LITTLE GIRL LOST by SARAH BETH LEE (bill gates books to read TXT) 📖

that Veronica was of no relation to her at all and Nate was Nick’s little brother. She was still having trouble comprehending the fact that Veronica wasn’t her mother much less how all this would affect Nick. As the doors slid open Hannah whispered his name out loud. She sighed at the sound of his name flowing from her parted lips. She felt the overwhelming need to find him and it had absolutely nothing to do with her unrequited love for her dream of him. No it was the simple fact that she wanted to tell him that he wasn’t alone that he had a brother.

She could relate to how that might make him feel like a feather in a windstorm, swimming in uncertainty and questions. She knew the dynamics of her life had changed over the course of a few hours and four little words ‘Maddie’s your twin sister. That knowledge had changed everything she had ever thought about herself and who she had mistakenly thought she was.

She stepped out of the elevator without any thought of what she was doing. She walked the short distance to the end of the hall and mechanically unlocked her door. She tossed her keys on the entryway table as her feet moved by habit toward the couch. She unbuttoned her coat dropping it on the arm of the recliner as she sunk down in the cushions of the sectional. Hannah glanced at the clock as she kicked off her shoes before resting his heels on the coffee table. She glanced at the clock and wondered what to do at 7p.m on Thanksgiving night. She listlessly grabbed the remote and began to flip the channels. Earnest Saves Christmas, miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Carol and Home Alone. She laughed ironically at that one for it was the story of her life. Since her father’s death she could be found home alone on any given night. She rested her head on the back of the couch and groaned at how pathetic her life really was.

She was pulled out of her jumbled thoughts by the shrill ringing of the phone reverberating off the walls of her quiet apartment. She sat up and grabbed the phone with a breathless “Hello.”

She smiled as Maddie’s frantic voice coursed over the line. “H are you okay? I mean seriously you probably shouldn’t be alone.”

“Mad, calm down I’m fine.”

Maddie could hear the strain of the day in her small quiet voice. She was afraid Hannah might be suffering from shock. She was sure that the stress of the day might be or soon would be wrecking havoc on her blood sugars.

“Hannah I really don’t think you need to be alone. I saw you collapse at Mom’s and I don’t want that to happen with you all alone. Have you checked your blood sugar since you got home?”

“Maddie I just walked in the door. Hold on I’ll check it now.”

Maddie tapped her foot impatiently as Hannah put her on speaker phone and walked her through what she was doing. “Ok I am inserting the test strip now. “

Maddie could hear the beep as the strip loaded. “Hannah stop playing and jab your finger already.”

Hannah laughed as she dabbed the strip with a dot of blood. She watched the screen countdown until the results flashed on the screen 158. “Maddie its 158 which isn’t that bad considering the pecan pie I ate before I left your mom’s house.”

Maddie wasn’t happy with the numbers. “Our mom’s house and that means that your numbers are dropping fast so I don’t like the idea of you being alone. I’m putting on my shoes and I’ll be there in an hour.”
Hannah heard the concern in Maddie’s voice flowing around her. She knew Maddie meant well but she honestly just wanted to be left alone to deal with her runaway thoughts.

“Mad I’m tired and really just need some alone time. I promise to check my blood sugars at least once every hour unless I feel weak or shaky. Besides we’re still going shopping tomorrow so I’ll see you bright and early in the wee small hours before dawn.”

Maddie laughed at the dry humor she heard in Hannah’s voice. “Are you sure you’re okay? I can be there in an hour.”

Hannah heard a knock on her door as she pushed herself up off the couch she chided Maddie. “Mad, is this a joke? Are you talking to me from the hall outside my door?”

Maddie heard the concern in Hannah’s voice. “H I’m still at Mom’s so I am absolutely not at your door.”

Hannah laughed sure that when she opened the door that Maddie would be standing there with what was left of the pecan pie and diet coke. “Sure Mad, I’m opening the door now…”

“Hannah it’s not me.”

Hannah removed the chain and pulled the door open expecting to see Maddie grinning back at her but all she saw was a Christmas tree with legs. She stepped back inside the door and whispered in to the phone. “Maddie there’s a walking Christmas tree outside my door please tell me it’s you.”

“Sorry Hannah it’s not me but don’t hang up until you know who it is.”

Hannah held the phone tightly in her hand and peered around the tree trying to see who it was. “Excuse me but I think maybe you have the wrong apartment.”

