Southern Comfort

by Madison, Natasha

  “Nothing,” I say, but my eyes don’t move. “They said when they have an update, they’ll find me and let me know.”

  “She’s going to be fine.” She puts her arm through mine. “She’s the strongest woman I know.” I don’t agree with her; she’s more than the strongest woman. She’s the most thoughtful also. She does little things just to help, like making sure the coffee in the barn is started for me when I get there. She just has this energy, and you just want to sit with her and let her talk to you, or just sit with her on the swing and watch her watch nothing.

  “Hey.” Hearing Jacob, I turn to look at him, and then back again to make sure I didn’t miss anything.

  “Hey,” Kallie says to him. She slips her arm out of mine, then goes over to Jacob and looks up at him. He leans down, kissing her on the lips. “Did you find out who the guy was?” she asks. I’ve been waiting to hear that answer.

  I turn now, looking at Jacob who just looks at me. “We got his name, but he lawyered up the minute he got in the car. Grady found his car, and he was not a rookie, that’s for sure.” I can see there is more he wants to share, but he doesn’t.

  We don’t say anything else as we wait at the doors, each of us in our own thoughts. I don’t know how long we stay here, but when the doctor comes out of the room, he walks straight to the doors. He looks at Jacob, who nods at him, and then looks at me. “I think it’s best if we talk in private.”

  He turns, walking into another room, then waits for all three of us to step in before closing the door. When I see Jacob take a sobbing Kallie in his arms, I realize this is the room where they take you when it’s bad. With the two couches in the room, it’s what’s always described to you when the doctor tells you that your loved one is dead.

  I stand here, not moving as my body turns to stone. I hold my breath as the doctor takes a seat and starts. “I’m sorry.”

  Chapter Five

  Olivia

  “We need to get her an MRI and see if there is swelling.” The voice sounds far away, but I’m not sure where I am. I feel pressure on my arm, and my eye being forced opened. A light is shining in my eye, and I groan, or at least I think I do. My hand is lifted, and I feel something placed on my index finger. “Her body is going into shock,” someone says, and then suddenly, darkness takes me back into my nightmare.

  After being arrested, I was thrown into a cell for over fourteen hours. Fourteen hours of trying to get anyone to talk to me, fourteen hours of sobbing quietly, fourteen hours of sitting in a jail cell. A fucking jail cell. I had never even had a fucking parking ticket, and now I was now sitting in a fucking cell. They finally came to get me, ushering me into a room where two detectives were waiting for me.

  The room had a rectangle table against the wall, one chair against the wall while two chairs sat facing the one. I sat in the chair facing the two detectives. “Olivia.” The one guy leaned back in the chair. “I’m just going to cut right to the chase.”

  I didn’t know if it was at that moment that I started to shake, or maybe it was the fact that my body went into shock, but one of them got up, walking out of the room. “What am I doing here?” I asked through my chattering teeth. The other guy came back with a blanket and a bottle of water. The first thing I’d been given in fourteen hours.

  “You really have no idea what is going on?” one of them asked, and I shook my head. I tried to put the blanket around me, but my hands were shaking so hard I couldn’t even hold it.

  “Your fiancé, Dominic Albano, was arrested for swindling over thirty million dollars from his clients in a Ponzi. That is just scratching the surface,” he said.

  I looked at them shocked, the back of my neck suddenly heated. “What?” I asked, looking at each of them. “I don’t understand. Dominic works as an investment adviser.” I told them exactly what he told me. “He also dabbles in the stock market.”

  They both chuckled. “Dabble? The man is a con artist.” He shook his head. “How much did you know?”

  I looked at them. “Nothing,” I told them. “For all I know, he works with the stock market, and he is an independent investment adviser.”

  “He was your fiancé,” one of them said.

