As soon as the door slams behind us, she stops and spins around to face me. “Who are you and why do you need to see Ella?” She surveys the narrow hallway before her gaze lands back on me.
I cock my head to the right and smirk. “Just take me to her and then once I’m with her, I’ll tell you whatever you want to know.”
“I’m not taking you anywhere near Ella until you answer my questions. For all I know you may be a crazed stalker.” She blinks a couple times and then wrinkles her nose.
“That’s funny, because I was just wondering who the hell you are and why you seem to always show up when I’ve got a problem.” I shove my hand in my front pocket and retrieve my pack of cigarettes and lighter.
She shakes her head and opens her mouth a few times, but no words come out.
“What? Now you can’t speak?” I laugh and then step around her. I don’t have time to play this fucking game with her. She’s distracted me enough already. I’ve got to find Ella Blue.
I shake my head as I take a few more steps, distancing myself from Gracie Phillips. Fuck, I need a smoke. I shake a cig from the pack and light it up then take a much need drag. Damn, I feel better already. Now if I can get rid of this chick, my life will be near perfect.
“I know where she is. Ella…I know where she is.” Her words hit me hard in the center of my chest. I bark out a cough before stopping in my tracks and quickly turning around.
I shake my head and shift my eyes in her direction. “Then take me to her.”
She’s standing about four steps away from me with her hands clasped in front of her body, and a ridiculously large smile on her face. She shrugs. “I don’t know if I want to. You still haven’t given me what I want, so why should I take you to her?”
“Why does it matter who I am? We’re in a building full of people, so I think she’s safe.” I take another hit off my smoke and move toward her, shortening the distance between us. I’m really not wanting to go into any details about mine and Blue’s past with a stranger right now.
She tilts her head to the left and raises an eyebrow.
“This conversation is wasting my time. I just need to see Ella,” I say.
I take a final drag from my cig, and the smoke billows between us. She waves her hands all around while coughing and gasping for air.
“Give me a damn break. Step back and turn your head for fucks sake. I can’t control where the smoke goes. You’re acting like I blew it in your face on purpose.” I drop the butt to the floor and ground out the cherry with the heel of my boot.
“You’re a jerk,” she spits out before her eyes drop downward. “You are going to pick that up, aren’t you?” She points to the butt on the floor.
I give her a slight shrug, and she rolls her eyes and looks away.
“Enough with the dramatics. Tell me where she is,” I demand as I bend over and grab the butt from the floor. I hope this makes her happy or at least happy enough to take me to my Blue.
“Why should I?” she asks.
“I guess you shouldn’t, but if you’re not going to, you need to leave me alone so I can look for her.” Fear washes over me as the words leave my mouth. My talking game is good, but if this girl doesn’t tell me where Blue is, I’ll lose my chance of seeing her tonight.
Gracie adjusts her glasses as she steps around me. “Come on, let me see if I can find her. She should be in the room just around the corner.”
I blow out a breath and follow closely behind her down the hallway. We hook a right at the end of the hall and then take a few more steps until we reach a yellow door. Gracie knocks gently, and we wait a couple seconds before she looks over her shoulder at me.
“This is the room where the band keeps all their personal belongings. She should still be in there because we were going to meet up here after Reckless Fury finishes playing.”
I wonder how well she knows Blue. If they’re meeting up to hang out, they must be friends.
After a few seconds of nobody answering, Gracie knocks again. The knob twists slowly, like someone is trying to open it from the other side, but then the movement suddenly stops. A few seconds later, the door swings open and a tall redhead is standing in the doorway staring at us.
Gracie drops her head back so she’s able to make eye contact with this tall-as-shit chick. “Hey, Babs. Is Ella still here?”
The redhead’s eyes flick from Gracie to me and then back to Gracie. “Nope, she’s gone. Been gone for a while.”
“Did she leave by herself?” Gracie asks.
The tall redhead—Babs—leans against the doorframe. “How am I supposed to know? I saw her grab her stuff and then she was gone. Nobody asked her where she was going, and she didn’t offer to tell anyone.”
“Okay, thanks,” Gracie says before the door is slammed in her face.
I drag my hand through my hair. Fuck. Is this the end of the road…again?
“Do you have any idea where she might be?”
She taps her finger against her lips. “I do, but I can’t tell you.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” A surge of heat flares inside of me. I want to be done with this fucking night, but I owe it to myself and to Ella Blue to follow through.
“I don’t know you, so I’m not going to just freely give out anymore information about Ella.” She nervously shifts her weight from her right leg to her left.
“This is bullshit,” I say through clenched teeth. Fuck.
Gracie inspects the small area we’re standing before returning her gaze to mine. She shakes her head and then blows out a breath. “I can’t betray Ella’s trust. I don’t know you, and I’m not about to tell some random guy where she’s staying.”
“So, she’s staying here? In town?” The muscles in my neck tighten as I struggle to get the words out.
Gracie immediately realizes her slipup. “I need to get out of here. I’m supposed to be working. The band will be finished with their set in a few minutes.” She steps around me and heads toward the exit sign at the end of the hallway.
