Chapter 4

Knocking on Mr. Anderson's room door, I'm met with silence. I frown and open it, only to find his room empty. The door to the bathroom is wide open, and it's also vacant.

No fucking way.

I know I was a little mean to him, but where the hell is he? There's no way the little shit left the hospital, right? That would just be the cherry on top of my shitty night. Great.

Returning to the nurse's station, I get the attention of the first person I see, "Hey, have you seen Theo Anderson? Big guy, muscles, blue eyes?"

"The hockey player?" Amanda's eyes light up. "I haven't seen him lately, but damn, he is hot."

I huff and roll my eyes because, of course, that's what all these women are focused on—how hot he is—not the fact that he's injured and could lose his career over this.

"Alright, thanks." For nothing.

Walking up and down all the halls in the unit—which is shaped like a rectangle—I find no trace of him. My hands begin to tremble and my breaths come out in hard pants. Oh my fuck, I'm going to lose my damn nursing license if he left this fucking hospital. How does a patient even go missing? Where the fuck did he go?

All the nurses are gathered at the nurse's station, talking in hushed tones amongst each other. My back begins to sweat under my long-sleeve shirt, and this is the first time this winter that I'm grateful I'm not wearing a jacket. Damn it, it's hot in here. The closer I get to them, the more they begin to look up and disperse. My hands slap on the countertop and I glance at Amanda once more, my chest heaving. I bet I look insane—I feel it.

"Nothing?" Amanda asks with a frown.

"Nope." I pop the p. "I'm gonna call it."

She nods slowly. "Veronica!" she calls out to the charge nurse. "Bailey needs you."

Veronica walks toward me with a smile—which immediately drops when she sees me wiping sweat from my forehead and my shaking hands. "What's happening?" Her lips turn down and she searches my gaze. She has never seen me this flustered. I'm not someone who gets shaken up easily at work. I pride myself on being able to handle even the toughest situations. But a missing patient? Who has a head injury? I don't think I'm cut out for this. "What's wrong?"

"Theo Anderson," I begin, then swallow hard, "is missing."

"Oh, hell," she mutters. "What did you do?"

I rear back as if she slapped me. What did I do? Why does it have to be my fault? Because it is. "I didn't do anything. I drew his blood, and then he wasn't in his room when I came back."

"Did you check the entire unit?" she asks.

"The hallways." I nod. "I think we should call it."

"Alright," she sighs. "Amanda and the rest of the girls will look in the rooms. But you need to get off this unit and search the hospital. I'll have it on lockdown. No one gets to leave until we find him."

I nod quickly again. "Alright." My hands tremble as I blow out a steady breath, trying to calm down. If he doesn't turn up, I'm going to need my Xanax. "Okay."

"Go," Veronica says, then gives orders to the rest of the nurses.

As I run to the elevators, I see her heading to the nutrition room. Honestly, I don't even know where to start. But I guess I need to search everywhere. So I press the buttons to every floor below me, seeing as the ones above are for kids, and begin my search. Of course, no one has seen him, so I go down to the cafeteria, Starbucks, and the fast-food plaza. He's not here either. Not here.

Squatting down, I slide against the wall of the fast-food plaza, trying to take deep breaths. I'm sweating profusely at this point, and I can hear my heartbeat in my ears. It's thundering, beating so fast I'm afraid I'm going to pass out. But I focus on the thud, thud, thud—trying to take deep breaths.

A hand lands on my shoulder and I startle, but then relief makes me sag against the wall. Theo. Finally.

"Are you okay, miss?" an unfamiliar voice asks me, and I stiffen once more. "Do you need help?"

My hands begin to shake uncontrollably, and my breaths come out in gasps. "Don't. Touch. Me." I growl, and the man immediately removes his hand. I peer up at him, an older man with a white beard and white hair, and immediately feel bad. But no, he's a man just like any other. Don't be stupid, Bailey. Anyone could be like Robert. Old or not.

"Sorry," he says softly. "Do you need me to call someone?"

I shake my head quickly. "No." I grab onto my scrub pants, wiping my hands on them, trying to get them to stop shaking. "I'm okay. I'm okay." Maybe if I repeat it enough times my body will get with the program.

"Alright." He nods, then walks away.

Getting on my hands and knees, I force myself to get up slowly, letting my blood pressure adjust so I don't get dizzy. My phone rings, and I immediately answer. "Nurse Bailey."

"He's in the kid's cancer ward!" Veronica barks, and I frown. Kid's cancer ward? Why the hell would he be there? What is he even thinking?

"On my way," I reply, hanging up.

The trip to the cancer ward takes me back to the elevators, and I press the respective button. The whirring sound of it taking me up calms me slightly, and suddenly I'm grateful to whoever found him since I would've never imagined he'd be up here. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard of. Why would he even come up here? I avoid it at all costs, not wanting to see how these little people suffer every minute of every day. It's just depressing to think about. Tiny humans dying before they even get to live.

It's sterile white in here, and some of the walls are covered in children's portraits that do nothing to give it life. I recognize Frozen and The Lion King, along with a variety of cartoon characters. The longest nurse's station I've ever seen is in the center, and I walk quickly toward it. It's freezing in here. Holy crap, these poor kids.

