Copyright: A Novel #Excerpt by @LeskoLori #AmReading #Thriller #LGBT

“Please, I can’t catch my breath,” I gasped, reaching out to the chubby nurse.

“Just relax, sweetie, I have some medicine that will calm you right down and you’ll go to la-la land.” She smirked as she inserted the meds into my IV. Three minutes later, I inaugurated her as my new best friend. Oh, such a beautiful place la-la land was. Heart attack, what heart attack? I felt much better; there was no need to angy-plasty-wasty me. I wanted to move in here permanently. Karen, the kids and I, we’d be just fine and dandy right here.

All of a sudden, a pair of bright blue eyes filled my vision. I glanced down and saw Karen’s cleavage spilling out of her sleeveless white shirt.

“Babe! How do you feel? You scared the shit out of me!”

“Karen, hey Karen, I can see your boobies,” I laughed hysterically.

“Christ, what did they give you?” Her tone suddenly became quite parental.

“Wait, where are the kids?” I asked, in a moment of clarity.

“Danny is out in the waiting room, and Kira is at Stacey’s house.”

“Stacey?”

“Yes, muffin, Stacey from next door,” she responded.

The chubby nurse re-entered my room and began to look more and more like a pink bunny rabbit. “Okay, it’s time to go, say your goodbyes.”

“Wait!” I screamed. “Karen, come here.”

“I’m right here, babe.”

“Karen.”

“Yes?”

“Karen, don’t call me muffin anymore.”

“Okay,” Karen said with a giggle and a kiss on my lips.

“I love you,” I said as the chubby nurse and a male attendee pushed me on my gurney out into the hall toward my next destination. I stared up at the glaring light fixtures, still gleefully high from whatever the chubby nurse had given me. I seriously must find out her name before I go home so I can thank her for taking me to la-la land. I looked to my left as I moved down the corridor and saw other patients’ rooms. People of various ages and colors watched me passing by. Time seemed to be moving in slow motion.

There was a man in his seventies with his eyes closed. How anyone slept with all this noisy clatter, I had no clue. Oh God, I hope he wasn’t dead. Around the corner, a little boy screamed bloody murder as a doctor tried to examine his arm. Mid-scream, the young lad glanced my way and I contorted my face and stuck out my tongue. He stopped screaming for a moment, then continued on his rant, even louder than before. I’d probably scared him for life with the way I looked.

I noticed one of my wrists not attached to any device. I waved as people walked by me. Eventually, a man dressed in blue scrubs looked down at me when we passed by each other.

“Give me five,” I yelled at him and placed my hand up. He laughed and gently slapped me back.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” I screamed in medicated bliss. We reached the elevator, and I tried to sit up. “Can I push the buttons?” I’d clearly regressed to a five-year-old girl.

“Yeah, Valium works on them every time,” said the chubby nurse. The male attendee nodded in agreement. They were acting like I wasn’t even there, or fucking deaf.

“I can hear you, you know,” I said, addressing the issue.

“We know, sweetie, and we’ll have you up in the OR in a second.” Forget about thanking the chubby nurse or finding out her name, I no longer cared about her, even though she had provided the wondrous meds. Wait a minute, should I even be on them? Surely, they had received my history from Karen? The elevator door opened and I heard more glass doors slide. I lay back and closed my eyes, while fear and anxiety rose once more. They mentioned I’d had a heart attack. Did that mean I had a broken heart?

“Amber Tyler,” announced the chubby nurse as she handed me off to the crowd of masked strangers in the brightly lit room.

“Hello, Amber, how are you doing right now? My name is Dr. Peterson. I’ll be assisting Dr. Casey,” said a man wrapped up in blue. He had elephant ears and wore glasses. That was all I could tell about him. Having a doctor with impaired vision assisting my heart surgeon didn’t fill me with a ton of confidence. Yes, this had my dream team written all over it.

A weird face filled my vision, again, all masked up. “Are you comfortable, Amber?” I recognized Dr. Casey’s voice once more.

“I guess so,” I replied apprehensively.

“Let me know if you’re in any pain, we’re going to go through your groin with a tiny tube up to your heart,” Dr. Casey said.

“Really? That’s how my girlfriend does it. Only she doesn’t have to medicate me first.” Had I actually just said that? Apparently I had, because the room broke out into laughter. Amber Tyler, ladies and gentlemen, make sure you tip your waiters. Author by day and comedienne by night.

I peered up at the monitor that was guiding the doctors. But I didn’t understand quite what I was looking at.

“There, right there, do you see it?” Dr. Casey asked.

“See what?” I inquired.

“Sorry, I was talking to Dr. Peterson,” he responded.

Both doctors moved over to the monitor and turned it away from me. Okay, officially fucking scared now! Anyone want to tell me what’s going on? Why were the two men in charge of my life pointing worriedly at the screen? Talk to me, people, remember me, the patient?

“What’s happening?” I asked.

They ignored me for a second. Then Dr. Casey walked over to me cautiously. Somehow I knew I wouldn’t like what he had to say. Be nice to me, I thought, you’re talking to a woman who’s got a bad ticker.

Amber Tyler is living every author’s dream: her books are all best sellers and she writes full time. She has worked hard and is well-accomplished in her career, and she has the support and love of her beautiful children and girlfriend. 

But the dream soon turns into a terrible nightmare when her latest manuscript is stolen. She decides to fight for what is rightfully hers, only to find that the harder she tries, the easier it all slips through her fingers, putting her career, her family, and her life in jeopardy.

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Genre – Thriller

Rating – PG-13

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