Sickness

by Kellee L. Greene

  I chewed my fingernail. “Thanks.”

  One of my most hated things in the entire world was not being able to reach someone when I needed to. I had nightmares about it. And here I was unable to reach anyone.

  It wasn’t so much a worry about Hoyt because I already knew it was unlikely he’d call me back after getting the message. He might call Polly to respond though and that was all I wanted.

  The rest of the day, I paced waiting for updates even though the TV channels had gone back to their regularly scheduled programming. If something were really wrong, someone would be talking about it. It would be big news. There would be constant coverage. Polly would have called me.

  The front door squeaked as it opened and I heard the familiar sound of Maddie’s backpack dropping to the floor. She didn’t say anything before walking down the hall and closing her bedroom door.

  Things between Maddie and I were currently in a strange place. I loved her more than life itself but she didn’t understand why we were still living with her dad.

  She’d heard every fight we’d ever had since she was five. I could still remember when she was seven years old and asked with tears streaming down her face if we could go live with grandma.

  I should have been stronger but I didn’t have the money to move out. It was hard because even though Freddie didn’t act like it, he was still her father. I wanted things to be better between them even if he wouldn’t ever go back to being the man I married.

  Maddie couldn’t wait until she turned eighteen in a few months because she planned to move out. She didn’t have money or a job but she was determined. Grandma would help her, at least that’s what she told me one night when we hadn’t been getting along.

  I knocked on her door. “How was school today?”

  “Fine,” she shouted through the thin wood.

  “Can I get you anything? A snack? Soda?”

  I could hear her groan. “I’m on the phone, mom. We can talk later, okay?”

  “Yeah, sure. No problem.”

  “Okay, now walk away from the door.”

  I sighed as I went back to stand in front of the TV. Nothing new.

  I tried to call Polly again but still, she didn’t answer. My stomach was twisted into a tight knot.

  My feet padded back and forth along the already worn carpet. It felt like spiders were crawling all over my body underneath my clothing and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t brush them away.

  Anxiety was rippling through my body, growing and growing into the waves of a perfect storm. I couldn’t just sit in the house waiting… but I didn’t have a choice. There wasn’t anything I could do miles and miles and miles away.

  It was about an hour later when my phone buzzed. I smacked my hand down on the phone as if it were going to run away before I could answer.

  “Hello?” I answered without looking to see who was calling.

  “I was able to see mom,” Polly said.

  “And?”

  “They sent me home almost as soon as I got there.” Polly exhaled. “It’s really strange over there. Mom started to have a seizure and they made me leave the room. I kept asking if she was okay and they said she’d be fine… that it was a rare side effect.”

  I chewed the inside of my cheek. “Was this something they discussed with you?”

  “They didn’t mention it at all during the initial meeting. Maybe they said something to mom, I guess. Anyway, they sent me home and on my way out,” Polly said swallowing so hard I could hear the gulp through the phone, “there were other patients in their rooms having the same reaction.”

  “All at the same time?”

  “Yep.”

  “That’s weird, right?”

  “It’s totally weird. They escorted me and a few other people out of the building before putting the whole place on lockdown.”

  I glanced at the TV. “That was on the news. I’m surprised they let you go in.”

  “I found a way in. What are they saying on the news there?”

  “Nothing much. Doesn’t seem like the reporters really know what’s going on.”

  “Hmm,” Polly said. I could hear her tapping her fingers on something through the phone. “Mom seemed okay just as I was being ushered out but I didn’t like it. I didn’t like it at all. Leaving her after that episode was really hard.”

  I ran my fingers along the rough edge of the table. “Did they tell you anything else? Like when you can see her again?”

  “They said they’d call,” Polly said. “The doctors and nurses seemed calm but the looks on their faces told a different story. I could see it in their eyes, Kit.”

  “What could you see?”

  “They were scared. Truly frightened. It seemed as though they didn’t know what was happening even though they said they did.” Polly hesitated. “I’m so worried about mom. I tried to call the facility several times for an update but no one answers. I’ll try going back again when the firetrucks leave but for now, all I can do is wait. They told me when I was leaving not to worry, that she was in good hands.”

  My eyes were locked on the TV as if staring at it would force them to provide more information. “Do you believe them?”

  “I don’t know.” Her words came out painfully slowly. “I don’t know,” she said with a sigh. “I want so badly to just take her out of there but they wouldn’t allow it. There was such a rush to get me away from her and out of the building. I heard a word, at least I think I did, as I was being dragged out of the building.”

  “What word did you hear?”

  There was a long moment before she spoke again. The spiders started to crawl under my skin again.

  “Quarantine.”

  “Quarantine?” I asked scrunching up my nose. “Are you sure?”

  “No. Like I said I thought that’s what they said but I wouldn’t bet any money on it… at least, not a lot.”

  I knew my sister well. Everyone who met us always thought she was the older one because she was so confident. In charge. But she was younger than me. And even though she wanted to be strong and take care of everyone, I could tell when she was faking it. Polly was never very good at hiding how she really felt from me.

  “I need you to do me a favor,” Polly said.

  “What do you need?”

