Streamline

by Jennifer Lane

  “Well, you’re certainly not your father,” she said. “You’re admitting when you’re wrong just by being here. Nice work. I’m pulling for you.” Jason smiled, feeling a mix of puzzlement and gratitude. He certainly didn’t deserve her kindness. He was a thief and an alcoholic, the older brother who couldn’t protect his sibling, the deadbeat who’d left behind a pregnant girlfriend. And now he was a felon. His shoulders tensed as he steeled himself for the sentencing.

  After verifying Jason’s daily attendance at AA and reading aloud a glowing letter about his character, the judge looked at him over the bench. “Mr. Scott, you entered a guilty plea to the charge of grand larceny, a felony of the third degree. You’re hereby ordered to complete one hundred hours of community service, and you’ll be on probation for one year. But first you’ll spend three days in jail, although two have already been served. If you complete this sentence satisfactorily, I’ll recommend this conviction be expunged from your record.” He gave Jason a hard stare. “You will report back to me in one year’s time, Mr. Scott. I expect to hear good news from you then.

  The bailiff will take you into custody now.” Jason couldn’t speak. Only one day in jail? He could do that. No problem. And the community service and probation thing would be a piece of cake. He shook himself out of his daze as Cam and Marcus approached the defense table. Jason returned his girlfriend’s encouraging smile.

  “Marcus,” Jason said. “Sorry I didn’t make it home last night.

  Leo’s in the Naval Hospital. Can you visit him there?” Marcus’s eyes darkened. “Your father’s doing?” Jason nodded, and Cam held her hand to her mouth.

  “I’ll go there now,” Marcus promised.

  The bailiff placed Jason in handcuffs as they finished their conversation. “Talk to the detective,” Jason told them. “She’ll tell you what happened last night.” He then turned to Rob. “You didn’t keep me out of jail, but one day’s not bad.” Rob exhaled. “Call me when you get out, and we’ll discuss the terms of your probation.”

  Jason absorbed one last reassuring glance from Cam before an officer led him away. He looked forward to jail, as it meant putting the thefts behind him at last. Perhaps after this, he’d actually stay sober.

  That positive feeling instantly evaporated when he arrived at the holding cell. Standing in the middle of the room was a man in a khaki Navy uniform. His eyes flashed violet, and Jason’s stomach dropped.

  Jason felt his hands come free of the cuffs. “You got any other holding cells?”

  “Nope.” The bailiff halfway smiled. “A big guy like you is worried? You’ll be fine in here.”

  The bailiff unlocked the door and waited for Jason to walk in.

  The clang of the cell door closing behind him, metal on metal, made him flinch.

  Jason refused to meet his father’s eyes as he hightailed it to a corner of the cel . But he didn’t stay long after he noticed a beefy prisoner glaring at him. He was on his way to the other side when CS grabbed his arm.

  “Fancy meeting you here.” His father’s eyes faded to a cool gray.

  “Yeah, all we need is Leo getting arrested for drugs, and we’d have the Scott trifecta in here.”

  “Are you going to call the cops on Leo too, then?” His father sneered.

  Jason held his breath. Of course CS knew he’d called Detective Easton. He’d seen her when he’d visited him here back in January.

  “How is Leo?” his father asked, maintaining his firm grip on Jason’s arm.

  “You ruptured his spleen, Dad. He had to have surgery,” Jason said.

  CS opened his mouth and took a step back, releasing Jason’s arm.

  “The doctor told us Leo could’ve died. He had internal bleeding.” CS looked down and rubbed his hand over his closely cropped hair. Jason decided to go for full disclosure. “Audrey had a miscarriage too.”

  His father’s eyes were pleading. “I-I didn’t mean for this to happen. I was just so furious at Leo for throwing away his future…” Jason felt a surprising flash of pity. He’d always feared CS, but now his flaws were glaringly apparent. Why had Jason let this pathetic man rule and ruin his life?

  “Why can’t you make it easy to hate you?” Jason roared, agonized by his own conflicted emotions.

  CS looked bewildered. All got quiet as the other cons turned to watch.

