now?”
“Violet. Violet Phillips. Where’s
Shepard?”
The words felt like nails coming
out of my throat. I was confused and in
excruciating pain. My voice was so
quiet that I felt her lean towards me to
listen.
“Shepard?” The woman seemed
hesitant but played ignorant. “Where’s
Shepard?” I asked once again, feeling
the
darkness
crawl
over
my
consciousness.
I
didn’t
hear
her
response because I slipped into the void.
The sound of low voices speaking
angrily pulled me back from the
sleepless dream.
“Say what you need to and then you
must go. You’re not supposed to be here,
but I think it’s best for both of you if you
get to say good-bye. She won’t know
you were here, but you will know. That
has to be enough.”
Fear coursed through my veins as I
heard the familiar sound of the female
doctor’s voice. Was I dying? This
wasn’t happening. I wanted to start
screaming, but the pain and drugs kept
me motionless.
“I can’t let her go. I promised to
take care of her. Who ordered her to be
moved? Why can’t I go?” Shepard’s
voice was broken and full of agony. I
felt his strong hands resting against my
cheeks over the bandages.
“Shepard, I’m sorry. Her family
authorized it. I know it’s not your fault,
but you have to understand – this is out
of your hands. She will be taken care of.
I promise. I can’t tell you anymore. You
have three minutes.”
His trembling lips lightly kissed my
forehead and hands. The monitors gave
away my racing pulse as I heard him
falling apart. Massaging my fingers and
palms, over and over again, he
confessed his love and apologies. Death
would be a welcome respite from the
cruel knife twisting in my heart. I prayed
for it to come so I didn’t have to listen to
him cry.
“I will find you, Violet. I don’t
know when or how, but I will. Wait for
me please. Don’t give up on us.”
The monitors set off a piercing
noise as my pulse began shooting
through the roof, alerting the doctor back
into the room.
“She can hear me! Violet! Violet!
I’m right here, I won’t leave you.”
“You have to go now Shepard, I’m
sorry…security!”
The horrific scream coming from
him sent me over the edge. This wasn’t
real; it was a nightmare. I would wake
up and everything would be okay. I kept
telling myself, Wake up, Violet. Wake
up. My veins began to warm as the void
returned to swallow me whole. This was
just a bad dream.
***
again at a strange hospital. I was
informed that I was transferred by
request to Chicago Loyola Hospital.
When I asked who placed the request, no
one could find the answer. At first, they
kept me in a light coma due to the
swelling on my brain, yet I was getting
better by the day. A week before my
anticipated release, an elegant blond
woman entered the room. With a
blinding smile, she introduced herself.
“Hello, Violet, my name is Dr.
Claira Thomas. I am a neurologist here
at Loyola. I have been following your
case – may we talk?”
Her name sounded familiar, but I
couldn’t place it. Perhaps she came to a
lecture at the school or was connected to
the Doc somehow.
It was too painful to do anything
more than nod, but it was enough for her
to perch along the edge of the hospital
mattress. With a clipboard in hand, she
glanced at the colorful pages before
speaking.
“Do you know why you are here?”
Closing my eyes for a second, the
pieces started to fit together. Nodding
my head to indicate I understood, she
wrote a note on the chart and looked
back at me with the emotional
indifference required in hospitals.
“Now that you are awake, the
police are here to meet with you.
Although your incident occurred in
Cincinnati, they are able to take your
statement in order to prosecute William
Leone. Right now, he’s there in custody.
Thankfully there was a neighbor outside
who witnessed the entire altercation and
called for help. If you were out there
much longer, it could have been much
worse.”
She stood and walked to the door,
calling in the two blue uniformed
officers. Rather than leaving as I
expected, she sat in the corner and took
notes the entire time. Protocol normally
indicated that it wasn’t a physician’s
place to become involved in domestic
affairs, but she seemed curious. After
they left, she told me to rest and she
would be back in the morning.
The next day, she arrived with a
handful of attorneys in tow. They were
dressed too well to simply be court
appointed. When inquiring who was
paying my fees, I was told a benefactor
had stepped forward and insisted I be
taken care of. Before I could investigate
more, the unthinkable happened. Dr.
Thomas came back into the room,
looking solemn. I raised the bed to find
out what had shaken this supposedly
impenetrable woman.
“Violet, I am sorry to tell you this,
but William Leone committed suicide
today. You will be released tomorrow.”
She exited immediately without
saying another word, leaving me alone
to process the information. Suddenly, I
wished for them to put me back into a
coma where nothing existed, not even
dreams. Shepard’s father was dead and
it was my fault. Sharp bolts of pain
stabbed my brain as the blood vessels
filled from my crying. I hit the call
button and begged the nurse for more
drugs.
