by J. G. Sumner
“Jesus, woman. You drive me crazy.” He rolled over onto his back. “I could get used to waking up like this every morning.”
“I bet you could.” She let out a little giggle as she pulled back the sheets and got up to go to the bathroom. He got out of bed and put on his clothes from the night before.
“I’m working all day, but I’m off tonight about six. Do you want to grab some dinner?”
She called from the bathroom, “Sure, that sounds great. What did you have in mind?”
“I don’t know. Let me think about it, and I’ll give you a call later.”
“Okay.” Laney came out of the bathroom as he was putting on his shoes. “Do you want any coffee?”
Yes, he wanted to stay. He never wanted Laney out of his sight. If he had his way, they would stay in her apartment and never leave. “Thanks, but I really need to get going. I’m already running late as it is and I have to go by my house to get some clean clothes, walk, and feed my dog.”
She went to the kitchen and got some coffee brewing. “So, where do you live?” she called out. “We never made it by your house the other day when we were supposed to go bike riding.”
Josh finished putting on his shoes, walked into the kitchen, and pulled her into his arms. “I live in Encinitas. Not too far from Moonlight Beach.” Her body was perfect, and her ass was something he wanted to grab onto.
“Oh, I love that beach. It’s one of the few in the area where you can have bonfires. And they have a snack bar.”
“Well, maybe we’ll have to go out there some evening and make a fire.” He bent down and kissed her. Her lips were so soft and warm. If he didn’t leave now, he might never get out. “I have to go. I’m sorry. I’ll call you later.”
“I’ll be waiting patiently for your call, Doctor.”
Josh’s cock perked up. “You know it drives me wild when you call me doctor.”
“Does it now? I think I’ll be saying it more often then.”
“You’re trouble.” He grabbed his jacket off the back of the dining chair and started to head out the door. He almost tripped on the two dead roses that were sitting on the doormat. He bent over and picked them up along with the note. “What’s this?”
She looked at the dead flowers. “I don’t know. You tell me.”
He opened the letter and read it out loud:
“Roses are red, violets are blue.
That man can never be with you.”
“You—you didn’t put those there, did you?”
Josh shook his head. “Why would I leave something like this?”
“I’ve been getting them for a few days now. I thought they were from you. Up until now the flowers have all been alive. The notes have all been a little odd but I thought you were just a bad poet.”
He frowned. “Where are the other notes?”
Laney pulled the papers out of the kitchen drawer and handed them to him.
He took a moment to read them. “These are disturbing.”
“I thought they were from you. I was going to have a little talk with you about your creepiness, but I always seem to forget when you’re around.”
“Do you have any idea who might be leaving these for you?” He wanted nothing more than to put a hand through the wall.
“Not a clue. I’ve only lived here a few months, and you’re the first date who has ever come here. As far as I know, you’re the only crazy one who has ever followed me home.”
“First of all, I’m not crazy. I may be a little possessive of my woman, but I’m not crazy. Second, there’s someone who has obviously been following you, and they know about me. We need to report this.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little dramatic? It could be just some prankster who lives around here.”
“This isn’t funny. You and I see enough crazy things in our line of work. I’d prefer not to take any chances. Furthermore, I don’t want you staying here tonight. You can stay at my house.”
“Whoa, cowboy. Don’t you think you’re going a little overboard? There’s no reason why I can’t stay here. If it makes you happy, I’ll talk to Stephen.”
“You mean the cop you had a crush on?”
“Yes, that one. Don’t worry, you’re the only one I have a crush on now. Anyway, I have his card, and I’ll give him a call. But I don’t think I need to stay at your place.”
Josh took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment before speaking again. “How about I put it a different way, then? I’d like to take you out to dinner tonight and then have you stay over so I can make wild passionate love to you all night long.”
She laughed. “If you’re going to put it that way, when would you like me to be there?”
“I don’t see why you are laughing. This is not funny. What are you doing today while I’m at work?”
“I was planning on going for a run and maybe hanging out with Peyton.”
“No running. I don’t want this psycho grabbing you while you’re out there alone. Please don’t go anywhere alone.”
“Who’s the psycho now?”
“This isn’t a joke!”
Laney threw her hands up. “Fine. I won’t go for a run. I’ll go to the gym instead. But you need to chill out a bit.”
“I’m sorry. But I want to know you’re safe while I’m at work today. I don’t want you coming in as one of my traumas or worse, come up missing.”
“Fine. I won’t go anywhere alone.”
“I want you to text me every place you’re going and let me know when you get there.”
“I don’t think so. Just because there might be a psycho out there doesn’t mean that I’m going to change my entire lifestyle and live in fear. That means he has won.”
Josh placed his hands on her shoulders. “Please just ease my mind while I’m at work and text me when you’re going somewhere.”
“Whatever.” Laney shrugged.
“Promise me?”
“Yes, I promise!”