"Hey." I squint at the badge on the nurse's scrub top. "Rhonda."

"How can I help you?" Rhonda is actually very pretty with her light blonde hair, brown eyes, and full lips. I bet Theo was probably flirting with her for at least thirty minutes. Good for him. "Oh, wait. Are you here for the hockey player?"

I nod, biting my lip until I taste blood. Fucking hell, my nerves are frayed. "Yeah, I'm here for him."

"Oh my God," she whispers. He's the sweetest thing ever." I just bet he is.

"Please, tell me he's still here," I beg, and she nods with a small smile. "Oh, thank God. Can you take me to him?"

"Right this way," she replies, coming to my side and turning left into a long hallway.

A never-ending row of rooms is visible, and I shiver. "Have you ever heard of a thermostat? Those poor kids…it's freezing in here." I see her flinch, and her mouth turns down, though she doesn't say anything. I tell myself the shiver was due to the cold, but I know better. This place is desolate and sad.

"He's right through those doors." She points at a set of glass double doors that are wide open. "Really sweet guy."

I nod because I'm sure he is. I just don't care. "Thanks," I mutter.

Standing at the entryway, I don't make myself known. Mostly because I want to see what he's up to and why he'd come here in the first place. What I find is the most unexpected sight in all my life. Theo is sitting in the middle of the room, and there are six kids in recliners facing him. Some of them have their IV pumps with them, while others don't. There are some with neon bags that I know are chemotherapy, and my heart breaks a little in my chest. This is so freaking sad.

But the way he's reading to them animatedly brings a small smile to my face. "Mommy and Daddy say I'm clever," he reads to them with a huge smile on his face. "And that I'm the best big brother ever!"

All of the kids—and I mean all of them—gasp out raspy little laughs, clutching their bellies at the way he's reading to them. I can't see their faces, but I can only imagine the big smiles they must have on them.

"When baby sleeps, shhhh, no noise." Theo puts his index finger to his lips, then whispers, "I quietly play with all my toys."

I roll my eyes, but the kids simply laugh again.

Then the strangest thing happens. Theo's eyes meet mine from across the room, all shiny and watery, and my stomach flutters. I still scowl though, because he did leave his room without saying where he was going, which almost gave me a panic attack.

Be real, Bailey. You had a panic attack. Cancer ward or not, I'm pissed.

Theo stiffens immediately, and his eyes widen, probably because I must be red in the face. I feel myself flushed from my anger, and I signal for him to come to me. He shakes his head, going back to the book. Oh, so now he's being stubborn. Just what I need.

"Show time's over, kiddos," I tell them, and awwww's ring out in unison. "Sorry, but this big guy needs to go back to his bed."

"No way!" a kid whines, and Theo smiles.

"Please, please stay!"

"No, don't go!"

I watch his face carefully, and he seems on the edge of a mental breakdown at the thought of leaving these kids. Only I don't have time to care right now. All that matters is that I found him, and he needs to come with me. I have other patients to worry about, and I can't look after him while he's playing with little kids.

"Let's go, Theo!" I bark, and he smiles.

"Finally," he calls out as I walk out of the room to wait for him. "You called me by my name!"

I don't reply, straining to hear what he's now saying to the kids.

"I'll be back tomorrow when the wicked witch is gone." They all giggle, and I smirk. Wicked witch, huh? That's just so freaking clever, Mr. Anderson. "Promise."

"Swear?" one of the kids demands.

"Cross my heart."

And then suddenly, he's at my side, and I feel warm all over.

"What," I growl, "were you thinking?"

"I was bored." He shrugs, and I narrow my eyes at him. "What? You try being stuck in bed all day for three days in a row. I'm going fucking insane in there."

"So you come to read to children?" Who the fuck would get out of their own bed and go find the children to read them a story just because they're bored?

"Cancer children," he snaps, "who don't have anyone here for them."

I roll my eyes, even though I know it's the last thing I should be doing. He was being nice to these kids, and here I am being mean to him. But I can't feel bad right now. He left without a word. He could've told me something. Not that I would've let him leave our floor. I wonder who's going to let him tomorrow. Just because he's pretty to look at, I bet he'll get away with whatever he wants. "Let's go back."

"A please would be nice," he replies dryly.

"And tell me," I laugh loudly. "Why in the world would I say please when you left without a word? I was worried sick." Literally.

Theo smirks. "All I'm hearing is that you were worried about me." A grin splits his face. "Did you miss me, sweet Bailey?"

"I missed my peace of mind."

"Of course you did." He winks, and my stomach flips.

Get it together, Bailey.

We walk back to the unit, and thankfully, he goes directly to his bed. Here, I thought I'd have to fight with him again to get him to comply. But no, he went willingly and seemed content that he had time away from his bed. Or maybe he's just happy to have spent time with little kids.

I can't even read him.

"Do us all a favor," I say calmly, though I feel anything but. "And stay in your damn bed."

"Yes, ma'am." He grins, and I frown.

"I don't want to see you for the rest of this damn shift." I sigh.

Then I leave the room and slump against his closed door.

What a fucking night.