Miracle

by Kimberly Shursen

  “Charlie,” Shannon said tearfully, “knocked me down.”

  “What?” Clint’s face turned crimson. “She’d never do anything like that.”

  “Well, she did!” Shannon brought her head up off from the pillow. “She’s violent, Clint. You know that.”

  “My wife doesn’t have a mean bone in her body.”

  “I think you’d better start dealing with reality, Mr. Clint Abbott!”

  “Where is she?”

  “Charlie?” Why was he asking about Charlie when Shannon was the one in pain? “In jail, I hope.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Police took her away.” She draped a hand over her forehead and sunk her head back into the pillow. “My God, she could’ve killed me. If you ask me, it was attempted murder. Thank God they got her before—”

  “I can’t believe you had my wife arrested.” Clint shook his head. “What a bunch of BS.”

  Shannon jolted to attention. “When are you going to get it? When are you going to get that Cheerleader Charlie is full of BS?”

  “Cheerleader Charlie?” Clint smirked. “You’re crazy.” He paused before leaving and turned back around. “How is it you just happened to show up at the hospital right after we did?”

  “Show up?” Shannon asked, buying time.

  “Yes. Here? At the emergency room?”

  “I… I was visiting a friend in the hospital and saw the ambulance pull in.” Think. Think. “I just happened to be at the window and saw you get out.” Shannon averted his accusing stared. “I was so worried that—”

  “Who?” Clint glared at her. “Who were you visiting?”

  “What’s it matter who I was here to see?”

  “Get some rest, Ms. Patterson.” Clint closed the door behind him.

  “I’m pressing charges against your nuttier than a fruitcake wife,” Shannon shouted after him.

  How dare he question her. There was no way anyone could have seen what really happened. She’d waited until Charlie was right next to her before she fell. All of this was Clint’s fault.

  Before Shannon left work today, she’d called Clint and offered to cook dinner for him and Mira. But, he’d declined, saying Charlie’s cousin was coming out, adding that he hoped Winston would join them for dinner.

  She had a feeling he was lying, so Shannon decided to find out. She’d driven by his house at least a dozen times before the ambulance arrived.

  Thinking something terrible had happened to Clint she’d followed the ambulance to the hospital and parked in the visitor’s lot. It was when Shannon saw Clint step out of the back of the van when she’d let out her breath. She’d tilted her head back and thanked God that he was okay.

  She’d waited a few minutes before going into the emergency room and asking for Clint who’d told the nurse to send Shannon back. God, if he’d only accepted her invitation she wouldn’t be in this predicament. Damn Charlie Abbott. She had no right just showing up where she didn’t belong.

  When she heard the doorknob turn, Shannon quickly lay back down and closed her eyes. She began to moan, rolling her head back and forth across the pillow. She’d hoped it was Clint who’d come back to apologize for being rude, but instead found a bald-headed doctor standing over her. Disappointed, she said, “My head.”

  “I hear you took a nasty fall.” The physician stared down at her.

  “Charlie Abbott pushed me.”

  He glared at her. “That’s not what I heard.”

  Shannon swallowed hard. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “I heard you fell, but it had nothing to do with Charlie Abbott.”

  “That’s a dirty lie!” God, she wanted to punch him in his smug face.

  “I’m only repeating what the receptionist said she saw.” He opened the door. “I’ll have someone transport you to X-ray.”

  “You’re not even going to check me out? Listen to my heart? What if I have a concussion? Or, God forbid, a blood clot in my brain.”

  “You didn’t fall on your head, Ms. Patterson, so I highly doubt you have a blood clot.” He started through the open door. “I’ve been your doctor for years and am well aware of your vivid imagination.”

  “Pig! Quack, quack, quack!” She imitated a duck in a high-pitched yelp. She slammed her feet on the floor and began to pace. “Ass,” she said under her breath. Beads of perspiration trickled down her forehead. Mad as hell, she went to the bed and pushed the call button.

  “Yes. How can I—”

  “I’m having a fucking heart attack in here,” Shannon interrupted. “Where the hell is someone?”

