Ms. Zephyr's Notebook by KC Dyer Read Free Book Online

else.” Kip leaned over and pulled a small pill bottle from the drawer in his bedside table. “She forgot this.”
    Logan took it and held the label up to the lamp. Hisinsides coalesced into a cold, hard lump. She left without her meds. Maybe his worst fears were true.
    â€œDoesn’t she need her medicine, Logan? She left here so fast and all her stuff is still in her drawer.”
    Logan swallowed. Her meds and all her stuff left behind? This was not good. NOT good. But Kip didn’t need to know how bad things really were. The kid had enough to worry about. Let him think that Cleo was just running away. Time to play it cool.
    He raised his eyebrows at Kip. “How do you know what was in her drawer? She’ll hit the roof if she finds out you went through her things.”
    Kip’s eyes widened. “Hey, I’m not crazy. She just left that bottle on her table. I didn’t even touch her drawer. But if she’d really been transferred, they’d have sent her medicine with her, wouldn’t they? They would have gathered up all her stuff in a bag and sent it along with her. So they might miss the stuff in the drawers for a day or two, but if the nurses see this, they’ll figure out something is wrong.”
    Logan smiled a little as he pocketed the pills. “Good thinking kid. I’ll make sure she gets these. So, did you try to talk her out of going?”
    â€œI didn’t really say much. Just made her promise to…”
    â€œPromise to what, dude?”
    Kip shot him a sceptical glance and tucked the laptop a little further under the covers.
    â€œListen, I don’t have time for this, kid. If Cleo is yourfriend you should tell me if you know anything about where she’s gone. I’m not going to force her to come home or anything. I won’t tell anyone else. I just want to make sure she’s all right and to… well, I have to give her something.”
    Logan looked at Kip in the dim glow of the chart lamp. Just a little kid with big eyes and a bunch of wires connecting him to all the hospital paraphernalia. Usually he was immune to all those cute kid things — save it for the commercials, for crissakes — but maybe this was different. After all, he knew something of what living with pain was like. He’d been there. He likely would be there again. And Kip just wanted to help. He tried again.
    â€œKip, you know I won’t do anything to hurt Cleo. I promise. I know she’s your friend, but I’m your friend, too, right? I taught you how to play Halo, dude — that’s gotta count for something.”
    Kip stared back at Logan for a long, silent moment, and then slid the laptop out from under the covers. “Okay, but I can only tell you a little. I’m not going to break my promise to Cleo.”
    He flipped open the lid of the laptop and Logan saw to his surprise that instead of a computer game, Kip was in the middle of composing a letter on his e-mail account.
    Return address: [email protected]
    Logan’s heart gave a little flip in his chest. Her e-mail address! But why would she give it to the kid and not to him?
    â€œGeez, Kip, you’ve got to be joking. You’ve been talking to her by e-mail tonight?”
    Kip closed the computer again and pulled it protectively onto his lap. “Not tonight, actually. She isn’t on-line right now. But I know what she’s doing and why she’s doing it. And she promised to keep in touch with me so I would know she was all right.”
    Logan jammed his hands in his pockets and tried to think. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought. Maybe Cleo had just bolted for a day or two, and she’d be back soon and everything would go back to normal. And yet…
    His fingers tested the pill bottle in his pocket. She left without her meds. But worse — she left without taking any of her stuff, which meant that she knew she wouldn’t need any of it