Chapter 12

Chapter

Twelve

T he elevator doors pinged open, forcing them to step out onto the sixth floor, where Robbie's knees began to tremble.

But Greer pulled her close to his side and whispered, "Remember to act like you belong. Confident and sure. You're not doing anything wrong, Robbie. You're checking on a very sick little boy you love. In and out, that's it," he reminded before letting her hand go.

Swallowing hard, Robbie nodded her head, which didn't feel like her head at all. The hair felt all wrong, but whatever. As Wanda said, in for a penny, in for a pound.

Forcing a confidence she didn't feel, Robbie sauntered down the white tiled floor, passing room after room of sick children. The familiar beeps of the machines monitoring heartbeats and pulse oxygen sounded, almost louder at this time of night due to the quiet of the floor.

She whisked past the nurses' station with a small wave of her hand, hearing, "Evening, Doctor," from a petite blonde nurse as she did.

Softly exhaling, Robbie nodded and headed directly toward Josh's room. On the threshold of his doorway, she drank in the sight of him, so tiny in the middle of that big sterile bed. He was bald now, all of those luscious chestnut-colored curls, his eyebrows, too, gone from the chemo.

He looked so frail, thin, almost translucent, but his Facebook page, updated by his mother, said he was on an upward trajectory. Robbie had to hang on to that, even if seeing him defied that prognosis. Wrapped in a blue and red blanket his grandmother, Tilly, had knitted him, he at least looked peaceful as he clung to the soft material.

The staff tried to let all of the children have some of their personal items, like blankets and stuffed animals, if the situation allowed. For Josh, it was Iron Man. A row of various Iron Man action figures sat on his bedside table so he'd see them every time he woke up.

She smiled, swallowing her tears as Greer gave her a nudge. "We'd better hurry. Didn't you say he gets his meds for the night at eight?"

"Yes," she whispered, taking another step into the room, noting where they'd hung cards from his classmates. Pictures of him with his family sat on the ledge under the window. The one she'd taken herself of Josh with the Iron Man actor she'd hired sat front and center.

A swag of Halloween cutouts draped across the window, bats, ghosts and pumpkins wafting in the breeze from the heater below.

Moving toward his bed, Robbie peeked all the way around the curtain to find Josh sleeping soundly. Breathing a sigh of relief, she scooted around the bed, tucking the blanket under his chin, running her knuckles lightly down his cheek.

Looking at his blood pressure and pulse ox on the screen told her he was in a good place for the moment, thrilling her. She'd learned quite a bit about what all those numbers meant, spending so much time here with the children, and his numbers said he was pretty solid.

"Oh, Josh," she whispered, bringing his small hand to her cheek. "Sweet, sweet boy. Look at how well you're doing. You're gonna be out of here in no time flat. I just know it. It won't be long before you're playing baseball again."

He stirred a little, the crisp sheets rustling. His eyes suddenly popped open, big and brown. He stared at her. "Who are you?" he whispered hoarsely.

Yeah . Who was she?

"Dr. Smith? Did you hear Josh? He asked who you are," Greer said, putting a hand at her waist.

Thank God for Greer. If she couldn't be left alone for fear someone would snatch her up, she was glad she had him looking out for her.

Smiling, the sound of the boy's voice music to her ears, she whispered back, "I'm Dr. Smith, Josh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to sleep."

But he grabbed her hand and hung on to it. "I don't know you, but you sound just like my friend."

Cocking her head, Robbie fought tears, the tremble in her voice clear. "Who's your friend, Josh?"

He wrinkled his nose, his pale face full of gloom and sadness. "Her name's Robbie. She used to visit me all the time." He sighed. "She was really, really, really nice. But she don't come to see me no more." He shrugged as if he was trying to ward off the hurt he felt. "Maybe she don't like anymore."

It was all she could do not to burst into tears and reassure him how wrong he was. "Oh, I'm sure that's not true. Who wouldn't like you? You're smart and brave and you like Iron Man. She'd be nuts not to like you."

"Then how come she don't come to see me no more? Do you think she's sick? I told my mommy I bet she's sick. Robbie would never miss story time if she wasn't sick. I hope she's okay."

How did she answer that? Diversion was the key. She plucked up one of his Iron Man action figures, dancing it toward him, and asked, "So I see you really love Iron Man, huh?"

Josh nodded, finally smiling. "Yep. He's my favorite, then Thor. Then after Thor, I like the Hulk." He roared to mimic the Hulk. It was weak and soft, but it made her smile.

She chuckled, brushing her hand over his cheek. "My favorite is Captain Marvel. Do you like her?"

Josh made a face. "She's a girl. My mom says girls can be superheroes, too, but she's not like Iron Man."

Robbie nodded, giving a light poke to his tummy. "I see, but you know what? I think your mom's right. I mean, because I'm a girl and all."

