Love Me, Crazy

by Laura Burton

  ‘Please someone help me!’ I screamed with desperation. I dug into Jack’s pocket and found his mobile phone and dialled for the emergency services. Jack held my hand and looked at me sadly.

  ‘I love you, Audrey,’ he said weakly. I pulled his hand up to my mouth and kissed it. His hands were growing cold despite the hot sun shining down on us. I knew he was fading fast and I begged the woman on the end of the phone to get an ambulance there quickly.

  CHAPTER 11

  Fight The Good Fight

  It took less than three minutes before the paramedics arrived at the scene. Tom’s body was taken away, he was declared dead at the scene. Jack was rushed away in the ambulance, all but dead I was sure. I was allowed to sit next to him, he was unconscious and a paramedic was assisting his breathing with a ventilator. Another paramedic sat next to me, writing down some notes on a clipboard.

  ‘What is his name?’ he asked formally.

  ‘Jack Roberts,’ I replied shakily, still holding Jack’s cold hand. ‘Please, how bad is it? Can you fix him? We won't lose him, will we? I can’t – I can’t lose him. Not now, not after everything we’ve already been through,’ I blurted out, shaking all over with shock and grief.

  The paramedic wouldn’t respond but asked more questions instead. Was he allergic to any medication? Did he have diabetes? What was his blood type? None of them I knew the answer to.

  ‘I thought you were his girlfriend?’ the paramedic remarked. I frowned, realising there was so little that I knew about Jack. The ambulance came to a halt, and several paramedics opened the doors and wheeled Jack out. They were dashing him towards the hospital and went through the doors. I hurried to catch up, but a nurse stopped me as he and the team disappeared down the hall.

  ‘Someone will come out and give you an update when they can,’ she said kindly as I watched the doors swing closed again. My heart felt empty and cold.

  I sat on a chair in the waiting room which was full of people who looked worried and tired. Then my surroundings became blurred, and all I could do was stare at the shiny floor of the hospital and focus on my breathing.

  It felt like hours had passed and still, I didn’t move. A nurse came out to me at long last, I looked up at her, trying to read the look on her face. Was he gone, or was there still hope?

  ‘I’m afraid to say, it isn’t good news,’ she began. I held my breath. ‘Jack’s suffering from a severe amount of internal bleeding, and he’s lost a lot of blood. We’ve done all we can, he’s critical but stable, and now the rest is up to him.’ she explained.

  ‘He’s alive?’ I asked, hopeful. The nurse nodded.

  ‘But he’s not out of the woods, yet,’ she said, ‘he’s receiving a blood transfusion as we speak and after that, we will see how he responds,’ she added. I nodded slowly and sat back down in my seat, feeling dazed.

  I needed to call his family. I pulled his phone out of my pocket and scrolled through the contacts. None of his brothers were listed by name, but I noticed three odd contacts- “Geez, Gimp” and “Gimp Junior,” which I figured had to be nicknames for them. I dialled “Geez,” and heard Josh’s voice on the other end.

  ‘Hey, you alright?’ He said gruffly. I cleared my throat and willed my voice to work properly.

  ‘Josh, it’s Audrey,’ I said in a pained voice.

  ‘Oh Hi, what’s going on? You sound like something’s wrong? Is that psycho still troubling you? Where’s Jack?’ his voice reeled, now concerned.

  ‘Listen, it’s a long story,’ I began quickly, finding confidence in my voice again. Josh’s rambling halted, and I could hear him wheezing on the other side of the phone.

  ‘You might want to come down here, Jack’s been stabbed, and it’s really bad,’ I started to explain. Josh’s silence erupted into outrageous ranting.

  ‘He’s been stabbed? It was him, wasn’t it? Where is he? I’ll get the lads; we’re going to hunt him down and make him pay for this, he thinks he’s invincible, well let’s see how untouchable he is when I -’

  ‘Josh, Tom is dead,’ I said blankly. Josh fell silent again, his anger dissipated for a moment, then his focus fell back onto Jack. ‘Where are you? Where have they sent Jack?’ He said, seriously.

