by J. Lea
She looks up at me. “Did you think I was so stupid I’d fall for your bullshit? That you suddenly changed your mind? I wasn’t born yesterday, angel. But I was curious to see what you were planning to do. And I got the answer with some help from my homeless friend who was willing to sell his mother for a hundred bucks. He helped me see if this was a trap.” She recites his words in a flat tone, her face blank of expression; it looks as if she’s given up on everything.
I know I haven’t been that supportive of her for the last few days. I acted as the biggest jerk but I was focused solely on how to find the stalker and finally put him behind the bars, where he belongs. I can’t let him hurt her. I distanced myself from her when she needed me the most. I realize that now. I could see her eyes begging me to comfort her, but I ignored it anyway.
The last few nights I sat beside her bed, watching her sleep. Only then could I allow my emotions to run free. I’m not good in situations like this. I’ve never felt the way I feel for April before. I know how to catch bad guys and put them in jail, but matters of the heart are a completely different topic. I never should’ve gotten involved with her. I can only bring her sorrow, nothing more. A long time ago I’ve decided I don’t want to be one of those men who put their career first and their family second. This is the main reason I never got seriously involved with anyone, seeking only temporary company. That was easier for me to handle; I hurt only myself in the process. But in this case, I’m not important—April is. That’s why every time I had the urge to gather her in my arms and comfort her like my heart was telling me, I took a step back, listening to my brain. I need to do my job first, no distractions, and that’s what I plan on doing. It’s the right way. The only way.
I take April to the car I left in the parking lot behind the police station. We’ve been here for so long that it’s dusk. I’d like to get her home as soon as possible. The hope she finally had, for all of this to finally be over, has been shattered.
I take the main road, turning left at the crossroads, and about a mile later I see there’s a construction site with only one lane of road open. Putting my foot to the brake, I want to slow the car but nothing happens. The car drives with the same speed. I slam on the brakes again, with no effect.
“Jude, what are you doing? We’re gonna crash.”
“The brakes don’t work!” I try again; nothing.
“How’s this possible?”
“I don’t know. Hang on!” A car is driving toward us and I have a feeling we’re not going to be able to avoid collision. I grasp the steering wheel tightly and April grips the dashboard, her eyes wide open. I steer left to attempt to avoid the crash and the approaching car does the same, but the road is slippery from the snow that hasn’t stopped falling and the backs of our cars collide. I feel like everything happens in slow motion. The airbags deploy with a loud bang and push me back into the seat, knocking the wind out of me, blurring my eyesight for a minute. The car gets turned around, sliding across the road down into a ditch, and into a tree. The impact is so severe we’d be knocked out of our seats and through the windshield if we weren’t wearing seatbelts.
“April,” I grunt in pain, my head to my chest, “are you alright?” I hear her moaning beside me. She moves slowly in her seat, placing her hands on her head. “April?” She only lets out a groan.
Smoke is coming out from under the hood of the car, which is totaled. I find it hard to gather my thoughts as my head is spinning and my vision is blurring from the pain I feel all over my body. I hope I didn’t tear the stitches in my shoulder. It takes a lot of effort to grab the door handle, but the tree is in the way so I can’t open it.
“Shit.” I look over to April. “April, sweetie, can you open the door?” I try my hardest not to sound panicked, but I doubt I’m succeeding.
“Jude?” she moans. “It hurts so much.”
“Where does it hurt?” Due to the adrenaline, the pain I’m feeling numbs down to a buzz and my number one priority is to get April to safety. I see a gash on her forehead and it’s bleeding pretty hard. Her eyes are barely open.
“I don’t…know. Everywhere.”
“I’ll get us out of here. Where the hell is my phone?” I unbuckle my seatbelt, looking around me. Beside me, April is unnaturally still. “April?” I look up to see her head to the side, her eyes are closed. “Open your eyes, April,” I demand, but nothing happens. “Damn it.” My heart is racing in my chest as I reach over to feel her pulse. Letting out a sigh of relief at the strong pulse in her neck, I close my eyes, and when I hear the ambulance sirens fast approaching I feel even better. We’re going to be alright.
