Unveiled

‘Here.’ His palm on my neck twists gently, prompting me to veer left, where a pair of doors open automatically and a sign saying Welcome to Cedar Ward greets us. ‘Room three.’ Miller drops his hold, leaving me feeling unstable and weak, and indicates to the second door on the left. My steps falter, my heart refusing to ease up with its steady thumps. The heat of the ward hits me like a sledgehammer and the smell of antiseptic pollutes my nose. A gentle nudge in my back encourages me to take the handle, and after loading my lungs with much-needed air, I turn the knob and push my way into the room.

But it’s empty.

The bed is perfectly made, all of the machines neatly tucked away in a corner. There’s no sign of life. I feel dizzy. ‘Where is she?’

Miller doesn’t answer, instead moving past me and halting abruptly, taking in the empty room himself. I’m just staring blankly at the empty bed, everything else around me blurring, including my hearing, which only vaguely registers Miller insisting that this is the correct room.

‘Can I help you?’ asks a young nurse.

Miller steps forward. ‘The lady who was in here, where is she?’

‘Josephine Taylor?’ she asks. Her eyes are downcast, and I don’t think I can take whatever is coming next.

A lump clogs my throat. I reach out and grab Miller’s arm, digging my nails in. He responds only by prying my clawed fingers from his flesh and squeezing my hand before bringing it to his mouth.

‘You’re her granddaughter? Olivia?’

I nod, unable to speak, but before she can answer, I hear a familiar laugh coming from down the hall. ‘That’s her!’ I blurt, yanking my hand from Miller and nearly knocking the nurse off her feet when I barge past. I follow the familiar sound, vibrations rippling through me with each pound of my feet on the ground. I reach a crossroad and skid to a stop when the sound fades to nothing. I glance to the left and see four beds, all with old people asleep.

There it is again.

Laughter.

Nan’s laughter.

My head whips to the right, seeing another four beds all occupied.

And there she is, sitting up in an armchair positioned to the side of her hospital bed, watching television. Her hair is perfectly styled, and she’s wearing her frilly nightie. I move towards her, drinking in the beautiful sight until I’m standing at the foot of the bed. Her sapphire eyes move away from the television and land on me. I feel like electro probes have shocked me back to life.

‘My darling girl.’ Her hand reaches for me, and my eyes explode with tears.

‘Oh God, Nan!’ I make a grab for the curtain that’s pulled back by her bed and nearly fall through the damn thing.

‘Olivia!’ Miller catches my staggering body and quickly steadies me on my feet. I’m all in a fuddle, too many emotions spiralling through me to deal with. He runs a quick scan over me, then looks over my shoulder. ‘Fucking hell,’ he breathes, every muscle visibly sagging.

He thought it, too. He thought she was dead.

‘That’s it!’ she barks. ‘Come in here, causing chaos and cursing all over the place! You’ll get me kicked out!’

My eyes bug as my blood begins to warm again. ‘Because you haven’t caused enough chaos yourself?’ I blurt.

Her grin is impish. ‘I’ve been a perfect lady, I’ll have you know.’

A scoff comes from behind us, and both Miller and I turn blankly to face the nurse. ‘A perfect lady,’ she muses, giving Nan eyebrows so high, I can’t tell where they end and her hairline begins.

‘I’ve brightened the place up,’ Nan retorts, pulling Miller and I back around. She gestures towards the other three beds, all occupied with frail old people, all sleeping. ‘I’ve got more life in me than those three put together! I’ve not come here to die, I assure you.’

I smile and glance up at Miller, who looks down at me all amused, his eyes twinkling. ‘A twenty-four-carat gold treasure.’ He blinds me with a full-blown, all-white smile that nearly has me grabbing the curtain again.

‘I know.’ I grin and virtually dive across the bed into my nan’s arms. ‘I thought you were dead,’ I tell her, relishing the familiar scent of the washing powder she uses, ingrained into the material of her nightie.

‘Death seems far more appealing than this dump,’ she grumbles, earning herself a little nudge from me. ‘Oooh, watch my wires.’

I gasp and jump back, mentally scolding myself for being so careless. She might seem her spunky self, but she’s here for a reason. I watch her pull at a line in her arm, grumbling under her breath.

‘Visiting hours finished at eight,’ the nurse cuts in, rounding the bed to assist Nan. ‘You can come back tomorrow.’

My heart sinks. ‘But we’ve—’

Miller’s hand on my arm halts my complaint, and he looks to the nurse. ‘Would you mind?’ He gestures away from the bed, and I watch, amused, as the nurse smiles coyly and leaves the bay, rounding the corner behind the curtains. I raise my eyebrows at Miller, but he just shrugs his perfect shoulders and follows the nurse. He might look drained, but he’s still a sight to behold. And he’s just bought me some time, so I couldn’t care less if the nurse is going to gaze at him all dreamy while he gets the lowdown on Nan’s condition.

Feeling eyes studying me, I leave Miller’s disappearing back and look down to my spunky grandmother. She looks all mischievous again. ‘His buns look even better in jeans.’

I roll my eyes and sit on the bed in front of her. ‘I thought you liked a young man to be well turned out.’