Read Online Hushed by Kelley York - Free Book Online Page B

on his own was hardly stressful. If anything, he felt a weight had been lifted off of him. College was nothing more than white noise in his life. “Is there something I can do to make it stop?” Any time Vivian crossed his mind, either the anger or the pain or the betrayal sent little tremors through every inch of his body. It was worst in his hands and shoulders.
    “I could prescribe you some anti-anxiety medication.” Dr. Romero pursed her lips. “You take it on an as-needed basis. But it isn’t a long-term solution, Archer. If something’s bothering you enough that it’s affecting your physical health, we really ought to take a look at it.”
    There’s nothing you can do for it.
    He lowered his lashes. Doping up on pills to feel good wouldn’t ultimately cure anything and made him no better than Brody. But, to appease his doctor he said, “There’s a psych on campus I can talk to.” He wouldn’t, but if it kept her from nagging at him…
    Romero gave him a pointed look. “I’ll call a prescription down to the pharmacy for you. Have you talked to your mom about this?”
    Archer could have laughed. His mother hadn’t called him once since he moved out a few months back. She paid his rent because it kept him away from her. If she could’ve talked him into going to a school more than an hour away, she would have. He slid off of the exam table and gathered his coat. “No. I haven’t seen her much lately.”
    “That’s too bad.” Romero bent over his charts, scribbling a few things down. “I’ve seen her a few times in the last week or so. She’s been here visiting Mrs. Hilton.”
    Archer paused. Mrs. Hilton, Vivian’s mother. “Marissa’s here?”
    The doctor lifted her head. “Well, yes. She was admitted last week. Didn’t Vivian tell you?”
    Vivian’s mother had been more of a mom to Archer than his own ever had. Not that it took much.
    His jaw clenched. “Must have slipped her mind.”
    “Maybe you ought to go say hello. Other than your mom, she doesn’t get many visitors.” Dr. Romero closed her folder and offered a hint of a smile. “Go on, get out of here. Your medicine ought to be ready in twenty.”
    Archer thanked her and left, heading across the building for the patient rooms.
    Marissa had been sick for years, lupus tearing apart her kidneys. It seemed she was never important enough to move up in the transplant list. Brody had been the only possible donor in her family, but his drug and alcohol use tossed his candidacy out the window. So much for doctors’ initial optimistic outlooks on her condition. She only seemed to be getting worse.
    Her room smelled of cotton, sterile disinfectant and roses, probably compliments of Vivian. Marissa looked tired in her bed, gazing at the television with little interest. Archer lingered in the doorway until she noticed him. Instantly, her face lit up, and she waved him in with a smile.
    “Hey, honey. This is a surprise.”
    She looked and sounded so much like Vivian it hurt and soothed all at the same time. He hunched his shoulders and shuffled over to the bed. “If I’d known you were here, I would’ve come sooner.”
    “No sense in making the drive all the way out here, I’m fine.” She took one of his hands and gave it a squeeze. Funny, she didn’t look fine. “Your mom’s been here plenty to keep me company and Vivi comes when she can.”
    “With Mickey?” He couldn’t help but ask, a steel edge to his words.
    “Nah, still haven’t even met him.” She sniffed indignantly. “Which means he’s probably terrible for her. She never wants to introduce me to the really bad ones. He is bad, isn’t he?”
    He didn’t know how to answer that. Would assuring her Mick was good for Vivian be a bad idea? Should he say she was happy? Or should he tell her how she hid at his apartment while waiting for her locks to be changed because she was too afraid Mick would come for her?
    Archer looked at her, helpless. She sighed and patted his