Deviant(14)

I know I probably needed to see someone. I must be certifiable by keeping all this quiet. My parents and friends would go ballistic if they ever knew I was being practically stalked and I did nothing about it, said nothing about it. To be perfectly honest, I couldn’t understand the logic behind it myself. He must be a little crazy himself if he went around doing things like this. It obviously wasn’t normal. It was deviant behaviour, and I sat there wondering what the hell he was going to do next. He had been my constant for the past three years, but it never went beyond tidying up what I had messed up, or moving something to a spot he thought it should be. Did last night’s outburst change things? Will it finally set something in motion that will answer all my longing questions? Who was he? What did he want with me? Am I going to wake up during the night with him hovering over my bed and an axe in his hand? They were all perfectly logical questions. The only thing seeming to discredit the last one was the fact that if he wanted to harm me, he would surely have done it by now. There was no denying he had plenty of opportunities in the past to do exactly that. If he wanted me dead, why was I still here?

With that and other things milling around in my head, I went to work putting the groceries away, doing a bit of housework, and grabbing a small bite to eat before heading out to see Jeremy. The hospital was only around a half-hour walk from where I lived, so when it got close to three-thirty, I thought I should leave. I hadn’t been exercising lately, so a quick, brisk stroll to the hospital and back would be just the ticket for today.

With a bag of Twiglets stuffed in my bag, and a book I picked up for Jeremy at the store, I was well on my way. It was a cloudy day again today, so I made sure I took my umbrella just in case. I didn’t want to get caught in a rainstorm halfway to the hospital.

Once at the hospital, I gazed at the directory to try and find the Benedict Ward. The ward was on the third floor, so I walked to the lift. The hospital was busy. Even the lift had about ten people trying to squeeze their way in. I seriously started panicking that maybe I was in a lift with people who had all done bad things and were going to hell. I couldn’t deal with being visited by the devil today and being sent to burn for eternity. I had other things to do.

Once it got to the third floor, I breathed a sigh of relief and excused myself, walking out of the lift. All seemed quiet, apart from a couple who were standing by the doorway of the ward. The lady was crying, and the man beside her was comforting her as best he could. It made me feel a little saddened by the prospect that they had a child here who was ill…or worse.

Shuddering at the thought, I did my best to try and give them their privacy, quickly making my way in. My first shock was at seeing the amount of children on the ward. I didn’t realise so many children could get sick. I knew they did but it was a shock to see nonetheless.

“Can I help you?” a nurse asked as I looked around.

“Yes, please. I’ve come to visit Jeremy Crawlings. He is expecting me.”

“Tyler O’Shea!”

Looking over the nurse’s shoulder, I spotted a boy with no hair sitting up in bed. He was very good-looking with soft blue eyes and rosebud lips. Despite all of this, though, he didn’t look very well.

“Jeremy?” I asked, thanking the nurse and making my way towards his bed.

“Wow. You’re even hotter in the flesh. Your picture doesn’t do you justice.”

I smiled, thinking he had a little bit of cheek in him. I liked people who were cheeky. Some people get away with it, some people don’t. With Jeremy’s cheeky smile, I knew he was the “getting away with it” type.

“And it’s lovely to meet you, too,” I replied, sitting down beside him and reaching out my hand.

Jeremy smiled brightly at me and took my hand. “What, no kiss? I think I’ve changed my mind about Julie now that I’ve met you.”

Giggling, I rummaged through my bag. “As flattered as I am, I don’t think the law takes too kindly to grown women kissing fifteen-year-old boys.”

Jeremy pulled himself up a little on the bed. “Ah, that’s too bad. I suppose there was no harm in asking.”

I shook my head, laughing. “I suppose not. Now, I know you wanted me to bring you Twiglets, and I came through on my promise.” Pulling out the items, I handed them to Jeremy with a warm smile. He took them and his face was a picture. It immediately made my heart swell. I had taken to this boy instantly.

“You don’t know how badly I’ve been craving these. Thank you.”

I placed my bag beside the bed and looked back up at Jeremy. “You’re very welcome. But why won’t someone else bring you some?”