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Chapter 11-12

I´m sitting in my hospital bed. Sammie is still here with me. I am so happy she didn´t leave me here alone. I hate being here. The nurses keep coming in almost every hour to run test. I glance over at the window. It is rainging so hard out side that it is starting to fog up. I can´t help but wonder where Craig is at and if he is safe. I shake off the thoughts running through my mind. My head is starting to pound from all the stress. I take a deep breath as I scan the room again. All I can hear is the news is blaring in the background. It´s all everyone is talking about this morning.

I overheard my nurse out in the hall earlier saying there is a manhunt underway for Craig´s father. They try and whisper, but I can still hear them talking.

¨I hate being here¨ I moaned.

I just want to go home, but where exactly is home? I don´t even know anymore, but I just know I can´t stay here for much longer. My room is cold at night. Even with the extra blankets I shiver all night long. If that isn´t bad enough, the monitors keep beeping every few minutes. It is driving me insane! I look up at my televison hanging in the corner of my room. On the screen flashes a picture of the crime scene. Multiple body bags line the once beautiful driveway of the mansion. As the reporter walks in through the door way and into the foyer; you can vaguely see blood splatter on one of the walls off in the distance. They are calling it one of the worst crime scenes they have encountered in years. 

I can´t take much more of this, I mumble to myself. Looking for the remote, I notice my IV line has blood in it. My hand is starting to hurt so I try to readjust the line. I look back up as the news cast switches to another story. Thank god, I say while rubbing my forehead. I am starting to feel tired so I slid my legs off the side of my bed while grabbing onto the metal pole that is holding my IV fluids. I begin wheeling it towards the window so I can close the curtains. As I grab the curtain I could feel the green polyester material inbetween my finger tips. It reminded me of my childhood home. I dismiss the thought as I continue to close the curtains. I couldn´t believe how dark it was getting outside. The sky was full of rain clouds that we starting to form just outside the hospital. As I looked down into the parking lot, I noticed there are tons of cars filling all the spots. I tugged the curtains all the way closed this time.

Just as I turned to head back to my hospital bed I heard the news anchor mention my name. I quickly snapped my head around to see what they were saying about me. The anchor now switching to the reporter covering the story. He points to the badly damaged car that I took from the hotel. He starts the news segment by interviewing the chief of police. I was so relieved when he announced they will not be pressing charges against me.

¨Thank god¨ I  mummbled beneath my breath.

I really feel terrible for the vehicle owner, but I know their insurance will take care of most of the cost. I start to make my way back to bed just as my nurse enters the room. 

̈Sweetie, the doctor wants to run a few more labs ̈

She goes on to say, ¨The lab technichain should be in shortly¨. 

My nurse is a very nice lady. Her name is Susan and she is in her late fourties. Her country accent keeps me on my feet. If you don't listen closely you will miss half of what she is saying. She told me that she had been working at the hospital for the past twenty years. She knows most of the hospital staff along with all of the local doctors. Even though she wasn´t the head nurse, you could tell most of the staff looked up to her. They were constantly stopping her in between rooms and asking her for help. I have to admit it, she really did care about her patients. She reached into her dark navy blue scrub pocket and pulled out a black sharpie. I watched as she quickly wrote Chapman on the side of a urine specimen cup. As she sat it down onto the counter, she brushed back her dark brown bangs behind her ear. She didn´t wear any nail polish or make up. I did notice that she has a small butterfly tattoo on the small of her back that peeked out as she bent over to write something in my chart.

¨Hunny if you can please leave a specimen before they come in that would be great¨

¨You´ll be happy, if all checks out we can release you as soon as tomorrow ̈

She I feel excited to finally get out of here. Susan gives me a big smile before turning towards the door to leave. My excitement instantly turns into anxiety.

¨Release me¨

¨To where¨

I knew I had to figure out where I was going rather sooner then later as I didn´t want to end up living in the streets. I made my way back to my bed. I pulled the back of my gown closed as I went to sit down. I began to frantically pick at my bottom lip. I tried to figure out where I would possibly go. Sammie suggested I move in with them, but I could never go back to my mom´s house. She is to unstable, plus I hate it there. I decided to call my cousin Skip. I haven't talked to him for some time, but I knew he would let me come stay with him. Later that night I tried calling Craigs cellphone in hopes he may of picked up a new one from the store.

