The Night Orchid

by M. G. Hernandez

  A memory of Wayne telling me that someone had seen the three of them behind the gym last year enters my head. My rage makes me crumple the paper into a ball and throw it across the room.

  I jump out of bed and lunge for my phone. I text Bianca and Brandon to meet me at the back of the school gym. They’re going to experience deja vu today.

  As I put on my hoodie and my sneakers, I hear the pings from my phone telling me they’ve responded. I stalk out of the house and sprint to my car. I’m a raging bull, and I’m seeing red. My best friend and my then- girlfriend betrayed me and Lexie kept it hidden from me for many months. It was their little secret while they kept me in the dark like an idiot.

  In a few seconds, I’m in my car and speeding to the school. Finally, I’m in the parking lot. I see both of their cars, and I hop out. I jog across the lot and into the back of the gym where I’m seeing their figures in the distance, waiting for me.

  As I near them, I notice them standing a few feet from each other awkwardly. Brandon looks disheveled, hair unwashed and stubbles on his face. Bianca has no makeup on and looks tired in her matching black sweatsuit. But I have no pity for them.

  “What’s up, man?” he asks.

  I don’t respond and beeline for him. He furrows his brows, looking confused. The last thing I see is his eyes widening seconds before I pop him squarely on the face. I hear Bianca scream as he staggers back from the blow. Then, I lunge for him, and we both fall to the ground.

  “What the fuck, bro?” he yells, as he tries to get me off him. But I’m straddling him and swinging at him, punching him on the face.

  “Ian, get the fuck off him! What the hell is wrong with you?” I hear Bianca in the background, but I ignore her.

  Finally, Brandon gets his bearings and blocks my blows while getting a hold of my wrist. “Get off me, asshole! What the hell!”

  I lodge my arm out of his grip and land another blow to his face. This time I hear a loud crack. I know he felt that one. Seeing his nose bleed and his lip swell satisfies me. Finally, I get off him. “How’d that feel, motherfucker?”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” he yells back.

  I see Bianca run and kneel next to him to nurse his jaw which only angers me more. It’s the glaring confirmation of their illicit affair. “How’d that feel, huh? Coz that’s how I felt when I found out you banged my girlfriend while I passed out in Jordan’s couch!”

  Bianca gasps and Brandon’s mouth hangs open. “Yeah, assholes. You deserve each other!” I turn to Bianca, who is now crying. “Is he the reason?”

  She says nothing as tears continue to fall.

  “Is he? Why you refused to kiss me and be intimate with me all last year? Coz you’re fucking my best friend and your best friend’s boyfriend?”

  She whimpers. “Ian, I’m so sorry…”

  I glare at her. “Kinda too late now, Bianca. You had all year to correct this with me. Both of you fuckers did!” Then, I turn to Brandon. “Is this the rough patch you were talking about, man? All year, you stood next to me, like your nose was clean. When were you gonna tell me that the rough patch was you having sex with my girlfriend?”

  He shakes his head. “Bro, it’s not like that. It only happened one time, man. I didn’t know what I was thinking… Lexie, and I fought that night and Bianca was around and we both had a lot to drink…”

  “And you decide to make yourself feel better by banging the girl next to you? Is that how it went down?”

  “No, man. I’m so sorry. We never did it again. I love Lexie. What we did was a mistake.”

  Bianca gasps next to him, and I sneer. “Oh, I’m sorry. Was what he said one-sided, Bianca? So, it meant more to you than it did to him? Were you with the wrong guy this whole time? You were secretly pining for him while we were together?”

  Brandon turns to her, who is now covering her face as she sobs. “B, I’m sorry. You knew that my heart belonged to Lexie.”

  I laugh. “You guys are pathetic. Bianca, good luck with your life.” Then, I turn to Brandon. “And I’m done with you, man. From now on, it’s just me and my girl. That’s all I need in my life. So, fuck you both, I’m out.”

  And with that I turn around and left their sorry asses on the ground.

  ***

  The elevator opens as soon as it reaches the sixth floor. It’s lunchtime, and I ignore the staff at the nurses’ station. They’re busy, anyway. I beeline for Jo’s room. They can kiss my ass and call security on me. I need to see my girl.

  I reach her room getting no attention. Thank god my mom is off today. There’s no way I can get past her. I knock on the door, and I open it as soon as I hear a soft, “Come in.” When I enter, I see her sitting up in bed, leaning against the headrest with her hand on the remote. She doesn’t realize it’s me as she’s concentrated on the TV, trying to find another program to watch. No doubt she just assumed that I’m just another nurse coming to check up on her, so I take this time to look at her. Wild curls sprawled around, I see that her glow is back and her lips are rosy red. She looks ten times better than when I saw her last. No, let me take that back. She’s a damn goddess sitting there with the light from the illuminating her gorgeous face. I take a deep breath as I don’t want to maul her. She’s in the ICU, for god’s sakes. I clear my throat to catch her attention.

