by L. J. Sealey
“There was this group of girls who I’d had a bit of trouble with in high school, you know the type: perfect hair, designer clothes. . . the popular girls who treated everyone else like crap? Anyway, it was mostly jarring words and occasionally one of them would shoulder bump me as they walked passed me in the hall, making sure I dropped my books. Anyway, I remember this one time they followed me home taunting me. When they caught up with me down a small alleyway that I always had to walk through to get to my street, one of them dragged me back by my arm.”
Michael listened as he shoved Evo so he could get to the sink to rinse their cups. “Only cowards behave that way.” he told her.
Evo shoved him back. “I would have punched the bitch.”
“Well, it was because I tried to do that very thing, and missed, that I ended up on the floor with two of them kicking hell out of me.”
“Damn.” Evo said.
“Yeah. I was lucky when a boy from school, a senior, came down the alley and thankfully intervened. He managed to stop them and threatened to call the police. Needless to say, the girls said some choice words but then left pretty quickly. It was something that the boy said to me that I’ve just remembered. He said that the only reason he was passing that way was because he’d left a term paper in class, and going back to get it had made him late for work so he’d taken a shortcut.”
Michael stopped pouring the coffee for a minute, struck by a familiar memory. It can’t be. . . No. No, there’s no way. He shrugged the strange feeling away and filled up the two other mugs as Lacy went on.
“If it hadn’t been for him, who knows how badly I could have been hurt. My only regret was that one of the girl’s older brothers beat him up after school one night. I felt terrible because I knew it was because of what he’d done for me.”
“Shit. Remind me never to get involved in a bitch fight,” Evo said as he dried his hands on a towel hanging from the cupboard door.
Michael continued to ignore the tight feeling that had now grown more intense in the pit of his stomach as he sugared the coffees.
“The worst part about it was that the boy ended up in hospital, all because he stopped me from ending up there, or worse. I wish I could remember his name?”
Michael placed both his hands on the counter and tried to clear his head for a second. She couldn’t have been talking about the same day. It had to be a coincidence, a very large coincidence. He picked up two of the mugs to take over to the table and as he walked away from the kitchen counter, the next words that Lacy spoke almost floored him.
“Jack! That was his name. Jack Pearson”
The coffee mugs that hit the floor smashed into pieces.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
“Shit, my man. Watch what you’re doing next time.”
Evo began to wipe spilt coffee from the bottom of his trousers with the dish towel.
Michael bent down to pick up the broken pieces. “Sorry, buddy.” He was still feeling a bit numb after hearing Lacy say his name−his real name−from when he was still human. The name he hadn’t heard for over a year since he’d died. Or, whatever the hell he was. Fucking hell! He couldn’t believe that she was the girl he’d been beaten up over in his last year of high school.
“What high school did you say you went to?” He sounded apathetic even though he was barely able to speak as he tried to comprehend what he’d just heard.
“Clearview High. Lawrence Co. Do you want some help with that?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ve got it. You never mentioned you lived in Ohio.”
“Well, I was only there for a few years and then I got accepted into UMD so I came to Maryland to study.” Lacy began to squeeze her hands together on her lap looking quite sullen all of a sudden. “I desperately wanted to say sorry to him, but when I went to visit him his parents were there and wouldn’t let me see him. They told me it was my fault and to never try and contact him again. I never saw him after that. I wonder what happened to him.”
Michael placed the broken pieces of coffee cup in the bin. She’d come to the hospital? “I never knew,” he whispered.
“Sorry. What was that?” Lacy asked as Michael realised he’d said that out loud.
“Uh. . . They”−he cleared his throat−“never knew. His parents I mean. If they’d known what had happened they probably wouldn’t have blamed you.” Though, he wasn’t entirely sure about that.
“Maybe,” she replied. “It upset me for a long time not being able to see him; even it was just to say how sorry I was.”
Michael finished dusting up the last of the mess he’d made on the kitchen floor and swept it into the bin. “I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have expected an apology from you.” That was the truth. He never did blame her for what happened.
Soon after, Michael’s parents had moved them out of the area; said they didn’t want him getting into anymore trouble, as if what had happened was his entire fault or something. After the Johnson’s fostered him from the Heritage Boarding Academy when he was seven years old, they were never really very fond of him. He knew from an early age that they’d never liked him but he’d accepted it, staying out of their way as much as he could by working as soon as he was old enough to. That way, he would get home from school just in time to change for work, eat, and then he’d go straight back out again until late. It was what it was. And it beat living at the children’s home that he’d spent most of his miserable childhood in.
He never got to finish high school either. After leaving Clearview High, there was no point enrolling into a new school where he lived as there was only four months left of the term.
It never stopped him though. If anything, his relationship with The Johnsons had made him more determined to achieve something much higher than their expectations of him. He saved what money he earned, put himself through college, graduated and got himself a good job as soon as he’d left, working as a programmer for a software development company. After working as part of a development team for nearly a year, Michael himself went on to develop a web portal designed for investment companies to access global market data, and went on to have huge global success with many large corporations buying his software. After which he built up his own software development company and was a multi-millionaire by the time he was twenty-six.