  ‘He’s been taken to the BRI, he’s still in the emergency department having treatment, but I think he’ll be transferred soon. He’s had surgery I think, they mentioned having to control internal bleeding, and they’re giving him a blood transfusion now. They say that I can see him soon… I just thought you needed to know,’ I rambled, my hands shaking as I held the phone to my ear.

  ‘The BRI? That’s up the hill just out of town, right?’ He said quickly. I confirmed. It was a well-known hospital in Bristol with fairly new refurbishments.

  ‘Right,’ he said, satisfied. ‘I’ll call the others and get them to come over. Keep in touch, alright?’ He said, his voice breaking slightly as he spoke. The nurse was walking up to me as he talked, I eyed her nervously as I said good bye and hung up.

  ‘Can I see him now? How is he?’ I asked hurriedly. She nodded, with a small smile.

  ‘He’s looking a lot better after the transfusion. He’s being taken to a ward soon, but I can take you to him now,’ she offered as she turned and bid me to follow.

  ‘So, he’s not going to intensive care?’ I asked, hopeful.

  ‘No, he’s stabilised for now,’ she answered. Tears welled up in my eyes with relief.

  ‘He’s not going to die?’ I asked, almost sobbing.

  ‘I’m just a nurse, you should really wait for the consultant to come around. From what I can see he’ll need a good long rest and a lot of painkillers, but things are hopeful, the consultant will be around soon,’ she said smiling.

  ‘Oh, thank you! Thank you so much!’ I wailed, tears falling freely now. We passed through a set of double doors and made our way down the long corridor, as we rounded the corner at the end the beeping of several monitors greeted me. Blue, sterile curtains sectioned off a row of beds filled with various patients. I peered in through the gaps searching for Jack’s familiar shape. The nurse led me along a few beds and parted a curtain to let me into the cubicle.

  I walked in and looked at the man laying on the bed. He was hooked up to an IV drip and had a bandage around his hand with a cannula sticking out. I rushed over to the head of the bed and stared down at Jack’s face. He was groggy and blinked up at me in a drugged-like state. A moment of confusion passed his face, and then broke into a knowing smile.

  ‘Hey, beautiful,’ he murmured weakly. I kissed his forehead, letting tears fall onto his face. I squeezed his free hand and stood there in silence. Soaking up the moment.

  ‘I thought you were dead… Oh, Jack, I thought you left me!’ I cried, verging on hysterical.

  ‘You can’t get rid of me that easily,’ he said, with a slight laugh. He grimaced and held his stomach in pain as he moved.

  ‘You were stabbed,’ I said, stating the obvious. Jack raised an eyebrow at me.

  ‘That explained the throbbing pain then,’ he replied.

  ‘I called your brothers, I imagine that they will be here soon,’ I said softly. Jack made to sit up but winced and moved back down on the bed again.

  ‘I guess I’ll not be doing crunches any time soon,’ he said, trying to be humorous.

  ‘Do you want me to call your parents?’ I asked hesitantly. I didn’t know where Jack’s parents were; he never mentioned them to me before. He shook his head.

  ‘I’ll call them when I’m out of here,’ he replied with a small smile, he stared at me intently, reading my face.

  ‘You look terrible,’ he remarked, his eyes concerned. I laughed in reply; I wasn’t the one who had been stabbed in the gut and put through surgery and all sorts, fighting for my life! I wasn’t the one lying in bed in hospital, looking like I’m at death’s door! And yet, Jack was saying I look terrible? Well, that was unexpected. Jack padded his legs and tossed his head back and forth looking for something.

/>   ‘Do you know where my phone is?’ he asked. ‘You said, my brothers were coming? I need to call and tell them to bring me a takeaway,’ he said seriously. I had to laugh.

  ‘Here,’ I said, still smiling as I pulled the black phone out of my pocket and handed it to him. I then realised that my phone must have been in Tom’s pocket when he… I shut my eyes at the memory of him tumbling over the edge and falling to his death.

  Jack was tapping on his phone and held it up to his ear.

