Feeling strangely awkward, Gavil felt compelled to fill the silence. “Why is it your favorite?”
“It has a handsome shape, with a curious trunk and intricate branches, but that’s not why it’s my favorite. Look closely,” she nodded to the tree, her face inches from the window pane. “Do you see the nest? It’s a squirrel’s nest, near the center, toward the top. Do you see the cluster of leaves and twigs? That’s where the little fellow lives.” Her warm breath on the cold window left small white puffs. Gavil resisted the urge to run a finger through the condensation.
“I see it.” Gavil’s sharp blue eyes saw the messy nest right away, but it was the girl he wanted to watch.
She sighed and turned to look up at Gavil, the green of her eyes demanding attention. He couldn’t help but wonder who she really was and what she really wanted from him.
“Can I help you walk around a bit, or are you ready to rest?” Her gentle mannerisms were obvious. Gavil wasn’t accustomed to trusting anyone.
Clenching his jaw momentarily beneath the mask, he narrowed his eyes and asked, “Why did Williams send you?”
“Oh, he wanted me to tell you he’s looking forward to speaking with you as soon as you feel up to it,” she shrugged.
“That’s it?”
“That was the message,” Esther’s green eyes were large with innocence. “So, walk or rest?” she prodded.
Afraid he was too weak to walk around with this girl watching, probably waiting for him to make fool of himself, he turned and motioned for the bed. Esther nodded discreetly and grabbed the oxygen tank to help him back to bed.
Gavil, not ordinarily self-conscious, was worried about what he must look like to this red-headed beauty. He must look weak with his black eyes, cuts, bruises and stitches, all wrapped in a dumb ass hospital gown wrapper. At least he had managed to put on a pair of loose boxers this morning so he wasn’t mooning her when leaned over the bed to steady his wobbly legs.
Once he was seated, Esther carefully adjusted Gavil’s pillows until she believed them to be just right, and then draped a warm blanket over his legs. All the while she made small talk about the weather, the hospital food and even the squirrel in the tree outside. Her hands kept busy, straightening small items around the room at first. Then she filled a glass with ice water, slipped a straw into the cup and thoughtfully held it still at his lips so he could sip.
Gavil was mesmerized by her graceful movements, so different from his own gruff ways. Her voice was soothing, her words cheerful and light-hearted. Everything about her was the exact opposite of himself. His crystal blue eyes watched her wearily as she flitted from one task to another, afraid to say anything in case it came out wrong and scared her away.
“Do you know about me?” he finally blurted.
Esther stopped talking, turned and looked curiously at the battered metasoldier staring back at her.
“I know your name and meta number, and that you were in a Retribution Match recently.” She smiled coyly, “I also know of your injuries because I glanced over your medical chart before coming to your room.”
“Were you there? At the match?” Gavil’s pride flinched as he waited for her response.
“No, I don’t usually leave my assignment. Dr. Williams asked me to step away from it for awhile just now so he could tend to business, but usually I’m there.”
“What is your assignment?” Gavil couldn’t imagine a duty that would occupy so much of one soldier’s time.
The girl glanced down at her hands, showing uncertainty for the first time since she walked into Gavil’s recovery room. “It’s not something I’m supposed to discuss.”
Esther didn’t miss the frown forming in the handsome, though bruised, face of the soldier.
“Oh, don’t look so worried,” she soothed. “I just take care of someone.”
“Are you a nurse?”
“I am trained to be a nurse, yes, but that’s not my only duty in this assignment.”
“You said you take care of someone—only one person?”
“Yes.”
“Here at the compound?”
“Yes.”
“Who?”
“I can’t say.”
“Do you know anything about the Match I fought?”
“No, should I?”
“No.”
Esther nodded, absolutely accepting Gavil’s words without further question. He watched as she walked back to the chair she’d moved to the window and brought it back to his bedside. She sat gracefully in it, folding her hands in her lap.
“Why have I never seen you before?”
“I live with my assignment, take my meals there and exercise there…like I said, I don’t leave my assignment very often at all. To be honest, I was surprised Dr. Williams asked me to step away today, but—” Esther’s slender legs moved to cross, slipping comfortably into position, as though she sat like this often.
“Am I allowed to ask where your assignment is located?”
Esther thought for a moment before answering in a whisper, “I’m here. In the basement of this building.”