“I am sorry, Ms. Phillips. We have
to hold off until the lawyers leave, and
you have to be of sound mind.”
I felt sorry for the woman when the
pain exceeded my threshold. The anger
only exacerbated it, causing me to spiral
even more out of control.
“Screw those lawyers; I didn’t
even hire them anyway. A man, who is
now dead, beat the shit out of me and
took his own damn life. I don’t know
where my boyfriend is and no one wants
to tell me! Give me some fucking drugs!”
She looked at me with pity as Dr.
Thomas raced in the room at my
outburst. Holding a syringe full of
sedative, she pushed the plunger down
quickly into the IV.
Before the world went black, I
looked once again to the nurse and
smiled.
“Now was that so hard?”
***
people, including the high price lawyers
and my father. He walked over to my
side and clutched my hand with misty
eyes.
“When did you get here? Is Shepard
with you?”
He looked to Dr. Thomas then back
to me before shaking his head.
“Where is he?” My patience had
disappeared with the avoidance of the
topic. Surely he had to know where I
was and what happened.
“Honey, his grandparents are in
Nashville with him right now. He’s
getting
help
through
the
school.
Everyone thinks it’s best if you don’t
have contact with him anymore.” My dad
regretted telling me this. His voice
conveyed the tenderness I had grown up
with whenever he was giving me
guidance. He knew I was in love with
Shepard and that this would devastate
me.
“No! Who are you to decide what’s
best for me? I am not a child!” I stared
contemptuously at every face in the
room.
Dr. Thomas stepped towards me
holding up her hand at the others.
“Violet, this is a very delicate
situation. His family is blaming you for
William’s death and is filing a lawsuit
against you. You cannot afford to
compromise your integrity by pursuing a
relationship with him.”
Sharp pains began to slice through
my body as I jerked upwards too
quickly. The adrenaline in my veins was
pounding full force, as my mind
struggled to take in something so
ludicrous.
“With all due respect, Dr. Thomas,
you have no idea who I am. You have
gone way beyond your scope of practice
when it comes to me. I want to be
released.”
Her mouth gaped slightly at my
response but she remained unmoved. “I
know you don’t believe this now, but I
really do have your best intentions in
mind. You will be released soon enough,
but you should know that the Beacon
agreed to cover your legal fees with the
understanding
you
would
not
be
returning to the university, due to
circumstances. With everything that has
happened, UC would prefer to avoid
another scandal. Rest assured though,
you are not going to be left out in the
cold. Mr. Gladstone here is the CEO of
Beacon and a dear friend of the late Dr.
Robertson. I am sure you remember
him.”
My anger towards this woman was
growing at inexplicable proportions.
Who the hell was she? I didn’t care
about anyone else in this room with the
exception of my father and the man who
was
now
approaching
me.
My
benefactor
. I was so distracted by
everyone else that I failed to recognize
his face. I accepted his outstretched
hand, which he covered with his other
and patted it lightly.
“I know how much you have been
through. I heard what happened and I am
here to help. I have a place for you in my
lab and I promise it will be worthwhile.
David loved you very much; it would be
an honor for me to take care of you.”
I tried to smile at his kindness but
there was nothing happy about this
moment.
“I suppose I don’t really have a
choice, do I?”
Looking around at the room full of
people, I was completely disgusted with
what was transpiring; there was
something seriously wrong here. The
only thing I could be sure of was that this
had something to do with Doc and that I
should keep my mouth shut and play
along until I discovered the truth. If
someone wanted to play a game with my
life, I would show them how this game
was played.
Chapter 11 - The
Guest of Honor
~ 6 years later ~
“Answer the door, hooker!” I could
hear the rapping get louder and louder as
Alessa shouted unnecessary profanities
through it. Less than a full minute had
passed from the first tap until I touched
the metal lock and twisted the knob. The
door opened to none other than the
knockout who was Alessa Saxton. Her
waist length auburn hair was pulled into
a purposely disheveled knot while her
lithe figure wore a perfectly tailored,
strapless, crimson cocktail sheath,
finished with a large gold and gemstone
crusted bracelet cuff and matching
necklace. Looking at me as if nothing
were wrong, she batted her eyelashes
innocently at my frustrated stance.
“I have neighbors, you know.”
Ignoring my comment, she walked
past me into my small studio and looked
around with disgust. “I still don’t know
why you live in this shithole when I
know you make good money.”
I tensed at the honest observation.
Alessa was the closest thing I had to a
best friend, and even she did not know
why I kept this place. I always
responded the same. “What’s the
purpose of paying a lot for something
you don’t use often?”
She never bought it. Here was the
woman who was wearing an outfit worth
more than eight thousand dollars for just