  Aware of their stares, Jason lowered his voice, but his tone was no less intense. “I just want to hate you, but you always throw a curveball. You almost killed Leo, then you act all sorry afterwards?

  You admit to being wrong? And what the hell’s up with that letter you wrote to the judge? You never say that stuff to me in person!” CS gaped at him. “You won’t understand until you have children of your own — until you sacrifice yourself for them, do anything for them, only to have them treat you with hate and disrespect.” As Jason tried to make sense of that ridiculous response, the hulking man from the corner approached. “You two need to shut up. Some of us are trying to get some sleep in here.” Jason glared at the man. “Go to hell.” Sneering, the behemoth stepped closer. Already smelling body odor, Jason now caught a whiff of putrid breath as the man cursed at him.

  Then the big man’s eyes bulged as CS yanked his arm behind his back, adroitly restraining him. He groaned as CS twisted his wrist.

  “Get away from my son,” CS hissed. “When I let go, you’ll return to that corner and there you’ll stay. Do we have an understanding?” Obviously in pain, the man nodded. CS relaxed his grip, and the con skulked away, cradling his wrist and not looking back.

  At first Jason suppressed a laugh as he watched his father intimidate the big guy. But then all he could think about was Leo crumpled on the bedroom floor. He sighed. His father was a bastard, but at this moment it was working in his favor.

  “See what you can learn in the Navy?” CS said proudly. “The hand-to-hand combat training is quite useful.” Yeah, Jason thought, especially when you’re beating the snot out of your sons. He studied his father, whose mood had morphed from remorse to ebullience with the successful domination of the bully.

  “You should think about signing up, Jason. The Navy could give you some structure.”

  “I think I’ll pass.”

  “So what was your sentence?” CS demanded.

  “One day in here, one hundred hours of community service, and one year of probation.”

  “Sounds fair.”

  “Commander!” a booming voice called. They turned to see two MPs standing next to a bailiff. “We’re here to escort you to the base, sir.”

  “It’s about time.” CS drew himself to his full height and moved swiftly to the cell door.

  Noting his father’s relief, Jason realized what Detective Easton had been trying to tell him. The Navy would protect one of their own, and his father could easily go Scott-free once again.

  “See you later,” CS tossed over his shoulder.

  Watching his father walk away sans handcuffs, with the MPs trailing him, Jason felt sick. Turning back to face the men in the cell, he saw the sizable prisoner in the corner smile. Jason exhaled slowly.

  This would be a long day.

  39. Swimectomy

  Smoothing his sheets, the young nurse stared at Leo’s shaved head.

  “So are you a skinhead or something?” He chuckled then groaned, feeling pain in his abdomen. “Don’t make me laugh — it hurts the scar too much. My dad’s Black. I don’t think they let people like me in their little group. I shaved my head for a swim meet.”

  The nurse recorded his vitals. “Swimming, huh?” She eyed his body. “Your BP’s still a bit low, but your pulse has come back down to a normal range. Either your cardiovascular system’s in great shape, or you’re still recovering from the internal bleeding.”

  “Well, I think I feel better.” Leo studied his chest, picking at the bandage covering the upper left side of his abdomen. He tried not to look at the bruises lining his ribcage or the welts all over his skin.

&nb
sp; “But I don’t really feel much of anything. Are you guys giving me something?”

  The nurse smiled. “You’ve got a Percocet drip in your IV.” She glanced at the door. “Your surgeon will be here soon for grand rounds, and I believe your mom had some questions for him. Do you know where she is?”

  “Yeah, she’s trying to find out what happened with my brother.

  He, uh…” Leo looked down. “He was in court this morning.”

  “Is he the one who beat you up?”

  “No, ma’am.”

  Right after the nurse’s departure, his mother walked in with Mr. Shale. She gasped when she saw Leo’s torso. Mr. Shale had a better poker face, but he squeezed Leo’s mom’s shoulder before approaching the bed.

  Feeling self-conscious, Leo covered himself with the sheet, moving his left hand to free the IV from the bedding.

  “Thanks for visiting, Mr. Shale.”

  “I came as soon as Jason told me what happened. I was just telling your mom about your brother’s sentence.” Leo raised his eyebrows, eager to hear.