The passenger door opens, so I turn to the person standing there. “She’s unconscious. She told me she was in pain, but she couldn’t tell me the exact location. Can you help her?”
The EMT reaches over and unbuckles her seatbelt, not saying a word. His only focus is on getting April out of the car and he only lifts his eyes to me for a second, his eyes cold. Shivers run down my spine. He lifts April off her seat, one hand under her knees, the other around her back, as he pulls her out.
“Hey! She suffered a blow to the head. You can’t just drag her out like this!” I don’t know the extent of her injuries but every EMT knows the neck has to be secured first. “Do you hear me?” Gathering every last atom of strength, I manage to climb over to her seat and out of the car. I grab the car door for support. The man carefully lies April down on the cold ground, pulling something out of his pocket, as he walks to me. Putting his hand on my shoulder I see him grin, his eyes mean and cold. He sticks something into my neck, then walks away. “She’s mine, and I’ll take good care of her.”
Only now I realize he’s not wearing an EMT uniform; he’s dressed in dark pants and a jacket. “No!” I yell after him, my voice week, fumbling to get my gun out of the holster. But when I lift my gaze, there’s no trace of him. My vision starts blurring again, my legs turning into jelly. What the hell did he inject me with? I fall to my knees, feeling defeated, and the pain in my chest explodes. I know it’s not the effect of the injection, but my heart breaking for not being able to protect April like I promised her, and Max. Like I promised myself.
I wake up, blinking at the annoying light attacking my eyes. I hear unintelligible voices around me but I can’t discern who they belong to. Beneath my back, I feel the cold surface of the car hood. I’m still at the accident site.
“Sir, we’re going to help you. My name is James York and I’m a paramedic. If you hear me, squeeze my hand.” I do as he says. “Good. We’ll put you onto a stretcher and take you to the hospital.”
“With me… Someone else… A woman…”
“Shh, everybody is safe. It’s going to be alright.”
“You don’t understand…” An oxygen mask is placed on my face, cutting off my protests.
The smell of disinfectant stings my nostrils. I grab my head, groaning.
“Jude?”
I manage to slightly open my eyes. I notice I’m in a narrow white bed. “Max?” I try to focus my eyes on the face above me.
“How are you?”
“I hurt all over like a motherfucker.” I take in my surroundings, my eyes finally adjusting to the harsh lighting. “What time is it?”
“Eight pm. You’ve been in an accident. Do you remember?”
“Yes, and it was no accident. Fucking brakes didn’t work.” I lean on my good elbow and look around. It doesn’t look like a hospital room. “Where am I?”
“In the examination room. You’ve just been brought in, checked and x-rayed. You’re fine except for the blow on the head you received when the airbag deployed. There are also a few scratches on your body. Your shoulder’s a bit tender, I bet, but the stiches held. You’re quite lucky actually.”
“I’m fine,” I hiss, sitting up in my bed. I get a little dizzy but I don’t show it to Max. And then it all comes back to me - April and the unknown man taking her, injecting me with something. “Shit,” I curse. �
��He took April!”
“Huh? What are you saying? It was just you in the car. Don’t you remember?”
“No, April was with me. He took her!”
“No, you were alone in the car,” Max tries to calm me down. “An older couple was in the other car, and luckily they’re fine, too.”
“No, April was with me when we went off the road. Then this guy came, opened the door. I thought he was an EMT. He carried her out of the car. She was unconscious. I didn’t realize it until it was too late. Max, he kidnapped her. He had a syringe. Male. Caucasian, average height, our age. Before I managed to get a hold of my gun, they were gone. I guess I must’ve blacked out after that because I woke up when the EMTs arrived.
“They only took three of you to the hospital,” Max says, his face chalk white.
“Yes, because he took her!” Why can’t he get it?
“Are you sure she was with you?” He still can’t wrap his head around it.
“Yes, damn it. She was with me. And now that maniac has her. She needs medical attention. Now.” I get up to go find a doctor, but as soon as I take one step, I get dizzy and I sit back down; must be the aftereffects of the drug that psycho injected me with.
