Truth or Lies? by A. Gomez (books to get back into reading TXT) 📕

“You told me you weren’t going to be in until later today and we should have an early lunch.” I was trying to sound suspicious. “Are you lying to me? Again?”

My mother eyed me, her lips twitching, trying not to grin. She gave me a wink and nodded her head, as if she were saying good job.

“NO! Honey, no, not at all!” David was getting flustered, his eyes darting between my mother and me. “I was paged. Doctor Rodriguez is out sick and they needed me to help cover her rounds, that’s all.” He clasped my hands in between his, kissing them.

“Did you say rounds?” I asked, panic setting in. “But she’s a surgeon and you’re not,” I exclaimed.

“Yes, but it’s just rounds on the patients she already operated on. It’s not surgery.”

Doctor Rodriguez was Josh’s surgeon and in the next few minutes David was about to check on Josh and his wound. My heart started pounding. How could I possibly stop this from happening?

I discretely turned to my mother and whispered, “Help!” The elevator pinged; it was the fourteenth floor, Josh’s floor. The doors opened, David turned to kiss me good-bye. I reacted and grabbed his arm.

“David, wait.” I clasped his hand and wrapped it around my waist. “Do you have to do your rounds now?” I kissed his cheek. “Can it wait just a bit? We can have breakfast together downstairs and then later meet again for lunch if we’re not too busy. Will you do that for me?”

He smiled, “I’m sure I can make that happen,” he answered, kissing me on the cheek.

“Fantastic!” I turned to my mother, “Mom, David and I are going to eat in the cafeteria downstairs, the one closest to the ER.” I eyed Ben as I mentioned the location. “So why don’t y’all go ahead with your plans for breakfast, that way you can make that very important, daily phone call to your friend, Mom, and I can meet everyone back in my office in about forty-five minutes.” I glanced at David, “Does that sound good to you, David?”

“Yeah, that works,” he said.

“Sweetheart,” my mother started, “I really need some privacy for this call so if it’s all right with you, I’m going to use your office.” She reached to push the button for the fifteenth floor, “Ben, you and Belín go on ahead and I’ll meet y’all once I’m finished.”

“Doctor Langley, I wouldn’t be much of a gentleman if I let you go by yourself. Belín and I don’t mind accompanying you and waiting.”

“Bless your sweet heart, Ben,” she cooed, patting his cheek and smiling at him. “I’ll be fine. I insist y’all go on without me. I’ll try to make it as quick as I can.” She walked out of the elevator putting the phone to her ear.

“Now that that’s settled,” David began, “Er…Isabel, my love, we just need to make a quick pit stop at the ER so I can leave this paperwork with the nurses.” David eyed me, waiting for a reaction. Ginger must be there.

“Of course,” I said sweetly. “As long as you hold my hand.” I glanced at Ben wanting to see if he approved of my acting abilities. He looked at us impassively. Belín was smiling at his side.

They took the elevator down with us. Everyone was silent, looking nervously at other things in the elevator rather than one other. The elevator pinged, prompting Belín to come over to me and kiss me good-bye on both cheeks. She whispered in my ear that I was doing great. I smiled in response. David and I walked out first, still holding hands. I turned my head to see where they were going and they’d disappeared. My nerves were beginning to set in, squeezing David’s hand in response. He gripped my hand tighter and kissed it. I tried not to react.

We walked through the ER to the nurse’s station that was already abuzz with traumas and emergencies. David handed some papers to a nurse that was on the phone. She told him something about a patient that seemed to upset him. He released my hand to take the phone. I started to scan the floor for Ginger, hoping she didn’t see us. If she did, I was hoping she’d act with a little more decorum than usual… what with her off the wall opinions, brazen behavior… was it part of her DNA? I didn’t know what David ever saw in a deviant personality such as hers. It must have been just the sex. I decided since I was there, I was going to look in on Jill. I whispered in David’s free ear where I was going and to just meet me there.

“Isabel, wait!” he called, covering the mouth piece on the phone.

“It’s okay, just finish your call, I won’t leave, I promise,” I started heading to Jill’s room.

“Isabel, don’t go! Ginger is still one of the nurses assigned to take care of Jill,” he said in a semi-loud voice.

I whirled, looking at him with disdain. “Aren’t y’all afraid Ginger might kill her?”

The nurse by David chuckled. He ended the phone call in a hurry, walking over to me to take me aside so no one else could hear us.

“Love, I know you want to see your friend, but I rather you waited. I don’t want my beautiful girlfriend getting assaulted.” He sighed deeply, “You were right about Ginger. She’s very unpredictable… I don’t want anything to ruin us again and I’m fearful she may do just that.”

Oh my. David seemed genuinely concerned.

“David, what happened?” I took his face in between my hands. “Is everything all right? Are you all right?”

He clasped my hands and kissed them both. “I’m fine, my sweet, everything is fine, nothing that my insurance can’t take care of.”

“Wait, what?” I didn’t think I heard him correctly.