"The boy in room 17 is gone?"
"Yes, he left two nights ago. There was some security footage that showed him picking a lock with his hair."
"His hair? That's incredible!"
"I know. There was a group of us that watched the tape over and over. It was amazing."
"Didn't he have amnesia?"
"Yes. Hopefully he's doing alright out there."
Lily smiled at the gossiping nurses as she pushed her cart into the next room. She'd already heard it all. In fact, she suspected that she might have started it, since she was the first to discover the empty room. She'd even guessed he was going to leave before he did. He didn't seem like the idle type.
A part of her was sad that Slightly was gone. She had begun to enjoy their interactions. He was good looking in an unusual way, and he always made her feel like he was actually listening to her and not just looking at her, which was a rare occurrence with most of the guys she met.
Lily chuckled to herself as she started to mop the floor. It was probably a blessing that he had left. She didn't want to be falling for a patient, especially not now when she was still in such a delicate situation.
She finished cleaning her assigned rooms and headed out to the reception area to disinfect the chairs. An older woman with a commanding presence and a skittish teenage girl were arguing with the receptionist. Lily tried not to listen in on their conversation, but the woman was so agitated it was difficult not to.
"He has to be here!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, there are no patients by that name in our registry."
"But his fingerprints were in your database! He would have been checked in just a few days ago! Will you just let me go back there to find him? I'm sure I'll recognize him."
"No, ma'am. I cannot allow you to do that."
"Perhaps you've seen him? He would look something like this." The woman began to dig through her purse, but at that moment Lily's attention was diverted by a young man walking through the main doors. Lily tried to find a place to hide, but he'd already seen her.
"What are you doing here, Jason?" Lily hissed. "I told you not to bother me at work."
"I had to talk to you, and you're never at home."
"I'm home at night, when most normal people are home."
Jason smiled wide, but the expression seemed anything but friendly. "Come on, Tiger, I haven't seen you in weeks. I thought you'd be happy to see your brother."
"Don't call me that!" Lily exclaimed, trying to keep her voice down. "I thought I made it clear I wasn't part of your crew anymore."
Jason chuckled. "The gang misses you, Tiger. And we need you. We could really use a lookout."
"I'm sure you don't need me. Find someone else who wants to waste their life."
"Seems to me that you're the one dealing with all the waste."
Lily growled and turned away, but Jason caught her by the arm.
"Lily, please," he said earnestly. "No one is as agile as you are. We almost got caught last night, but everything would have worked out if you had been there. If we don't have a competent lookout, one of these days we're going to end up in jail. Do you want that on your conscience?"
Lily glared at her older brother. There were a number of things she didn't want on her conscience, namely, the memory of the man who had died because she had given Jason's gang his information. She cared about her brother, but she wasn't going to keep destroying her life by participating in his illegalities, and she wouldn't let him blame her for his downfall.
"Okay, Jason, I'll help you."
"You will?"
"Yeah. I'll help you get a real job."
Jason made a face. "What? Cleaning up after sick people? No thanks."
"It'll make dad proud."
Jason gave her a look, and she knew exactly what it meant. Ever since their mother had passed away five years ago, their father had become obsessed with work. He was rarely home, and when he was, he was consumed with his reports. He barely knew what was going on with his children, and he didn't seem to care.
Lily narrowed her eyes at her brother. "Listen, Jason. I don't want any part of it, so don't ask me again."
"Alright. Let me know when you change her mind." He gave her a smug smile and sauntered out the door. Lily restrained the urge to shout obscenities at his back and turned around just in time to see the older woman and the teenage girl being escorted out by security.
"Please! We've been searching for almost 10 years!" The woman called out to the receptionist as the guard pulled her towards the door. "Please check your records again to make sure it isn't a mistake. The name is Tom Williams!"