Devoured by - (ebook reader browser .txt) 📖

“No idea.”

“Did she get hit by a car too?”

“Nope—you pushed her clear. Crazy ass kept on walking as if nothing happened.”

Lance moved to throw the sheet covering his torso off, but stopped when he felt the ache in his side. “Damn, my ribs are sore. Did they pick up the woman? Is she in the hospital?”

“I think so. I’ve been sitting here the whole time though, not checking on her.”

Lance wondered if he could find out what was wrong with her later. Doctors weren’t allowed to discuss patient’s information with other people, but he hoped he could do some sneaky eavesdropping. Even now, as pain reverberated up and down his body, he couldn’t help but speculate about her condition.

She looked like death walking around Pittsburgh.

Don glanced at his watch. Looked like a Rolex. “Well, buddy, I better be going.”

Fighting through the stiffness in his side, Lance swung his legs over the side of the bed so he could face Don. He stuck out his hand. “Thanks, Don. Keep in touch, will ya?”

Don hesitated a moment before finishing the handshake. “You’re welcome. Sorry again.”

“It’s no big deal. Stop apologizing for something that didn’t even happen.” Lance didn’t understand why he felt so sorry over something of such low consequence.

“Well, I—”

“Hi, Lance.”

Liz stood in the doorway, silhouetted by the bright lights of the hall. She stepped inside, her gait tense and stilted.

“What are you doing here?” Lance asked. “That came out harsh. I’m just surprised to see you.”

“I’m still listed as your emergency contact.”

“Oh.” It had never occurred to Lance to change that. Going through a divorce was hard enough without dealing with little details like that. He raged at himself for not making the adjustment. Now he’d have to argue with her while saddled in bed with an achy body.

Don’s head swiveled back and forth between the splitting couple. “Guess I should skedaddle. See ya, buddy.” He walked past Liz and they shared a glance. “Nice seeing you, Liz.”

“You too, Don.” She stepped further into the room after Don cleared the doorway, dropping her purse into the chair. She wore jeans and a tank top that showed off her well-maintained body. Her brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail, rather than laying against her shoulders as usual. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a car.”

Liz stared at him. “That’s not funny.”

“Well, excuse me for wanting to cut through the tension with a little joke.”

“There’s nothing to joke about.”

Lance sighed. He could vaguely remember a time when she found him funny. It was one of the few personality traits he had that people found endearing. He’d given up on humor somewhere between being lonely and depressed. Why it decided to make a comeback lately, he didn’t know.

Just to piss her off probably.

This conversation felt like so many others they had over the past few years. Round and round they went. After a bout of condescension, Liz would move to anger and then shaming. Lance would then crack wise and blow her off, all while feeling terrible about himself.

“OK, fine. I hurt too much to argue right now.”

“Care to tell me how you were hit by a car?” Liz crossed her arms over her chest. Lance knew right away that she’d already shut herself off to him. Crossed arms were her tell, always had been.

“Someone told me to play in traffic. People have been telling me that my whole life, so I figured why not try it just this once. Turns out it isn’t so much fun.”

“Why do you have to be such an asshole?”

“Why do you have to interrogate me after I just saved a woman’s life? Or I at least saved her from the pain I’m in right now.” Lance really didn’t want to argue with her, but she had an uncanny ability to get his dander up. If she were a member of the X-Men, her power would be chapping his ass.

Liz glowered at him, not speaking for a while. A staring match commenced, like two children trying to see who would blink first. Lance always lost these and this time would be no exception.

“Are you finished?” Liz asked finally.

Lance stayed silent, his anger building. If something didn’t change in the next few seconds, an all-out screaming match would commence.

“Good,” she said. “Now, what do you mean you saved a woman’s life?”

“A sick woman almost got ran over, so I jumped into the street and pushed her out of the way.”

Her face softened as she took in what he said, frown easing, eyes rounding. “A sick woman?”

“Yeah. Delusional or drugged out—something like that. Doesn’t matter anyway.”

“If you say so.”

“Look, I can handle it from here on out. There’s no reason for you to hang around. Thanks for coming though. I really do appreciate it.”

Liz moved her purse from the chair to the floor and sat down, ignoring Lance’s invitation to leave. “How did the interview go?”

“Christ, Liz.” Lance eased back into the bed. “Why do you do this to me?”

“It went that well, huh?”

Lance’s mouth opened and closed several times as he tried to decide the best way to respond. His inability to hold a job over the past few years was a huge point of contention between them. The more he tried to find employment, the worse it seemed to go for him. And that only pissed off Liz even more.

She’d grown up much wealthier than Lance. Her father owned a construction company out of Philadelphia and her mother held a corporate job with the Eagles. Neither of her parents were enthusiastic about Lance seeing their daughter, and they almost went nuclear when he announced his intentions to propose.

They knew, even then, that Lance would never acquire the kind of lifestyle that Liz and her parents were accustomed to. The fight between the three of them the day of the wedding was brutal and the fallout remained. They saw her parents on the holidays and talked on the phone every once in a while, but an enormous emotional chasm lay between them.

When Lance lost his first job due to corporate downsizing, it planted the seeds of their marital downfall. He’d promised to take care of Liz financially and emotionally and he failed at both. Losing most of his confidence after a second layoff blunted their relationship, to say the least.

Though she’d remained patient with him through the turmoil of his career, Liz struggled with the new shape of their marriage. As much as Lance doubted himself nowadays, he knew that she had lost even more faith in him.

The shame that accompanied that feeling only worsened the downward spiral. She once saw him as an achiever and a hero for having paid his way through college, but now she looked at him like an anchor hanging around her neck. In all honesty, he couldn’t blame her for seeing things that way.

The never-ending cycle of joblessness and the accompanying emasculation put Lance in a funk that he forever struggled to climb out of.

Divorce proceedings started almost a year ago.

Lance couldn’t prove it, but he was almost convinced that she’d been seeing someone else on the side for the better part of six months. Maybe longer. He just had that feeling sometimes when the phone rang, or if she stayed out late with friends.

“They’re looking for programmers, not old hats like me. Same as everyone else.” Lance ran his hands through his hair, grimacing at the lump he found on the crown of his head.

“I told you to go back to school or get a certification or something, but you never did listen to anything I said.”

“Go back to school with what fucking money? We’re broke, remember?”

A doctor jogged past the open door, a stethoscope bouncing against his chest.

“You’re broke. I’m doing just fine.” Liz’s tone grew angrier by the second. Lance knew they’d be at DEFCON 1 within a minute or two.

“Using your father’s money to buy food doesn’t constitute doing just fine. Listen, I have a helluva headache right now. Can we save this for later?”

“Everything is always later with you.”

He grunted. “Did the doctor’s tell you about what happened to me? Is anything broke or punctured?”

She lifted her purse from the floor and stood up, putting the strap over her shoulder. “Just some scrapes and bruises. Nothing major considering what happened.”

“Good. The last thing I need is a large medical bill.” Lance’s insurance lapsed several months ago and he wasn’t sure how he would pay for the minor hospital stay he’d already had.

She turned to the door before stopping and looking back at him. “Please take me off any other lists that I might be on. Insurance, loans, whatever.”

“I will.”

“Bye, Lance.”

“Hey, Liz? Thanks for coming. Really. I know you didn’t have to.”

She stood at the doorway, watching him for a moment, her eyes unforgiving. “You’re welcome.”

Two more doctors ran by the door.

Shouts came from down the hall.

Lance sat up again, trying to see around Liz. “What’s going on out there?”

She stuck her head through the open doorway, peering to the left.