¨No answer¨ I huffed.

I hadn´t heard from him since the night at the hotel. I am so sick with worry as I still didn´t know if he and Robbie are alright. I heard there are still several unidentified bodies that the police were desperately trying to figure out who they were. I gulp at the thought that it could be Craig or Robbie. 

The next day Skip came to pick me up. I still haven't told anyone about Craig´s involvement. On the car ride to his place Skip seemed kind of serious. 

¨What is wrong¨ I asked?

Skip squeezed the steering wheel of his volvo a little tighter. 

¨Did you hear the news this morning Jade¨ he asked almost hesitant to tell me.

¨No I haven´t Skip¨

¨Why do you ask¨

He briefly took his eyes off the road to look over towards me. Now with his eyes focused on the street again he says, ¨They identifed one of the bodies today¨. 

¨Really¨

¨Who was it¨ 

Now riddled with anxiety that he would say the words that I have been dreading to hear.

¨They are saying it is Robbie Jade¨

We both just blankly stared at the road ahead of us. Oddly unemotional. I am pretty sure we were both just in shock. He went on to tell me Robbie was executed. The authorities are trying to figure out what his involvement was and how he is connected to Mr. Whitman. I sank back into my seat and began picking at my lip again. I turned to look out the passenger window. I didn´t want to hear anymore. I just wanted all this to go away. 

Once back at his place, he helped me set up an air mattress in his bedroom. ¨Do you think it will fit¨ I asked while contemplating another place to set it up. 

¨Sure Jade, it will just be a little tight¨

Boy he wasn´t kidding. He has the smallest room in the house. Skip had a huge kingsized bed that almost reached wall to wall. It had one window that had a black out curtain so very little light came into the room. On the back of the door was an old poster of some pinup girl that was now frayed and barley held on by the clear tape he used.

¨It´s only for a few days¨ I told myself. 

That night I laid in bed thinking about everything I had been through. I felt terrible for poor Robbie. I had lost touch with him, but I still cared for him so much. I wondered if he ever knew who I was and if Craig was the one to kill him. I couldn't bare the thought. I rolled over now facing away from Skip´s bed. The air mattress makes this strange sound whenever I move. I am pretty sure Skip didn´t fill it up enough because I keep sinking down into the middle of it. My mind began to wonder again. I felt it was only a matter of time before they announced that Craig was actually dead. I just knew there was no way he could of got out of there. I rubbed my ring finger thinking about how he proposed to me. I let out a small whimper at the thought of that night. 

¨Are you ok Jade¨, Skip now leaning off the side of the bed to see why I was crying.

¨I am fine Skip¨

¨It's just been a long day¨ I added as I pulled my covers up over me. 

It wasn´t long before we both were fast asleep. 

The next day I headed down to the market to pick up a few things. While walking through the strip mall I noticed a small sign in the window that said now hiring. I decided, what the heck I will go inside and fill out an application. When I walked in there was a well dressed woman standing behind the desk. She was answering multiple calls and looked a bit out of place. As I approached her she pushed a yellow note pad and pen towards me. 

¨Write down your name and phone number¨

I hastily picked up the pad. She was now cradling the phone receiver between her shoulder and chin while typing something on the computer. I could see all the lines on the phone were red and blinking. Before I could finish, she puts the call on hold and jerks the receiver from her ear.

¨Do you want the job¨

She peered at me completely flustered by the ringing lines. I stuttered for a second while trying to get the words to come out. I was not expecting her to say that to me. ̈Sur-before I could finish my answer she barked, ¨you ́re hired¨. She slammed the phone down and I heard a buzzing coming from the door next to me. 

¨Well, what are you waiting for¨

¨Come in and take these calls¨

I was shocked, but I grabbed the handle and pulled open the heavy door. When I sat down I had no clue what I was doing. She threw some passwords and a price sheet at me before telling me to handle the front as she ran towards her office. I started taking the calls and taking messages for the doctor. I had no clue what I was doing. Several patients kept calling back to see when they could speak to the doctor. I don´t even know who the doctor is to even answer their questions. This has to be a joke I told myself as I sat there in a pair of low rider jeans and a tshirt that had a mustard stain directly in the middle. I pulled my hair into a ponytail and tried to fix the mess of papers all over my desk. There are charts thrown about and sticky notes all over. A huge stack of fax papers were starting to fall onto the ground where they had been building up all morning. I grabbed some of the charts trying to put them back, but they were all just thrown in. Nothing was in alphabetical order. I did my best to straighten out what I could. I sorted through the faxes attaching them to the corresponding charts.