  “Ex,” I told them. “Ex-fiancé, which is why I was at his house yesterday. I was returning his stuff.” They shared a look, and then one looked down. “I had no idea what he was doing was illegal. Had I known, there was no way I would have actually stayed with him.” They both looked at me with blank stares. “Look, I don’t know what’s going on here, but I do know this. I had no idea, not one that he was shady as fuck. I walked in on him having an orgy last week, so I was at his place to return his stuff.” I put my shoulders back, looking straight ahead. “With that said, I want my lawyer. I have nothing to hide, but I’m not going to chance it by saying something I shouldn’t.” It took another ten hours to get me out after Dominic admitted I had nothing to do with it. I walked out of jail, not expecting the media to be there camping out as they snapped pictures.

  “The doctor said she can hear everything.” I hear Kallie say sniffling, and I could swear she is crying. “So we have to keep it upbeat.” Kallie is the best friend I’ve ever had. Actually, the only friend I’ve ever had who has ever had my back. Who would have thought that after agreeing to do a Christmas special at work, the two of us would get along so well? We work for the same magazine; she is a graphic designer while I am a fashion stylist. I basically tell her what I want, and she makes it happen. We clicked so well that we decided to become roommates.

  “Kallie.” I hear Jacob, and I want to laugh. I would kill to lift my hand or even wiggle my toes. I focus on wiggling my toes, expecting my feet to move. I groan in frustration when they don’t, and the talking around me stops.

  “Darlin’?” I hear Casey, then feel my hand picked up, and I groan again. He brings my hand to his lips, and I want to tease him about holding my hand. But instead, my head pounds; it’s almost like there is a jackhammer in there. I groan again, and this time, my eyes flutter open. But I close them just as fast when the light is too bright.

  “Too,” I say in a whisper, licking my lips, “bright.”

  “Turn off the lights,” Casey orders. “Jacob, get the shades.”

  I open my eyes again slowly, not knowing if I will be able to, but they flutter open again. It’s better. “Hey there, darlin’.” I look over at Casey, seeing the anguish in his eyes. I want to ask him if he’s okay. I want to ask so much, but my mouth is so dry.

  “Don’t talk. Jacob went to get the nurse,” Kallie says from beside me. I look over to see her face stained with tears. I’m about to ask her if anyone else is hurt, and I suddenly start to panic, thinking maybe the man hurt Charlotte or Billy before coming to me. But a nurse swings the door open.

  “Well, well, that was quite a nap.” She smiles, coming over to the side where Kallie is. “I know that one is not going to let go of your hand,” she says, motioning with her head to Casey, who just glares at her, and she laughs. “So I’m going to take your vitals on this side.” She takes my blood pressure. “How are you feeling?”

  “Head hurts,” I say, closing my eyes but not for long because I’m so scared I’ll get sucked under again.

  She takes off the armband, the sound of the Velcro making me wince. “Only normal. You got a big bump on your head.”

  Lifting my hand, I feel my head, finding the big bump on my head. “How?”

  “I think when the shot fired, you got so scared you smacked your own head into the wall,” Casey says, his voice soft, while my hand is still warm in his. He doesn’t loosen his grip on me, and I don’t move my hand away from his.

  The door opens, and this time, the doctor enters with a smile. Then he looks over at Casey who glares at him. “I see we are calmer.” I look from the doctor to Casey, wanting to ask what is going on, but the door opens again. Charlotte comes in, sobbing when she sees me with my eyes open. Her hands go to her mouth as she comes over to me and almost push
es Casey to the side.

  “Oh my Lord,” she says, taking my face into her hands. “You had us all worried,” she says. “Can she eat?” she asks the doctor, and the doctor just looks at her.

  “I’ve never seen an emergency room overtaken by family before,” he says. I want to correct him and tell him that they aren’t my family, but for this one time, I pretend I have a family who cares. A family who would go above and beyond for each other. “If you’ll just give us five minutes to examine her, then she’s all yours,” he says. Kallie nods, turning to walk out, followed by Jacob, Charlotte, and Billy. “You are obviously going to stay?” he asks Casey, who just looks at him.

  “Obviously,” he says, and I look over at the nurse who is biting her lips to stop herself from laughing out loud. The doctor takes my vitals again, then looks at me.

