If I’m Not The One
Chapter One
”I hate green!” Cassandra yelled out. “Look at this place. Green walls, green curtains, green blankets! Don’t the designers know any other color but green?” Her brown eyes blazed momentarily with anger.
“Cassandra, it’s a hospital. It’s pale green. Green is supposed to be a soothing color.” A younger woman whose image practically mirrored Cassandra’s spoke in an almost condescending tone.
Cassandra glared at the younger woman. “That’s bull and you know it, Marissa! They could have used light blue, beige, or light yellow, anything else. But, they chose green. God, how I hate green!”
A blonde-haired, blue-eyed nurse entered Cassandra’s room. A stethoscope hung around her neck and she pushed a machine that was used to take temperatures.
“Good afternoon, Miss Hamilton. I’m your nurse, Sandy. I’ll be on duty until 11:00 o’clock. Now, I need to take your vitals.”
“Sure, why not!” Cassandra replied with a sardonic tone.
“So, from what I overheard, green is not one of your favorite colors, huh?” The nurse asked.
Cassandra looked surprised. “Was I that loud?” She asked.
“Just a little.” Sandy smiled as she wrote down Cassandra’s blood pressure on her chart. “Open wide, I’ll take your temperature.”
Cassandra did as she was instructed, sitting quietly with the thermometer under her tongue, her lips closed. The machine beeped, indicating it had finished its measurement.
“Good, 98.8. Now, let me get your pulse.”
“Oh, trust me. I still have one.”
“My, my. You’re a little testy tonight, aren’t you?” the nurse asked as she checked her watch and counted the pulse thumping in Cassandra’s wrist.
“I want to go home!” Cassandra stated in a very matter of fact tone.
Sandy made another entry into Cassandra’s chart. When she was finished, she capped her pen, placed it in the pocket of her smock, and looked dead on at Cassandra.
“Miss Hamilton, from what I can see, you’ve been battling a very strong virus. You’ve been unable to keep solids down; you’re dehydrated; and this is the first time in three days you’ve had a normal temperature. Going home at this point in time is not an option. Now, I’m sorry you don’t feel well; I’m sorry you hate the color green; and most of all I’m sorry you’re so miserable. As soon as you realize that we are here to help you, not torment you, I believe you’ll be on the path to going home. Until then, you are stuck here, with me, with the I.V. in this green room. I will do whatever I can to expedite your healing process, but you have to help as well! That does not mean ripping off my head or that of any of the hospital staff. Do you think you can work on that?”
Cassandra was stunned. She looked at the nurse with wide brown eyes. Then she looked at her sister. Cassandra couldn’t remember the last time anyone had spoken so matter-of-factly to her. “I, I, I’ll try.” She stammered.
“Good. Your supper tray, albeit a liquid diet, should be here soon. Please try to eat something. I’ll be back in a while to check the I.V.” The blonde turned and walked out.
“I believe you have been told!” Marissa smiled at her sister.
Cassandra glared at her younger sibling. “Where does she get off talking to me like that? Just who does she think she is?”
“Oh, calm down, sis! You were acting like a spoiled brat. You deserved everything she said!”
Cassandra laid back on her pillow and looked at the ceiling. It was green, too.
“You know what, Sis? I’m getting really tired. Would you mind leaving for a while? I’d like to sleep for a bit."”
Marissa’s brown eyes opened wide in surprise. She opened her mouth to argue a bit, but then thought better of it. “Sure, sis, no problem. I’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”
“That’s fine.” Cassandra’s whole demeanor had changed to withdrawn and sullen.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to call Thomas for you?”
“Marissa, there’s no reason to. I’m no longer a concern of his. He made that very clear when he walked out 4 weeks ago.”
The younger brunette walked over and leaned down to kiss her sister.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****
Across the hall the patient was much quieter about his dislikes. He had heard the majority of the exchange from the opposite room and could only shake his head. His deep, blue eyes had remained fixed on the ceiling with his left hand casually resting on his pillow behind his head. Blinking himself back to reality, he realized the neighboring patient had finally grown quiet.