  ‘Mate it’s me,’ he said, his voice now low and even. He was trying to act cool like everything was fine. But the transparency of his skin and the waxy look around his eyes told me otherwise.

  ‘So, are you coming to see me, or what?’ he said. I could hear the mumbling from earpiece.

  ‘Yeah, yeah it’s all good. I’m fine,’ he reassured whoever it was on the other end of the phone. ‘Listen, I’m starving, and you know what hospital food is like, grab me a pizza and bring it here will you?’ he asked, in a casual slur. ‘Great, see you soon,’ he muttered and hung up. Then he looked up at me, lying flat on his back.

  ‘Audrey, could you lift me up? I hate lying down like this; I can hardly see you,’ he said. I fiddled with the electric remote that controlled the bed and got him into a seating position. His eyes rested on mine, and he motioned for me to sit with him.

  ‘That’s better,’ he said, holding my hands as I sat by his side. He is so brave, I thought to myself, after all that he had been through, he is comforting me!

  ‘How are you dealing with all this?’ he asked carefully. ‘Is Tom-?’ I nodded sombrely before he could finish. His eyes looked down, and he became quiet, full of thought. I swallowed nervously and wondered whether to voice my concerns. Now that Jack was out of the danger zone, the next question was whether or not I had a future. Though I did not actually touch Tom or actively push him off the edge of Cabot Tower, I did try to run up to him and hurt him. Who knows what I would have done, had I managed to reach him? Maybe I would have pushed him over the edge?

  Regardless of that, Tom was dead. And I was certain that there would now be a murder case involved and the police will want to know what happened. Would I be accused of murder? Would they believe me if I explained the whole story? The identity fraud, his stalking and when he kidnapped me and told me he was going to kill me? Do any of those things justify murder though? Will they believe my story; that it really was an accident, that he tripped over and fell? Is that too far-fetched to believe? I couldn’t see how anyone would be able to take that story as truth. Jack was reading my face; he seemed to be following my thoughts.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ he said softly, clutching my hand in his. ‘We’ll get this all sorted out and then…’ he trailed off and looked away, with a small hopeful smile on his face. There was sudden movement outside the curtain, and a nurse appeared at the foot of the bed. ‘Sorry to disturb you Jack, but I have a couple of police officers who would like to speak to you, are you feeling able to give a statement?’ she asked sheepishly. ‘I can send them away if not,’ she added hastily. Jack glanced at me before he nodded to the nurse and she disappeared again. A few nervous moments passed, and two male police officers walked through the curtains. They were tall and burly, with an air of authority about them.

  ‘Jack Roberts? Can we speak to you, in private?’ He asked, glancing over to me carefully. Jack looked at me and nodded.

  ‘Oh, I’ll wait outside,’ I offered quickly. I walked out of the curtains and walked on autopilot to back down the corridor to the waiting room. There I found Jack’s brothers talking to the lady at the reception desk. They turned their heads and looked at me with anticipation as I approached them.

  ‘How is he?’ Joe asked, anxious. I nodded, closing my eyes briefly against the pain in my head. My head felt like a heavy weight on my shoulders and difficult to keep held high. It had been a long day- it felt like a long day made up of many long days. And my body ached and begged for the comfort of my bed.

  ‘He’s expected to make a full recovery. The police are talking to him now; then we can go back in and see him. They’re supposed to be moving him to a ward soon too,’ I explained. Then I noticed a pizza box in Josh’s hands, and he nodded at his two brothers. James scratched his head.

  ‘I don’t understand what happened,’ I began. ‘Jack wanted to drive me to my parents house and stay there while he worked out how to find Tom and gather enough evidence to take to the police and get him arrested – or at least, off of our backs all the time-‘ I started as we all walked to the chairs and each took a seat. Joe sat closest to me and leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs and clasping his hands.

  ‘I went out to get some food from the corner shop by my house, but on the way, Tom grabbed me and stuffed me into the boot of his car,’ James, Joe, and Josh groaned and shook their heads.

  ‘No way, that’s crazy,’ they stated, at once. I smiled to myself, as I noted how similar their mannerisms were to Jack’s. These really were his brothers.