  “Good news.” Mr. Shale smiled. “Only one day in jail, one year of probation, and some community service.” Leo nodded. “That is good news. Um, Mr. Shale, is Jase in jail with my father?”

  Mr. Shale cocked his head to one side.

  His mother maneuvered her way closer. “I didn’t think about that.” Her voice rose. “Do you think your father figured out Jason called the police?”

  “No point in worrying about it because we don’t know the facts.” Mr. Shale shrugged. “Nothing we can do anyway. Jason knows how to take care of himself.”

  His mother turned her attention back to Leo. “Audrey’s mother told me she’s getting discharged soon. They’ll stop by before they leave.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” The nurse who’d woken him to take his vitals early this morning had sent Audrey back to her room. So much for getting some rest in the hospital. Since then the nurses had bothered him nonstop.

  There was a bustle of activity outside the door, and a gray-haired man stuck in his head. “Knock, knock. We’re making our rounds.” He approached Leo’s bed as Mr. Shale and his mother backed toward the wall. The space was soon crowded with five medical staff.

  “How’re you feeling, Leo?”

  “Fine, sir.”

  “The nurses treating you okay?”

  “Yes, sir.” Leo anxiously eyed the group surrounding his bed.

  “I have some residents and interns with me today, and we’re here to review your progress. Dr. Patel, please do the honors.” The surgeon nodded at the resident next to him, who gave her report. “Leo Scott’s a seventeen-year-old male admitted to the ER

  last night at twenty-one-fifteen, presenting with tachycardia, low BP, distended belly, paleness, decreased alertness, and sweating. Dr. Anderson was the attending, and the ultrasound revealed a probable ruptured spleen. Mr. Scott was taken to the OR where Dr. Lee performed a splenectomy.”

  Leo listened with fascination, feeling like the star of a medical TV show.

  The older physician surveyed his group. “Who can tell me the suffix of the word splenectomy?”

  A young blond student piped up, “It’s from the Greek word, ectomy, meaning ‘to remove.’ It’s the removal of his spleen.”

  “May I?” Dr. Lee grasped the corner of the sheet.

  Leo hesitated then nodded.

  The doctor pulled down the sheet, and Leo watched the medical students try to look impassive.

  The surgeon pointed to the angriest bruises. “You can view the multiple traumas to Mr. Scott’s upper abdominal quadrants. I elected not to do a laparoscopy because we were concerned about other organs being damaged and needed a good view of his internal cavity.

  Fortunately only the spleen was hemorrhaging.

  “Dr. Kennedy.” Dr. Lee nodded to a sandy-haired, freckled medical student. “What are potential long-term risks associated with splenectomy?”

  “The patient now has increased vulnerability to infection,” Dr. Kennedy responded, earning a satisfied nod from the surgeon.

  “That’s correct. Any questions for this patient?” The blond student bit her lip. “How’d this happen to you?” Leo looked at his mother, who nodded. “Well…my father was punishing me, and he kind of went overboard.” The student gasped. “Your father did this to you?” Feeling his face on fire, Leo watched the student look at Mr. Shale, her eyes narrowed.

  “Oh, no,” his mother said. “This isn’t Leo’s father.” The student’s ponytail bobbed.

  His mother seemed to squirm, and Leo noticed her blush as well.

  “His father was arrested.”

  “We’ll keep Leo for observation at least one more night,” Dr. Lee told the group. “After that we’l send him home with some pain meds, and he’ll be as good as new in about six weeks.”

  “Dr. Lee?”

  All eyes turned toward Mr. Shale. “You should know Leo’s struggled with addiction to pain medication — Oxycontin, to be specific.” Leo’s lip trembled. Just tell the whole world, why don’t you?

  “I see,” Dr. Lee said. “Thanks for making me aware of that. We’ll adjust his medication as necessary.” He aimed a stern look at his patient. “How long have you been clean?” Leo refused to meet the surgeon’s gaze and yanked the sheet back up to his neck. “Since January, sir.”

  “Keep up the good work.” When an awkward silence filled the room, the surgeon said, “We’ll move on and let you get some sleep.”