Josh kissed her on the forehead. “I couldn’t stand if anything happened to you. Now lock the door behind me.”
“Yes, sir!” She cheekily stood at attention with her right hand to her forehead. He looked back at her with a glare. Josh waited to go any further until he saw her shut the door and heard the lock engage.
Who the fuck was bringing her flowers? Josh thought as he walked to the car. The end of his shift couldn’t come soon enough.
***
Laney
Laney leaned against the door. The notes had made her a little nervous when she thought they were from Josh, but finding out they were from a stranger made it downright scary. Even though she tried to play it cool, Laney was very alarmed.
She grabbed her coffee and then went to take a shower. Laney needed some time to think about what she was going to do and how she was going to handle this problem. She didn’t want to depend on Josh. Maybe she would call Peyton and see if she could stay with her for a couple of days. Surely Peyton’s dog would deter anyone from leaving notes there. Maybe I should get a dog.
After Laney dressed, she decided to give Peyton a call to update her on what had been happening.
“Hey, girl! You were supposed to call me yesterday! Tell me all about your hot date.”
“Which one would you like to know about?”
“So that explains why you didn’t call me.” Peyton laughed. “I want to hear about everything. Tell me all the juicy details.”
Laney took her time updating her friend on lunch at the coast and her issues with Josh always ordering for her. Then she told her all about the dinner she cooked.
“Did you sleep with him?”
“How did I know you were going to ask that?”
“Because you know me that well.”
“Yes, we did the deed.”
Peyton squealed. “I knew it! And? How is he?”
“Well, I’d rather not share a lot of details since we do work with him, but let’s just say he’s an excellent lover.�
��
“Yes! I’m so happy for you. It’s about time you found a nice guy. When do you see him again?”
“Tonight. He’s taking me out to dinner and then I’m staying over at his house.”
“Where are you going to eat?”
“I’m not sure. He hasn’t told me.”
“That’s right. He’s the mystery man. Have you been to his house before?”
“No, but he told me it’s in Encinitas by Moonlight Beach.”
“Well my dear friend, it looks like this guy is head over heels for you. I don’t know what you did to get on his radar, but you seem really happy, and I’m glad he found you.”
“I am too. He’s a good guy.” She paused. “Except for the whole possessive thing and we’re getting married.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he’s a little possessive. He likes to think that I’m his and no other guy should look at me. And he wants to get married.”
“Now?”
“No, sometime soon.” She shook her head at the thought of Josh asking her to marry him the night before.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a little creepy. You just started dating.”
“There’s something else I need to tell you.”
“You couldn’t be pregnant yet. So did he murder his last girlfriend?”
“No! No, it’s not like that.” Laney chuckled.
“What is it then?”
“I’ve been getting these odd notes and flowers on my doorstep. I actually thought they were kind of sweet. But when he was leaving this morning, there was another note with some dead roses. And they weren’t from Josh.”
“What did the note say?”
Laney read all the notes to Peyton.
“Holy crap! Who do you think is writing those? Are you sure it’s not Josh? He sounds a little too good to be true and the possessive thing is a little weird.”
“That’s just it. I have no idea. You know me. I never go on dates, and I certainly have never brought one back to my apartment. Josh seemed to be angry when he found out about the letters. Which made me think it wasn’t him.”
“It’s obvious whoever it is knows you, and has followed you back to your apartment. What did Josh say about it?”
“He was very concerned and very protective. He wants me to stay at his house until this all blows over.”
“And?”
“I appreciate that he wants to be my knight in shining armor and protect me, but…”
“But?”
“We just started dating. I don’t want to have to rely on him for that.”
“I can understand that.”
“I’m going over there tonight, and then I was hoping I could stay with you for a couple of days.”
“Sure, you know you’re always welcome here. Jack would love it if you would come play with him.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“That’s what friends are for. So in the meantime, what are you going to do about your stalker?”
“I told Josh I’d call Stephen today and see what I should do.”
“I think that sounds reasonable.”
“He doesn’t want me going outside alone and thinks I should stay in public places.”
“You weren’t kidding. He is protective. Have you told your parents?”
“No. No way. If I told them about this, they would ship me on the next flight to Missouri. There’s no way I’m moving away from San Diego, and they don’t need to know about Josh or this crazy stalker dude.”
“You know your parents are just worried that something’s going to happen to you again.”
“I know, but for crying out loud, I have established myself here. I have a career, some amazing friends, and a new boyfriend. I don’t know if I want to live anywhere else. Besides, they made the choice to move to Missouri after I graduated. They knew how I felt about it.”
“I totally agree with you. So when are you going to call Officer Miller?”
“I was going to do it when I got off the phone with you.”
“That sounds good. When do you work again?”
“Tomorrow.”
“At least you’ll be safe there. You don’t have to worry about anything happening.”
