Ding Dong!! Is She Dead?

by Alathia Morgan

  Allie was surprised at the question, “Oh, no. We aren’t a couple we have been involved in a high stress situation and have gotten to be good friends. I like boys, uh, men, but I am not really looking for a relationship right now. There are too many things that are going on that would make that very complicated.” Allie was trying to let him down easy so that he didn’t get the wrong ideas about her life.

  Justin couldn’t help but notice that karma was not being nice to him. Helping rescue someone evidently didn’t undo the easy letdown of Stephanie earlier,

  “I know that your car is not going to be drivable in the near future. Stan mentioned that he would get a friend to tow it over to their garage until you can get the insurance claim going.” Seeing her start to protest, he interrupted any objections by continuing. “Listen I won’t ask you out on a date in the near future, but I know that we both could use some hot food after all that adrenaline rush. No, strings attached, I can give you a ride to pick up some food and make sure that you get home safely. What do you say?” Justin was just crossing his fingers that she didn’t have another option available since it was now about three in the morning.

  “I guess that would be all right.”

  Secretly relieved that he had taken her at her word with the dating because she had no idea how in the world she was going to get out of the hospital.

  “Food sounds heavenly since I know for a fact that all they serve at this time of day is vending machines. Don’t choose #f5 they have been there for quite a while. So lead on to the hot food and we can be just friends.”

  Once Allie made up her mind there wasn’t much point in standing around. Waving her hand in front of her she let him show her the way to the parking lot.

  Justin drove a Chevy Truck that wasn’t too old, but had just gotten broken in like a good pair of jeans. He walked around and opened the door for Allie, which got him the look.

  “Thanks for being a gentleman by opening the door, but how the hell do you get into this thing? Jump?” Allie was looking for a way to get up into the seat from the ground which was a good two feet off the ground. Evidently his model did not come with steps and there was no way that Allie could get in gracefully. Although, this was the first truck that she had ever ridden in, so Allie couldn’t be sure what accessories normally came with a truck.

  “Here, throw your backpack up and then swing up just like you would on get on a horse.” Justin thought that was the best explanation of how to get in without him helping lift her into the truck.

  “Dude not everyone has ridden a horse so that is just as foreign to me as how to climb into your truck.” Allie figured a little sass after midnight never hurt anyone. She threw her pack in and started to climb in, but was lifted up so quickly that she didn’t have time to protest.

  “Well, in that case I will show how to do it when I get in and you can try next time.” Justin grinned because he had been able to place his hands on her butt without getting slapped in the face. He quickly hid his grin and went around to his side.

  “This is how you do it. Place your left foot on the floor board and then bounce up while holding the handles. It should give you the momentum you need to put your other foot on the floorboard and scoot into the seat.”

  Justin shut his door and started the truck, heading toward the Whataburger which was the only place open at this time of night. Thankfully they had missed the drunken crowd rush that always comes after last call.

  “Just so that you know, Justin, I will manage to get into the truck next time all by myself. There will be no need for your ‘assistance’.” Allie hadn’t even realized that he had taken hold of her butt until she was already in the seat.

  “A Lady never scoots somewhere, we simply glide into place.”

  Satisfied that she had the last word, Allie was quiet until they arrived and she had to jump out to go inside.

  Justin made it around the truck just in time to close the door after Allie had made it out. They walked up to order and Allie managed to pay for both of their orders.

  “I can’t let you do that especially since we aren’t on a date. I should be paying for my food at the very least.” Justin protested, he had never had a woman pay for his meal before.

  “Let’s just say that you have earned it as my taxi cab. I would have paid a driver for the ride and this way I don’t feel obligated to give you gas money.”

  Allie felt less like she was on a date having paid for the food, but knew that as a guy, he would need a good reason or his pride would be hurt.

  Holding up his hands in surrender, Justin took his drink over to a booth and sat down. Allie followed putting her backpack on the seat next to her.

  “So Allie what is this situation that you have been in all week that is soooo stressful?”

  Justin thought that it would be a simple explanation of work or normal girl trouble, but was amazed at what had happened when she told him the highlights of the week.

  Their food came and they ate while Allie continued the story that very few people had heard that week. While there were rumors that something crazy had gone down at the hospital that week, the hospital PR group had been able to say that they were implementing changes to the system so that the community would be safer.

  The rescue community was the only group that knew what had been going on, but they were trying not to incite a panic among the town folk. Justin was simply flabbergasted that the town rumor mill had not gotten ahold of the story. The local ladies were better at spreading the current news than the paper was.

  “So what happened tonight was not just some random event, huh?” Justin couldn’t imagine what she had been going through all week.

  “Well, from what we can tell happened, he (we are assuming Mike), was responsible for attacking Julie and then trying to strangle me. He tried it with Megan earlier this week and that seems to be more his M.O. than stabbing. He likes to make you as defenseless as possible. We just aren’t sure what he is trying to accomplish at this point.”