  Within seconds, the door opened, and two nurses came to her side.

  “Let’s get you back on the bed,” one of the RN’s said, putting an arm around Shannon’s waist.

  “Thank you.” Shannon leaned against her. “I think something’s wrong with my heart.”

  After Shannon lay down, one of the nurses listened to her heart as the other took her blood pressure.

  “Vitals are fine,” the older nurse commented.

  “Why does everyone keep saying I’m fine?” Shannon flung her legs over the bed, traipsed to a chair, and snatched up her coat. “If I die, you’ll all be responsible. And you can mark my word that my lawyer will sue every damn one of you.”

  “Ma’am, we haven’t released you. I think you should stay so the doctor can—”

  “Doctor? You call that freak a doctor? What a hoot,” she retaliated, marching down the hall. “That quack wouldn’t know a gall bladder from a liver.” She threw open the door to the room that Mira had been in and saw that Clint and Mira were gone.

  When she reached the door into the waiting room, Shannon slapped a hand over the silver disk on the wall and the doors opened. Storming toward the receptionist, she leaned over the counter toward her. “How dare you! Liar, liar, pants on fire.”

  The young woman immediately scooted her chair back away from an incensed Shannon, her face draining of color. “What are you talking about?”

  “You’re the one who’s saying Charlie didn’t push me!” Shannon was so mad she could spit. “You blatantly lied about what Charlie Abbott did to me.”

  Her eyes flicked to behind Shannon. “I told the truth about what happened. Now, please leave.”

  “Pfft.” Nothing would give Shannon more pleasure than strangling this idiot. “You know Charlie, don’t you? You know her, and that’s why you’re lying.”

  “She used to babysit me a long time ago, but that has—”

  “I knew it!” In a huff, Shannon put on her coat. “That’s why you’re a big fat liar. Now you tell me right now where Mira and Clint Abbott are.”

  “Ma’am, are you a relative of the Abbotts?” the young woman asked respectfully.

  “I’m Mira Abbott’s DHS worker if it’s any of your beeswax, and a friend of Clint Abbott.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m not able to give out any information.”

  In a huff, Shannon whirled around, almost running into a security guard. “Get out of my way, Bozo!”

  Spewing cuss words as she stormed out into the freezing night, she started her car and rammed her foot down on the accelerator. Shannon flew through stop signs, mumbling to herself how people don’t get how dedicated she was to her job. She was hired to protect children and, by God, that’s what she was going to do.

  Once inside her house, she called the hospital and asked for Mira Abbott’s room.

  “Clint,” she asked when he answered. “How’s Mira?”

  “They think she had a seizure,” Clint told her, his voice strained.

  “Oh my God! What room are you in? I’ll come and sit with you.”

  “No, that’s not necessary.” His voice was cold, distant. “They’re running some tests now.”

  “What can I do to help?”

  “You could find out how my wife is.”

  Seeing red, Shannon twisted the phone cord around her wrist and through her fingers. “
You want me to check on Charlie after what she did to me?”

  “She’s my wife, Shannon. And you and I both know that she didn’t touch you.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” Shannon told him, but she had no intention of trying to find anything out about that witch.

  Shannon’s hands were trembling when she opened the wine. Taking long sips, she recapped what had happened tonight. Yes, she’d fallen on her own, but it was for a good cause. Clint needed to come to grips with the fact that Charlie should never be around Mira again. And it was Shannon’s duty to make him understand.

  An hour later, she tossed the empty wine bottle into the garbage, bundled up, and headed out the door.

  Clint would be in the hospital all night, and no one in Sheffield locked their doors. This was the perfect time to see if Cheerleader Charlie was nesting where she shouldn’t nest.

  After she parked in Clint’s driveway Shannon not only noticed the larger set of tracks of an ambulance in the snow, but two more cars had been here recently. One of them could have been from Charlie’s cousin, but who’d driven the other car? It better not have been Charlie.

