by Delisa Lynn
“That someone will not be me, ma’am. I hope she feels better. I have to run.” I end the call.
What the hell is wrong with her? I finish getting dressed, then look for Jena’s number. She is Jess’s older sister. I may be a bastard, and I may hate the lady that’s laying in the hospital, but I do have a heart. As I call Jena, I wonder what this is really all about.
“Hey, Jena. It’s Heath, Heath Mason.”
“Oh, hey. What can I do ya for?”
“Well, I, umm…I got a call from University Hospital stating that Jess is there and they need to talk to someone about her treatment.”
“Okay, then go,” she spits.
“Jessika is no longer my problem. We’ve been broken up for months.”
“Oh,” she says. “Well, she isn’t my problem either. Maybe call Mother? She will help her. I am out of money. She already got me and my hubs for over two grand. Have a good day,” she says, then the call ends.
What the hell? I’m not calling her mother. This family is so damn crazy. I see where Jess gets it from. I’ll just fucking go to the damn hospital. I dial Brett to tell him what’s going on and to meet me there. I try to call Alyssa, but she must be in a meeting. I got her voice mail.
As I pull up to the hospital’s valet section, I have a bad feeling about all of this. I hand the guy my keys, then get my valet ticket. I walk into the hospital and through security. I’m not even sure which floor she’s on because I have no idea what’s wrong.
“Excuse me, ma’am. I’m looking for Jessika Seymour,” I tell the little old lady at the front desk.
“Are you a relative, sir?” she asks as she taps on her keyboard.
“Not really, but I hear she has me listed as her emergency contact.” I sigh. “So, if you could just point me in her direction, that’d be great.”
“Oh, Mr. Mason, Miss Seymour is on the third floor. Take the elevator, turn right when you exit. You’ll have to go through security there. Show them this badge,” she says, handing me a small badge that says ‘visitor.’
“Thank you, ma’am.” I nod. I still haven’t the slightest idea what the hell is going on. I walk to the elevator and take it to the third floor, like the lady explained, and show my pass to the security desk. He escorts me to a room. When I look around, I see a nurse walking in my direction.
“Heath?” she asks.
“Yes, ma’am. What is all this about?” I follow her. Then I see Jess lying in a hospital bed. She has bumps and scrapes all over her.
“Miss Seymour was checked in yesterday. She will have to fill you in on what happened, but the doctor says she has a long road ahead of her.”
“Jess, what the hell happened?” My voice booms through the room.
“Oh, baby, I’m so glad you came. I don’t know who they were. They said they were friends of Alyssa’s.” My fists clench at the mention of Alyssa’s name. “They took all of my money and raped me,” she cries.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I ask.
She cries harder and says, “They said that she sent them. They beat me and then raped me. I felt so dirty, so I took a shower. I didn’t know it would wash away the evidence.” She sniffles.
“You must be mistaken. Alyssa doesn’t know anyone here. She would never do anything like this,” I seethe.
“I knew it. I told them you wouldn’t fucking believe me.”
“Hell no, I don’t. How do you even know Alyssa?”
“Oh, your pretty little hot shot lawyer called me and warned me to stay away from you if I knew what was good for me.” She sighs, then begins to cry again. “I guess she wasn’t kidding.” This has to be a fucking joke. I laugh.
“Jess, cut the bullshit. She has far better things to do than threaten you,” I say as I run my hand over my face.
“Sir, you must be Jessika’s fiancé?” asks a man who I’m assuming is the doctor.
“No, I’m her ex-fiancé.”
“Well, sir, she has been through a lot the last few days. She has you listed as her emergency contact.” He looks as Jess. “Is he not your fiancé, Jessika?”
“We broke up, and apparently he doesn’t want to patch things up. His whore, the one I caught him cheating with, is the one that did this to me.”
“You have got to be fucking shitting me right now. You’re going to make it look like Alyssa did all this?” I yell.