  “After trying to kill Megan and then these attacks tonight, he should know that there is simply no way that he will get Sally back or be able to reunite with his family. I mean, he has been a cop for a long time and knows how this works. This could be the reason that it has taken him so long to be caught. He does have a lot of friends here that would be willing to take him in. It is just a matter of time, but with the way he has been accelerating the attacks I’m not sure that there is much time left.”

  Allie suddenly realized that all she had talked about with this extremely hot guy was being attacked.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sure that you are not interested in hearing all of this. It has just been so consuming this week and now that I have helped them; I feel that Megan and Sally have become the family that I have never had before.”

  Justin leaned across and grabbed one of Allie’s hands, “Never take what you have been through as something to be ignored or pushed aside. While this has been happening, you have been a huge part of making sure that Sally was safe while Megan was recovering. Most people would have dropped Megan off at the hospital and left to go back to their daily life. Very few would have gone back to see how they were doing. Not only are you concerned, you have put your life in danger for them without asking them for anything in return. That is amazing and if you need anything I wouldn’t mind helping out at all.”

  Seeing Allie’s embarrassed look, he let go of her hand. “So what is it that you do for a day that job that allows you to take the week off?” Justin tried to steer the conversation onto a different topic.

  “Don’t laugh, I’m a Nova lady.” Allie crinkled her nose at him. “For real’ ding dong Nova calling’ and when you open the door it should be me or one of my girls standing on the other side waiting to take care of your beauty needs.”

  Putting up her hand in the stop motion, she continued, “Do you really make money at that? The answer is yes, I do. When you work and follow up with your customers, they tend to become l
oyal customers returning for all of their beauty, clothes and household needs; or as is the case of this week, protection from an abusive husband. What do you do for a living?” Allie was more than curious what a great guy like Justin actually did for a living.

  “I work for my parents out on their property, kind of a handy man. I’m sort of always around so I think I’m kind of handy.”

  Justin wasn’t prepared for the snort of laughter from Allie. Most people found his sense of humor kind of corny. Glad that he could make her smile.

  “Ah, I do have my own place so that they don’t have me hanging around all the time.”

  “Speaking of which, don’t we need to get home so you can get some sleep at your place?”

  Justin looked at his watch and realized that if they didn’t leave soon they would meet the early risers coming in for breakfast.

  “Oh, no. I didn’t mean for you to be out all night. I’ll just let you drive me to the hospital and drop me off.”

  Allie took her tray toward the trash assuming that Justin was following her flight from the booth. Justin threw his trash out and followed in her wake barely unlocking the door of the truck just before Allie tried to open it. Allie must have gotten a second wind because she just hopped into the truck without any assistance from Justin this time. Justin closed her door and went around to his side. Listening to Allie apologize for keeping him out all night, she was surprised when he pulled up at a set of condos instead of the hospital.

  “Now, Allie before you say anything, this is where I live. I do not expect anything from you, but I cannot let you go back up there and sleep at the hospital. You have been through too much and need to rest in a bed, not in some uncomfortable hospital chair. I will sleep on the couch and be a perfect gentleman. I even own a gun and my home security system is very good. Nothing is going to get past me to harm you. Just for tonight, okay?”

  Allie simply sat there and then realized just how tired she really was. She shocked him when she agreed without any fight and simply got out of the truck with her backpack. Walking around the truck, she waited while he recovered from her quick surrender and met her where she was standing on the sidewalk. Pushing the button to lock the truck, he turned to Allie and simply put a comforting arm around her shoulders guiding her toward his condo apartment. At the door, he turned to look at her and saw that her second wind was completely gone. Holding herself up by sheer willpower, she put a hand out to hold the wall up while he unlocked the door.

  She was taken by surprise when he scooped her up and carried her inside, turning to close and lock the door. He continued to the bedroom where he placed her gently on the bed. Without speaking he pulled the covers down and removed her shoes laying them on the floor by the bed.

  “Um did you need to use the restroom or anything before you go to sleep?” Justin was trying to think of all the things a woman might need to do before going to bed.

  Appreciating the fact that he was trying to take care of her and be a gentleman, Allie nodded yes. “If you will just make sure that I don’t fall over on the way there or back that would be wonderful.”

  After a very uneventful trip to the bathroom, Allie managed to sit down on the bed without falling over. Justin took her shoulders and gently laid her down and pulled up the covers to tuck her in. He walked over to turn off the bathroom light, when Allie sat back up.

  “Don’t turn off the light, please? I won’t be able to go to sleep for fear that he will be lurking in the shadows.” Allie couldn’t help the way that her body started shaking just from the idea of what Mike would do to her if she let her guard down.

  Justin walked back over to the bed and sat on the edge reaching up so that he was close enough to put his arms around Allie.

  “Do you want me to sleep on the floor in here with the door closed? I can even move the dresser in front of the door if that will help you feel safer.”

  Justin knew that she was going to have bad dreams for a while, but with the way that she was shaking it might take a few years before they went away.