Hannah watched as the tree moved. “This is Ms Hannah Roberts apartment isn’t it?”

“Yes but I didn’t order a Christmas tree so I really think you have the wrong apartment.”

“Look lady I took the order and it’s my job to delivery it so what you do with it is up to you. So where do you want it?”

Hannah stepped to the side and motioned for him to step inside. “This way put it over by the window.” Hannah whispered into the phone. “Mad don’t hang up in case this guy tries to kill me.”

Maddie gave a shaky laugh, “I’m right here H.”

Hannah watched as the guy placed the tree by the window and plugged in the lights that had already been pre-strung on the branches. She wondered what he looked like from the sound of his low sexy voice he was probably one of those drop dead gorgeous guys who knew it. She paced the area behind the couch and watched as he straightened to his full height of about 6’1 and rather thin if Hannah had to guess she would say he weighed around 170lbs she thought his butt was very nice but wondered what he looked like. She was rather appalled at herself for fantasizing about some delivery guy what was wrong with her? She leaned against the back of the couch and closed her eyes. She knew she was trying to find some sense of normalcy, anything really to take her mind off of everything that was going on in her life.

Hannah felt a soft touch on her arm along with a million tiny sensations coursing through her body. She gasped at the feel of his skin gently touching hers. She shivered and drew in a deep breath before opening her eyes to see the most incredible blue eyes gazing down at her face. Everything around her seemed to blur and the sound of Maddie’s frantic voice dimmed as her head began to swim. She held the phone tightly to her ear as she breathed her voice barely above a whisper. “Oh my God.”

The last thought that ran through her mind before the darkness consumed her was if it was possible to drown in eyes that were as blue as the ocean.

Nick caught Hannah before she hit the floor. He picked all 119lbs of her up and carried her to the couch. He could hear the voice shrieking on the phone that lay on the floor and he walked back to grab it. He knew it was none other than Madeline Jacobs his shrink because he had heard Hannah call her Mad. He wasn’t sure what to say to her but he had to ease her worries.

“Dr. Jacobs?”

He spoke her name questioningly in case he was wrong. He smiled as he heard a sigh of relief on the other end of the line. “Yes this is Madeline Jacobs but who may I ask is this and what the hell happened to Hannah?”

Nick smiled at the concern he heard in her confused words. “Calm down Doc she’s fine. I think she fainted I laid her on the couch. I guess seeing me was a shock.”

Maddie had calmed down enough to recognize the voice of Nicholas O’Brien and she feared that Hannah was most definitely in shock now.

“Nick what are you doing at Hannah’s apartment with a Christmas tree?”

He chuckled at her reaction to his sudden appearance. “I wanted to surprise Hannah and honestly I’ve waited my whole life to meet her so I was tired of waiting. I suppose maybe this wasn’t my smartest attempt at meeting a woman.”

Maddie would have laughed but she was more concerned about Hannah’s well being than about Nick’s attempts at a love life. “Look Nick I would love to hear the story of your life but right now I need you to do me a favor. Hannah’s had a long and stressful day so I am concerned about her blood sugar.”

Nick grew still as Maddie’s words registered in his fuzzy brain. “Hannah’s diabetic?”

“Yes she is and she’s already had one incident today of hypoglycemia so I need you to check her blood sugar.”

Nick ran his sweat slick palms over his jean clad legs. “Ok I know how to do that where will I find her kit?”

Maddie was sure that Hannah would have had it close at hand. “Look on the coffee table for a small black case, everything you need is in there.”

As Maddie talked softly in his ear his eyes were scanning the room until he saw the kit on the end table. He grabbed it and unzipped the case to remove the meter, the lancet, a test strip and an alcohol swab. He kept his hands steady as he swabbed her finger and gently rubbed it to make the blood flow to the end of her finger. He then pushed the button lancing the skin until he saw the tiny drop of blood. He dabbed it on the test strip and waited as it counted down. He held his breathing praying the numbers would be okay although he was skeptical since she never flinched as he pricked her finger.

“Doc it says its 33 I need to call an ambulance.”

“Nick calm down. I need you to stay calm and do exactly what I say.”

“Ok what do can I do?”

“Go to the kitchen it’s the door to the left of the couch.”

Nick walked to the door and hurried inside. “OK now what?”

“Walk to the cabinet above the sink and look for a red plastic case with an unbroken seal.”

Nick jerked the door open and saw the red case he picked it up