  She pauses, sets the remote on the blanket and turns to my direction. She squints as I hide in the dark. This room could use light and windows, so I step forward into the light. Her brown eyes widen as she realizes it’s me. “Jules, what the hell are you doing here? Do they know you’re here?”

  I say nothing and I make my move. I can’t control myself anymore. I’ve been wanting to be next to her for the longest time and here’s my chance. I know I have little time before one of the nurse aides comes in with her lunch tray.

  Within seconds, I’m at her bedside, drawing the curtain of her hospital bed close to enclose us. She opens her mouth to say something, but she never gets the chance. I plant my lips on hers, and I kiss her. I kiss her with wild abandon and with the promises I have for her and our future. Her lips melt into mine and I hear her moan with pleasure. She kisses me back, and I cup her face to strengthen our lip-lock. Slowly her hands caress my arms as she places her trust in me in this private moment. Finally, I release her, but I keep my face inches from her. My ragged breathing makes me pause, but I have to hurry before I’m whisked away from here.

  “Jo, I thought I lost you. I realized something during these last few days and it’s this. I don’t want to waste any time. I’ve already wasted three and a half years without you. So, I’m going to say what I need to say.”

  Jo looks at me like I’ve gone crazy and I chuckle as I kiss her creased forehead. Then, I return my gaze to her. “Jo, I love you. I’ve loved you since the moment I laid eyes on you—eight years old, getting out of your dad’s blue BMW. I love you then and I love you now.”

  Her mouth hangs open, and she says nothing. “You don’t have to say anything. Take your time. This is just me putting it all on the table, so you never have to guess with me. You know where I stand, and I’ll be right here when you’re ready.”

  She closes her eyes and tears fall. I kiss them away. Then, she speaks, “Jules, I—.”

  Suddenly, the door opens, and I hear someone enter. I curse. I guess I ran out of time. The curtain slides open, and a young woman greets Jo. “Josephine, I have your lunch and I will just—oh my gosh! I’m so sorry! Oh, uh, but fami—”

  The jig is up, and I bite my lip. I remove my hands off her face, and I stand. “I know, I know, family only.” I turn to Jo. “Rest up. I’ll see you soon.”

  I walk out of the room and take a deep breath. There, I said it. I laid it all on the line. Suddenly, that cloud from this morning and the drama with Brandon and Bianca dissipate. I have my girl. I’m in love. And she knows it. I’m good.

  Chapter 61

  Josephine

  Julian walks out of the room, leaving m
e flabbergasted. He just told me he loved me. Holy cow. I lean back on my bed, as my aide wakes up from her trance and places my lunch tray on top of my overbed table. I ignore her, as I’m too busy reliving the moments leading up to Julian’s kiss and to our amazing, but too brief, make out session behind the curtain.

  “Your boyfriend. He’s a handsome one, isn’t he?” says my aide. I turn to her and blush. Then I peek at her name tag. Her name is Pia. She’s a cute, petite Filipina in her mid-twenties.

  “Uh, he’s alright,” I respond, blushing even more. She laughs as she removes the cover of my plate, revealing mushy green beans and a sad-looking roast turkey with gravy. I wrinkle my nose. I’m so ready for Mama’s food. Then, I turn to Pia. “Are you going to tell them? He never snuck in before today. I promise.”

  She shakes her head. “I didn’t even see him.”

  I smile at her. Then, she adds, “Plus, his mother is going to kill us if she finds out we didn’t do a good job keeping her son away from you. She’s a stickler that one.”

  I nod. Then, a thought comes over my head. “Hey, you don’t think she’s doing that because she has a problem with me being with her son, do you?”

  I realize that this matter is personal, and it’s strange that I’m sharing this with my nurse aide who I just met today. But I know that the nursing staff love a good gossip. We’re on their radar, being that the juicy gabfest involves the charge nurse’s son and the adopted daughter of their disgraced nurse manager. Believe me, I’ve heard them talking when they thought I was sleeping.

  Meanwhile, Pia shakes her head. “I don’t think she has a problem with you at all. She likes you and is always making sure you’re getting what you needed. She’s just really by the book.”

  “Ok, that’s good,” I said.

  Pia straightens herself and turns to me. “Ok, my dear, I’m done here. You need anything else from me?”

  “Oh, no. Thank you so much.”

  She smiles and leaves the room. Meanwhile, I stab my turkey with a fork. I’m not hungry, but my cheeks burn when my mind conjures an image of Julian, teasing me with what I’m actually craving.