  “Thanks, for trying to comfort me. I really didn’t mean to drag you into all of my baggage. I am usually much more independent than this. I don’t understand what is wrong with me tonight.”

  Allie wanted to move back from Justin’s embrace, but when she thought about that she seemed to snuggle in closer.

  “I guess for now I wouldn’t mind if you were holding me until I fall asleep. It would be so nice to let someone else worry about me for a change.”

  Justin smiled, “I think that you need to let someone else take control and watch over you so that you can rest. I am going to go and set the alarm and make sure that all the locks are good and maybe even put the cedar chest in front of the front door. I will come back to move the dresser and then I’ll hold you for as long as it takes for you to go to sleep.” Justin just wished that he could be there to watch over her for more than one night, but he would take what he could get.

  Allie waited; listening to him set the alarm and heard him moving something across the floor, which she assumed was the cedar chest. He came back in and closed the door of the bedroom, moving the dresser in front of the door. Justin then opened one of the drawers and took out a pair of shorts which he carried into the bathroom.

  Allied tried not gasp when he came out of the bathroom without a shirt on, he was wearing only the shorts. While he wasn’t a guy that went to the gym on a regular basis, he was still a good looking guy and it had been a while since Allie had seen a guy look like that in person. He walked around and climbed on top of the covers.

  “Last chance to change your mind, I can sleep on the floor if you prefer.” Justin was certain that Allie wouldn’t change her mind since she hadn’t taken her eyes off of his chest.

  “Um, no, not changing my mind, but it is just for tonight no guarantees on future sleep overs.” Allie tried to be stern, but wound up smiling at Justin, who was only inches away.

  “Lay down, Allie, I will be a perfect gentleman for tonight at least. Now, tomorrow, all bets are off.” Justin eased her back to the pillows and pulled her head toward his shoulder.

  Allie didn’t need directions, she just snuggled in realizing that he had not only made her feel safe, but protected as well. Before she could enjoy the feel of his smooth chest under her hand, she was asleep.

  It took Justin a little longer, but he realized that while they hadn’t had sex this whole evening had been more intimate than his last few relationships had felt over several weeks’ worth of dating. Processing this thought, he drifted off to sleep and woke midafternoon to the ring of his phone.

  Justin hopped up to answer the phone. Allie just mumbled something and snuggled deeper into the covers not waking up.

  Justin answered with, “hey, hold on just a sec.” He walked over to the door and pushed the dresser back in place with a small thud. Glancing at Allie to make sure that she was still asleep, he opened the door and closed it gently.

  Putting the phone back up to his ear, “Okay, Mom what’s up?” Justin sat on the edge of the couch as he heard the beginning words of a lecture that could take a while from his personal experience.

  “What do you mean what’s up? We have called three times since 8 a.m. and texted you several times with no response. If you hadn’t answered this time, your father was coming over there to make sure that you were all right.” His mom finally stopped for a breath of air.

  “I’m sorry mom, I was asleep.” Justin felt awkward sitting in his boxers while his mother was on the phone and there was a girl asleep in his bed.

  “Well, we were worried and it is close to three in the afternoon. With all that went on last night, we knew you might sleep in. Since you still hadn’t answered and it was much later than you normally sleep in, we thought you might be one of those that were involved at the Three W’s last night. You know how I worried I get when things happen in the world and I can’t get ahold of my children. Plus you normally call me to let me know that everyth
ing is okay before you go to bed, so that tells me that some woman was more important than texting your mother to let her know that you are all right.”

  Hating how close to the truth his mother truly was, Justin wasn’t even sure that he could explain the situation without digging a hole that much deeper.

  “They haven’t released the information on what happened last night. Were you there? Did you see what happened?”

  Now, that she knew that he was all right his mother would move on to the more important reason that she was calling to see if he had any information that could be used for gossip.

  “Sorry, Mom, I’m okay. I was there and did see most of what happened, but I really can’t tell you about it since it is a police investigation and they asked us not to talk about it yet.” Justin ran his hand through his shaggy brown hair with a sigh.

  “I had no idea that they would put that on the news, but I guess that it makes the most sense in a small town. I should have called. It was just crazy until it was all over when we realized that sleep would be the best idea since it was so late. We fell asleep and I guess your call was what finally woke me up.”

  Ignoring his apology, his mother immediately picked up on the fact that he had used the words “we”.

  “So we aren’t as important as some girl after all. You do have a girl over there and were so tangled up that you couldn’t call to let us know that you were okay. I guess that I didn’t raise you as well as I thought that I did.”

  Justin quickly cut off his mother knowing that he could be in more trouble for interrupting, but needing to set her straight about Allie so that she didn’t get the wrong impression.

  “Whoa, Mom. Slow down and hold on for just a minute. It was much different than that, I wound up at the hospital with a girl and she…”

  This time his mother interrupted him in mid - sentence, “Justin you had better not have gotten some girl pregnant. I just couldn’t take that from you, my baby. What did I teach you all those years and now you have just gone and thrown it all out the window.”