Sun Catch Her (Book 1: Three Rivers Deep series) COMPLETE

Chapter Thirteen

We spent the next thirty minutes on one of the cushy sickbeds in the back corner of the nurse's station. The floor-to-ceiling curtain, decorated with colorful butterflies, was drawn. It was just Reese, me, and a little one-by-one window that let in green light where the building touched a patch of rain-fresh woods. The butterflies danced, the curtain catching the draft coming from the open window. The nurse had cleaned Reese up. The cut didn't look too bad, but still required stitches. So all we really had do while waiting for her mother to arrive was to get to know each other.

Reese had been adopted as an infant and didn't know her real parents. Something I could relate to, in a way, seeing how I didn't know my father. With the help of her adoptive parents, she recently contacted an agency that located lost family members. It wasn't as though she didn't love her adopted family; in fact, she said she couldn't imagine life without them. She just wanted to know where she came from, and if she had any siblings.

All of this I absorbed while offering an occasional word or two of commentary, but mostly I let my friend speak while I nibbled on a peach—the peach that was in the paper bag Micah gave me. I ate slowly, committing every juicy swallow to memory.

Reese wanted me to go to the movies with her next week to see a midnight showing, the same one she'd talked about during lunch. It was premiering Thursday and I surprised myself by agreeing to go.

"I want to give you my phone number," she chirped as the nurse pushed back the curtain to announce her mother's arrival. Taking my phone when I offered it, Reese programmed her number in in five seconds flat. "Wow, you've got a lot of numbers in here," she marveled, scrolling through my contacts list.

I shot the nurse a dirty look when she placed an impatient hand on Reese's shoulder. Why the heck was she in a hurry?

"This one's weird." Reese laughed. She turned the phone around so I could see.

Reading the unfamiliar number, I took my phone back. I touched the entry to expand the information. The contact's name was simply: Guardian. "That is odd," I murmured. It was one I had transferred from Indy's phone.

"Well, I shouldn't keep Mom any longer." Reese wrapped her arms around my hips. "You'll text me so I'll have your number?"

"I'll do better than that," I told her, leaning close to partake of her emotional signature one last time—the strawberries 'n cream scent. "I'll give you a call later this evening."

"Okay!"

The butterflies swung to one side as she brushed past. She gave me one last fleeting smile, and then the nurse helped her through the double doors connecting the nurse's station to the main office, leaving me to stand alone with my backpack at my feet.

Until later, my friend. I exited the nurse's station via the door to the hallway.

* * *

The dripping sound coming from a restroom echoed as I leaned against the wall outside the nurse's office. It had been fifteen minutes since Reese left with her mother. I was fidgeting, waiting for Micah, and growing anxious. My thoughts twisted around the troubling intensity I sensed between him and Alexander BruLagoon. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through the contacts for the umpteenth time. The dripping sink stopped, and a heavy silence descended on the empty corridor. I stared down at the peculiar entry: Guardian. It was the same name that had been signed on the Mad Hatter doll's card.

No longer able to stand it, I tapped the screen to dial the number—and another phone sounded right across the hallway. Startled, I looked up, eyes going wide.

Micah.

He leaned on the wall opposite me, phone in his hand. His amethyst eyes were also wide with surprise. "You called?"