  Inside, she hurried up the stairs and flicked on the overhead light in Clint’s bedroom. Her eyes moved quickly over the tasteless patchwork bedspread and, when she spotted the perfume bottle on top of the dresser, her temper flared. “Irresistible,” the label read. It was difficult to resist the overpowering urge to throw the bottle across the room.

  When she opened the closet door and discovered Charlie’s clothes on one side and Clint’s on the other, Shannon lost it. “What are your clothes doing here? Your marriage is so over!” Shannon tore a blouse off the hanger, dropped it to the floor and stomped on it. “Why can’t you get that through your stupid pea brain?”

  Seething, she strode across the hall to the bedroom Shannon had already designated as the nursery, and she found what she’d hope to find: a big ole gray suitcase. “Perfect,” she said, taking the luggage back into Clint’s bedroom.

  It gave Shannon sheer pleasure to rip every piece of Charlie’s clothing off the hangers. “Frickin’ woman has no right to take up space with her shit.”

  After she stuffed the clothes, along with shoes and slippers into the suitcase, she closed it. “Out, out damn spot.” Pleased with herself, Shannon let out a howl of laughter.

  Next, she rummaged through dresser drawers and the bathroom, filling two plastic garbage sacks.

  Before she left, she snatched the perfume off the dresser and tossed it into one of the bags. With the suitcase in one hand, and the bags in her other hand, she dragged the heavy weight down the stairs.

  When she reached the kitchen, Shannon realized that if she dragged the suitcase and bags through the snow, they’d leave a trail. She popped her head out the door to make sure no headlights coming up the drive, and then she took out the car keys and popped open the trunk.

  After she carried the suitcase and bags to the car, she headed for the dump that was fifteen miles south of town. Charlie would think Clint discarded her belongings. I mean, who else would do such a thing but an angry husband?

  When she reached the landfill, she made sure no one was around before pointing the headlights toward the deep hole.

  “Finders keepers, Charlie Abbott!” she shouted as she hurled the suitcase into the foul smelling abyss. Next, she tossed out the bags.

  On the way back to her car, Shannon brushed her gloved hands together. “Losers weepers.”

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  “DADDY?” FAITH TRIED TO MOVE, but it hurt too much.

  “Right here, honey.”

  “I don’t feel very good.”

  “I know, sweetie.” He stroked her hair gently. “Soon you’ll be feelin’ as good as new.”

  She looked around, realizing she wasn’t in Mira’s bed. “Where am I?”

  “We’re in the hospital.”

  Frightened, she asked, “Am I gonna die?”

  “No, honey. The doctor just wants to do some tests.”

  “Why?”

  “They just want to check everything out,” he said calmly. “Just to make sure everything’s okay.”

  Faith tried not to cry, but felt a tear roll down her cheek. “I wanna go home.” This was all Mira’s fault. If she wouldn’t have started the fight, Faith wouldn’t be in the hospital.

  “We’ll go home soon, I promise,” Daddy told her.

  “Today?”

  “We’ll see.” Daddy pecked her on the cheek. “Can you tell me what happened?”

  Her mind was fuzzy and Faith tried to think of something to tell him. “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know, or you don’t remember?” Daddy asked, looking into her eyes.

  “Someone was trying to hurt me.”

  “Someone?”

  “Daddy.” She started to cry. “I don’t know anything.”

  “It’s okay.” He patted her arm gently. “You don’t have to think about it. Just try and get some sleep.”

  Faith turned away from him and stared at the white wall. Did Daddy believe her? A few minutes later, when she heard Daddy tell the nurse that he was going to get a cup of coffee, she rolled back over and looked around the room.

  The bed had metal sides that were pulled up, like a baby bed only bigger. A needle was in her hand that was attached small tube that ran all the way up to pole to a bag filled with what looked like water. She remembered fighting a nurse who held her down as another nurse put the needle into her vein. Someone said they were going to give her medicine to make her sleep. Faith didn’t want to sleep. She wanted to go home with Daddy and sleep in Mira’s bed.