  “Wait a minute,” Leo interrupted, feeling panicked. “Did you say six weeks? I need to go to swim practice tomorrow.” Dr. Lee turned back to the bed. “There’ll be no swim practice tomorrow, Leo. You can’t physically exert yourself for six weeks, and that includes swimming.”

  “You can’t do that! I have to swim. I have to get ready for the Academy!”

  “You just had major surgery. You need to allow your body to heal, son. The nurse will give you more instructions for your discharge, but now we need to move on.” The surgeon swept out of the room with the flock of students hot on his heels.

  “Splenectomy,” Leo muttered, the medical student’s words echo-ing in his head. It’s Greek, meaning to remove.

  Not only had CS’s violence led to the removal of his spleen, it had removed swimming from his life for six whole weeks. Not just a splenectomy — a swimectomy. It was the punishment that kept on giving.

  40. Stronger

  The news had gone over like a thousand-pound anchor.

  Mary sighed as she and Marcus left Leo’s hospital room. “He sure didn’t take that well.”

  “Give it some time.” Marcus shook his head. “Obviously he’s not thinking clearly. The way he yelled at Dr. Lee was kind of intense. I didn’t realize swimming was so important to him.” Mary smiled sadly. “I think swimming’s his refuge from his screwed-up family.” Several seconds passed. “I knew it would happen. I knew it was just a matter of time before James really hurt him.

  I knew, but I didn’t do anything about it.” She looked into Marcus’s kind eyes and felt the burn of tears. “I failed him.” He seemed to want to reach for her, but instead crossed his arms over his ample middle. “You’re all caught up in the James vortex.

  Living with Jason for six weeks has shown me what a good man he is.

  He’s actually taught me a thing or two. Leo tried so hard to get clean, and watching his father show up to yank him out of treatment…” Marcus sighed. “I understand your guilt, Mary. We all failed him.” He patted her forearm, providing a steadying presence. Mary didn’t like anyone seeing her cry, but somehow it was easy to let it all out around Marcus.

  “I don’t know how you’ve kept it together these last few years,” he said. “You’ve managed to raise two remarkable sons despite the constant threat from your husband. Most people would’ve folded like a tent after an accident like yours.” Mary sniffed. “I used to think no matter what happened, I had to keep the family together. Now I’m not so sure.
” Marcus let her words sit between them for a few moments.

  “You’re thinking of leaving James.”

  She met his eyes. “Yes. It’s terrifying to consider.”

  “It’s terrifying to consider staying with him too.”

  “That’s true.” Mary paused. “I told James I’d leave him if he hurt Leo again, and I have to follow through. There’ve been too many times when I haven’t. But where will we live? How will I support Leo? And James threatened to fight me for custody, even though Leo has only a few months left in Florida.”

  “I think if you make a decision to care for yourself and your family, Mary, it’ll somehow work out in the end. I don’t know how, but I have faith.”

  He grasped her hand. Encouraged by his support, she took a deep breath, contemplating the decision ahead.

  Audrey followed her mother out of the elevator.

  Still feeling some mild cramping, she wished she could walk faster to get to Leo, but she did enjoy being free of the wheelchair.

  They traveled down the hallway, but stopped when they saw Leo’s mom and Mr. Shale huddled together near the door. When Mrs. Scott looked up and saw them, she swiped at her cheeks, letting go of Mr. Shale’s hand and plastering a smile. “It must be time for Audrey’s discharge!” she said in an overly cheerful voice.

  Mr. Shale straightened.

  “It’s been a long night,” Audrey’s mother said.

  Mrs. Scott nodded. “Yes, and I fear it’ll be a long day too.”

  “Is he okay?” Audrey asked. “May I go in and see him?” Mrs. Scott nodded. “He may be sleeping, but you’re welcome to go in, Audrey.”

  Audrey stepped inside to find Leo turned away from her, his broad shoulders outlined by his pajama top, his long legs covered by the sheet. She sighed at this perfect body his father had brutalized.

  She was glad his wounds were covered for now.

  “Leo, are you asleep?”

  Though he hadn’t stirred, she thought she heard a faint sniff.

  “Leo?” she whispered.

  He finally sighed and scooted up, moaning in pain.