Chapter 32

Trinity

He had the driver take us to the hospital next, and I signed the documents with the clerk at the front desk, who seemed to be completely disinterested in being even a little kind.

He rolled his eyes and started processing the paperwork when I asked for a payment plan.

“If you can’t pay it, then we’ll transfer him. We only give treatment after we’ve been paid.”

My stomach churned. The person who called me from my father’s phone seemed shocked. I heard the doctors tell me that they’d put him on the schedule for the next hour for his operation because I had given them the authorization. The clerk said nothing more about it.

I couldn’t believe this was all happening. It would take a few days for the funds to clear my account, but I didn’t care. It would probably take a few days for them to process the payment, and even if it only took them a day, my bank would probably front the money as soon as they verified the source of it.

I was waved over to the waiting room, and I hoped that it wouldn’t be a long operation. The man waited with me that night in the hospital. Minutes turned into hours. We said very little as we waited, but I had never felt so close to anyone. I felt like this man was someone I could depend on and rely on. He’d saved me from the dean, and now he was saving my father from death and me from financial ruin.

Maybe the way we met was terrible, but maybe, just maybe, it didn’t have to stay that way. We could have more than what we started as. I thought back to the way he looked at me in the hotel and how sure I was that he’d kiss me. I remember thinking that I could take him back to my room and let him have whatever he wanted from me.

I remember the dream too and shivered. I hadn’t seen his face in that dream, but I couldn’t help but think that it had been about him. I looked up at him as he returned with two cups of coffee for us.

“Thanks,” I said as he sat down. He nodded his head silently and sipped from his cup.

I was curious about him and his friend and how they seemed to have so much money. Were they scientists? Were they just rich kids from rich families playing around? He seemed so responsible, but $210,000 wasn’t a small amount, even if he made millions every year.

I wrinkled my nose. Maybe it was actually a very small amount if he made that amount every year. How many people did they employ? What were they using it for? I couldn’t stand the silence and the curiosity anymore.

“Why did your friend go into blood research?” I asked.

“To develop a drug that can cure diseases,” he said smoothly. “He needs blood samples of different people for comparative experiments.”

I frowned. “Comparative experiments?”

“Some people have allergies. Other people don’t. It’s important to know how the medicines being developed will react to different people.”

I nodded. That made sense. Was that how all medicines were made? I’d heard about clinical trials on people, but there was always some sort of crazy side effect happening in those. Taking blood samples seemed to be much safer.

I smiled. “That’s… great.”

“You have an interest in the research?” He quirked an eyebrow. “It has nothing to do with psychiatry.”

“My mom died of cancer,” I said softly. “If… If your friend’s research is looking for a cure to that, too, I’m glad. Though some anti-psychotics without so many side effects would be nice too.”

He nodded and said nothing. “I’ll pass the news on to him.”

I nodded, and we fell back into silence. I wanted to talk more, but as the silence continued to stretch on, I found myself relaxing in it and grateful for the silence. It let me think about everything that had happened, everything that could happen, and what I would have to do if my father pulled through after the surgery.

I fell asleep in the chair before I realized it, but when I woke up, the hospital was still very quiet, the man was still there, and there had still been no news about my father. I didn’t even know what time it was.

I checked with the clerk, and he scoffed. “When they’re done, they’ll be done.”

“A little bedside manner wouldn’t kill you,” I said.

He looked at me. “I’m paid to take in paperwork, not pet the poor. You want that, go to a public hospital.”

It took several days before my father was completely done with surgery. I didn’t know what kind of surgery they were doing that they wanted to wait days in between the sessions, but the man didn’t leave my side.

“You need rest,” he said after the doctor left, telling me that my father was in his final surgery and would be put into a room as soon as it was done.

I shook my head, swaying in my seat. I was exhausted. My back hurt from sitting in the hard chairs, but I wanted to be awake to see him come out of his final surgery.

“I’m going to get some more coffee.”

He stood up as I got to my feet and blocked off my path. He lifted my chin and stared down at me. There was something pulling at me, pushing me to just give in. My shoulder tingled as he touched me.

“You look terrible.” He said, his voice wasn’t tender, but it was gentle. “You need rest before you end up in the hospital.”

I didn’t want to agree, but I could barely keep my eyes open. I leaned into him and sighed. I wanted to give in, so I did. He steered me towards the room they said my father would be brought to and forced me onto the daybed in the room. He sat by my side as I started to doze off.

I wasn’t sure what I should be feeling, but there was a bit of comfort in having him there. He was still there when woke up, simply looking out the window as if he had nothing better to do.

Maybe he didn’t. He was wealthy enough it seemed that he probably never had to work.

Who else would just have over two hundred thousand dollars to just give to someone? Sure, I gave my blood for some super-secret project, but I could only guess that the man was probably backing the research.

I turned to look at him. “You… never told me your name.”

He looked at me and seemed to be warring with himself before his lips twitched. “Call me Lucian.”

I nodded. “It’s nice to meet you, Lucian.”

After that, it felt like our relationship had changed a little. He relaxed and seemed to be more interested in getting to know me. I could almost imagine us having more, the way I had the night we met, but he never made any move to ask me out on a date or anything like that.

Dad was put in the room a few days later. There had been something wrong with the paperwork that no one could explain, but it didn’t matter to me so long as the bill was paid.

He would be stuck in the hospital for a while, and they said it was unlikely that he’d wake up. They said he lost a lot of blood and was injured so badly they weren’t even sure if he would pull through, but they were hopeful.

“So long as you keep up with the payments for his stay, there shouldn’t be a problem,” the doctor said before he left. “No one works for free.”

I set my jaw at the way he looked at me, but I said nothing. The administrator and the nurses who came in every once in a while made sure to tell me that if at any time the money didn’t clear, they’d transfer him out to some other facility, and their lawyers would be coming after me for the money that we still owed.

I wanted to get him transferred on principle, but I didn’t know where I’d send him. This hospital was the best for trauma and so many other things. It was all more hassle than it was worth.

Lucian as he wanted me to call him came and went. I was due to come back and give blood in a few days when Mark called me.

“Hi, Mark,” I said. “You’re… still off on your assignment?”

“No, I’m heading back soon. Is everything okay?”

“Dad was in an accident.”

“Is he okay?” I glanced at him and swallowed. “He’s… Well, he’s pulling through. You called me for something?”

“I wanted to see you when I got back. Are you free?”