“You need to rest.”
“I have to find April. Where’s my fucking phone?”
Max points to the closet in the corner. “There, along with all your other things.”
“I see you’re up already, Mr. O’Rilley. How are you feeling?” An older doctor walks into the room, smiling at me as she takes an ophthalmoscope out of the pocket of her medical coat. She shines a light into my eyes, but I wave her off, getting to my feet again. “Where do you think you’re going?” she demands, her hands on her hips.
“Out of here.”
“Oh, no, you aren’t. We aren’t done with you yet.”
“Yes, you are.” I don’t care what the doctor says. I need to find April.
“Sir, you’ve been in a car accident. I need to make sure you’re properly checked out before we let you walk out of here.”
“You already did all the tests and I’m fine, right?”
“Well…yes, but...”
“So, I’m leaving.” I slowly make my way to the closet, grab my things and throw them on the bed.
“Mister O’Rilley, we found a large amount of sedatives in your body. Did you take any drugs before you sat in that car? I’ll have to report you if that’s the case. You’ve not only endangered yourself but others too.”
“What? You’ve got to be kidding me. You think I do drugs? No, I didn’t take anything. That fucker drugged me.”
“What? Someone drugged you?” the doctor raises her eyebrows.
I take a deep breath. “Someone drugged me right after the accident and they took the woman in the passenger seat, April.”
“Who’s April?” she frowns.
“She was with me in the car. She was unconscious and he took her.”
“April’s my sister,” Max explains, “and he’s the private detective I hired to protect her from her stalker.”
The doctor looks from me to him in obvious bewilderment. “Oh.”
“Yes, oh,” I say. “Can I go now? I need to look for her.”
“I’m responsible for your health, mister. You can’t just leave. I want to do some more tests, and if you say someone’s been kidnapped, we need to inform the police.” She looks at Max with pleading eyes, willing him to help support her.
“That’s what I plan on doing,” I assure her.
“Are you sure, Jude? What if you stayed just so they can do those tests, and I’ll call the Captain in the meantime, okay?”
I ignore him. Since I’m still wearing my clothes, I take my belongings off the bed and shove them in my pockets.
I can’t escape the lecture about even the smallest of injuries being potentially lethal too and that it can hide an even bigger injury which for now isn’t apparent yet, due to shock and adrenaline in my body. I nod to tell her I acknowledge what she’s telling me, but am still determined to leave, so she gives me an AMA to sign that I’m leaving against doctor’s orders. She warns me to immediately return if I start experiencing dizziness, nausea, if I start throwing up and if I have trouble concentrating. I get a prescription for painkillers and then I’m off, Max right behind me.
April
I’m surrounded by something fuzzy and fluffy. When I try to turn to the side, a stabbing pain pierces through my head and ribs. I automatically reach my hands to my head and I discover it is covered in bandages. I jerk up, but the pain that shoots through my body and makes me gasp in anguish. I’m feeling nauseous and my head is spinning like I’m on a rollercoaster. All the muscles in my body hurt. I’m confused at my surroundings. I don’t recognize the room I’m in or the bed I’m lying on. Where the hell am I? I frown, trying to nudge my sleeping brain to remember how I got here. I remember being at the police station, driving home with Jude, a long snow-covered road, and Jude trying to stop the car. The brakes wouldn’t work so we collided with a car coming from the opposite direction, and then it’s all blank.
“Jude!” I scream, but it comes out of my throat like a weak moan. I drag myself out of the bed, my legs so weak I can barely move them, but I need to get out of here and check up on Jude. I’m guessing we were taken to the hospital and then discharged. Perhaps I’m at Jude’s place. I’m wearing a different set of clothes than before. They fit perfectly and look like they’re brand new. Before I can take a step, a sharp pain in my right side knocks the wind out of my lungs, and when I touch my ribs, it hurts so badly my eyes sting. Trying my damnedest to ignore the excruciating pain, I drag myself to the door and open it. I step into a dark hallway, holding myself up, leaning against the wall. After what feels like an eternity I reach the kitchen, where the light is turned on, and I see a man with blond hair, his back to me, standing by the stove. Where’s Jude? Did he ask one of the officers to watch over me while he went out? I clear my throat to let the man know I’m up, but that proves to be a big mistake as I feel like my ribs are going to explode in pain. The man turns, a grin on his face. I bulge my eyes out.