“At last,” he said out loud. “Peace and quiet.”
A visitor suddenly shattered his peace and quiet.
“Hey, C! What’s shaking?” a tall, curly headed blonde man smiled a killer smile.
The man in the bed shook his head and grinned tiredly. “Not much, Justin. What’s going on with you?”
Justin bounded into the room and reached out to shake his friend’s hand.
“Hey guy. I really miss you.” He looked at the dark haired man solemnly. “How much longer do you have to be stuck in this hell-hole?”
“Hopefully not much longer. I can’t get them to take out this damned I.V. They claim my blood work still indicates I haven’t been fully hydrated. What a crock!”
“JC, how many of those bags have they given you since last night?”
“I just finished the second one, Justin. They claim they’re administering it slowly for better results. I think they know that I’m JC Chasez and the nurses are getting their jollies by seeing me down and out, hooked to I.V.'s with my butt sticking out of a hospital gown. Plus to top it off, there’s some spoiled little bitch across the hall bellyaching about hating the color green! I listened to that for nearly thirty minutes. Boy, would I like to smack her just to shut her up!”
Justin looked at his friend surprised. “C, that’s not like you. Why not kiss her into silence?”
“Hey, this is a hospital, Justin. God knows why she’s here. Besides, she’s probably a real dog!”
Both men laughed.
“Wait!” Justin held up a finger. “I’ll go peek. You just wait here.”
“Don’t bother.”
“It’s no bother. Stand by.”
With that, Justin turned and walked out of his friend’s room and headed straight across the hall. He looked inside and saw a petite, pretty brunette lying in the bed, her eyes closed. At first he thought she was asleep. As he turned to leave, Justin thought he heard something. He turned back around and saw the girl wipe her cheeks. He realized she was crying. Silently he retreated across the hall.
“C. I don’t know what you heard earlier, but that girl is no bitch! She’s there, by herself, crying.”
JC seemed surprised. “What?” He was incredulous. “There’s no way!”
“Way, man! I almost went to her, but I didn’t think it was a good idea.”
JC ran his hand through his short, dark brown hair. He shook his head and drew a deep breath. Nothing bothered him more than girls crying.
“She’s really cute, too! Hey man, why don’t you take your portable I.V. there for a walk? Maybe she needs a shoulder to cry on. You aren’t going anywhere anyway.”
JC’s blue eyes met Justin’s blue eyes. “Are you crazy?”
“No. I’m serious. Give it a try, C. One can never have too many friends. Besides, I have to go now. Joey and I are going clubbing and I’ve got to make myself more perfect than I already am!” A toothy grin lit up Justin’s face.
“You’re an egotistical S.O.B. Go on, J. Have fun. I’ll call you later.”
Justin shook hands with his best friend and left the hospital room. JC lay on his bed for a few minutes, silently debating if he should take Justin’s advice. Heaving a deep sigh, JC got off the bed, grabbed the I.V. rack and headed out of his room.
Sniffling could be heard as soon as JC crossed the threshold of Cassandra’s room. For a moment, he just stared at her. Her eyes were closed but the moisture was evident on her cheeks. He brown hair was just a little longer than shoulder length and her body was very petite. Her hands were clenched into fists and grabbing the edge of the blanket to her chest. His brow creased as he studied her.
“Do you need the nurse?” JC heard himself asking.
Cassandra jumped as she opened her eyes, gasped and looked at the intruder. Quickly she released the blanket and wiped her eyes. Fear filled brown eyes met his blue ones.
“Wh, wh, what?” Cassandra managed to stutter.
JC walked closer to the bed. “Do you need the nurse?” He repeated.
“Wh, wh, why?”
He arched an eyebrow. “You were crying. Are you in pain or something?”
“No.” She managed.
