Leapholes (2006) Read Online Free
Author: James Grippando
laid the chart aside. "How's that memory coming along?"
"I thought it was getting better, but now I don't remember."
She smiled, realizing that it was a joke. "Do you know your last name yet?"
"No."
"Well, don't worry. I'm sure it will improve with time. But I want you to know that we've notified the police that you're here. As soon as your parents get worried enough to file a missing persons report with the authorities, we'll be able to link you up, okay?"
"Okay, great."
"I'll check back with you in about an hour," the doctor said as she walked away, moving on to the next patient.
Ryan's head settled back into his pillow. A missing persons report. Wonderful. Ryan hadn't figured on that. He had no plan, and running away from home was a pretty stupid idea. But he wasn't ready to go back. He didn't want to cause his mother too much heartache, but the fact was, both his parents had lied to him. They'd both assured him that the criminal charges were bogus. For the first time since his father had pleaded guilty and gone away to prison, Ryan wasn't a part of the Coolidge family. It felt good, and he wanted to keep that feeling going,' at least a little bit longer.
Kaylee said, "You don't want to go home, do you, Ryan?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Instinct. Intuition. I don't know. Something tells me you like being Ryan L'new better than Ryan whatever your name is."
Ryan didn't answer. He just looked at the big white board, toward the name penned in beside bed number twelve. Ryan LNU. A little goofy, but he'd heard worse. His gaze drifted toward the EXIT sign over the ER's double doorway. They were automatic doors, and people seemed to come and go at will. His elbow still hurt a little, but his legs were fine. He could ask to use the bathroom, walk out those doors, and just keep going. His mother would find him when he was ready to be found, not when she filed that missing persons report and the police came to get him.
"Hey, Kaylee."
"What?"
"You think anyone named L'new has ever been to prison?"
"I don't know. Why do you ask?"
Ryan drew a deep breath, then let it out. "Just wondering."
Chapter 5
Ryan's plan was working like a charm. The automatic doors closed behind him, and he was cruising down the hall away from the ER. The bathroom was around the corner, first door on the left, the nurse had told him. Ryan didn't really need to use it, but he stopped there anyway. His clothes were in a bag that he'd concealed under his loose hospital gown. He ducked into the bathroom and made a quick change. He used the sharp corner of the paper towel dispenser to cut off his plastic hospital ID-bracelet. Two minutes later he was back in the hallway, dressed in his street clothes, headed for the hospital's main exit. His bicycle accident had left a small tear at the knee of his blue jeans, but that only made them cooler. His sweatshirt covered the bandage on his elbow. No one gave him a second look. This was almost too easy. He even waved to the receptionist as he breezed past the radiology department.
"Hey, how you doing?" he said.
Cool. So cool. Just act like you know what you're doing, and people assume that you own the place.
He kept walking, following the directional signs that pointed to "HOSPITAL MAIN ENTRANCE." The corridors were long, cold, and brightly lit, and of course that sterile hospital smell was everywhere. Ryan reeled in the urge to sprint for the exit. Absolutely no running, he told himself. So long as he walked at a normal pace, no one would ask questions. He couldn't help but smile, however, as he turned the final corner and spotted the hospital's main lobby, dead ahead. It was just beyond the final set of sliding glass doors. He was a mere twenty feet away, fewer than ten steps to freedom. This was going to be fun. He could be Ryan L'new as long as he wanted.
And then an alarm sounded.
It was a shrill, pulsating alarm, so loud that it drowned out every other sound in the hospital. Ryan stopped dead in
"I thought it was getting better, but now I don't remember."
She smiled, realizing that it was a joke. "Do you know your last name yet?"
"No."
"Well, don't worry. I'm sure it will improve with time. But I want you to know that we've notified the police that you're here. As soon as your parents get worried enough to file a missing persons report with the authorities, we'll be able to link you up, okay?"
"Okay, great."
"I'll check back with you in about an hour," the doctor said as she walked away, moving on to the next patient.
Ryan's head settled back into his pillow. A missing persons report. Wonderful. Ryan hadn't figured on that. He had no plan, and running away from home was a pretty stupid idea. But he wasn't ready to go back. He didn't want to cause his mother too much heartache, but the fact was, both his parents had lied to him. They'd both assured him that the criminal charges were bogus. For the first time since his father had pleaded guilty and gone away to prison, Ryan wasn't a part of the Coolidge family. It felt good, and he wanted to keep that feeling going,' at least a little bit longer.
Kaylee said, "You don't want to go home, do you, Ryan?"
"What makes you say that?"
"Instinct. Intuition. I don't know. Something tells me you like being Ryan L'new better than Ryan whatever your name is."
Ryan didn't answer. He just looked at the big white board, toward the name penned in beside bed number twelve. Ryan LNU. A little goofy, but he'd heard worse. His gaze drifted toward the EXIT sign over the ER's double doorway. They were automatic doors, and people seemed to come and go at will. His elbow still hurt a little, but his legs were fine. He could ask to use the bathroom, walk out those doors, and just keep going. His mother would find him when he was ready to be found, not when she filed that missing persons report and the police came to get him.
"Hey, Kaylee."
"What?"
"You think anyone named L'new has ever been to prison?"
"I don't know. Why do you ask?"
Ryan drew a deep breath, then let it out. "Just wondering."
Chapter 5
Ryan's plan was working like a charm. The automatic doors closed behind him, and he was cruising down the hall away from the ER. The bathroom was around the corner, first door on the left, the nurse had told him. Ryan didn't really need to use it, but he stopped there anyway. His clothes were in a bag that he'd concealed under his loose hospital gown. He ducked into the bathroom and made a quick change. He used the sharp corner of the paper towel dispenser to cut off his plastic hospital ID-bracelet. Two minutes later he was back in the hallway, dressed in his street clothes, headed for the hospital's main exit. His bicycle accident had left a small tear at the knee of his blue jeans, but that only made them cooler. His sweatshirt covered the bandage on his elbow. No one gave him a second look. This was almost too easy. He even waved to the receptionist as he breezed past the radiology department.
"Hey, how you doing?" he said.
Cool. So cool. Just act like you know what you're doing, and people assume that you own the place.
He kept walking, following the directional signs that pointed to "HOSPITAL MAIN ENTRANCE." The corridors were long, cold, and brightly lit, and of course that sterile hospital smell was everywhere. Ryan reeled in the urge to sprint for the exit. Absolutely no running, he told himself. So long as he walked at a normal pace, no one would ask questions. He couldn't help but smile, however, as he turned the final corner and spotted the hospital's main lobby, dead ahead. It was just beyond the final set of sliding glass doors. He was a mere twenty feet away, fewer than ten steps to freedom. This was going to be fun. He could be Ryan L'new as long as he wanted.
And then an alarm sounded.
It was a shrill, pulsating alarm, so loud that it drowned out every other sound in the hospital. Ryan stopped dead in
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