He wasn't the one that ended up finding her. I was.
Julie had sent me to get some towels for the kid that had decided to vomit in the middle of the room. She had whisked him away to the bathroom to clean him up, and Liam had resumed calming the other kids before they decided to spew their guts too.
I had went to the nearest nurses station and asked for a few towels. The nurse had given me a questioning look, but had disappeared to do so. I frowned after her and turned to wait.
It took a moment for my eyes to relate the woman walking in the room to one of the people that had been with the girl. I recognized her by the way her nose stuck in the air. If it rained, she was sure to drown, Ava always said.
I looked to the nurses station, and when it looked like she wasn't coming, I moved toward the room. I knew I needed to be calm and collected about the way I did it. This stalking thing could go either way.
There was the woman, and a man in her room as I passed. The girl was laying down on her side, but I knew it was her. The same jet black hair cascaded over the thin, white blankets.
I looked at the card outside her room. H. Turner. Fall risk. Nothing else was written, not her first name, or why she was here.
“Sir?”
The nurse was back, and I went back to the station. I grabbed the towels quickly and thanked her as I ran back to the play room, feeling my own sort of giddiness wash over me.
When I came in, Julie looked annoyed. “Well, it's about time. What took you-”
“I found her, Julie,” I said quickly, handing her the towels.
She stared at me, not knowing what I was talking about. It didn't take long for the recognition to cross her face, and a smile to release. “Are you serious?” she asked.
I nodded, and she gave me the towels again and rushed off to Liam. I laughed, but started cleaning up the mess as she told her brother. I saw Liam's eyes widen and he came to my side quickly.
“Room 306. H. Turner,” I told him. He thanked me on his way out the door.
I looked to Julie. “You aren't going with him?” I asked.
She shook her head and got on her knees to help me. “No, I'll meet her eventually. He needed to do this by himself,” she told me.
For the next few hours, he did.
♥
Julie and I worked by ourselves the rest of the day. None of the kids vomited again, but another one did get gum stuck in her hair, and one decided to be the next Picasso and draw on the table.
I took the job of scrubbing it off while Julie cleaned up the room after they left. We were doing so when Liam finally came through the doors.
We couldn't be mad at him. Both of us were more excited than angry that he had ditched us to meet the girl. Being gone for a few hours had to mean something good.
“Her name is Hilary,” he said first, closing the doors behind him. “Her mother is a snob, her dad is a pushover, and she is blind.”
Silence ensued, and Julie looked to me before glancing at Liam. I knew she couldn't believe it, because I couldn't either.
“Blind? Like blind, blind?” she asked.
Liam smiled slightly and nodded. “Yeah, like blind as a bat. Couldn't see how many fingers I was holding up kind of blind,” he told us. “You should have seen their faces when I told them that I was deaf. I thought her parents would flip out, and she just smiled.”
“So were you Ryan Gosling or Alicia Silverstone?”
“Ryan,” he said, and Julie gasped in approval. “It was like she knew who I was the moment I walked in. She asked if Prince Charming had finally came. I asked if she was the one that had disappeared, and she said she had rode her hospital bed far away,” he went on, smiling.
Julie and I looked at each other with the same expression. We didn't have to understand it. Liam had found someone who understood his sense of humor.
“Her mom didn't like me much, but I didn't leave. It had taken me half an hour to convince myself to even go in. We didn't get to talk much, but from what I've learned, she's amazing,” he told us.
“That's great, Liam,” Julie said, standing up. She gave him a hug, and Liam returned it.
Something crossed his face, and he pulled away, looking to her and then me. “Actually, there was something I needed to ask both of you,” he replied.
“Yeah?”
“Could you go out without me tonight? Hilary's mom won't be here tonight, and her dad likes me and said we could hang out while he went out. I really want to hang out with her,” he said, looking to me.
I knew I had a frightened expression on my face, but Julie didn't seem to notice. She was too busy glaring at Liam.
“I already made the reservations, Liam. Falon wanted you there too,” she told him.
“Falon won't mind, will you?” Liam said quickly, looking to me.
I did mind. I minded a lot.
“No, I won't mind,” I said.
Julie looked at me, not believing my martyrdom. She didn't say anything but I knew she didn't believe me.
“Thank you! See, Falon understands my true love, Julie. Reservations?” he said, then scoffed and shook his head.
Julie glared at him, and Liam smiled, telling her he was only joking. Julie couldn't stay angry with him, and she played into his hands like putty.
“I
