Super•Villainous

XII

"Make yourself decent! We're breaking you out!"

I flinched at the sound of the door slamming against the wall, jerking myself awake with several hard blinks. My bleary eyes zeroed in on the source of the commotion, Leigh, and a sheepish-looking Nicole right behind her.

"What the hell?" I groaned, turning away from them and curling my whole body protectively around my pillow, letting the blanket protect me from the evil forces that might draw me into the waking world. "What time is it?"

"Just after ten," Nicole replied. "Sorry, I would have slowed her down if I knew you were still asleep."

"We brought you a change of clothes." Leigh tossed a plastic grocery bag at the foot of my bed. "Will you need help changing?"

"'We' is a lot of people, I'm just here as a witness," Nicole clarified, shutting the door behind her and moving to sit.

"I'm not allowed to leave," I protested, peaking one eye open to glare at the disturbance.

"Sure you are." Leigh propped herself up on the bed next to me, nudging my side until I made room. "Just sign out against medical advice."

"I can't, I'm still a—"

"A minor? Not anymore. It's your birthday! We have to celebrate!"

"You tell my dad I'm signing out against medical advice and see how well that goes for you," I warned. "It will be my first birthday as a legal adult and my last birthday ever, all in one. Besides, I don't want to rip out my stitches. It's a miracle that pole didn't hit an artery or my joint. I shouldn't press my luck."

At that moment, the door swung smoothly open, although, in my mind, it creaked open menacingly, thunder rumbling the foundations of the building and lightning flashing in the background to reveal an ominous silhouette. Within its frame stood Adrian, scrubs rumpled from another completed twelve hour shift in the Emergency Department downstairs, a backpack slung over one shoulder to indicate he was headed home. He held a fresh vase of flowers in hand

"Leigh..." came his warning growl. "Did I just hear you trying to convince Lily to leave AMA?"

A lesser personality would have fled. Not Leigh. For her part, Leigh's deer in the headlight expression lasted only an instant, before she, foolishly, doubled down.

"It would only be for a little while! Who wants to be imprisoned on their birthday? That's cruel and inhumane punishment!"

"If you two aren't going to behave, you're going to have to leave," Adrian said, sounding doggedly tired from countless hours on his feet. "There's the door. You can come back inside in a few minutes if you learn how to behave."

Despite complaining loudly, Leigh heeded his warning and trailed out into the corridor, Nicole hot on her heels.

"We'll be waiting outside," Nicole said, dragging the door handle after her as she left.

The door clicked shut, leaving me alone with my step-father.

I pointed to the flowers. "Those for me?"

Setting them gingerly at my bedside, he asked, "You weren't really going to let them convince you to leave AMA, were you? That would have been very stupid."

"If you heard Leigh trying to convince me, then you heard me telling her no. Give me a little credit."

"I didn't think you would, just checking." His dark brown eyes, almost black, scanned me from head to toe, slow and analytical. "How are you feeling?"

I crossed my arms, or tried to, but the soreness in my wounded shoulder stopped me short and I let my arms drop back to my sides. "Are you asking as a parental figure or as a doctor?"