It was a very different life from the one he’d led for the past ten months. He’d had no shortage of friends, colleagues who admired him and a busy social life. Being CEO of a large company was a big deal. He was very well respected, rich, he could have anything he wanted, any woman he wanted−and he did−but the money, the status, it never changed him. He made sure he gave back too. He cared about people, was always passionate about helping as many as he could, a “true philanthropist” they’d called him.
Why he was now dead, he had no idea.
“Michael?” Lacy’s voice hauled him away from his memories, pulling him back to the present, back to the kitchen with her and Evo, and he noticed they were both looking at him. “Is everything okay?”
“I’m going for a walk.”
* * *
The SUV pulled into the hospital parking lot.
It’d been a long day of waiting around and Michael had hardly seen Lacy after what had happened this morning. He’d avoided her as best he could. Not knowing how to handle the fact that she wasn’t a complete stranger to him anymore.
She’d certainly surprised the shit out of him when she’d said his real name and he didn’t know how to handle it. It wasn’t as if he could tell her. To take his mind off things he’d headed over to the college in the hope that, if he’d found the demon that was possessing Jake, he could have taken some of his frustration out on its ass. No such luck. Jake had disappeared since going after Lacy.
Michael had left Evo alone with her for half the day. She hadn’t been happy about it but in fairness−in between catching some sleep on the sofa−his friend had behaved, keeping his eye on her for the right reasons and even making sure she’d eaten. Mic
hael hadn’t mentioned the panic attack to him but he’d made sure Evo understood that she was still shaken from what had happened with Jake and had told him to go easy on her. His egotistical buddy may be a shit sometimes, but he knew when things were serious.
They pulled into a free space by the main entrance of the building. Michael was sat in the front with Evo, and Lacy was in the back. She hadn’t said a word the whole time which was fine. Michael wasn’t in the mood for talking either.
“You go ahead, I’ll hang here.” Evo said as he killed the engine. “No point in us all going in.”
Michael flicked his seat belt. “Thanks, man.”
He saw Lacy hesitate. “Actually, Michael, I was wondering if I could go in alone for a while. Just until I know how she is.” He understood. And as much as he didn’t want her being on her own at all, he had to give her this.
He glanced at Evo who shrugged his shoulder like he could care less.
“Fine, but if you see Jake, you get straight out of there ok.” Lacy nodded to him. “Just take as long as you need. We’ll be right here.”
“Thanks,” she said as she left the vehicle.
Michael watched quietly as she walked away towards the slow rotating doors at the hospital’s main entrance. He knew she was in serious danger and it was unsettling him. It wasn’t fair to her that she knew nothing of the danger she was in, and not being able to tell her was eating at him in a big way. So much so, that it surprised him how much he did care. Deep down he knew he was getting too emotionally involved in this particular case and it wasn’t because of Nina, the girl lying in the hospital bed.
To his chagrin, Lacy had been on his mind all day. It wasn’t so much about how amusing he found her when she was drunk, or that he’d enjoyed spending time in her company−again−but about how he’d felt when she’d kissed him. damn! He couldn’t believe he’d actually contemplated kissing her back. Of course, not only would it have been a selfish thing to do on his part given the state she’d been in, but it would have also seriously complicated things. The last thing he needed was to get involved with someone while in his current. . . state. He’d forced himself to push her away last night but for some reason, he was having real trouble pushing her from his mind.
This is a big problem.
“So, what’s the deal with the chick?” Evo asked, his eagle-eyed friend never one to miss a trick.
Michael shifted uncomfortably in his seat. “What do you mean?”
“Come on, I’ve seen the way you look at her. You’re into her aren’t you? Don’t blame you though; she’s a nice piece of ass.” It was all Michael could do to stop himself wiping the smirk of Evo’s face. He sooo wasn’t in the mood for his buddy’s clever quips right now.
“Forget it Evo, we’re not going there ok. She’s a work colleague who’s, regrettably, already too deep into this shit that’s going on.” He tried to sound convincing but knew his friend wasn’t stupid. Thankfully, and to Michael’s surprise, Evo didn’t press. Good, they had more important things to deal with at this present moment in time. Like what the hell had decided to use Jake as a suit and why?
“I think there needs to be someone watching the hospital at all times. Jake’s bound to show up again at some point. That demon’s gonna try and finish the job and I want to make sure one of us is here when he does.”
Evo nodded his head. “Agreed. I rang the college earlier and managed to speak to Jake’s roommate. He hadn’t seen him since early last night. I’m not surprised he’s gone AWOL though. It’s a little hard to act like a model student when you’re full of demon.” He exhaled.
“I know. I went over there this afternoon. No sign of the son of a bitch. It’s like he’s just vanished. So what do we do now?”
Evo picked up his Lucky strike cigarettes from the dash, shook one out and stuck it between his lips before lighting it. He inhaled deeply then blew the smoke towards his open window. “We wait. Sooner or later the bastards going to show and we’ll be here when he does.”