  “You have a concussion,” he says. “Your body went into shock, which is why you were unconscious for so long.” He puts his stethoscope around his neck, tucking his hands into the pockets of his white lab coat. “As I mentioned to you”—he looks at Casey—“after you let me speak …” I look back at Casey, who just rolls his eyes. “I told you she would wake up when she was ready.”

  “I heard you,” Casey says.

  “If everything looks good, she can go home tonight. But,” he says, and I look at him, “it’s best if she gets rest and no television or computer.”

  “For how long?” I ask him, thinking of all the work that will pile up.

  “At least seven days. After seven days, if you turn on the television or computer, and you get a headache, you have to turn it off and start over at day one again,” he says. I don’t even want to think about how I’m going to work if I can’t use my computer. “If the headache is really bad, I want you to come in.”

  “I’ll make sure she follows the rules,” Casey says from beside me. The doctor just nods at him, then walks out of the room with the nurse.

  “Cowboy,” I say. He shakes his head but doesn’t look at me. My heart sinks when he doesn’t look at me. Why would he look at me when I’ve caused him all this headache? Why would he even want to talk to me after I brought this danger to his house? He could have been hurt; his family could have been hurt. I take a deep breath and wipe away the tear that falls with my hand. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. He looks at me shocked, and before I tell him that I’m going to leave, the door opens and Charlotte comes in with a bag in her hand.

  “I brought soup,” she says, smiling. “In case you’re hungry.”

  I slowly pull my hand away from Casey’s even though it suddenly feels cold. “Thank you,” I tell her. Kallie just stares at me as I try to get her to hear my thoughts without saying a word. “But I’m not hungry.”

  “She probably just needs to rest,” Kallie says. I look down at my hands, trying not to face Billy and see his disappointment in me.

  “We should go,” Billy says. I try not to cry, but he comes close to the bed and leans down. “We’ll see you at home,” he says, softly kissing my cheek. I close my eyes, trying not to sob out.

  Charlotte is the next one to me, and she doesn’t go soft like Billy does. No instead, she sits on the bed next to me and pulls me to her. Her arms go around me, and I want nothing more than to sink into her hug. “I’m going to go home and prepare all your favorite foods,” she says. I want to tell her not to, but if I say anything, the sob might rip through me.

  “We’ll walk you out,” Jacob says, sharing a look with Casey. I don’t look over at Casey because I’m afraid to see the disappointment on his face. “Casey,” Jacob calls him, and I think he’s going to fight him, but instead, he pushes away and gets up.

  “I’ll be back,” he says softly, my eyes watching Kallie. She waits for the door to close before she turns and looks at me.

  “What’s the matter?” she asks. I try to look at her, but my tears cloud my vision.

  “I need you to get me out of here,” I say, and her mouth opens in shock. “It’s not safe, and I refuse to put you or your family in anymore danger.”

  “You have to be insane,” she hisses. “You must have hit your head harder than I thought if you think I’m going to let you escape.” She folds her arms over her chest.

  “I can’t do it,” I say, and the sob finally rips free. “I can’t see the disappointment in their eyes.” Throwing the covers over my legs, I climb out of bed and turn to walk out. I must move too fast because my head spins, and the next thing I know, I’m on the floor, and Kallie is yelling for help as the blackness takes me again.

  Chapter Six

  Casey

  I don’t want to leave her. I don’t want to walk out of this room without her, but I can tell Jacob wants to tell me something that he doesn’t want to share with Olivia.

  “What’s so urgent?” I ask him once we get outside the room.

  Jacob glances at the door behind me. “He’s gone,” he says. My hand starts to shake, and Jacob sees it. “Relax.” He shakes his head, then leans in close. “The feds came and took him.”

  “What?” I ask, confused. “Why?”

  “Seemed he was working with a certain person in prison,” he says. I don’t know what to say. How can someone who loves someone or at least pretends to love someone want them to be harmed? “They got wind we had him, and it took them an hour to get here.”