“Sir, you need to calm down,” says the man in the white jacket.
“Calm down? Are you serious? She is accusing my girlfriend that lives in another state of doing all this. How else am I supposed to react?” I sit down, trying to brace myself. I was about to lose my shit. “Look, I’m not sure what’s going on here, or how my girlfriend and I are involved. I haven’t seen Jessika for months.”
“That’s a lie. We played golf and had lunch together a few days ago at the Country Club.”
“Jesus Christ, you’re lying through your teeth,” I yell. I pull my phone out of my pocket and call Brett.
“Dude, where are you?” I ask.
“I’m at the hospital on my way to the third floor. What is going on?”
“I’ll fill you in when you get up here,” I say, pushing the end button.
“Heath, you can just go. I knew you wouldn’t believe any of this,” she cries.
“You’re right, I don’t believe a goddamn word of it,” I say loudly.
“Hey…” Brett starts when he opens the door. He pauses, a mortified look on his face. “Holy shit, what happened to her?”
“She’s accusing Alyssa of having her beaten and raped. Also, she states she had lunch and played golf with us when you and I were at the club a few weeks ago.” I laugh. “This shit is so pathetic.”
“Just leave. The police will be in touch with your New York whore, or shall I say your brother’s whore. Poor Seth is probably doing flip-flops in his grave.”
“You’re sick. You need help! You should get it while you’re here,” I say as I turn to leave.
“Oh, Heath, you’re a suspect too, so the police will be questioning you as well.” She smiles.
Fucking bitch…
***
Alyssa
On my way to lunch, I see I missed a call and have one message. The message is from Heath. I listen to it and the tone in his voice is off, so I sit on a bench and call him back. I was headed to the Corner Café and I knew I wouldn’t be able to hear him once I was inside of there.
“Hey, babe. Is everything okay?” I ask when he answers.
“Alyssa, baby…it’s not.” He sighs. “Fucking Jessika has accused you of sending someone to attack her.” He sighs again. “And now I am a suspect as well.”
“What the fuck? How does she even know me?” I whisper-yell.
“I’m not sure, but she knows that you are a lawyer in New York City and that you dated Seth. I’m going to call my lawyer. Do you have one?”
“Yeah, I do. I’ll call my lawyer because I just don’t get this. Is she okay?” I ask, wondering exactly what happened to her.
“She’s in the hospital. She listed me as her emergency contact and said that I was cheating on her with you. That’s why she’s stating you had someone do this to her. She’s fucking insane. I’m so sorry that you got dragged into all of this.”
“Yeah, me too. We will get it fixed. I’ll call my lawyer, and you call yours. I’ll do some research on this chick. I’m sure I can find out whatever we need to know. She may have done this before. I’ll see what I can come up with and I’ll call you later.”
“Okay, I’ll talk to you soon, baby. I love you, Lys,” he says. ”I can’t wait to hold you in my arms again.”
“Love you too. I know. Soon, my love, very soon. Stay away from the crazy chick,” I say, sliding my phone off. I sit on the bench a couple minutes longer to collect myself. I walk into the café to grab lunch before heading back to the office.
***
It’s been two days since Jessika has accused Heath and I of having so
meone attack her. I did some research on sweet Jessika. She has a rap sheet longer than any criminal I’ve worked with. When she was only sixteen she was arrested for solicitation.
At the age of eighteen, she was arrested for possessing drug paraphernalia, and then again six months later for the same thing. She’s had more jobs than I’ve had lovers, and I’ve been with a lot of men. She dropped out of high school, though she did obtain her GED a few years ago. She’s also been married not once, but twice. I just don’t see how the hell Heath didn’t know all of this. I’ve hired a private investigator and called in my attorney. He’s one of the best.
Heath is a mess, and he had the police pull the videos from the Country Club to prove he didn’t have lunch with the tramp. Two of the agents from Holden in North Carolina have contacted me. I informed them of my whereabouts when the said attack took place. This bitch is really trying to fuck with my life. I will fry her skanky ass on a stand.