Michael felt anxious as he thought about how Lacy could have ended up like Nina, wired up to machines in a hospital room, or even worse. That bastard could’ve killed her. How he felt when he thought about someone hurting her bothered him. It felt foreign to him. Those kinds of feelings hadn’t existed in him before, even when he’d still been alive, and it was seriously unsettling. And now, whether he liked it or not, she was his responsibility.
Sure they’d spent a little time together over the short time they’d known each other, but how had she gotten so under his skin? It made no sense. He’d had plenty of opportunities to be with women since he’d been in his new body. He knew that some of the women he’d helped had been attracted to him but he hadn’t been interested. Not even in anything casual, with any of them. So what was so special about Lacy?
After an hour or so Michael couldn’t stand sitting in the SUV any longer. His anxiety had only gotten worse so he needed to get out.
“I’m going to check out the grounds. I need some fresh air,” he said to Evo who was sitting as still as a statue looking straight ahead out of the windscreen. With Evo’s work, this whole stakeout thing would be something he was well used to but Michael couldn’t stand it. Not tonight anyway. Sitting around doing nothing was driving him insane.
“Ok man, no worries.”
“Call me if anything changes.” He got out of the SUV and inhaled the crisp fall air deep into his lungs as though he’d been trapped in a confined space for a decade and had just managed to break free.
He walked through the parking lot, straight past the main entrance of the hospital, through a small crowd of smokers and towards the edge of the building. Eyes scanned the area while one hand was inside his woollen trench wrapped around the Glock that was strapped to his chest. Still no sign of Jake. He walked past the old, original brownstone building that was hidden away behind the new modern build which now took pride of place at the front of the grounds. He continued on past the ambulance service yard, which was situated at the back of the building, and carried on walking until he’d come full circle, ending up right in front of the revolving doors which led to the main reception entrance.
Unsurprisingly, he found the urge to go inside and check on Lacy too strong to fight. Before he knew it, he was in the elevator travelling up to the third floor where ICU was. The walk down the corridor was a long one. The trauma ward was alive with the many nurses and doctoring staff that were on duty, rushing in and out of rooms that spread all the way down to a set of double doors at the end of the cream hallway. Some were open and as Michael walked past, he glanced in and saw families sitting by their loved ones’ beds. Some were laughing and joking; some sat quietly, their anguish clear on their faces. A female voice came over the tannoy system requesting the presence of a Doctor Henley to treatment room 4.10.
Visiting was until 9pm and would soon be over. With no sign of Jake yet, hopefully Michael could get Lacy home quickly and safely while Evo watched over the hospital for the second night running.
He pushed through the double doors and into a smaller corridor which was much quieter. The decor looked the same but the strip lights overhead seemed a little dimmer. The information sign on the wall in front of him had an arrow pointing left for the nurses’ station. He headed straight there where a nurse with brown, shoulder length hair was just coming out of a small room behind the desk with a file in her hand. She was laughing and spoke to someone over her shoulder before smiling at him. “How can I help?” she asked in a soft voice.
“I’m looking for my colleague. She’s visiting a patient here.”
“What’s the patient’s name?” She sat down on a chair and placed the file on the desk in front of her.
“Nina. Nina Murphy.” He fastened a couple of the buttons on his trench just to make sure his weapon was hidden.
“Ah yes, you’re with Miss Holloway?”
“Yes. She asked me to pick her up.”
“No problem. She’s in room
3.08 just down the hall on the left.”
“Thanks.” He smiled, and headed in that direction.
When he approached Nina’s room he stopped at the large window, looking through to the cream room with its navy blue linoleum floor. The lighting was dim and the bed was in the middle of the room with a boom arm−which was attached to the ceiling−that housed the EKG machine which was monitoring the student’s vitals. Lacy had fallen asleep in the chair next to Nina’s bed, her hand resting on Nina’s arm.
Michael couldn’t help but watch as Lacy slept. Some of her blond hair had fallen loosely over part of her face and she looked so peaceful. He couldn’t understand why she’d become so emotionally attached to Nina. She’d never met her, never even knew who she was until he’d pointed her out in the dining room a few days before, but she was acting like a family member would. Maybe it was just her nature. He hadn’t known Lacy long but he knew her enough to know she had a kind heart. She was there for Nina purely out of kindness when the girl had no one else. That knowledge, and the way she looked as she slept in that chair, was what made Michael realise how much she’d captivated him. He suddenly realised how beautiful she was and not just on the outside.
He frowned as his conscience spoke up and told him to get a grip. This wasn’t going to happen. He couldn’t let it.
He noticed a hot drinks machine down the far end of the hall so he left Lacy to sleep for a little longer while he went to get them both a coffee. He felt around in his jeans pocket for change and managed to scrape together the three dollars fifty he needed for two cups. The swishing noise from the machine was a stark contrast to the quiet of the ward so it was good that it was right out of the way of the bedrooms. All that was by it was a linen cupboard and the family waiting room−to which the door was open. He heard sniffling coming from inside but ignored it as he sugared the coffees and stirred them with a lollipop stirrer. Useless things.
He was heading back to Nina’s room when he glanced into the waiting room and saw who the sniffling was coming from. A woman sat by herself with her head in her hands. He walked inside, approaching her slowly so he wouldn’t startle her. “Are you ok?” He kept his voice low.
