THE FALLING KIND
By Randileigh Kennedy
Copyright – 2016 by Randileigh Kennedy
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, people, or places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are simply products of the author’s imagination, and any similarity to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any way whatsoever without written consent from the author.
To M.F. - the only boy I’ve ever truly fallen for.
[And to jury duty – thank you for affording me the time to get this book started.]
Table of Contents
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER 1
“Sydney, can you watch the front desk real quick while I head back to the break room? I have to get rid of the bodies before anyone finds out,” Eva said with a scrunched up face.
“I hope that’s some terrible joke,” I countered. Usually phrases like that weren’t thrown loosely around the vet clinic.
“I did it again,” she said frantically. “The entire Consuelo family is floating.”
I popped my head around the hallway door where I had a direct line of sight to the staff room. Sure enough, the rectangular fish tank she kept on the counter was eerily calm. The water looked far cloudier than usual – likely the cause of the massacre.
“I already killed the Rodriguez family last month,” she said, pointing towards the tank. “The Mendez family didn’t make it long before that. Dr. Nikki is going to think I’m an idiot.”
Sadly my first thought was that she might need to start watching a new telenovela for more name inspiration if she planned on getting another batch. For some reason she named them all after her favorite soap opera characters.
“How is it that you are employee of the month time after time, but yet you can’t keep your own fish alive?” I teased. It was quite ironic, given our line of work. Eva was just the receptionist at the clinic, she wasn’t a vet tech like me, but I still found it amusing.
“Will you please just watch the front for me? It will take less than ten minutes,” she said, making her way towards the back. She rummaged through a room down the hall and pulled out a plastic bag and a small net. The nice thing about working the late shift at the clinic was how slow it was at night. Sometimes an hour or more would pass without a single walk-in. It wasn’t my usual shift, or Eva’s for that matter, but we were covering tonight for some other co-workers.
“No one is coming in this late, it’s almost closing time,” I said, checking the white clock in the lobby area. I threw my long blonde hair up into a loose ponytail. “It’s already nine forty-five. I’ll help you,” I said sincerely, reaching out for one of the items she held.
She handed me the plastic bag, which meant she planned to scoop out the bodies. We made our way to the break room and she removed the lid from the tank. With a disgusted face, she scooped the net in and plopped the wet, heaping pile into my outstretched plastic bag. Water splashed all over my hands, and I couldn’t help but scrunch up my face at the aroma. It was a mixture of chemicals and sea death.
“How can they possibly smell so bad this quickly?” I asked as she dropped in a second scoop. At that same moment, the front door chime sounded.
I walked up to the lobby area, forgetting I had the plastic bag of decay still in my hands. As I made it to the front desk, I noticed two men and a whole lot of blood.
“Eva,” I yelled back towards the break room, “I’m going to need some assistance.” It appeared the dead fish were the least of our problems tonight.
I quickly assessed the two men as they approached me. They had blood all over their arms, but they didn’t appear to be holding an injured animal. The taller man was young with a large, strong frame and a worried expression. He had short messy light brown hair and tan skin. The older man with him had a long silver braid and a weathered face. He was clearly of Indian descent. I could tell by the look in his eyes that he was in pain. I noticed he was holding a blood-soaked area near his ribs.
“Was there an accident?” Eva said frantically, dropping her wet fish net on the wooden desk. “Where’s your animal?”
“No animals,” the young man said calmly. I noticed a huge gash on his left forearm. “There was just a little incident outside your office. Harvey needs medical attention.”
Eva immediately dialed 911 from her desk phone.
“What happened? Are there others, or just the two of you?” I asked. I’d been working in the vet clinic for nearly four years and I’d seen a lot of horrible wounds. This much blood up close on humans, however, threw me for a loop. I felt helpless.
“I can get you some towels?” I offered. “Maybe some antiseptic? Did you get cut with something?” My words felt somewhat distorted in my head like I wasn’t asking the right questions.
“Just a little bit of metal,” Harvey replied with a forced smile, still clutching his ribs.
“Was the piece of metal a knife?” Eva chimed in, looking at each of the men. “That looks serious, you’re dripping blood all over the floor.”
I quickly made my way to the back of the office, washing my hands and grabbing some towels and disposable pads.
“The ambulance is two minutes out,” Eva stated, helping me with the towels in my arms. She gently held one up to Harvey’s torso, trying to maneuver it towards his wound without causing more pain.
“Here,” I said to the younger man, wrapping a towel around his forearm. “Apply some pressure.”
“Thanks,” he replied sincerely. “Really, mine looks worse than it is. I’m more worried about Harvey. He needs to get to the hospital. My bike is out front, but I didn’t think he’d be able to hold on to steady himself.”
I couldn’t imagine these two men riding all the way to Mountain Ridge Memorial Hospital on a bicycle. It was only a few minutes away by car, but it would’ve been a disastrous attempt with Harvey’s torso bleeding like it was.
