Page 85 of Played By Design

I rest my forehead on the cold glass of the window, my breath forming fog that blooms, dissipates, and blooms again.

He tricked me into cardio.

He wrote a fucking manual about how to manipulate me into doing things, and I never knew.

The car slows, and I lift my head.

Mercy General rises ahead, its windows glowing yellow in the night sky. Emergency room lights flash blue and red at the far end of the building, announcing the ambulance bay where people are wheeled in.

Ghost pulls into the parking structure and finds a spot on the first level.

When he kills the engine and gets out, I follow.

Our footsteps echo through the parking structure, concrete and exhaust thick in the air.

At the elevator, Ghost hits the button, and we wait.

The doors open.

We step in.

Ghost selects L for lobby.

I’m glad he’s leading, because my own mind is blank. Complete blue screen.

As the elevator rises, my stomach drops. Just as it settles, the elevator stops, sending my stomach in the opposite direction.

The doors open on a lobby washed in harsh fluorescent light. People sit in plastic chairs, some sleeping, some staring at phones, some holding ice packs to various body parts.

A television mounted in the corner plays a news segment with the sound off.

Ghost walks toward the front desk.

I trail after, the duffel bag chafing my leg where it rubs.

A nurse raises her head.

Ghost speaks first. “We’re here for Kain Rhodes. Room number?”

The nurse checks her computer. “Are you family?”

I clutch the duffel tighter. “I’m his roommate. Reef Atwater.”

She returns to the screen. “Ah. You’re listed as his emergency contact. He’s in room four twelve on the fourth floor.”

Ghost takes the badge she slides across the counter and clips it to the collar of my hoodie.

We head for the elevators.

The ride up is slower than the one in the garage, and my pulse thuds in my ears.

The doors open on a quieter hallway. The lights are dimmer here, with rooms lining both sides, numbers on plaques by the doors.

Ghost walks, and I follow.

The door to room four twelve stands ajar.

Ghost steps aside, and I push it open.