Rosa. Josh would have trusted Andrea with his suspicions, but Jim and Kevin would think he was insane.

  “Hey Rosa,” Andrea said. “Sorry about Josh over here. I tried to tell him that throwing up all over you on your first date wouldn’t make a very good impression, but he never listens to me.”

  “Believe or not, I’ve had worse first dates.” Rosa teased.

  Andrea’s eyes widened. “If that’s true, I definitely have to hear about it later.”

  “Listen, man.” Kevin sat down in the pink guest chair, looking chagrined. “I’m sorry I gave you a hard time about skipping practice yesterday.”

  “It’s not your fault,” Josh said. “I should have been straight with you and told you I was sick instead of trying to act like a tough guy.”

  “You should never try to act like a tough guy,” Jim teased. “You can’t pull it off.”

  “Thanks a lot. And these are my friends,” he told Rosa.

  “Your mom asked me to grab some clothes and stuff from your room,” Andrea told him. “I threw it all in your bag.”

  “Thanks, Andy.”

  “No problem,” Andrea replied. “So what’s the diagnosis? Are you going to survive?”

  “I seems that way. Even though I wasn’t too sure last night,” Josh said.

  “Things got pretty ugly, huh?” Kevin asked.

  “You have no idea,” Rosa told them with an obvious shudder.

  Josh had to live through the mortifying details of everything that had happened at the arcade for a second time as Rosa filled them in on their disastrous date. Jim and Kevin snickered more than once, but Andrea only looked worried. Afterward, they chatted about more normal things, like the upcoming dance, the wrestling practice Josh had missed, and the history report that was due. After about an hour, Jim, Kevin, and Andrea gathered up their things to leave.

  “I’ll stop back later,” Andrea promised, giving him a hug as she stood from the bed.

  Jim and Kevin had already disappeared down the hallway when Andrea started toward the door. She wasn’t paying attention to where she was going and she very nearly collided with the candy striper that was just coming into the room with a covered lunch tray. Andrea opened her mouth to apologize until she realized who the candy striper was. They glared at each other for a moment then shouted out in almost perfect unison.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I work here,” Elena said, gesturing to the red and white uniform she wore. It hung just below her knees, and was by far the longest skirt Josh had ever seen her wearing. “But you . . . Oh my God! Josh? Are you sick?”

  “No, he just enjoys hanging out in hospitals,” Andrea said with a roll of her eyes. “And the gown is a fashion statement.”

  Elena put the tray down on the table in the corner and looked Josh over with concern. The concern flickered to annoyance and just a little anger when she noticed Rosa was beside him. “Are you okay?” she asked.

  Andrea snorted. “Like you care?”

  “Listen, he might have pissed me off, but I don’t want him to die or anything!” Elena retorted.

  “Please, no catfights in my room,” Josh interrupted when he saw two sets of feminine eyes begin to flash dangerously. “Yes, Elena, I’m fine. It was just food poisoning. I’ll be out of here in a day or two.”

  Elena appeared relieved. “That’s good. I mean, I’m glad that you’re going to be okay.”

  “Thanks,” Josh said, surprised that she really did seem to care. “Hey, I didn’t know you were a candy striper.”

  “There’s a lot you don’t know about me!” she snapped. Then she collected herself and turned professional. “So, do you need anything? Water or towels or something?”

  “No thanks, I’m good.”

  “All right. Then I have to get back to work. I’ll see you later. I hope you feel better.”

  Elena went back to her lunch deliveries. Andrea shook her head, gave Josh a kiss on the cheek, and darted down the
hall to catch up with Jim and Kevin. Josh was glad to be alone with Rosa again, so they could get back to their previous discussion. Only seconds later, Josh’s father, Steven, stalked into the room with a frown on his face. It wasn’t a frown of concern either. He just looked annoyed, as usual.

  “Barium carbonate.” Mr. Hanover flipped through some lab results and looked up at Josh in anticipation of a response.

  “Come again?” That was the best Josh could manage. “Was that even English?”

  “That’s rat poison,” Rosa whispered.

  His father looked Rosa over with mild surprise. “Exactly. Barium carbonate is a form of rat poison. Luckily, there were only were only very small traces found in your blood. The question is, how did it get there?” Josh’s father narrowed his eyes.

  “Why are you asking me? You’re the doctor.”

  Josh’s father continued to glare at him with a combination of barely contained fury and annoyance. Aside from that expression and the obvious age difference, Josh was an exact physical replica of his father, from the thick black hair to the dark brown eyes. But he failed to inherit his medical knowhow, a fact that he was reminded of at least once a week.

  “The most common form of barium carbonate is a white, odorless powder,” his father continued, tight lipped. “Does that help refresh your memory?”

  “I don’t know what you think I’m supposed to remember.” Josh fumed. Why was his dad giving him such a hard time? Couldn’t he cut him a break when he was sick? He felt like everything he did was always wrong in his father’s eyes. Then he remembered something that he thought might be the answer. “Wait a minute,” Josh blurted out. “The codeine.”

  “What about it?” His father asked. “You’ve been taking that for years.”

  Josh shook his head to try to clear his thoughts. “The last couple times I took them I noticed some white stuff on my fingers afterward. I didn’t really think anything of it until now.”

  “Where are they?” his father asked.