“Dammit, Gracie! Don’t do this!” My voice is deep and a lot louder than it should be. I suck in a breath and drop my head back before closing my eyes. If Ella is staying in town tonight, I should be able to find her.
“I’m done with this night,” I mumble before lifting my head and opening my eyes. My breath catches as my gaze meets a pair of big green eyes. “Why are you still standing here? I thought you were leaving.”
Gracie smiles before shoving her phone in front of my face. “Give me your name and phone number.”
“What?” I glance at her phone.
“Put your number in my phone, and after I speak to Ella”—she exhales a long breath— “I’ll give her your number, and if she wants to see you, she’ll be in touch.”
I grab her phone and quickly key in my contact information. I’m more than likely grasping at straws. What are the chances of this weird-as-shit chick actually giving Ella my number? That said, right now, it’s all I’ve got, so I’ll take it.
8
Leo
“If anything turns up, we’ll give you a call.” Andy’s voice lingers behind me as I pull open the door and walk out of the Idlewood Police Department. It’s been three days since my car was stolen, and so far, nothing has turned up. I call fucking bullshit. There has to be somebody out there who saw something.
It’s also been three days since I found my Blue and then lost her again. Everything happened so damn fast. I’m having a hard time wrapping my head around my car being stolen, much less Ella showing up after all these years. Then throw in her weird friend Gracie and it almost doesn’t seem real. Fuck. I shake my head and start down the steps toward the sidewalk.
My phone vibrates in my pocket as I reach my Harley. I pry the damn thing out of my front pocket and answer it before looking at the screen. I’m 99.99% sure it’s my brother, because he was pissed earlier this morning when I told him I’d be in late for work. It took me longer at the stat
ion than I originally thought, so I’m sure he’s ready to chew on my ass for a while.
My brother Beau and I run Jim Matson’s Towing and Automotive here in town, and it’s been in our family since my grandfather opened it over forty years ago. My dad pretty much ran it into the ground before he died, but Beau was able to work his ass off and pull it out of the shitter. Over the last five years, business has picked up enough that we’ve been able to hire two full-time mechanics and someone to answer the phone, but he still thinks one of us has to always be there “in case something happens.” Honestly, what the hell is going to happen that a phone call won’t fix?
“Can’t you give a guy a fucking break? I’m checking on my car. I’ll be there in a few minutes,” I huff out.
“Hello?” a soft, female voice sings through the phone.
I close my eyes for a beat and blow out a breath before pulling the phone from my ear and checking the number.
“Dammit!” I mumble, because I don’t recognize the area code or the number. Is it Blue? It’s been three days since I saw her. Why would she be calling now? I pull myself out of my wishful thinking and take in a huge dose of reality. The voice on the other end of the phone doesn’t even sound like her. It sounds like… “Gracie?” I spit out as I lean against my bike.
“Yeah, it’s me,” she says. “Having a bad day?”
“If you’re asking if my car has been found, the answer is no, so the answer would be yes, I’m having a bad day. But, if you’re calling because Ella Blue wants to see me, then my day just got a whole lot better.” I grin, even though logically I know she doesn’t want to see me. If she did, I would have heard from her either before the show or the following day. I’m easy enough to find, even without having my number.
“I wish it were that simple, but it’s not.” A heavy sigh follows her words, and I immediately get the sense that something is wrong.
“I don’t understand.” I clear my throat and clutch my phone tightly.
“Ella is in the hospital.” She blurts the words out fast, almost too fast. Then she inhales deeply before she says the words that both shock me and also give me a glimmer of hope. “She’s asking for you.”
“Which hospital?”
“Mercy Medical.”
“Is she hurt?” I squeeze my eyes closed, take a couple of deep breaths, and try to calm down.
“Not exactly, but you really need to come as quickly as you can.” Gracie’s voice has changed from the laughing, cheerful tone she had when I first answered the phone to a nervous, stuttering blabber.
“One more thing.” I need to ask this next question for myself, because I need to be sure I completely understand what she just said.
“What is it?”
“I need to be sure I heard you correctly.” I blow out a long slow breath. “Did you say she was asking for me?”
“Yes, Leo, she’s asking for you.”
Her words hit me hard and I grip my phone even tighter. “I’m on my way.” My voice is frantic by the time I end the call, my mind racing with so many fucking questions. Was she in an accident? Is she hurt? Why would she be asking for me after all these years?
“Fuck,” I mumble to myself as I shove my phone into the front pocket of my jeans and then swing my leg over the bike. I can’t even think about work right now. It’ll have to wait. Ella Blue needs me; she’s asking for me. I shake my head in confusion. It doesn’t matter why. All that’s important is me getting to her, so I focus my thoughts on Blue and head out.
* * *
After pulling into the parking lot, I grab a pack of cigarettes along with the lighter from the saddlebag on the right side of my motorcycle. Smoking outside a hospital is probably not the best plan, but I’ve got to calm the fuck down before I see Blue. It’s been almost a decade since I’ve spoken to her. Seeing her again at the bar was almost surreal, but seeing her today like this is going to throw me back to a place I haven’t been in a long time. I still don’t understand how she can fly into town after all these years and completely fuck up my head.