This bitch has fucked with the wrong woman!
***
“Heath, I’m fine. You stay there. I don’t need you getting in trouble any more than you already are.” I sigh. “I miss you badly, though.”
“Once this is over, I’m flying there and bringing you home. You belong here with me. I love you so goddamn much.”
“I love you too, baby. I better go. I have court in a half hour.”
“Stay safe. Please call me when you get home.”
“You know I will.”
I look in the mirror and smile. Although we have these charges pending against us, we’re staying strong. I don’t think anything can change the way I feel about this man. The way he makes me feel, the love he has for me, the love we share is what makes me smile. He is my life now. My mind goes back to the conversation we had yesterday.
“No one can ever make me feel the way you do, Lys. You’ve shown me what it’s like to fully love. This last month has been the best month of my life.”
“You’ve shown me what love is. I never imagined anyone would love me the way you do. I’m scared, Heath.”
“Scared? Why, my love? This is going to blow over, and then that bitch will be locked up. That’s where she belongs, behind bars.”
“I agree. She’s crazy, that’s for damn sure.”
“Hello, don’t you think you should stop daydreaming and get your ass on the ball?” Mal says, breaking me from my thoughts.
“Shit. Yes, I’m ready. Did you clear my schedule?” I ask as I grab my briefcase and laptop.
“Yes, ma’am. I also scheduled a salon appointment later this afternoon. Your nails are looking rough.” She laughs.
“Lovely. What would I do without you?” I groan “But seriously, thank you for everything you’ve done. I’m going to miss you so much. You realize you’re basically my only friend.”
“You should just make him move here. It would be easier on all of us.”
“You and Mark could always just come with me.” I laugh, knowing her husband wouldn’t go for that. “You could work for me there because I’m opening my own practice.”
“Don’t tempt me, bitch. I love you and your brilliance. I’m sure you’ll do great there. Now, let’s go. You can’t be late because we’ve got Judge Osmond today. You know he’s a dick.”
“Damn, why did you remind me it would be him?” I grunt as we walk into the elevator. I press the ground floor button. We’re on the tenth floor. Once the doors open, I see two men talking to Al, our security man.
“Oh, here she is now,” Al says, walking toward us.
“Can I help you?” I ask the two men.
“Alyssa Sommers?” the taller gentleman asks.
“Yes, sir. That would be me,” I say, reaching my hand out to shake his.
“I’m Detective Sledge and this is my partner, Detective Harmon. We need to ask you some questions.”
“Well, as you can see, I’m on my way out. I’m due in court in less than an hour. I can’t keep my client waiting.” I hold my breath as I turn to walk away. I know they won’t go away.
I look at Mal. “Call my lawyer, please.”
“He’s on his way. I sent him a text when I saw them.” She gives me a weak smile.
“This won’t take long, ma’am,” Detective Harmon says.
“I’m not talking until my attorney is present, sir.” I pull my phone out and make the dreaded call to the one person I can’t fucking stand.
“Hey,” I say weakly.
“Well, well. If it isn’t smarty pants Sommers.” He laughs.
“Cut the crap, Reggie. I have a current situation. Can you stall my trial?” I all but beg him.
“What the hell? You mean to tell me you won’t be here to represent your client?” I can hear the sarcasm in his voice, so I know exactly how to fix this.
“Look, Judge Osmond, I’m sending Mal. She can speak on my behalf,” I say, looking at her. “You know she can do it. I have something that I have to take care of now.”
“Ahh, why, yes. The law school dropout,” he taunts.
“Cut the bullshit, Osmond. You’re a grown ass man. Get over the petty shit,” I say. “She’s on her way.” I slide my phone off.
I look at Mal and smile. She knows my cases. Just as he said, she dropped out, but she would have made a damn good lawyer. She is a good paralegal, though.
