Buried (Bailey Roberts Trilogy #1) Editing

26: You Oughta Know [3rd Draft]

Chapter Twenty-Six: You Oughta Know

"She's causing problems. I'm not getting caught for her. I have a career to think about. And you're too close to the situation." The deep, slightly familiar voice paused. "So I tried to handle it."

It wasn't the hushed words that woke her. It was the heat. It was way too hot in the hospital room. Damp sweat gathered on her forehead and trickled down her cheek as she blearily rubbed at her eyes, cringing at the scratching of her arm cast. Lifting her arms above her head, she stretched only to bump into someone.

Bailey, sitting up, blinked rapidly, trying to get her eyes to adjust to the dark so she could focus on the body beside her. "Well no wonder," she said.

"Of course, I wouldn't try. My one attempt failed, but I'm not about to lose my job trying to finish it."

The groan from beneath the covers sound very unhappy as the body shifted. "Does he have to talk so freakin' loud?" Amanda's growl vibrated next to Bailey's feet.

"Hey! Your stinky feet are in my face," Bailey said.

Amanda huffed and flipped the covers off her head, displaying her rumpled hair and flushed cheeks. "Your feet aren't a bouquet of orchids either."

"That's why they offered you a cot."

Amanda sat up, leaning against the end railing of the bed, scowling deeply at Bailey while scratching the new nest that laid claim to her head. "I don't cots."

Bailey's shoulders slumped as she groaned with defeat.

"Wes, I under-Wes! I won't. I'm sorry I acted. Keep in mind that I don't pay you to tell me what I can and cannot do though. Yes. I understand. I'll be the fucking boy scout of the year. I have to go," the male voice outside the hospital room door said, anger evident in his voice. "I have to go. No. Yeah. I'm checking on her now. ! Do you know what would happen if I got caught with a cell phone on the floor? I have to go." A beep sounded and the door creaked open.

Amanda curled her upper lip and a growl emitted from her throat. "Nurse Andrew, if you weren't so hot, I'd yell at you for making so much racket! I'm trying to sleep here."

He looked warily at her, rubbing his empty hands against his scrubs. "You heard that?"

Amanda gave him a semi-peeved look and gritted her teeth. "Duh. You were almost screaming."

Bailey shook her head. "You weren't screaming. Amanda's just a light sleeper and has a vendetta against anyone who wakes her up. Imagine what it was like for us when she still lived at home. We couldn't even walk by her bedroom. Mattie nicknamed her Oscar when he was younger." Bailey informed him. "Oscar, where's my sippy cup?" Bailey said, mimicking what Matt sounded like when he was a baby.

Tension released from his face as his shoulders fell and he walked across the room. "Oscar?" he asked curiously as he reached for the blood pressure cuff.

"From Sesame Street, that green creature in the garbage can that's always ticked off."

Bailey pushed up the sleeve to her hospital gown and offered him her unbroken left arm.

"I'm just glad it didn't stick," Amanda said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"I was a small kid in middle school, got teased a lot. The summer just before high school I started working out though and come Freshman year the usual suspects still tried to treat me like dirt," Nurse Andrew said, but paused as he wrote on her chart, documenting her blood pressure. "I fought back then, but they had to practically play dead for me to stop. I only had a couple of those fights, but it made them back off."

He paused to ask Bailey her pain level, when she waved him off. He gave her a peculiar smile that darkened his eyes and gave Bailey goose bumps. She cleared her throat and rubbed her arms as he continued to eyeball her.

"And?" Amanda prompted him to continue. "There is a point, right?"

His gaze tore from Bailey and he gave Amanda a toothy grin before continuing. "That's when they started calling me Bear. Over the years, the nickname stuck."

Amanda snorted in amusement.

When Nurse Andrew left, Amanda slipped out from under the covers to go to the restroom, leaving Bailey to spread eagle out on the bed. She sighed happily, letting the space, and the absence of Amanda's extra heat, cool her down. Amanda shuffled her feet against the ground as she came out.

"You know Mom and Dad are getting back together right?"

Amanda may as well have claimed the apocalypse was coming. Since it wasn't true, Bailey didn't fret over the false information. "Yeah, right."

She plopped in the chair next to the head of the bed and swept her legs over the arm. "No, Bails, they told me. Dad's staying in Haven until you and Matt finish out the school year. They were talking about moving too because of—well—because of Gwen, Bailey."

Bailey cradled her cast against her chest, letting her free fingers clutch at the fabric of the teal and white hospital gown. "How could she be so stupid?"

Amanda frowned. "How is she stupid? Dad made a mistake, he's human. It's allowed."

"Are you kidding me? It's allowed?" Bailey was outraged. It had started with a burning in her chest and like lava it spilled into her cheeks, but before she could say anything else, Amanda interrupted.

"Look Bailey, you aren't the only one that was hurt by what he did. We all dealt with it in different ways and if Mom's forgiven him it's her business," Amanda said, her voice clipped with irritation.

"Don't talk to me that way," Bailey said, glaring angrily at her sister.

Amanda shrugged. "Well, I'm a little tired of you bitching about him every time someone brings him up. You have to let it go. The damage has been done and everybody is ready to start over, but you."

"It's irreparable."

She turned a sad expression towards Bailey. "I'm sorry to hear you say that, but it doesn't matter. Mom's made her decision and now you'll have to deal with it."

They didn't talk for the rest of the night and Amanda remained in the chair, even as she slowly started to drift back to sleep.

Damien, looking like a fallen angel with mussed hair and tired eyes, was seated in the chair Amanda had vacated, as soon as Bailey blinkingly opened her eyes the next day. She let a smile slide across her face as she stretched and sat up.

"Hey," he said, hesitantly reaching his hand out towards hers. "Doctor said you could probably leave this afternoon."

Her ears perked up. "Really?"

He nodded, shifting to the edge of his seat to get closer. "Yeah, said you're resilient as hell. Her words, not mine. She also threw in an 'oh to be young again.'"

Bailey's shoulders shook as she gave a small laugh.

When Damien didn't laugh, she stopped. His lips formed a serious line and his brow furrowed as he thought deeply. "Damien, what's wrong?"

"I was behind you. The truck that hit you sped up."

Bailey cocked her head to the side, curious about the change in topic. "O-kay."

"Bailey," Damien said his voice grave with warning. "That truck ran into you on purpose."

Bailey's eyes widened as it finally dawned on her. The rapid beating of her heart and her suddenly dry mouth let her know what he said was real. She hadn't miss heard.

Someone had tried to kill her.