by Jean Kelso
I was born Catholic, but haven’t prayed in years. I’ve lived on luck, but lady luck hasn’t helped these past few weeks. I drop to my knees at the side of my bed, clasp my hands together and bow my head to pray. I close my eyes and I let the lord hear me. I shout to the heavens for my Lord’s help, or his guidance to get my woman back safely.
The smell of coffee ends my silence after my prayer. I get up from the floor and head to the kitchen to make a cup to start my day. A weird sensation comes over me suddenly and my breath catches. I grab the counter and stand still for a moment. “That was fucking weird.” I call out to no one. I wait for the feeling to pass, finish with my coffee and head to the bathroom. A nice hot shower to limber me up and get me moving. Something has to give with this case. I need to find Mel.
Sitting at my table in front of my laptop I’m reading a few emails, checking in, and following up on new leads of Mel’s whereabouts. Even though I’m on my third cup of coffee, since I’ve showered, I’ve only got as far as putting on a clean pair of jeans. Stretching and leaning back, I look at the clock. It’s almost noon. I haven’t heard from Gabe yet today. I suppose I should get off my ass and head over there to see what’s what on his end. Belle hasn’t been doing so good since Mel went missing. It’s like a piece of her went missing too.
I close my laptop and pack up everything I need in my duffle bag. I head into my bedroom and go right to my dresser. I pull out some socks and a tee shirt. I look in the mirror at my brown shaggy hair and run my fingers through it. Good enough. I pull my grey tee over my head and down my body and then sit on the side of my bed to put my socks on. My cell rings as I finish. It’s Gabe.
“Hey, I was just thinking about you.” I chuckle as I stand and head back out to the living room.
“Got no time to joke around man. A Jane Doe was just admitted to the hospital that Belle works at. Meet us there.” Gabe tells me bluntly.
Shock hits hard and my heart begins to race. Can it be her? “See you in ten.” I hang up, put on my shoes and grab my bag to go. With my keys in hand, I’m out the door with high hopes and wishful thinking.
Everything hurts. My head, my face, my chest, everything. I try opening my eyes. It’s too bright so I close them again. My throat is dry. I swallow, but it feels like sandpaper. I try to ask for water, but I can’t open my mouth. Panic hits. Why can’t I open my mouth? Slow breaths in through my nose. I try to stay calm. I open my eyes slowly and let them adjust to the light and look around. I’m in a hospital? Why? What happened to me? I hear beeping and look over my shoulders to monitors with wires that seem to be connected to me. A pole holding a bag of liquid that also seems to run a line connected to my arm. I look at my arm covered in bruises and a large bandage at my shoulder, and at the other which is covered in the same. I wonder what the rest of me looks like. I try calling out again forgetting I can’t talk, my mouth won’t open and it hurts like hell. Tears start to fall down my face.
Confused and frustrated, I toss the blankets aside and begin to move to sit on the side of the bed. The wires that are stuck to my body pull and some disconnect. Alarms start beeping, but I press forward. A door flies open and a flurry of people rush in.
“Miss, please stay in the bed.” One young blonde nurse says to me as she silences the alarms.
A young dark haired man is instantly by my side. “Let me help you back. Less strain for you.” And as if I was a just a feather, the man swoops his arms under my knees and wraps an arm around my shoulders and swings me back around. Everything goes so fast, I didn’t have time to settle my own mind.
Grumbling behind my tight-lipped mouth, I try to express concern of my situation. I want to know what is going on. Looking around from nurse to what I must assume is an orderly, the looks of confusion they display frustrate me more. More tears start to fall.
“Jane, I will have the doctor come in and talk to you. I’m sure you are wondering about the extent of your injuries. Just give me a moment.” She rechecks all the equipment and walks out the door.
Jane? That’s not my name, is it? I try to really think about it…what is my name? I stop breathing as shock kicks in. Tears dry up and I huff out a slow breath so I can breathe. “This isn’t good.” I mumble out loud (incoherently through locked teeth.) I don’t know who I am. And I can’t talk. This totally sucks.