He giggled, light and sweet to her ears. "You're funny. Robbie was funny, too."

Greer, who'd remained silent, leaned into her. "I hate to do this, but we'd better get going. We have about a minute."

Swallowing, she nodded. "Okay, Iron Man. I have to go…do rounds. You keep getting better and stronger. Be brave, Warrior," she said, squeezing his hand, tamping down tears.

But he held on to her when she would have let go. "Heeey!" he cried out. "My friend Robbie used to say that, too! You sure you don't know her?"

Shit. She'd forgotten about their sacred words. Instead, Robbie smiled and cocked her head and pretended. "Really? How cool." Slipping her hand from his, she tucked it under his grandmother's blanket, giving it one last squeeze. "Okay, little man. You get some rest so you can be big and strong when you wake up tomorrow." On impulse, she leaned forward and dropped a kiss on his forehead. "Sweet dreams, buddy."

As she turned to leave, Josh said, "If you see my friend Robbie, will you tell her I miss her bad?"

Oh, if an arrow had pierced her heart, it couldn't have hurt more than those words. Biting the inside of her cheek, she nodded with a smile. "You bet," she whispered, her voice ragged.

As carts outside the door began to stir and the nurses prepared to dole out medications and fill their patients' charts with their stats, Robbie realized they had to go—and go now.

Letting Greer lead her out the door, she held it together as they passed the nurses beginning to mill about in the halls until they made it to the elevators, stepping inside.

Facing the wall, incapable of holding it in any longer, she began to sob. Without thinking, she reached for Greer, clinging to him, desperate for human contact.

He didn't hesitate. Greer pulled her close, tucking her against him, letting her get his lab coat soaking wet with her hot tears. When the elevator dinged, he held her tighter, walking her out backward and quickly slipping out an exit door.

Greer whispered soothing words in her ear, rocking her as the cold began to seep into her bones, and she tucked her head against his broad shoulder.

As her sobs slowed, and her gasps for air became less raspy, Robbie wiped her cheeks, pulling back a bit to look at his face, now returned to its own gorgeous perfection.

Reaching up, she ran her knuckles over his cheek. "Thank you, Greer. Thank you for helping me see Josh. I can't tell you how much it soothed my soul."

"I didn't do anything. That was all you," he whispered with a gentle smile.

Robbie smiled back, her eyes welling up again. "But if you hadn't taught me how to do it, I'd still be walking around with a possessed hand, setting people's hair on fire. That's all you ."

Call it the intensity of the moment, chalk it up to her raw emotions, the fullness of her heart after seeing Josh, but Robbie stood on tiptoe and pressed her lips to his.

She didn't only catch herself by surprise, but Greer, too, if the inhale they both took was any indication.

Greer groaned quietly against her mouth, capturing her lips, sliding his silky tongue between them until she, too, moaned. Stars exploded behind her eyes in vivid colors as her fingers tangled in his soft hair and every part of her body tingled.

He tasted of peppermint toothpaste, his lips commanding, his tongue making magic in her mouth. Robbie wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, molding her body against his, loving the feel of his muscles rippling against her frame.

Greer's arms tightened around her as he splayed his hand over her back, molding her closer, stirring up feelings Robbie hadn't felt in a long time, if ever.

"Ahem," someone interrupted, abruptly making them put a bit of space between their bodies in guilt.

The vampire had arrived.

"I see you've been properly dickmatized, Glinda the Good Witch," Nina crowed, putting her face between theirs. "Took you fucking long enough."

Robbie's hand went to her mouth, the pressure of Greer's lips still present. "We were just?—"

"Checking each other's tonsils," Nina said with a wicked grin. "I'll trust everything's all good in there. Now, how the fuck did it go in the hospital? Did you see your boy Josh?"

Tightening her jacket around her, the spell she'd cast now gone and returning her to her former clothing, she grinned with pride. "I did. He's as sweet as he was the last time I saw him. I feel so much lighter, even if he didn't know it was me."

Greer shook his head. "But Josh did recognize your voice, Robbie. I think somewhere deep inside, even if you looked different, somewhere deep inside, he knows it was you."

Robbie's heart clenched hard. "I hope that's true, but even if he didn't make the connection—because you have to admit, it sounds crazy—it was so good to see him looking better."

Nina clucked her tongue, clapping them each on their shoulders. "Fucking brilliant. Now, let's get the hell out of here and you can tell us all about it on the way home. I wanna hear every detail. Arch made a chocolate éclair cake in your honor and he's got hot coffee brewing, and my little Tater Tot said a new episode of Love is Blind dropped. Isn't he the fucking cutest? I'm obsessed."

As they began to walk toward the car, Nina looped her hand through Robbie's arm. "You really okay, kiddo?"

"I am. I know it's selfish, but seeing him made me feel better. He's okay. He's safe. That's all I can ask for."