I walked over to one of the counters and there was a huge box labeled ̈shred¨ and another one that said ̈file¨. I grabbed the one that needed to be filed and started putting them all away. It took me almost the whole day, but I had everything nice and neat. I looked around and everything was back in it´s original place. The phones were now quiet and the faxes had stopped coming in. I let out a huge sigh of relief as I pulled out my computer chair. I don´t know how, but I managed to pull it off. At the end of the day, the woman that I met earlier came back to the front and handed me a pair of keys. 

¨You did great today¨

¨Be here tomorrow by eight o'clock to open¨

¨Oh and in case you were wondering, I am Dr. Shapiro¨

She pushed open the heavy door as she walked out to leave. 

                                                                Chapter 12

I have been working at the doctor's office for a few weeks now. Dr. Shapiro had heard about what had happened to me and offered to let me stay in a rental home that she currently had vacant. It was very quiet little apartment on the other side of town. The place came already furnished. It was mostly carpeted throughout the unit with tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. In the living room sat two grey sofas and a flat screen that was mounted above a small dark grey stand. Off near the kitchen was a small glass dining table that had stackable washer and dryer in the closet nearby. She told me I was free to decorate it how I liked, but I thought it was just fine the way it was. Since it was just me, I often would make myself a frozen dinner with a can of pop. 

Things had quieted down. The FBI was still looking to locate Mr. Whitman to question him about his involvement in the murders at the mansion. During their search they uncovered his little secret society thanks to the data collected by Robbie. Several politicians and government officials were arrested among the many millionaires taken down in the raid. They were all brought up on charges of money laundering, s*x trafficing and many other crimes. I never told a soul about what happened between robbie and I that night. I just wanted to put it all behind me. I still haven't heard from Craig and most of the bodies had been identified through dental records. 

I wondered if Mr. Whitman took him off somewhere. Every once in awhile I check the crime database to see if they had found him yet. There are so many reports of sightings of him all the way from Korea to South America. I am sure half of the leads are bogus and are being called in to throw off the cops. I missed Craig so much, but I knew I had to move forward. I really enjoyed my job. Dr. Shapiro talked me into taking some online courses and was teaching me all about the practice. 

She was so comfortable with me that she booked herself a much needed vacation. She was so excited that is all I ever heard about. Finally the day had come that she was leaving for two weeks. I knew she trusted me, but  could tell she was a bit nervous.

̈ ̈Jade, I are you sure you can handle it ̈ she would often ask?

̈ ̈Yes Dr. Shapiro ̈ I tried to reassure her.

Ok, I will be on the cruise, but you can email me anytime. Whenever I can connect to wifi I will make sure to respond to you. She gave me a hug and ran out of the office. The next few days were pretty boring. The phones never rang because we sent out postcards letting all her patients know she would be out of the office for a few weeks. Even the fax machine was quite. I spent most of my day just rearranging the charts and shredding old records. After work I would go home and fall into my usual routine. I would pop in my microwavable dinner, open a soda and sit and watch the news checking for any new updates. I was the epitome of boring! I couldn't take it anymore. I got up from the table and walked into my room. I opened the sliding closet doors while trying to avoid pulling it off the hinges again. I squatted down onto the floor and started looking through my shoes. I pulled out a pair of blue keds, then a pair of white ones, and then finally my running shoes. ̈ ̈Yes ̈! I walked over to my bed and sat down. I pulled the shoe onto my foot and tied the laces. Then I slipped on the other one. It had been ages since I had been out for a run. I got up and grabbed my keys off the coffee table and headed out. I must of ran through my neighbor for about an hour before my legs finally started to tire out. I headed back home and took a shower. I was feeling so refreshed from getting out of the house. As I lay in bed that night I actually felt happy for the first time in a long time. The next morning I went into the office and opened up as usual. I headed into the back to grab some coffee and a danish that one of our patients dropped off. As I headed back up to the front of the phone rang. I grabbed it and without even thinking I just rattled off the usual greeting.

̈ ̈Doctor's office, how can I help you ̈?

̈ ̈Jade ̈ the voice questioned?

