She smiled like she didn’t believe me. “You know, I’ve been looking at some investment opportunities lately. Real estate, small businesses. Could be a good time for family to help each other out.”
The nurse walked in before I had to respond, checking my IV line. Natalie stood there watching me like she was waiting for me to crack. When she saw she wasn’t getting answers, she said she’d be back when I wasn’t so grumpy.
After she left, Denise shook her head.
“Family?”
“Unfortunately,” I said.
I leaned back against the pillows. That visit had been short, but it was enough to remind me that Natalie hadn’t changed. If anything, she’d just gotten more practiced at fishing for information without showing her hand.
The rest of the afternoon passed in a haze of vitals checks, Tylenol, and short naps. At one point, I woke up to my phone buzzing. A text from Natalie.
Let’s get lunch soon. I have some ideas I want to run by you.
I didn’t answer.
By evening, I could sit up without feeling like my head would roll off. A tray of hospital food arrived—dry chicken, limp green beans, a square of something pretending to be cake. I ate what I could and pushed the rest aside.
The television in the corner played quietly. Some local news segment about a council meeting. I only half-listened until I caught Natalie’s face in the background of a shot, talking to a man I didn’t recognize. The caption didn’t say her name, but I knew that profile, that posture. It was probably nothing. Or maybe it was exactly the kind of investment meeting she’d hinted at earlier.
I made a mental note to keep my guard up.
Night settled over the city, and the hospital wing got quieter. Denise came in one last time before her shift ended, making sure I had everything I needed. I told her I was fine. That was only partly true, but it was easier than explaining the mix of physical pain and mental chess I was playing.
I switched off the television and let the room go dark, the monitor’s steady beep marking the seconds. Somewhere in the building, a cart squeaked down the hall.
My eyes closed, but sleep didn’t come right away. Instead, the day replayed in pieces: Mark’s call, the house on the river, Natalie’s sunglasses pushed into her hair, and the look she gave me when I didn’t take the bait.
The first thing I registered in the morning was the stiffness in my shoulder and the dull ache in my ribs when I shifted. The hospital room was quiet except for the hum of the air conditioning.
A new nurse was on duty, a younger guy named Travis. He took my vitals and asked if I wanted breakfast. I told him I wasn’t hungry, which wasn’t entirely true, but the thought of the soggy eggs they served here didn’t help.
The doctor came in not long after. He said my scans looked stable, but with a concussion and a fractured clavicle, I wasn’t going anywhere yet. Two days minimum, maybe more if I showed signs of dizziness or nausea.
I nodded. I’d been through worse in the field, but hospitals weren’t exactly my favorite place to spend time.
Mark called midmorning. He kept his voice low even though he was in his office miles away.
“I heard about the accident. You okay?”
“I’m in one piece. Mostly.”
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