It felt like it was mere seconds before the ambulance sirens were right out front of our clinic. Two EMTs rushed through the front door.
“Are you sure you’re fine? Can you head back to the warehouse tonight?” Harvey asked the younger guy with a strained expression.
“Yeah, I’ll take care of the delivery tonight,” he said calmly with a nod. “I’ll come by the hospital after it’s done.”
“Sir, you’re injured too?” one of the EMTs probed while the other ushered Harvey to the ambulance.
“Oh, uh, no, I just got a little scratch. I’m fine,” he replied, relaxing his broad shoulders. “This nice lady here,” he continued, gesturing towards me, “I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name…”
“Sydney Summers,” I interjected awkwardly.
“Yes, Sydney took care of me, I’m fine. Just Harvey needs the help, but thank you,” he said politely. The blood from his arm was already seeping through the towel I gave him moments ago.
“I would still advise you to come with us to get it looked at, but if not,” the EMT explained, pushing a piece of paper towards the desk counter
, “I’m going to need you to sign this refusal. What’s your name?”
“Cole Mason,” the guy responded, moving his left arm away to hide the wound. “I’ll sign, thank you.” He grabbed the EMT’s pen with his right hand and scribbled his signature on the piece of paper in front of him. Harvey was already out in the ambulance, ready to go. The EMT nodded at the three of us and left the clinic. Seconds later, the sirens sounded again as they made their way towards the hospital. It all happened so quickly.
“Do you want me to call someone?” I offered towards him, unsure of what his plan was. “You really should get that looked at. It looks pretty bad. If you were a dog, I would sedate you,” I said awkwardly.
He smiled back at me. “Like the way you sedated those fish?” he asked with a smirk, pointing to the plastic bag I dropped on the ground during all the commotion.
“That was an unfortunate freak accident,” I said formally, feeling slightly embarrassed. “I’m probably supposed to point out that this is in no way a representation of our clinic. Who do you want me to call?” I asked again, trying to redirect the conversation. I felt my cheeks blush for some reason.
“The only person I would call is Harvey, but he’s worse off than I am,” he replied lightly. “Honestly I’m fine.”
I hadn’t noticed that Eva left at any point, but she emerged from the back room with a mop and some new towels.
“I’ll take care of this,” Eva offered, pointing to the drips of blood on the lobby floor. “You guys can get out of here. You have the early shift tomorrow, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah, I’m here at six a.m. I was just covering tonight for Lisa,” I answered. “But I’ll help you.”
“No, I should be doing this, it’s my mess,” Cole interjected, reaching out to take the mop. “I’m really sorry for all the trouble tonight.”
“It’ll take five minutes,” Eva scoffed, shooing Cole’s outstretched arm away. “But I can’t walk you home Syd, so maybe he can do that for me? Just to make sure you get home all right?”
Ah, now I get it. Eva was trying to play matchmaker despite these weird, bloody circumstances. It was like she was forever waiting for one of her telenovelas to play out in real life. Unfortunately, I doubted any of them started this way.
“It’s three blocks, I’ll be fine,” I said with a slight laugh. I had to admit, now that my attention was taken off of the emergent situation of two bloody strangers, Cole did have a nice face. His eyes were a light blue-green and he had a dimple in his left cheek when he smiled. I could do far worse. Although I was definitely off dating for the time being.
“Come on, get out of here,” Eva repeated, waving her hands toward the front door. “I’ll lock up.”
I grabbed another small towel from the pile on the front desk and gently placed it around Cole’s left forearm to catch any additional blood before he made it home, just as a precaution.
“Which way are you headed?” he asked courteously as I grabbed my purse from behind the counter.
“Up Savannah,” I replied, studying his face. I really didn’t need an escort; Mountain Ridge was an extremely safe town nestled around Lake Tahoe. There really wasn’t a lot of crime. Although whatever had happened to Harvey and Cole, that didn’t sit well with me. Something bad must’ve taken place right out front of the clinic.
“I’m headed that way anyway. I’d love to walk with you,” he said politely. He smiled and that stupid cheek dimple pulled me in. I could probably stand to walk five minutes with this guy. And honestly if there was any trouble around here, his size alone would be a deterrent. Although that apparently didn’t work out so well for him just minutes ago.
I said goodbye to Eva, and while Cole’s back was turned she mouthed ‘O.M.G.’ and made a dramatic eye gesture towards me. I grinned, mildly amused by her reaction to him. I debated whether I would make up a good soap opera-worthy story about our walk home, or whether I would just tell her the truth, which would likely be that our brisk stroll ended with a simple goodbye and no further exchange.
As we walked outside the vet clinic, I noticed a silver-grey motorcycle parked next to the building. It seemed oddly placed for this time of night. Not a lot happened around this area at ten p.m.
“I’ll move it before you open in the morning, I promise,” he stated, picking up on my curiosity.
