When I Knew You Read Online Free PDF Page B

hallways. My hospital room was strangely empty, and I was grateful to drift off to sleep without questions or searching looks.  
    It was dark when I woke up, and I was still alone. I looked around and realized that something about the room was different. The Mylar balloons were still on the window sill, twisting in the persistent mechanical breeze, but Abuela's knitting bag, my mother's sweater, and even Margie's Border Walk 5k sport bottle, they were all gone.  
    Including the bright pink shoebox.  
    I got up, ignoring the nausea that rose from the pit of my stomach, reminding me that I shouldn't move fast unless I wanted a reunion with lunch. I swallowed hard, then searched every drawer, but the only things there were the change of clothes Abuela had brought.  
    A pale skinned nurse with pastel fuzzy bears on her scrubs rushed into the room. "What are you doing? You need to lie down!"
    "Where did they go? Where's my family?"
    She gave me that look, the one reserved for crazy people. I knew it well, I'd certainly seen it directed at my mother by enough nurses.  
    "I don't know what you're talking about," she said, trying to guide me back to the bed. "Let's get you in bed."
    I stood my ground. "I'm talking about my mother and Abuela," I said irritably. "They were just here."
    She gave me an accommodating nod. They must all learn that nod at nursing school. The "yes, I can see you're upset; just relax and I'll get you some pretty little blue pills" nod.  
    "I'm sure they'll be right back." She fluffed the pillows as if by making the bed more attractive I'd be more likely to cooperate. "They met with an older gentleman, I'm sure they went to have lunch."
    "An older gentleman?" I wondered if it was Mr. Calderon. But he wasn't that old, he only looked a few years older than Antonia, mid-40s. "How old?"  
    She straightened the covers, then came around my side, effectively blocking the door. It struck me that she had practice in this particular strategy. "I'd guess around late 60s, maybe 70? Nice guy." She checked the chart near the door, then hung it back on the hook and gestured to the bed. "Now, let's get you back into bed, and I'll find out where they went, okay?"
    I glanced out the door and spotted a security guard there, looking at me with some concern.  
    "Okay," I said, allowing myself to be put back in bed. She walked out, assuring me she'd check into what had happened.
    I tried to convince myself they'd just decided to go back to the hotel early, and since I was doing better, relieved that they didn't need to stay in the room for a change. But I couldn't get rid of the nauseous feeling in my stomach. It was starting to feel a lot like dread.
    Would they have left me here? I couldn't believe it. Abuela and Antonia were overprotective to a fault. Still, I knew Mom in her current state would do whatever Abuela said. But why now? Did they take the tapes? What happened to Margie? All I had were questions, questions I chased into a dark sleep where I dreamed of being alone in a room with dozens of doors, none of which would open.

    I woke up as the nurse's assistant wheeled in her blood pressure machine. She hadn't seen my family all night but said there was someone here to see me. She said to give her a buzz when I was ready.
    "Who is it?"
    She shrugged. "I just got the message. And it looks like you'll be going home today," she said. She clicked her pen and wrote on her chart. "Do you have someone who can drive you home?"
    "I'm not sure, actually."  
    She frowned and told me they'd insist I have a ride home.
    Seemed reasonable, particularly since my car probably looked like a wadded up tissue in a junkyard somewhere. I couldn't believe that Abuela had actually left for more than a good night's sleep. A shadow in the back of my mind hinted at something else.
    I cleaned up as best I could and hit the call button. When my visitor walked in the room, though, I wished I hadn't.  
    "Eliah?"
    He laughed nervously, his big