There’s a knock on the door and in walks a short, grey haired man with dark rimmed glasses. “Good afternoon, Miss. I’m Dr. Horsley.” He comes to the side of my bed and sits in the chair that’s there. “I hear you’ve been a bit anxious.” He opens the chart he has in his lap and starts to flip the pages. “I’m sure you’d like to know what’s going on.” He stops page-flipping and looks at me.
I look at the older gentleman, sniff my remaining tears back, and nod. I take a slow deep breath in through my nose while I wait to hear what my poor body and mind has been through.
“Well, Miss, you were found beside a dumpster at the back of the grocery store just down the street here. To be honest, you were a bloody mess.” He shakes his head and looks at me with grim face. “You were barely breathing. The store manager just happened to park behind the store, so he’s the one who found you and called for help.”
I blink a couple times at him, staring sort of blankly then nod for him to go on.
He returns the nod and continues. “After assessing you for your injuries we noted several bruises, cuts, and bumps. On your upper arm, it appears you were grazed by a bullet, the wound was deep, but we fixed that up... You have a contusion on your clavicle which will heal on its own and you have a few cracked ribs.” Dr. Horsley clears his throat. “And the biggest of all is that broken jaw of yours. Well, not completely broken—you have what is called a condyle fracture. We had to fix that up and wire you shut.” He looks at the page in the chart. “Now all we need from you is a name. So, little lady, do you have a name?” He smiles a small smile for me.
Cracked ribs and a contusion on my clavicle. What the—contusion on my clavicle? I was shot at?
I shrug my shoulders at him and feel a slight twinge of pain in the space between my neck and shoulder. I didn’t notice it earlier. Maybe now that I’m aware of my injuries I’m feeling them.
Dr. Horsley narrows his eyes. “What are you shrugging your shoulders for? You don’t know your name?”
I shake my head no to the now confused doctor.
He flips through a few more pages and stands up. “Well, this isn’t good. I think we need to repeat your head scan and do more blood work. You didn’t present with a concussion, so I’ll get things checked so we can be sure everything is okay. I’m sure your memory will come back very soon. Stress and pain can do many things to the mind.” He starts toward the door and looks over his shoulder. “There’s a button on the rail to the left of you. If you need something, you press it and someone will come help you out. I’ll be back later, after the scan and blood work has been done. Take care, Miss.”
I have a fractured jaw. My mouth is wired shut. Cracked ribs and a contusion on my clavicle. What the heck happened to me? If I only had my memory, then I’d have answers.
A few minutes later the same orderly from earlier comes in and hooks me up to portable monitors. I must be going down for my scan now. I watch the guy do everything. It’s not like I have anything else to do (beside deal with the pain) and then we’re on the move.
Back in my room the nurse draws some blood from me to do some tests and gives me an injection to help with my pain. The meds are working fast. I’m feeling groggy and pain free. I think a little nap is in order. Maybe I’ll dream of who I really am.
I’m woken to the door being shoved open and slammed against the wall.
I’m at the hospital in seven minutes. I drive right over the curb, not giving a damn about anything else right now but Mel. I slam on the brakes once I pull into a spot and shove my gears into park. I shut the ignition off, snag my keys, jump out, and rush in the emergency room waiting area to find Gabe and Belle.
They’re standing just offside to the nurse’s desk. Belle seems to be waiting to talk to a co-worker. I rush up to them. “Is it her?” I blurt.
Gabe puts his hands on my shoulders and holds me still. “We’re still trying to find out. Calm down. Belle’s freaked out, too. Take a deep breath, man. You seem worked up.” He gives me a slight squeeze on the arms and lets me go.
I blow out a breath. “Yeah, I am sort of worked up. I’m pumped to kick some ass. I want to find out who took her and take some anger out on them.” I start to pace in front of him.
“You have feelings for our girl, Jack? Something you’re not telling me?” Gabe asks with a smile in his voice.
I stop and look at him. “Shut up.” I grimace. “Now’s not the time to discuss it, but yes.” I look to Belle and see she’s finally talking to someone. Gabe must notice since he gives me a shove and we both move toward her.
