The Nurse by Amy Cross Page B

that my sunglasses are still in place. The last thing I want is for him to see my scars. “I'm kind of getting used to the whole blind thing now, or at least that's what I've been telling myself. To be honest, though, I don't think I'll ever get it figured out, not entirely. And I'm still hoping that some day there'll be these implants or something, some way for me to...”
    I pause as I realize that I'm opening up way too much.
    “Rachel?” Mum calls out. “What are you doing?”
    “I should go inside,” I tell Aidan. “She's not going to stop.”
    I start getting to my feet, and after a moment I feel Aidan's hands on my arms, as if he's trying to help.
    “I know this is probably completely dumb,” I continue, taking a moment to steady my balance, “and I'm being way out of line, but... Do you want to hang out some time?”
    “Hang out?”
    “Like, I know there's not much I can do, but we could...”
    I wait for him to come up with a suggestion, but all I hear is an awkward silence.
    “I'm pretty busy,” he says finally. “I have a part-time job, and I study a lot...”
    “Totally,” I reply, suddenly feeling like the world's biggest idiot. “It was just a thought.”
    “I'm also fixing up my bike,” he continues, “and that takes a lot of time, plus I -”
    “You don't have to explain,” I tell him, hoping to just end this awkward encounter as quickly as possible. “Thanks for taking the time to read up on the house's history, though. That was very nice of you.”
    “It was nothing.”
    Turning, I fumble for the wall as I make my way along the porch.
    “Do you need help?” he asks.
    “Definitely not,” I reply. “Thanks again. Maybe see you around!”
    “I'll leave the print-outs in case you want to read them,” he adds. “Or... Well, not read them, but maybe...”
    “Thanks,” I say again, as I head inside. “Good luck with the bike! Have a nice day!”
    “Was that you I heard playing the piano the other night?”
    I pause for a moment. “Um... Yeah. Maybe.”
    “It sounded good. Out of tune, but good.”
    I mumble something about not knowing what I'm doing, but for some reason I'm almost panicking right now.
    As soon as I'm through the door, I lean back against the wall and take a slow, deep breath. I can already hear Aidan walking away, and a rush of relief floods my body. I think that must have been the most awkward encounter in the history of human existence. He'll probably go off and tell all his friends about this pathetic blind girl who tried to hang out with him, and they'll all laugh about me being some kind of naive idiot. I'm sure they'll really get a kick out it all when he mentions that I felt his face like some corny TV movie character.
    “Stupid,” I whisper. “So goddamn stupid.”

Chapter Twenty-Two
     
    Alice - Twenty years ago
     
    “What if you don't come back tomorrow?” Father asks as I drop the used syringe into a plastic bag. “What if they just decide to lock you up for killing that boy? Will I be left here to rot?”
    “It's a review hearing,” I reply, feeling a flutter of fear in my chest. “Their job is to make a recommendation based on -”
    “So they're the ones who'll tell the cops to arrest you for murder?”
    I flinch as soon as I hear that word.
    “Or whatever they call it,” he continues. “Manslaughter? Is that how they describe gross incompetence these days? I don't suppose it matters much, the poor little boy's dead anyway. And all because you couldn't be bothered to give him the right pills.”
    “The review hearing will -”
    “They'll throw the book at you,” he sneers, “and rightly so. I hope you don't come back, I hope they take you away in chains.” He sniffs as he tries to sit up, although he quickly lets out a gasp of pain. “You're a terrible nurse. You don't have the mind for it. You're too floaty and easily distracted. I knew it right from the start, right from the day you said you were going to train for it, but