  “Hoyt isn’t returning my calls. I wanted to update him on what’s going on in case he’s worried,” Polly said. “He’s been working on some things for the wedding and work. I know he’s busy but can you stop by the hotel when you get a chance and see him? Update him if you want but make sure he picks up his damn phone and calls me.”

  “Umm,” I said trying to think of a way out of seeing Hoyt. It was bad enough I was going to have to see my husband in a few hours. Seeing her fiancé was not something I’d planned on doing today.

  Polly groaned. “Please? I’ll send you gas money.”

  “Polly,” I said with a sigh.

  “What?”

  “Don’t be like that. I could walk to the hotel if I wanted to.”

  “Well, then, help your sister out, okay? I don’t ask much of you, do I?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “I kind of have a full plate here. One second,” Polly said. It wasn’t a long wait before she spoke again. “That was the facility. I need to take this.”

  I pressed my lips together. They made a small popping noise as I opened my mouth to speak.

  “I’ll get a message to Hoyt. I actually called him earlier when I couldn’t get a hold of you but he was so busy he couldn’t call me back apparently,” I said. “Update me as soon as possible, okay?”

  “I will,” Polly said instantly ending the call.

  I wanted to tell her to let my mom know I loved her and that I was thinking of her but she didn’t give me the opportunity to say anything more. It was hard enough that I had to stay behind when my mom was going through so much. I should have been there with her.

  I grabbed my phone and my keys before knocking on Maddie’s door. “I nee
d to run out for a bit. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

  “Yes, fine,” Maddie called back.

  I exhaled as I walked out the front door and plopped down into my old, rust-sprinkled Ford. There was a quarter tank of gas left but it would be more than enough to drive the few blocks to the hotel Hoyt owned.

  My hands were at ten and two as I drove down the road at the precise posted speed limit. It had taken less than ten minutes to pull into one of the parking spots at the ten-story, five-star hotel.

  As I walked toward the building, I felt drastically underdressed compared to the other people coming and going. The men all wore their pressed suits and the women all in their tight pencil skirts with perfectly poofy blouses. Every woman had nearly the same hairstyle with her hair pulled back into a tight, sleek ponytail or bun.

  I walked past the front desk like I’d done with Polly many times before and headed down a hallway that led to the office area. The glass door was being cleaned by the custodian as I arrived.

  “Hello,” he said softly as he opened the door for me.

  “Hi,” I said and the main receptionist looked up at me. I gave her a wide smile. “I’m here to see Hoyt Parker.”

  “Do you have an appointment?” she asked keeping her eyes on her computer screen.

  I chewed my lip for a second as my eyes scanned the rows of office doors stopping at Hoyt’s door. “Not exactly.” I decided to lie even though I was terrible at it. “He’s expecting me though.”

  I walked toward his office door and placed my hand on the glass. The wheels of her chair squeaked on the tile floor as she stood.

  “You can’t go in there,” the receptionist said with a panicked look on her face. “Not until I talk to his secretary.”

  “No, no, it’s okay. I’m his soon to be sister-in-law,” I said pushing the door open.

  The receptionist quickly picked up her phone and pressed one key. She started talking to someone but I was already inside his office.

  I closed the door softly.

  Denise, Hoyt’s secretary, wasn’t at her desk like I’d hoped. I knew she’d save me from the receptionist who was only doing her job.

  I looked around the room before proceeding toward Hoyt’s closed office door. There was a large window next to the door with the blinds closed. He was probably in the middle of a meeting and he was going to be pissed about the interruption.

  I could hear voices inside. Happy voices.

  He probably wasn’t talking to Polly because if he were, the news she had for him wouldn’t have made him sound so cheerful.

  I leaned closer, nearly placing my nose on the glass trying to catch a peek through the blinds. What I saw was enough to cause me to audibly gasp.

  I was frozen solid. My phone rang shattering me into a thousand little pieces. Hoyt turned toward the window.

  The happy voices ceased and I took a step back. I turned and ran out of the office as my fingers fumbled at the side of my phone, trying to turn down the volume.

  I was nearly out of the main office area when the receptionist called after me. “Next time, make an appointment! You can’t come in here without one.”

  My heart was racing. I had to get out of there as fast as I could. My feet were carrying me at a jog that had every eye in the place on me.

  I slowed down to a walk as I left the hotel, sucking in a breath of fresh air the minute I was outside of the stuffy lobby. It didn’t help. Fresh air wasn’t going to do anything to erase what I’d seen.

  I held up my phone and saw that I’d missed a call from Polly. Dammit.

  Chapter Three

  I sat down in my car but I couldn’t listen to the message from Polly. My lungs needed more oxygen. It wasn’t until I was four blocks away from the hotel, I was able to listen. There was no way Hoyt could have caught up to me considering his pants had been down around his ankles but that didn’t help shake the feeling he’d known I was there and would soon be behind me.

  I pulled over to the curb near the bank on the corner and drew in several long breaths as I stared into the rearview mirror. My heart was still pounding but my breathing was returning to normal.

  I closed my eyes as I listened to the message. It was short and it made my heart sink into my stomach. She wanted me to call her back as soon as possible.