When we stop, Belle turns to us. “Well?” We both spit out.
Belle licks her lips and a single tear runs down her cheek. “The Jane Doe is up in the Surgery Ward. Let’s go.” She wipes her face and grabs Gabe’s hand.
Belle directs us up to the Surgery Ward and talks to the nurse in charge. The doctor on call has a do-not-disturb note on the patient file, but after Belle talks with the nurse, she peeks in the room. It’s Mel. She identifies Jane Doe as Mel Snow to the staff and we go in. Apparently no one knew who Mel was because she’s so banged up, so now the nurse calls the doctor to make him aware that the patient is one of their own.
With the room number known, I run down the hall to find the room. I push the door open and rush in with Belle and Gabe right behind. The sight before me will haunt my dreams for a very long time.
Mel’s unrecognizable. Her face is so battered, bruised, and swollen. Her sleek black hair is a rat’s nest covered with blood and dirt, and there are tubes and wires everywhere. The eyes that look up instantly at me are blank and scared, my heart sinks. My firecracker is broken.
Belle rushes right past me and stops at the end of the bed. Gabe stops beside me. Mel stares blankly at us all not speaking or moving.
I move to the end of the bed and Mel’s head whips around to look at me. Fear is now plastered across her face. Gabe walks over to Belle and wraps an arm around her shoulder for comfort.
“Mel, who did this to you?” Belle questions her. She doesn’t see the fear like I do. She hasn’t noticed that Mel doesn’t recognize us.
I swallow a thick lump as my stomach sinks. I look to Belle and Gabe and back to my broken girl. “Do you know who we are?” I simply ask as I look directly at Mel with a calm face.
Belle blurts out immediately. “Of course, she knows us, Jack. She’s my best friend. She knows who I am. Why would you say that?” She looks to me with a stern look and then back to Mel with raised eyebrows waiting for her answer.
Gabe catches on to what I’m thinking and watches Mel’s expressions. I think he understands. He touches Belle’s shoulder to get her attention and she looks to him. He frowns. “Mel is suffering memory loss, babe. Amnesia.”
Belle slumps into Gabe’s arms as tears start to roll down her face. “No…”
“I’m sorry, Belle. We’ll have to talk to the doctors about it.” I look to Mel again. She watches us, taking it all in. Her poor busted face. She still hasn’t said anything. I don’t understand why.
Gabe moves to sit in the chair in the corner with Belle in his lap, holding her, comforting her while she cries out her frustration.
I move to the side of the bed as Mel watches me. Machines start to beep loudly. I look and see her heart rate is increasing. I’m scaring her. Shit. “Please don’t be afraid of me. I mean you no harm.” I wave my hand toward Belle and Gabe. “That woman over there’s your best friend, Isabelle. We call her Belle for short. The man is Gabe, her boyfriend. He is your friend, too.” I pull a chair from behind me closer so I can sit and watch the monitor. Her heart rate is slowing down. “I’m Jack. I’m also your friend. We’ve been looking for you for almost three weeks now. Do you understand?” I ask. I need her to answer. She has yet to speak, so unless something has happened, she should. She was a spitfire of a talker before.
“Hmph.” She muffles and I don’t understand. She barely moved her mouth. What’s going on?
“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”
A tear rolls down her cheek and she opens her lips to show me the problem. Metal. She has metal in her mouth. Oh, fuck. Her jaw must be broken or something, and it’s wired shut. That explains it.
“I understand.” I reach for her closest hand, but she pulls back. “It’s okay. I just want to let you know you’re safe. But I understand.” I pull my hand back and put it in my own lap.
“Why isn’t she talking to you, Jack?” Belle asks from across the room.
I look over to her and see her wiping her damp, redden face. “She has a broken jaw—I think—and her mouth is wired shut.”
The tears start to run down Belles cheeks again and Gabe pulls her in close. We need to get more answers about Mel’s injuries. I doubt the nurses will give us those answers, so we’ll sit here until the doctor comes. Then I’m going to keep searching for the bastards that did this to her.