“You’re sending me, aren’t you? Good thing I know what I’m doing. Do not talk to them until Barry gets here,” she says, hugging me.
“Thanks, I owe you. You know I won’t. I’ll be there as soon as I’m done here.”
“I got this.” She winks.
I pull Heath’s name up on my phone. I need to let him know what’s going on. After two rings, he answers out of breath. “Hey, baby. What’s up?”
“Hi. I’m currently waiting for my attorney. It seems that the detectives need to speak to me now. I had to send my assistant to court for me.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I’m so over all this bullshit. I’m coming there, and I don’t care what they say. I need to see you.”
“No, you can’t. It’ll be over soon. Then hopefully they will all see that she is the fucked up one.” I look over and see the detectives eyeing me from across the room.
“I can be there in four hours,” he adds.
“No. Look, I see my attorney. I better go. I love you.” I push the big red button.
“Alyssa, doll, is everything okay?” Barry asks. I know he can see the anger on my face.
“No. Those two guys,” I point to the detectives, “are here to question me about the Jessika case in North Carolina.”
“Gentleman, my client here states you have some questions for her. Let’s go someplace private, shall we?”
“We can go into the conference room. Follow me,” I say. I lead them to a small conference room on this floor. This shit is starting to annoy me and this bitch needs to quit lying about me and my man.
“Miss Sommers, where were you on the night of July tenth?”
I cross my arms over my chest. “I was in my condo, packing.”
“When was the last time you were in the state of North Carolina?” the other detective asks.
“It was June twenty-fourth.”
“So, you haven’t been back since then?”
“No. I’ve told the others that multiple times now.”
“What is it, exactly, that you have on my client here?” Barry asks.
“This is the thing. We have nothing. Jessika states that Alyssa called her and then two men attacked her, but we have searched the phone records for both Alyssa and Jessika. There are no connections. Jessika didn’t receive any calls at the stated times.”
“I’ve never talked to or seen this woman, I swear.”
“Alyssa, we’ve realized that, but the thing is…if you didn’t do this, then that leaves Mr. Mason. Are you covering things up for him? Or is he covering up for you?”
“Heath hasn’t done anything either. Do you understand this chick is craz
y? She has made this entire scenario up. She wants Heath back, that’s all this is. It’s like a fucking game with her.” I sigh. “What do you want from me? I have things I need to do.”
“Whoever did this is still out there. Please be careful. If you need anything, please let us know.”
“Is this the last that my client will see of the two of you?” Barry asks.
“Yes, it is. We have nothing on Miss Sommers. Have a good day.”
“Yeah, you also.” I smirk. There is something off about the two of them. I can tell by the way they were acting. “Barry, I need to get to the courthouse. Can you drive me?” I ask as I grab my purse.
“Of course I will.”
Chapter Thirteen
Heath
Sitting here is killing me, so I’m flying to New York. I can’t let Lys go through this alone. I cancel my showings and head to the airport. I don’t even pack a fucking bag. I pull my car into the Charleston International Airport’s parking lot and run in, hoping to catch the next flight.
I see a text from Alyssa. I slide my phone open to read it.
Alyssa: They left and they said I am cleared. It’s just odd, the way they acted and they really asked if I thought you did it. I have to get to court. I love you!
Me: Be careful. I love you more.
I refrained from mentioning that I was on my way there. Luckily, I’ll able to catch the next flight, which leaves in about an hour.
Deciding to do some PI work myself, I call Deron, an old friend. I know Jess is lying. I’m not sure who did this shit to her, or if she did it to herself, but I’m not letting her ruin what I have. I e-mail my connection everything I have on Jessika Seymour.
Right as I am boarding my flight, I get a response from him. When I open the e-mail, I see something I never thought I would see.
***
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, Deron. How did you get these?” I ask as I pace the New York Airport. My flight was a connecting flight, so it didn’t take long for me to arrive.