Destined for Disaster ✔️

Chapter 13

"You're awake!" Carry burst through the infirmary doors with all her usual enthusiasm, murdering the peaceful silence.

"And you're loud," Ridge said from where he was taking stock on the other side of the room.

Ryleigh looked up from where she was, very slowly, eating a bowl of soup. Her hands shook so badly that every time she brought the spoon to her lips, she lost half of the contents before she reached her mouth. Ridge, however, insisted she eat it all so she had been working on that long enough for it to have grown cold.

"How are you?" Carry asked, ignoring Ridge and approaching Ryleigh's bed.

Ryleigh regarded her silently, as if she was still making up her mind whether she wanted to talk to her or not.

"She's doing better," Ridge said. "Sleeps a lot, talks little. Won't tell me her name."

"Well, at least she talks to you," Carry said. "That's more than the rest of us can say." She grabbed a chair and placed it beside Ryleigh's bed. "Won't you talk to me? I'm very nice, you know. Great conversationalist."

"You give yourself too much credit," Ridge said.

"I'm a better conversationalist than Ridge, in any case," she said. "Grumpy old man, that."

"I'm not old."

"Ah, hear how he doesn't deny the 'grumpy'? I'm much more entertaining. Ridge is just always muttering to himself. I articulate clearly. So, what's your name?"

Ryleigh brought another spoonful of soup to her lips, still watching Carry.

"Alright, I see how it is. Fine, I'll guess. Uh, Marcy?"

Ridge raised a brow at her. "Really?"

"Could be. No? Fine. How about Julia? No. That doesn't feel right. Sadie? Lisa? Danielle?"

Ryleigh merely looked at Ridge, as if to ask, Who let the lunatic in?

Carry threw her hands up. "Fine, I give up. You win. Keep your secrets." She sat back in her chair and glanced around. "Has Austin visited yet?"

"He came by this morning when you were at school," Ridge said, when Ryleigh didn't.

"O! So you guys talked?" Carry leant forwards.

"He did," Ridge said. "Miss Mystery here is a queen of silence. Didn't say a word to him."

"That must have annoyed him."

Ryleigh chuckled, which her lungs didn't like, so she ended up having another coughing spree. She managed just in time to put her bowl on the table beside her and pressed a piece of cloth against her mouth.

"Still bringing up silver?" Ridge asked when she was done.

"No," she said, scrunching up the fabric and keeping it out of his line of sight.

"Very convincing. You need more rest."

She rolled her eyes, sinking a little deeper into her pillows. "All I do is rest. I'm bored."

"You know what would cure your boredom?" Carry said. "Talking to your mate." She pulled up one leg, resting her chin on top of it. "You know, it's not very nice not to talk to Austin."

"It's not very nice to keep me prisoner either," Ryleigh said, so fervently that she coughed again, her body shaking at the effort.

"That's not his fault," Carry said. "No offense, but you're a criminal. And not one with model behaviour either. Conall said you went feral a couple days ago. You could have hurt someone."