“Ronnie? What are you doing here? Where’s Jude?” I haven’t seen Ronnie since Leo and I broke up. He was Leo’s best friend, and the only one who didn’t turn his back on Leo when he was drowning in alcohol.
I get dizzy so I clutch the back of the chair for support.
“Hi, April. How are you feeling?”
“Everything hurts,” I admit.
“You’ve been in an accident,” he points to my head. “You were bleeding, but the wound was superficial. It was probably just a stray shard of glass or something like that.”
“What about my ribs? My ribcage hurts like hell, and my arm too. Why didn’t they take care of that in the hospital?”
“Your ribs hurt?” he exclaims in worry.
“Yes, and I’m having trouble breathing. I can barely stand up on my feet.”
A muscle in his face twitches. He seems to hesitate.
“Where are we?” I look around at the retro kitchen.
Ronnie ignores my question, asking instead: “Can you sit? Breakfast will be ready soon.”
“I’m not hungry,” I respond quietly. “Where’s Jude?” I put my hand on my left side of the ribcage, grimacing.
“I made us pancakes,” Ronnie starts moving around.
“Why aren’t you answering my questions?” I frown.
He looks over his shoulder, smiling at me. “Questions can wait. I need to get some food in you first. You’ve been through quite a trauma.”
“No, Ronnie. I need answers, now!” I yell, and Ronnie still doesn’t say anything. “How did I wind up here? Are we at your place? Did you take me here? What happened to Jude? Did he get hurt in the accident?”
“Ugh, April. Shut up, my ears are hurting!” His voice turns icy and he’s holding his hands to his ears.
I straighten up a little, staring at him in surprise, but before I can react,
another wave of stabbing pain rolls through my ribcage. I clutch my left side and bend over in agony, which makes it worse. Ronnie’s beside me in a blink, helping me to the couch in the living room so I can lay down. The whole time I’m clenching my teeth together, trying not to scream.
“I’ll get you some painkillers.”
Ronnie disappears through the door and I use the moment to slowly get off the couch, cursing the searing pain at my side. Walking to the front door, I discover it is locked and there’s no keys in sight.
“Damn it,” I hiss.
Ronnie chooses this moment to walk down the hallway, a disappointed look on his face when he sees me. “What are you doing? You should be resting!”
He picks me up from the floor, ignoring my cries of agony, and takes me back to the couch where he carefully sits me down.
“Where is Jude, Ronnie?” I ask him again.
“Why are you so worried about him? He’s worthless. He doesn’t deserve you, just like Leo didn’t deserve you.”
“What?” I look up into his eyes. “Leo was your best friend? How can you say something like that?”
He points his index finger at me. “No, Leo was a stupid drunk. He didn’t realize what he had. He treated you like shit and he was a fucking idiot. He didn’t respect you like I respect you. I’d do anything for you. Everything. Even kill for you.”
“Kill?” I breathe out, backing away slightly.
“Yes. I got rid of Leo when he stopped being useful to me.”
“It was… It was you?” My face drains of blood. “You were stalking me?”
“Stalking?” he sounds astounded. “No, I was looking out for you.”
“Why?”
“You still don’t understand?” he pinches his eyebrows together in disappointment. I shake my head. How am I supposed to know what goes on in that twisted mind of his? “I love you.” His voice is once again soft, kind. “I fell madly in love with you the moment I first laid eyes on you. I fell in love with your gentleness, kindness, goodness. I was miserable when you chose Leo, but I knew my moment would come, and I was biding my time. I knew someday you’d be mine. And here you are,” he smiles. “Persistence pays off.” He strokes his hand down my cheek.