I tap out a smoke and bring it to my lips before lighting it up. With one long drag, my problems seem to be less suffocating. I exhale a cloud of smoke and then repeat the inhale/exhale process again and again until there’s nothing left. I snuff out the small glowing ember with the bottom of my boot, toss what’s left in my pack back into the saddlebag, secure my bike, and then head for the ashtray-covered trashcan near the building. Once I toss the butt into the tray of ashes, I take one last calming breath and remind myself that I can do this. It doesn’t matter what I’m about to walk into; it’ll never be as bad as the day she vanished from my life.
“You’re here.” Gracie’s soft voice pulls me from my thoughts. She’s standing in front of the steps leading to the entrance of the hospital.
I nod, not wanting to talk, at least not yet. I’d like to be semi-calm when I see Blue, and I know if Gracie gets me worked up then I’ll be in shambles by the time I get to her room.
“Come on, I’ll take you to her,” she says, walking ahead of me toward the glass door. I follow her slowly without speaking. As soon as we’re inside the elevator, she starts rambling about how screwed up this entire situation is and how she’s really scared for Ella. She’s all over the place, and I’m having a hard time following what she’s saying.
To hell with not talking. She’s driving me nuts with all her garbled-up shit.
“Just calm down for a second and tell me what’s going on.” I glance in her direction. “I need to be prepared for what I’m about to walk into.”
The door opens, and I follow her out. She leads me into a small waiting room to the right of the elevator. Her big green eyes look up into mine through her dark-rimmed glasses, and it’s obvious she’s been crying. Her eyes are red and swollen, and her face is pale and blotchy.
“Tell me what happened to Ella,” I demand before releasing an impatient huff.
She looks away for a moment, maybe two, before returning her gaze to mine. “I don’t know what happened to her. Nobody does.”
I should wait and let her finish, but I can’t. The panic is back, and it’s affecting my breathing.
“What do you mean nobody knows what happened to her? If she’s asking for me then she’s awake, right?” I ask hastily.
“She is awake, but…” Tears fill her eyes, and her words turn to sobs. She drops her head downward and stares at the floor.
“Dammit, Gracie. Just tell me,” I say loudly. I cringe before taking a glance around the small waiting area. There are only a couple of other people and they aren’t looking at us, so maybe they’re too caught up in their own worries to even care about my yelling and Gracie’s sobbing.
She looks up into my eyes with tears rolling down her face. “She doesn’t know who I am. I’ve been her best friend for almost six years, and she doesn’t remember me.” She scrunches her nose and sniffles. “But you…you’re all she can talk about. In the years I’ve known her, she’s never mentioned your name once, but in the last two days, she’s asked for you more times than I can count.”
“She has amnesia?” I shake my head as I stammer out the question.
A heaviness weighs in my chest while I wait for Gracie to answer me. I knew something was off. It was too weird that Blue was asking for me, but it never crossed my mind that she could have amnesia—until now.
She nods. “They’re calling it dissociative amnesia, I think.”
“What does that even mean?” I’m lost. I had no idea there were different kinds of amnesia.
“It means her memory is on lockdown inside her head. The doctors think it’s because she witnessed something traumatic, but they don’t know for sure.”
“How is she supposed to get better?”
Gracie shrugs. “Time, I guess, but there’s also no guarantee she’ll ever fully remember everything. Come on, we can talk about it more later.” She grabs my wrist and pulls me down the long hallway until we stop in front of room 3
04. Gracie reaches for the handle, but I grip her arm gently to stop her from opening the door. My stomach is in knots, and my head is full of everything that’s happened over the last three days. Fuck, how am I going to be able to face her?
I look over at Gracie one last time before I go in to see the girl I once loved more than anything in the world.
As if my life isn’t screwed up enough right now, fucking insecurity decides to rear its ugly head. “You’re sure she wants to see me?”
Gracie glances up at me and rolls her eyes before pulling her arm from my hold and pushing the door open.
I take a few steps into the darkened room. It’s empty, except for Blue, who’s lying on her side facing away from us. Her body is curled into the fetal position and her breathing is slow and steady. I’m relieved she’s not hooked up to a bunch of machines and shit, and I take that as a good sign. At least she’s not critical.
“She’s been sleeping for the last couple hours,” Gracie whispers.
I glance over in Gracie’s direction. She’s standing next to me with her arms wrapped around herself.
“Was she in an accident?” I mumble the question, trying to keep my voice low so I don’t wake her.
“The doctors can’t find any physical injuries. All of her tests and scans have been normal.” She inhales deeply and then blows out the breath slowly. “Sunday, the day after the concert, she was wandering through town in the same clothes she had on the night before. The cop who found her said she looked like she was strung out on drugs. He also said she couldn’t even form a coherent sentence.”
I take one step closer to Blue and then look over my shoulder at Gracie. “Was she on drugs?” I wait for her answer, hoping like hell she hasn’t developed a drug problem since the last time I saw her.
My Blue Page 6