  I look at him speechless. “So you want to discuss almost killing the doctor?” he asks. I glare at him, and I’m about to tell him to fuck off when I hear Kallie yell. Rushing back in the room, I see Kallie trying to pick up Olivia from the floor.

  “What the fuck?” I almost push Kallie away harder than I want to. “Move,” I tell her, crouching down to pick Olivia up and put her back on the bed. “Darlin’,” I whisper when she moans.

  The nurse comes rushing in, and I turn to see that Kallie is crying in Jacob’s arm. “What is all the commotion?” the nurse asks.

  “She was …” Kallie starts to say, then stops, and I know she’s hiding something. “She was getting up, thinking she was okay to leave, and she fell.”

  “She fell?” I ask. Putting my hands on my hips, I look at her, then I look at the nurse. “Did she hit her head again?”

  “No,” Olivia mumbles, her eyes open. I don’t know why I breathe a sigh of relief. It’s only because you have the need to take care of her since she lives in your house, I tell myself, but the other part of me laughs. Lies. It’s all lies. “I just got up too fast. I must have been lightheaded because my head started to spin, and I couldn’t catch myself before I fell.” She doesn’t look at me, and if there weren’t so many people in the room, and she didn’t have a concussion, I would hold her face in my hands and force her to look at me.

  “How about we get you something to eat?” the nurse says, so I do the only thing I can do. I stand here by her bed.

  “My mother brought soup,” I tell the nurse who nods. Kallie walks over to the bag my mother left. She takes out a soup bowl, then pours the soup out of the thermos.

  “Just don’t overdo it,” the nurse says. “We’ll check with you in a bit and see how you are feeling.”

  “I won’t,” Olivia says softly. The phone in my back pocket vibrates. I take it out to see that it’s Derek.

  “I’ll be right back,” I say, looking over at Jacob. “Stay with her until I get back.” He just nods.

  “Hello,” I say into the phone. Walking out of the room, I stand with my back against the wall, facing the door. I make sure I have her in my sight through the small window in the door.

  “Hey, how is she?” he asks. I look down, putting my hand behind my neck. My neck is starting to get sore from the tension that I now have every single time I walk away from her. The need to stay by her side to make sure she is okay is so strong I don’t know how to fight it. It’s bigger than me. I want to sit with her and hold her hand. I want to tuck her hair behind her ear. I want to whisper to her that everything is going to be okay. I want it all, but I know that she is only her
e temporarily, and that it’s better for both of us not to go there.

  “She has a concussion,” I say. “What did you learn?” Derek and I met when we were paired together for a project two weeks into our computer class. The two of us were unstoppable, and when we aced the class, we continued to work together. If there is stuff out there to be found, Derek will find it. There is nothing that you can hide from him. It’s why the government uses us; it’s why we have what we have. I develop the programs, and he just makes them that much better.

  “Phillip “the barber” Conserto.” He whistles. “This guy has a rap sheet that started when he was twelve and was placed into foster care when his mother took off and his father died.” I wait for the bad stuff. Knowing Derek, he starts off slow and then gives you all the important stuff at the end. “In and out of juvie until he was eighteen, and then did six months for intent to sell. Graduated to full-blown murder by the time he was twenty. The case was tossed out when he asked for a lawyer and they continued to question him, so his confession was not admissible and he only did two years. During that time, he made lots of friends in Rikers. The kind of friends who don’t send you Christmas cards either. Got really close to Jake Biotti who was in there for money laundering but more importantly for killing someone and all kinds of shit that screams mob.”

  “Why do I need to know this?” I ask, and he laughs.

  “Trust me, I would not be telling you this for no reason. He got out, and suddenly, the only witness to the case for murder was missing. Turns out, she still hasn’t been found, but her parents get a letter every year with her hair. That’s how he got his nickname “the barber.” From then on, he became his own contractor. They have him associated with about seventy-two missing witnesses, but nothing sticks to him.”

  “Where is he going now?” I ask, looking into the room where Olivia puts down the spoon and leans back in the bed. She is too pale, I think to myself.