These three people say they are my friends, but they don’t look familiar at all—Belle, Gabe, and Jack. I don’t recognize the names, either. The woman, Belle, seems to be taking things hard, so I must be something to her…but what?
They keep calling me Mel. That name sounds a little more familiar than Jane. I try to search my mind to see if anything pops up when I say the name a couple times. After the third time, a different name popped in my mind. Sydney. Where did that come from? I try and say Mel a few more times in my mind and the name Sydney comes again. I shake my head and frown.
“Are you okay, Mel?” The guy—Jack—asks from beside me. I forgot for a minute that he was there.
I turn my head to look and nod. I point to the cup of water with a straw on the stand beside him. I’m so dry. I could drink anything right now. He reaches over, grabs it, and hands it to me. I maneuver the straw in between my cheek and teeth and try to suck. I get a little water, but mostly drool the water down my chin.
Jack moves quick to grab some tissues to clean up the spilled liquid. He wipes my chin and man does that ever feel weird. I pull back and look at him.
He smiles apologetically. “Sorry, just trying to help.”
I don’t know what to say to him. Heck, I can’t talk to him, so I just nod. I still feel dry and try to sip again with better luck. I hand him the cup and he puts it back on the stand.
I look over to my other company and see the woman, Belle, asleep. Poor girl, she cried herself out. The man, Gabe, is caressing her hair, taking care of her. How sweet. I hope to have that someday.
Pain starts to return. I don’t know how long it’s been since I had medicine for it. I look around to see where the doctor told me to push a button for help. Oh, there it is. A button on the rail. I push it and a few minutes later a nurse comes in.
The nurse looks around the room with a smile and stops at the end of the bed. “What can I help you with, my dear?” She asks.
“Hrm.” I try to get out that I’m in pain.
The nurse grimaces. “Are you having pain?”
I immediately nod and she smiles.
“I’ll go get you something for that right now. Be right back.” The nurse walks out leaving the door open for immediate return.
“Can I do anything for you?” Jack asks me.
I don’t want the man doing everything for me and since the nurse is taking care of my medical needs, I think I’m good for now. I look to him and shake my head. He nods his head and sits back in his chair.
My company is pretty determined to stick around for me. Maybe they’re waiting to talk to the doctor, or something. The man Gabe is now sleeping, the pair of them in the one chair doesn’t look to comfortable, but maybe that’s what love is. Someday, may
be.
I see the nurse in my peripheral vision as she comes in and watch her move to my intravenous. She has a needle in her hand. “This is a little morphine for you. It will make you drowsy, so don’t feel you need to stay awake.” She plunges the medicine into the port and then disposes of the needle.
“I’ll make sure she rests.” Jack speaks up and smiles at the nurse. “Thanks.”
I can feel the morphine slowly starting to work. The pain begins to fade and I get sleepy. I want to stay awake to talk to the doctor when he comes in. I’ve had my scan and blood work and he said he’d be back. But my eyelids start to get very heavy.
“Sleep, my little firecracker. Sleep.” Jack whispers.
I close my eyes.
I’m running down a hallway, being chased. Looking back a tall heavy set man is pursuing me. I need to get away from him. Something isn’t right. My arm’s really sore. I’m crying. I pass by a mirror and see a young teen aged version of me. A voice is yelling from behind me.
“Sydney, unless you want to end up like your mother you’ll stop fucking running from me, you little bitch.”
I can’t look back again. I know he’s getting closer. I have to get out of the house. I don’t want to end up like mom. Dad just stabbed mom to death in their bedroom. I heard them arguing and I just wanted them to stop. I shouldn’t have gone in.
Keep running, Sydney. The end of the hall’s close. Then the stairs and the front door. I can do it.
I trip on the bottom step, screaming out in the pain. My arm is broken. Dad threw me against the wall and I heard a snap. He was going to do more—I know he was, but I ran.
“Sydney Jane Waters. If you leave this house I’ll find you. You can bet your life on it.” My father yells as I whip open the door and keep running. Until I run into Sebastian, my father’s driver.