  ***

  This scene feels familiar—the street, the neighborhood, my house, the emptiness, the tunnel of light, the man with the wavy hair and Alexa. Except, the expected forward motion is moving on rewind. The scene is shifting before me in reverse, from the tunnel to my room where I’m being pumped in the chest by my adoptive mother. Gravity pulls me and brings me back to earth. Then everything vanishes. I hear beeping, which tells me I’ve awakened from my dream and back in the hospital room. But even with this, I’m unsure. I’m still so groggy from my heavy sedation.

  My ears pick up a slight shuffling. Somewhere in this room, someone is moving from one corner to another. I force myself to pry my heavy lids open. But my eyesight is blurry.

  It’s hard to see in the darkness, but I focus to let my eyes adjust. There’s minimal light coming from the monitor, and I move my gaze towards the foot of the bed. I hear it again. An unmistakable shuffle. I concentrate at a space halfway between my bed and the door. Suddenly, I can make out a tall figure lurking in the shadows. Dread pools in my gut, and my hand moves towards the call button to alert staff.

  “Don’t be afraid,” I hear it say.

  It’s a male voice. Deep, low and muffled, as if he has a covering over his mouth. I narrow my eyes at him. “Wh-who are you?”

  He doesn’t stir, and he doesn’t respond, but I continue. “You’ve been here before, haven’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “How did you get in here?” He says nothing. “Ok. You don’t want to answer that one, so I’m gonna ask you again. Who are you? Answer me.”

  For a minute, he doesn’t respond. Then he shifts and speaks. “Brian.”

  That name sounds familiar. Where have I heard that name before? But my body is reacting in overdrive and I see the graph in the monitor spike up as my heart pounds. This time, I reach for the call light and press the call button. The figure moves with stealth as he dodges the oncoming staff. Within seconds he’s out the door and gone from my room.

  Brian.

  I take a deep breath to calm myself and bring my heart rate to normal levels. Five minutes later, a nurse finally enters my room.

  “Hi, can I help you?” he asks. My RN is a tall, medium-built guy in navy blue scrubs. His brown hair mussed and his eyes tired, I’m willing to bet he just woke up from a long nap. I, seriously, hope that’s not the case.

  “Did you see a guy leave my room?”

  He furrows his brows. Then he shakes his head. “We would’ve seen him, plus there are no visitors allowed after ten.”

  “I understand that. Is there security on this floor?”

  “Well, yeah, but he roams around the entire floor, including other wards. Did you need to talk to him?”

  I take a deep breath. “I-I thought there was someone in my room just a few minutes ago.”

  His forehead creases, and I can’t tell whether he’s concerned, or he thinks I’m crazy. “Can you describe him?”

  “No, it was too dark.”

  He purses his lips and narrows his eyes, as if trying to figure out how to handle me. Suddenly, I feared he might suggest to my doctors that I’ve been hallucinating, and they’ll prolong my stay in the ICU for extra monitoring. Plus, I don’t want them to think I’m crazy and suggest a trip to the psych ward. I shake my head. “You know what? I was probably dreaming. Sorry. Don’t worry about it.”

  He nods, and he tries to hide a sigh of relief, but I saw it. Lazy ass. “So, you’re ok?”

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  “Is there anything else you need from me before I leave?”

  “Nope.”

  “Ok, well, rest up. You have two hours left before the morning shift comes to take your vitals and give your morning meds.”

  “Goody,” I grumble underneath my breath. I look at the clock. 4 am. I drop my head on the pillow and close my eyes.

  Brian.

  My eyes pop open again. I can’t go back to sleep because I can’t shake the unease at what just happened moments ago. Was I just imagining him?

  ***

  I’m staring at the Meadowlands Golf Course from my hospital bed. I’m smiling, happy as a clam because I have a window. Now all is right in the world.

  My good news came at around noon today when Dr. Desai told me that everything looked great, and they can release me earlier than planned from the ICU. It’s not the regular floor, but it’s not the ICU, either, so I’ll take it. I’m on the eighth floor at the hospital’s step-down unit.

  I hear a knock on the door. It’s my mom coming back from the cafeteria with her coffee. But the cheerful, loud voice that accompanied that knock tells me I’m wrong. My favorite girl is here.

  “Wassup, boo! I’m here to cheer your ass up!”

  I turn to the door and to my delight, Dee is in my room. My face lights up—a candle burning brightly amidst my uncertain future.

  “Dee!” I cry out. I want to run to her, but my legs still buckle when I stand. But she does the running for me.

  “Ah!” She shrieks with delight and lunges for me over my bed rails. Now, she’s smothering me with her bear hug, and I giggle.

  “Dee, leave the poor girl alone. She was just released from the ICU for god’s sakes,” says a familiar voice.

  I turn towards the door again as Dee lifts her head away from me. My eyes widen in surprise. Mr. Cunningham is here. He looks at me with a sheepish grin. “I hope you don’t mind my visiting, Josephine.”