“Yes, and Josh will be there too. So I’m sure he’ll hover when he can.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that. Let him do it.”
She shrugged, “I don’t know. You know me—Miss Independent.”
“Yeah, you need to get over that. So what are you doing today?”
“Since Josh has instructed me not to go out and run, so I was going to go to the gym. I don’t know what after that.”
“He’s such a smart man. I like him more already. How about I meet you at the gym? Then you can shower and change at my place, and we can hang out until you have to meet up with Josh.”
“That sounds good. What time?”
“How about nine? That’ll give me a chance to wake up and eat something before I go.”
“I’ll see you then. And Peyton…”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for. It gives me a chance to get some more juicy details from you.” Peyton laughed.
“Nice try. I’ll see you at nine.” Laney hung up and went to pack up things she would need throughout the day, the night at Josh’s, and items for work the next day. She ended up with a small suitcase. Geez, you would think I’m going on a trip. She changed into some workout clothes, grabbed her iPod and suitcase, and headed out the door to meet Peyton.
Chapter 17
Josh
Josh entered the hospital and went straight into the doctors’ lounge, where he could go look up Skyler’s labs and results of his EEG. Even though he was focused on work, his mind still wandered to Laney and the notes on her doorstep. How could he keep her safe? The optimal situation would be for her to stay with him. He could protect her there, and more importantly, he wanted to. Knowing Laney, she’d put up a fight and would probably never go for it.
Josh pulled up the EEG on the computer and read the transcription results. Skyler’s EEG was perfectly normal. There should be no reason why he wasn’t waking up.
He got up and decided to go see Skyler. Enough time had gone by that there should be some response.
When he walked into the ICU, he found Jamie was Skyler’s nurse again. He looked around and found her in her other patient’s room. Josh poked his head in and asked if he could speak to her. She finished up what she was doing and quickly came out.
“Good morning. How can I help you?”
“You’ve taken care of Skyler the last couple of days. Is there any change you have seen? Is he waking up any?”
“To be honest, I haven’t noticed a whole lot going on. I’ve seen him move his right hand. I know before we thought that it was a reflex. However, he’s tapping the bed with his entire hand. In my opinion, it looks purposeful.”
“That’s good. Any other movements you’ve noticed? Is he moving the other side of the body at all?”
“Not that I’ve seen. His mom has been in there quite a bit, and she hasn’t mentioned anything either. When he started tapping with his right hand, Rebecca had her head on the bed and he was tapping it.”
“That’s interesting. Is she in there now?” He placed his hands in his pockets.
“No, she went home for a while. I expect her back anytime.”
“Thanks. I’m going to check on him. Do you need any orders while I am here?”
“I’d really appreciate it if you would renew the morphine. It’s getting ready to expire.”
“Okay, sounds good. I’m on call all day but if you need anything else, please page me.”
“All right. Hopefully, we won’t need anything today.”
Josh entered Skyler’s room. He was taken aback when he realized Skyler’s eyes were open, even though it looked like Skyler was in a trance. �
��Good morning. I’m Dr. Stone.”
No response.
“Blink twice if you can hear me.”
No response.
Josh pinched Skyler’s left arm. Skyler lifted his right arm and punched the bed with his fist.
“Use your hand to stop the pinching.”
Nothing.
Josh pinched the big toe on both of Skyler’s feet. Again, the boy balled his right hand in a fist and pounded the bed. Nothing else moved.
He had walked over to the IV pumps to see what was infusing when Rebecca came in.
“Oh my gosh! When did he open his eyes?” Rebecca rushed to Skyler’s bedside. “Baby, you’re awake! You woke up. You’re alive.” She began crying and rested her head on Skyler’s chest.
“It’s a miracle. Thank you, God, for bringing my baby back to me.” She looked up at Dr. Stone. “Thank you so much for everything that you’ve done.”
Josh hesitated. “There’s something you should know.”
“What is it? Nothing could be bad. My baby woke up.” She hugged Skyler.
“His eyes are open, but he’s not responding. He isn’t moving anything except his right arm. He doesn’t respond to anything but pain. He won’t follow commands at all. He just uses his right hand to punch the bed when he’s feeling pain.”
“What does that mean?”
“I’m concerned that he may have some paralysis. When we did the initial CT, we didn’t see any spinal injuries, and your son has been so unstable that we haven’t been able to do a repeat CT or an MRI. He may have some damage there.”
“What exactly does that mean? Can he walk?”
“At this point, I don’t think so. Frankly, I don’t know when or if he’ll be able to. I need to get a repeat scan to see what injuries may or may not exist.”
“What about that test yesterday? What did it tell you? His eyes are open. Doesn’t that mean he woke up?”
“Yes and no. He looks like he’s awake because his eyes are open. That’s a natural response for the body when it’s not sleeping. However, sometimes a patient can be in a vegetative state, meaning the eyes are open but there’s nothing going on up in the brain.”
