Toby McIntyre (squirrelly) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2013-06-11 23:28:00 |
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Normally, when Toby headed into town, he was all too happy to borrow T.J.’s bike or, if his friend wanted to come along, ride in the front basket as a squirrel to save space. But today was not a day for a bicycle. Sometime in the early A.M. – which in reality was a little while after 10, though that might as well have been 5 A.M. to Toby – he had gotten a call from the hospital. Even though he was certain that no one would ever use him as an emergency contact, his first thought was that something had happened to one of his siblings. Only, it wasn’t a member of his family who needed him – at least not his blood family. As soon as he heard that Emyli Parker had given the nurse his number, he was up and scrambling for money and the number of a cab service. He told T.J. all he knew, that Emyli was in the hospital, and bolted out the door to wait for the car to arrive.
Even being freshly baked, Toby was a ball of nerves the entire drive. He was constantly drumming his fingers against the glass partition separating the backseat from the front, despite the obvious aggravation it caused the driver. “Does this thing go any faster? I mean I know it does, but do I have to pay you more to drive faster?” He was met only with silence. When the cab finally pulled up to the hospital, Toby already had one foot out the door before the vehicle came to a complete stop. There was a yell behind him and he barely spared a second to turn around and throw the wad of cash at the driver. He was running – yes, actually running – into the lobby and up the reception desk. The women on the other side of the desk didn’t seem to be paying much attention to him, at least none past the sideways glances of annoyance as he bounced his knuckles rhythmically on the hard surface.
Finally, one of them approached him. “Sir, is there something I can help you with?” In all of his rush to get out the door, Toby had completely forgotten to change out of his pajamas. His uncombed hair paired with baggy PJ pants and an over-sized shirt certainly must have made him look homeless, and his jittering didn’t make him seem any less crazy. He had never cared what others thought of his appearance anyway, and he cared even less now when someone important to him was in trouble.
“Yeah, actually. Emyli Parker? She’s here and they called me. But they didn’t tell me what room she’s in. And I need to see her. So if you could tell me where she’s staying, that would be great. Really great.” He took a breath before adding, “Could you tell me what she’s here for too?”
As Toby rode the elevator up to the floor where they had but Emyli, he was experiencing a flurry of conflicting emotions. The girl was practically Toby’s twin in the way she lived her life and if anyone knew how dangerous that could be, he did. Of course, he had the benefit of being both male and having the increased healing speed of a were. Emyli, on the other hand, couldn’t afford a lot of the risks she took. He was relieved that she wasn’t here after OD’ing on the drugs that he had given her. He was also more than a little freaked. Toby didn’t know who had stabbed Emyli, but he did know that he wanted to strangle them.
Instead of just walking into the room, he first peered around the corner, poking his head in. “Hey kiddo,” he said with a ridiculous smile on his face. He entered the room fully, looking around skittishly like a cartoon version of back-alley dealer. “Word on the street is you’re looking for the good stuff.” With a wiggle of his eyebrows, Toby pulled out the pack of Sour Patch Kids he had bought in the gift store from under his shirt and handed them over to Emyli. His hand came up to stroke her hair, but he reeled the gesture back in and covered it up by crossing his arms over his chest. “How goes tricks?”