  When Faith went to see Mira, she noticed the corndog stand was gone, as well as the cotton candy machine and carousel with all the pretty horses. Evidently, Mira didn’t like those things anymore. Lately, there’d been times when Faith had a difficult time hearing what Mira was thinking or seeing what she was doing. She didn’t know what was happening, but knew Mira couldn’t see or hear her either.

  She wondered how Mira was doing. This time when Faith traded places with her sister, Mira had been too weak to fight. She didn’t want Mira to be sad, but didn’t have a choice. She would never go back to that place again and risk Mira beating her to the tunnel.

  Faith was growing stronger, but Mira was getting weaker. The blank stare in her sister’s sunken eyes looked like dark blue marbles, her hair was a mass of tangles, and she wasn’t eating.

  Charlie knew something was wrong. Faith had to keep her away from Daddy, or she’d spoil everything.

  Hearing voices coming toward her room, Faith closed her eyes.

  “Shannon, I told you I was fine,” Daddy whispered kinda mean.

  “I thought you could use a little moral support,” Shannon said.

  “I appreciate it, but we’re doing fine. The doctor wanted to do some tests to make sure Mira doesn’t have a concussion or broken bones.”

  Silence.

  “You don’t believe me, do you?” Shannon asked.

  Believe her? What were they talking about?

  “Let it go,” Daddy told her.

  “Well, whether you believe it or not, your wife pushed me, and I fell,” Shannon told him in a voice that sounded like Charlie’s when she wasn’t happy.“She could’ve killed me.”

  “Not now,” Daddy said. “I just want to concentrate on Mira. Did you find out anything about Charlie?”

  “No, I did not.” Shannon said. “Police wouldn’t tell me anything.”

  Police? What had happened? Faith wanted to ask, but didn’t want Daddy to know she was pretending to be asleep. Even though Charlie didn’t want Faith, she was her mommy and Faith hoped she was okay. She just wished Charlie loved her like she did Mira.

  Faith opened one eye just a bit and saw Daddy standing in the doorway, but all she could see of Shannon was the back of her head.

  “Did they figure out anything about Mira?” Shannon asked.

  “No.” Daddy sh
ook his head. “Nothing has shown up yet.”

  “Was Charlie with her last night?” Shannon asked.

  “No,” Daddy said frowning. “Just like my wife wasn’t near Mira the night you took her.”

  “Well, something’s going on,” Shannon told him.

  “If I knew what it was,” Daddy said, “you’d be the first to know.”

  “Clint,” Shannon started.

  When did she start calling her daddy Clint? She used to call him Mr. Abbott.

  “I heard Mira had a twin named Faith,” Shannon continued, “but I don’t know what happened to her.”

  Faith’s tummy started to churn.

  “She…” Daddy paused. “Faith was very tiny. And she had some heart issues.”

  “So Faith and Mira were twins?”

  “Yes.” Daddy sounded sad. “Faith”—he paused—“didn’t make it.”

  Faith wanted to jump out of bed and run into her daddy’s arms, and tell him that she was okay and that she was here. But if she did, would Daddy want her to stay, or would he want Mira back? Suddenly she felt like she wanted to cry. Mira was her twin. It would have been fun to grow up with a sister. They’d have had birthday parties together, played with dolls, swung on the swing set, and maybe even worn the same clothes. But that was never going to happen.

  “I’m so sorry, Clint,” Shannon said.

  “Me, too.”

  “You think Charlie ever got over losing a daughter?” Shannon asked.

  Faith’s ears perked up.

  “I don’t know,” he whispered. “I thought Charlie let Faith go a long time ago.”

  The room grew silent and Faith saw Shannon take her Daddy’s hand.

  “I want you to know I’m here for you,” she said.

  Daddy pulled his hand away. “Thanks.”

  If Faith was dead, how could she see Mira? Or see what Charlie and Daddy were doing? If Faith had gone to heaven, wouldn’t there be other people around?

  “Mr. Abbott?” Faith saw her doctor come into the room. “I’d like to talk to you about Mira.”

  “I’ll leave you two to talk,” Shannon said. “Unless you’d like me to stay, Clint.”

  “We’ll talk later,” Daddy said.

  “Okay. I’ll wait for your call.”