"Glad for ya," Nina murmured with a pat to her hand.

Nina's sudden warmth gave her the courage to ask, "You really like Tottington, don't you? What's up with that? Rumor has it you don't like anyone."

Instead of getting angry, as Robbie had anticipated, Nina shrugged. "He reminds me of my fifth-grade Science teacher. He was from across the pond, too. One day, he noticed I didn't have any lunch, hadn't had any in a week. I'm pretty sure he knew my mom was a druggie, even though he never said shit about it. She never was sober enough to make me fucking lunch, and I didn't have any money, nothin' in the fridge. Anyway, Mr. Davies saw that, and every day from then until the end of fifth grade, he brought me a sandwich and a bottle of juice. After all this time, I still think about Mr. Davies."

"I had no idea," Robbie whispered as they neared the SUV where everyone waited. Her heart ached for little Nina.

"I'm not much of a fucking sharer. The past is the past, but if you really wanna know…because Tater Tot makes me think of Mr. Davies, I don't know if I ever fucking thanked him enough for what he did—or even at all. Not properly, anyway. Sometimes, it was the only meal I had all day, until Gramma Lou came and moved me in with her. I guess in some weird fucking way, being nice to Tater Tot is my way of saying thank you to Mr. Davies. I dunno. I'll leave the psychology of it up to you to pick apart. I just like him."

Tears stung Robbie's eyes again as she stopped walking and pulled Nina into a hug. "You're the strangest, most violent, most wonderful person I've ever met, Nina Statleon. I don't understand you, but I'm glad you're my new friend."

They stopped at the SUV with Greer snickering behind them. "I never said shit about being your friend, but I'm gonna miss the fuck outta Totts when he's gone."

Robbie didn't want to think about the time when these people wouldn't be in her life every day, but she knew that time was coming soon. What would she do when she went back to her pathetic apartment and her going-nowhere job? A job she'd probably lose after calling in a family emergency every single day sine this had happened.

She'd survive. That's what she'd do. When it was just her and Tottington and her cats again, she'd survive and find a way to thrive.

But she would allow herself to be a little sad for a bit. Because she really was going to miss this nutty bunch of coconuts.

Wanda greeted her with a smile and a hug. "If it isn't the world's best witch! How'd it go, honey?"

Robbie gave her a squeeze back. "Well, I managed to hold the spell. So that's something, right?"

Greer knocked her shoulder with his. "She's being humble. She was amazing."

Marty and Darnell gave her quick hugs. "Yay, you!" Marty praised, holding up her phone. "Now, listen up, lovelies, I have a text from January that made me pause. Get in the car before I freeze my false eyelashes off and I'll read it to you."

They all piled in, where Hervé slid next to her, snuggling up against her side. She draped her arm around his handle and pulled him close. "You okay, buddy?"

They'd formed a bond over the last couple of weeks, one of trust when she rode him, one of friendship created by accident, but becoming dearer each day.

"Hervé is good. Is my Robbieee good?"

She chuckled. "She's good. Her heart is full."

As Nina began to pull out of the parking lot, Marty shushed them. "Listen to this. January says she's been hearing some weird things about Greer's coven."

Greer sat up straight in the backseat, his face filled with concern. "Like?"

"Liiike, she has a therapist friend, who has a friend who's part of your coven, and her friend says she hasn't heard from her in days. They were due to have lunch a couple of weeks ago."

"But wait," Nina said. "Why did I get the impression your coven didn't fuck with other covens, Cover Model?"

Greer shook his head. "That's not necessarily true. It's not as of it isn't allowed. People make friends outside of the coven all the time. With humans as well as other paranormals and witches. Is this therapist's friend a witch, too?"

Marty held up a finger to quiet them as she typed on her phone and waited.

Robbie held her breath until Marty spoke.

"The friend is a witch, they meet for lunch in the outside world all the time and, according to January, she says this is very unlike her not to be in touch. Especially after blowing her off. She never called, and she's left her several messages. "

Greer stiffened beside her. "Does she know this missing witch's name?"

Marty typed in the question then held up the answer. "Soledad. She says it's Soledad."

"Shit! Shit, shit, shit," he muttered.

Robbie knew that name. They'd talked about a Soledad, and several others in his coven when he'd confessed what happened with his grandmother.

She gripped his arm. "Wait, when we had that conversation last week, didn't you say Soledad was the leader of your coven?"

He looked at her in the dark interior of the car. "Yes. Something's wrong. Something's really wrong."

When he said those words, a weird bolt of heat scissored through her body. It felt like a…connection. As though the words Greer spoke had ignited some urgent pull in her to take action.

"What can we do to help?" Wanda asked.

"I think I'm the only one who can help," Robbie said, unclear where the words, spoken with such confidence, came from. But she said them again, because she was convinced they were true. "I'm the only one."