̈ ̈Yes this is her ̈ I replied.

̈ ̈Hey, April, don't ́t hang up ̈

I jumped to my feet and looked around. My heart began to race. I thought to myself, is she calling for Mr. Whitman? Just as I went to hang up the line, I stopped and wondered if maybe she knew what had happened to Craig. 

̈ ̈What do you want ̈ responded coldly.

Her voice now a little shaky.

¨ I just wanted to call and apologize to you. Also, I wanted to thank you for not turning me into the feds after what I did to you. 

My blood pressure must of shot up because I instantly got a headache and my face flushed. I didn't know what to say. At this point, I didn't want to hear her sorry excuses and I didn't want to forgive her. After a minute of silence, I spoke.

̈ ̈April, don't ever call me again and if you come anywhere around here I will tell the police everything I know about you ̈

I slammed down the phone. The audacity that she thinks she can just call me! I was so mad. I grabbed some printer paper and walked over to the fax to load the machine. I wanted to put that life behind me and start new. I had started a new, I told myself! The phone rang again. 

̈Are you kidding me¨ I shouted now full of rage!

̈ ̈Jade, what is going on ̈?

̈Are you ok ̈?

Oh no it was Dr. Shapiro! My voice cracked as I tried to explain why I answered the phone so rudley. ¨I am so sorry ̈. I began rearranging the papers that were on my desk. I am not sure why, but I feel I needed to move around.

¨We had a crank call and I thought it was them again ̈

Dr. Shapiro now sounding more concerned. 

̈ ̈Call the police jade and lock the doors ̈

I told her it wasn't necessary that it was just some kids playing around. I didn't want to ruin her vacation. She has done so much for me in the short time that I have known her. 

̈Are you sure Jade that is all it was ̈

I promised her that I was sure it was nothing to be concerned about. I changed the subject and asked her how her trip was going?

̈ ̈Great Jade ̈! 

¨I really needed this time away ̈

̈ ̈What would I do without you ̈

I couldn't help, but smile. Wow she really appreciates me, I thought to myself. She went through her usual spiel and told me not to stay late and make sure I lock up when I leave at night. We talked for a few more minutes before her phone dropped the call. That night I closed up for the weekend and I headed home. I kept checking behind me to make sure no one was following me. I had thought about getting a gun, but I don't ́t know how to use one. When I got into my apartment I felt like crap. All this stress was catching up to me. I decided to go to bed and I would just go for a run in the morning. 

The next day, I got up and walked over to the window. It was a gorgeous day outside. The sky was so blue and not a cloud for miles. The sun light was pouring into my room and onto my bed. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and pulled my hair back. I was still feeling crappy so I decided to take some vitamins. It wasn't long before I puked them up. ̈Ugh, I should've at something first ̈. It's never good to take anything on an empty stomach. I was all dressed to go and just as I reached the door I got the worst feeling in my chest. It was like I couldn't breath. I bent down and put my hands on my knees while  trying to catch my breath. My heart began to race and I started to perspire. ̈ ̈Get it together ̈ I said as I tried to compose myself. I can ́t let fear rule my life anymore. I had to go out or it will just get worse. I took a couple deep breaths and drank some water. I headed back towards the door. I grabbed the door knob and took a deep breath again and headed out. After locking up I began running my usual route. My apartment was at the top of a hill so it made going down so much easier. As I began to run I could feel the breeze blowing through the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of my rubber band. Sweat started to trickle down my face and onto my chest. I ran down and around the block. I decided today I would cut through the old baseball field so that I was off the road. Saturday traffic was the worst and I didn't want to risk getting hit. As I ran across the field I could tell the grass was still wet from the sprinklers that go off every morning. Mud started to splash up around the sides of my shoes. As I made my way through the field and back down near the ally way I couldn't help, but feel like someone was behind me. I stopped and looked back, but no one was there. I started up again This time running a little faster. I could hear my feet pounding against the pavement. I ran past the bakery's dumpsters and down around the side of their building. 

As I kept running I could hear someone else's footsteps. I jerked around, but again no one was there. Am I going mad! I turned back and took off running again. I was starting to feel uneasy so I started to make my way back up to the front of the alley way when I heard someone kick a can that I had just passed. I didn't need to look back, I knew someone was definitely following me and I ran as fast as I could to get out of there!