  ‘I called Jack, and he overheard my conversation with Tom about him kidnapping me and taking me to Cabot Tower,’

  ‘What was he going to do with you at Cabot Tower?’ James asked, confused.

  ‘That’s a bit strange,’ Josh stated, his eyebrows furrowed deeply as he stared at the floor in thought.

  ‘He told me. He meant for me to call Jack and for him to follow us. He was going to kill me when Jack arrived, then commit suicide with Jack framed for murder,’ I explained.

  ‘So, what? Jack came to rescue and got into a big showdown where they fought each other, and he got stabbed?’ Joe asked, half-joking. James gave him a hard look of disapproval. ‘It’s not funny,’ he said darkly.

  ‘He did come, just as Tom and I were standing out on the top viewing point. He wanted me to walk over to the edge, and then Jack came running in. The rest is a bit of a blur, but Tom managed to stab Jack, and he dropped the dagger on the floor. I ran at him, but he stumbled backwards and tripped on the dagger, and then he fell over the edge.’

  ‘Splat,’ Josh said, grimly. I cringed at his words and shook my head.

  ‘No, it wasn’t quite that bad. But he was definitely dead,’ I said.

  The police officers came back and approached me. Butterflies flew around in my stomach, and I stared at them, nervously waiting for them to ask me for my statement or arrest me.

  ‘Can we have a quick word?’ One of them asked. I nodded and followed them down the hall to a quiet place.

  ‘We understand that you witnessed the stabbing today?’ they asked. I nodded, trembling at the core.

  ‘I know it’s upsetting, but we just need to know what you saw,’ they explained. I swallowed quickly.

  ‘I saw a man take a knife out of his jacket and stab Jack in the stomach,’ I said blankly, hot tears stinging my eyes. The police officers looked at each other and nodded. ‘That will do,’ the one standing closet to me, said.

  ‘Don’t you want to know about the man who stabbed him? I mean, he fell off the tower afterwards!’ I blurted out, surprised.

  ‘Well, Mr Roberts explained all about our friend Tom,’ the police officer said with a meaningful wink.

  ‘We’ve had a search on our records, and he’s on our list of con-artists that are known to us. He’s had a warrant for arrest for a long time now.’

  ‘So… will there be a trial?’

  ‘No, it sounds to us like this should be treated as a suicide,’ and with that the officers tapped their hats to me and walked off down the hall. I stared after them, my jaw hanging in shock. The room suddenly grew lighter, and I felt an immense weight lifting from my shoulders. I looked around to the waiting room and noticed that Jack’s brothers were gone. I bit my lip, repressing the grin that was threatening to take over my face.

  It was over. The nightmare was over. No more harassment. No more lies and fear, and no more worries. I hurried down the hall back to Jack’s cubicle and hurried through the curtains my fac
e brimming with happiness and total relief. The three stocky brothers were crowded around the bed, talking. They turned when I walked through, eyeing my face with curiosity.

  ‘What did the police say?’ Jack asked, with a slice of pepperoni pizza in his hand.

  ‘They’re treating Tom’s death as a suicide, and they knew about him already – so they won't be investigating the situation any further,’ I burst out. A grin spread across his face, and he raised his hands in the air. The brothers gave low cheers and patted Jack on the shoulders.

  ‘That’s the best news I’ve heard for a long time,’ he said brightly. I nodded, my eyes wide and staring at Jack. I hardly dared to blink, in case it was all a dream and I woke up again in the nightmare.

  TWO WEEKS LATER

  The police were able to track down Tom’s previous place of work, which turned out to be Clifton High. The bank branch that he was the ‘managing director’ of had never heard of Tom and had no idea of his existence. Let alone, hired him. Mrs Callingham went through a very awkward meeting with the police who informed her that Tom was not a reverend and he had not died when she thought he had. However, now he really was dead. For real. She called me within minutes of the meeting and apologised for not believing my accusations and offered me my old job back.

  ‘I would love to come back to work at Clifton High,’ I blubbered down the phone, feeling thrilled.