“Can I get you something?”
Cassandra’s eyes searched the stranger’s face and then she noticed his hospital gown and portable I.V.
“How can you? You don’t seem to be in any better shape than me.” A weak smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“Well, I don’t mean to correct you, but I’m not in my bed crying.”
A wider smile appeared on her face. “How right you are.” She said.
JC approached the bed and held out his right hand, the one without the I.V. “I’m JC.” He smiled.
A genuine smile brightened Cassandra’s face as she extended her right hand also. “I’m Cassandra. It’s nice to meet you. You look familiar to me. Do I know you from somewhere?”
Unprepared for a confrontation, JC withdrew his hand and cast his beautiful blue eyes downward “You might. I’m not sure. Maybe I’ll be able to explain it later.”
His avoidance bothered her. It lasted only momentarily. His blue eyes looked back up to her, a twinkle visible in them.
“So, do you really hate green that much?” He asked.
Cassandra cocked her head, showing her lack of understanding.
“I overheard your tirade earlier, and now you’re crying. Certainly it can’t just be over the color of your room.”
“You heard me?” Cassandra blushed at the realization of how loud she had been.
“You weren’t terribly quiet about it.” JC raised his eyebrows.
“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to get carried away. It’s just really been a rough 4 weeks. This hospitalization just caps it off. I really just want to go home.” Cassandra felt the tears welling up again.
JC looked around the room and spotted the visitor’s chair on the opposite side of Cassandra’s bed.
“Do you mind if I sit down?”
“No. Go ahead.” Cassandra seemed surprised that this stranger wanted to visit.
He walked around to the chair and sat down. He looked into her brown eyes, seeing tons of pain there. He reached up and took her small hand between his larger hands.
“Why are you here, Cassandra?” He asked softly.
“Dehydration caused by a flu virus. This is my fourth day and I’m just plain fed up. I want to go home!”
“Is someone waiting for you there?” Why did he ask that?
“No. I live with my sister. It’s just that it’s home and it’s where I want to be.”
JC smiled at Cassandra. “I can certainly relate to that. Will your boyfriend come by to help look after you?” He did it again!
“Nope. No boyfriend. I’m a free agent. Have been for a few weeks.” Cassandra felt her lower lip begin to tremble but willed it away, along with the tears and the hurt.
JC noticed, but made no mention of what he saw.
“Have they said when you might go home?”
“Maybe tomorrow. But if not, definitely the next day.”
“That’s not too bad.” JC smiled. “I’m supposed to leave tomorrow or definitely by the next day. Maybe we have the same doctor.”
“Why are you here, JC?”
“Almost the same as you, dehydration and exhaustion. I’m supposed to get lots of rest. Not much else to do here but sleep!” He commented.
“How are you feeling?” Cassandra asked sincerely.
“Truthfully, much better. I’ve really done a lot of sleeping and now if they’d take out this damned I.V., I’d really be all set.”
“I know that. They seem to think that I’m gonna need one more bag of solution. I really just want them to leave me the hell alone!”
“Here, here!”
The ringing of Cassandra’s telephone interrupted their conversation. As Cassandra reached to answer the phone, JC stood up to leave.
“Hey, maybe I’ll catch you later.” He smiled as he came around the bed.
“I’d like that.” She answered as she picked up the phone.
“Hello?” She said into the receiver. “Oh, it’s you. I’m fine, really. Just what is it you want? That’s none of your business. No, not anymore! You took care of that. No, I will not! No, I said! Why don’t you just leave me alone! Haven’t you done enough?” Cassandra slammed down the phone with a loud curse.
Though JC had left the room he had stood outside her doorway and listened to the one sided conversation. The hurt and anger in Cassandra’s voice was extremely evident. JC felt a strong urge to go back into her room to be certain that she was all right. He fought that urge, knowing they had just met moments before. Why did he feel such a strong need to protect her, to be there for her and to hold her? Why, indeed?
