Challenge Accepted
draft 1
When she arrived in his room to begin her shift, he was propped a little higher, a laptop on his rolling table, typing away at a reasonable speed. His drug doses had been lowered again, she noticed, and he seemed quite sober, focusing intently on his screen.
Amy strode over and began to take her readings. James let his right arm go limp so she could secure the blood pressure cuff, but continued to type with his left. The intern couldn't help but glance up at the screen. It was a bank site, and he was just finishing adding zeroes to the six in the transfer amount box. Then with a resolute smack, he landed his index on the enter key.
Sixty grand. He hadn't been joking. Amy realized with a sudden jump of her heart that she was sixty grand up. No more cutting back on groceries to make sure she could pay her rent. No more scraping the bottom of her bank account every time fees were due. No more re-used binders. She could afford her car payments now. No more waiting in the cold for the bus. Sixty grand.
The gently tap of the laptop lid closing roused her from her thoughts. James was leaning back, rubbing his eyes as he readjusted to the dim lights of his room, looking tired once again as the focus drained fro his expression.
Amy wasn't sure what to say... this man had just paid for her schooling, and as much as she knew sixty thousand dollars was probably pocket change to him, it still meant a lot. This changed... everything. Her lifestyle, her future... "Where did you get that?" she found herself demanding instead, pointing an accusatory finger as his laptop.
"Bought it," he replied quietly.
"Yes, how." You're literally stuck in a bed. Maybe even chained to it, if you want to think of traction as such a thing. How the Hell did you buy a laptop.
"Borrowed a phone and ordered it," James lifted his credit card from his lap and gave it a little halfhearted wave. But there was the soft glow of victory in his stare as he turned his head to look at her. "Had it delivered." He had won. He had literally bought himself a companion. Well, as much of a companion as Amy would make.
Yes, of course. Amy pulled her steel medical table around to his leg and started opening her equipment, getting clean, and pulling on her gloves to begin the process of cleaning all his pins. She snapped the latex and glanced at James to find his exhausted green eyes staring at the mess of his leg, drained of all color, preparing himself for the procedure he was about to endure.
So Amy began, her touch softening without her even realizing it. With more gentleness than she had ever utilized during this procedure, she began to clean each site carefully and slowly. James was starting to look green, opening his mouth and closing it several times as if he wanted to ask a question or comment about his discomfort, though his medication should be handling enough of the pain to make it durable at least.
Finally, James piped up. "I bought a board game too," he offered, his voice desperate and apologetic as he searched for a conversation topic, trying to keep himself distracted.
His conversational skills are as bad as mine, maybe even worse, Amy thought. I hope he doesn't expect me to play board games with him.
But for sixty grand, could she really turn him down? Did he know that, or was he just that lonely and bored. Yes, perhaps he was, Amy noted from the evidence his expression offered her. And his reply. "It's chess. I've only played a it a couple of times... I thought maybe... maybe it might be fun to... to learn how to play again."
Hell, chess. I'm rubbish at chess. At least he's drugged enough that I should be able to beat him, Amy growled to herself. "Fine," was her reply. "But if you're going to make me play chess with you, we have to take turns. I'll bring a pack of cards and teach you how to play Cheat." Hah, if you're going to make me play board games with you Mr. Hunter, I will not allow you to force me to suffer through my least favorite every time. I bet my career I can beat you at Cheat.
Regardless of Amy's demand, James brightened, his whole face illuminating. He nodded enthusiastically in agreement. Oh honey, you have no idea what you're in for. Amy would totally kick him to Armageddon with her Cheat skills. And James' face had so far proven to be honest, which would work to her advantage. He was going to lose so badly.
"Do you have cards you can bring?" James asked.
"I've got enough cards to build a house," Amy replied with the makings of a sly grin. This might not be so bad after all.