  “Helpful, Polly,” I groaned as I tapped the screen to call her back.

  When she didn’t answer, I shouted at the steering wheel in frustration and tossed my phone onto the passenger seat. Some of the frustration was due to not knowing how to deal with what I saw through Hoyt’s office window and the other part was not knowing what was going on at the facility.

  It wasn’t until I was pulling into my driveway that I realized my call back to Polly had gone straight to her voice mail. Not even a single ring.

  I tried her again as I walked into the house but it was the same thing… straight to voice mail. I left her a message. “Polly! Answer your damn phone.”

  It was quiet inside the house. The TV was off and there was a note taped to the screen.

  Be back around ten.

  Maddie

  I crumpled up the paper and tossed it onto the table where my empty coffee mug still sat from this morning. Somehow, the day had flown by even though it felt like it had gone by painfully slowly.

  I sat down on the wobbly dining room chair and rested my face on my palms. How could I tell Polly what I’d seen? She probably wouldn’t even believe me. She’d be mad at me. Polly loved Hoyt so much. He’d saved her from a miserable life like mine.

  Hell, if I told her, she’d leave him and then what would happen to her? I didn’t want her to end up back in a position like mine… depressed and unable to make ends meet. Only barely taking care of my daughter and not really taking care of myself.

  Every time I closed my eyes, I could still see Denise’s skirt hiked up around her waist as she leaned over the top of Hoyt’s desk. Her fingers gripped the edges as Hoyt held her hips, drilling into her vigorously.

  I shook my head and cringed at the memory I wouldn’t ever be able to get out of my head. Denise was evil. How could she pretend to be Polly’s friend one minute and then do something so heartless and cruel the next? She knew that Hoyt and Polly were engaged. Denise had even helped organize some of the details of their upcoming wedding.

  My stomach swirled but stopped the second I heard Freddie’s noisy truck pull into the driveway. The only good thing about Freddie coming home was that it made me instantly stop thinking about Denise and Hoyt.

  The engine stopped. Freddie’s work boots scraping along the driveway toward the house was like a potato peeler being dragged against my bones.

  I swallowed as I looked up at him, trying to determine how bad his mood would be by the creases at the corners of his cold, dark brown eyes. He grunted as he looked past me toward the kitchen.

  “Dinner isn’t ready?” he asked harshly.

  “Sorry, it’s been a rough day. Something is wrong in New York where mom is,” I said carefully as I walked toward the kitchen. “What would you like to eat?”

  He raised a brow. “Steak and potatoes.”

  “I have hamburger patties and an Idaho potato.”

  “As if that’s the same thing.” He stared at me for a long moment as if trying to decide how mad he should be. “It’s not like I have much of a choice, do I?”

  “Pasta?”

  He shook his head. “The burger will suffice.” I opened my mouth to tell him what was going on in New York but he pointed at the stove. “Go on then, get to it.”

  I almost laughed but I stopped myself. The last thing Freddie would want to hear about was what was going on with my mom and sister.

  I kept my phone on the counter next to me as I cooked Freddie’s burger in the pan. Even though I didn’t feel hungry, I added one for myself.

  I stabbed the brown potato several times before popping it into the microwave. Freddie sat down at the table and clicked on the TV. The news was on a
nd it seemed as though they were reporting on the facility.

  “Turn that up,” I asked.

  “Don’t worry about what’s on TV until you’ve finished cooking. It should have been ready for me when I pulled into the driveway.”

  I rolled my eyes. If it wouldn’t have started an hour long argument, I would have undercooked his burger. But I wasn’t in the mood for it, not that I ever was. Today I just really, really, really wasn’t.

  “Where’s Madeline?” he asked as he kicked off his work boots and left them laying on the middle of the floor.

  “Out with friends, I guess. I came home to a note,” I said gesturing toward the crumpled-up piece of paper.

  “You really should keep a better eye on that girl,” Freddie said shooting a quick glance in my direction. “We don’t know nothing about the kids she hangs around with anymore.”

  I placed my hand on my hip. “It’s not like I don’t try, Freddie. She shuts me out every time I try to talk to her.”

  “Well, you gotta make her talk,” he grumbled as he changed the channel. “Take her phone away or something. You let her walk all over you, that’s the problem. She knows you’ll let her get away with it too.”

  I hated to admit it but he wasn’t wrong. What I couldn’t say was that it was partly due to the fact that the less time she spent around the two of us, the better it would be for her.

  Maddie needed to have normal friends and have healthy relationships so she didn’t make the same mistakes I did. She didn’t need to stay home and be around her drunk father, who yelled for entertainment.

  I plated his food and set it down gently on the table in front of him. I slid my own burger across the table from him.

  “You gotta clutch that thing everywhere you go?” Freddie glared at me. “It’s dinner now. Put that damn thing away.”

  “I’m waiting for a call from Polly to update me—”

  “She won’t call during dinner time. Put it away.”

  I looked away from him and tucked it into my back pocket so I could feel it vibrate if she called. There was no way I was going to miss another call from Polly… not with everything that was going on.