“That’s yours?” I replied with a surprised tone.
“Yeah. Would you prefer a ride home?” he asked with a raised brow.
“Oh my gosh, I feel like an idiot,” I laughed. “When you said you had a bike, I thought you meant an actual bike. Like with spokes. Like you were planning to take Harvey to the hospital on your handlebars.”
“I look like a bicycle rider to you?” he replied with an amused grin.
He wore a fitted grey v-neck t-shirt that hugged the shape of his very toned chest. His dark jeans hung loose from his hips. He looked very athletic, that was for sure. He had to be at least six-foot-four. He was quite a presence.
“You’re right, I guess I wouldn’t really picture you in neon spandex,” I teased. Although as I said it, I had to admit my mind wandered a bit, imagining him in such an outfit. I quickly changed the subject. “Your arm’s a mess. It’s bleeding through the towel. Let’s just walk, you shouldn’t be on the bike tonight anyway until we can get it wrapped up properly.”
He smiled at me and put his hands in his pockets, using his side to keep the towel in place as we headed east towards the street I lived on.
“Are you from around here originally?” he asked as we walked. The early July air was warm during the day, but this late at night it always had a crispness to it that I really enjoyed. It was far different than summers in the Midwest where I was from.
“I moved here for school,” I answered. “I’m from Chicago. The vet at the clinic is a family friend, so she’s the one who convinced me to head out this way. Lake Michigan is pretty, but honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lake prettier than Tahoe. I love it here.”
“Chicago, huh? You’re a long way from home then,” he replied, listening attentively. “Are your parents still there?”
“It’s just my dad. My mom passed from cancer back when I was in high school. He finally retired last year and moved to Florida so he could golf year round. So this is my home now. There’s nowhere to go back to,” I said with a shrug. I felt like I was rambling.
I noticed he grabbed his left forearm as we walked. His eyes winced.
“I really do think you need medical attention,” I mentioned, noting the blood still appeared to be soaking into the towel. “It looked like a pretty deep cut. Do you want a ride to the hospital? We can grab my car and…”
“No, really,” he said, cutting me off. “It’s better if I don’t. I don’t exactly have health insurance right now. Plus they’ll ask me all sorts of questions. I really think it’s better if I just take care of it on my own.”
“Well at the very least it needs to be cleaned out,” I explained. “But you may need stitches. Do you want me to take a look at it?” I wasn’t sure exactly what I was offering him. I dealt with animals, not people. I probably couldn’t even help him. But I felt bad for him and it seemed right to offer some sympathy and take a quick look at it.
“I don’t want to impose on your night,” he said politely. “You’ve already helped quite a bit.”
“This is me,” I said pointing to a modest two-story condo. It had a brick exterior and pretty outdoor lighting, but the inside was a bit dated. The rent was decent though, which was helpful since I now had student loans to pay off. The real selling points for me however were the upstairs patio and the fact that the landlord let me have pets – which was a must for my current work situation. “Do you want to come in? I can take a look at your arm real quick.”
“Only for a minute,” he replied. “I really don’t want to keep you up late.”
Honestly I wasn’t sure why I was inviting this guy in. He was a complete stranger. Not
to mention he was just stabbed ten minutes ago. His lack of distress about it led me to believe the stabbing wasn’t a total fluke or a totally unwarranted violent crime. Since when did a tight v-neck t-shirt and a new wound portray honesty and trustworthiness? Yet I didn’t feel an ounce of trepidation in my entire body.
I slid the key in the lock and opened the front door, motioning him to follow me in. He smiled and obliged.
“Do you live alone? Or…” he began, then hesitated.
Yep. The exact question asked before you’re about to be murdered.
“Not exactly,” I snickered as a loud squeal came from the living room.
“You have a baby?” he questioned, sounding completely caught off guard.
I couldn’t help but laugh. “No, just a mini pig. And two cats. And two rabbits.”
“Whoa, that’s quite the family,” he teased.
“None of them are mine, it’s just temporary,” I explained. “When the local animal shelter gets to capacity they call us. Usually we have some kennels at the clinic to help them out, but sometimes there’s a bit of an overflow.”
“So you take them all home with you?” he said smiling.
“Just until they can be placed in proper homes,” I continued. “They have nowhere else to go. I can’t just abandon them, we have to do something. At least in the meantime I’m able to work with them, train them, socialize them…”
“How do you socialize a pig?” he asked with an amused smirk.
“Those are actually easy,” I continued, setting my purse down on the small side table next to my couch. I turned on a few lights. I opened up the make-shift baby gate pen I had set up between the kitchen and the living room and the small fifteen pound pig ran out. “This is Dexter.” As soon as Cole reached out an arm to touch him, the pig flopped over on his side, expecting a belly rub. Cole laughed and began scratching the pig’s stomach.
“This is the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced,” he said, looking entertained.
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