Forever Altered (29 page)

“Fix
it?  You think you can fix it?” she yells.  Fuck!  I’m making it
worse.  Where the hell is Tony?

“I’m
sorry.  I’m sorry.  Just calm down and tell me whatever it is you
need to tell me.”  I haven’t so much as peeked at Alyssa since I walked in
because I’m afraid to look away from Vicki.

“This
has to do with what your dad did to my parents a long time ago,” she
says.  My dad?  I’m guessing she means her biological parents, but I
don’t let on that I know about the Callahan’s.

 “Vicki,
what could my dad have done to Jack and Maggie?  I don’t think he even
knew them.” 

“You
have it all wrong.  Jack and Maggie are my aunt and uncle.  Not my
parents, Rocco.”  Sadness crosses her face.  “Before I turned one, my
parents were already way in over their heads with drugs and the lifestyle they
needed to maintain their habit.  Maggie, being my mom’s sister, adopted
me.  She and my uncle have been great parents.  They never told me my
parents’ real names, so they could keep the truth from me and everyone around
us.  It wasn’t good for my uncle’s political career.  There were fake
adoption papers from another state and all.  When Jack and Maggie heard we
were dating, they thought it was time to tell me my parents didn’t actually die
in a car accident like they had once told me.”  I wish she would get to
the point.  I want to know what happened and why this girl has been
torturing me for so long. 

“My
dad died the same day as your dad and my mom died of a drug overdose two days
later,” she tells me.

“Who
is your dad?” 

Vicki
starts to cry.  “Joe Monroe.”     

The
shock of hearing that come out of her mouth couldn’t have been worse if she
turned the gun on me.  I know that name.  I couldn’t forget it if I
tried.  That name has haunted me in my worst nightmares as well as most of
my waking moments ever since I was seven years old.  At one point in my
life, I dated the daughter of the guy who killed my dad.

After
he pulled the trigger, he took off.  Other people who were at the lake
that day were able to identify him as the shooter.  Within ninety minutes,
he was gunned down by police a short distance away.  He died about fifteen
minutes before my dad did.

“He
killed my dad,” I manage to get out.  Vicki knew I would recognize the
name as soon as she said it, but Alyssa wouldn’t.  She needs to
know.  “How the hell is any of this my dad’s fault?  Your dad was a
criminal.  My dad was just doing his job when he put him away.  He
murdered my dad in cold blood.  He deserved what happened to him. 
More importantly, how is any of this
my
fault?”  I feel myself
losing it.  Right now my main priority should be to get Alyssa out
alive.  I’m so pissed off over how crazy this bitch is.

“I
want you to be as miserable as I am,” she says through her tears. 

“You
want me to be miserable?  I have suffered every day of my entire fucking
life because of that guy, Vicki.  At seven years old, I watched as the
life drained out of my dad.  Why are you so miserable?  You were
rescued from a shitty life by people who care about and love you more than
anything.  What have Jack and Maggie ever done to deserve any of this crap
you have put them through?”  I have no idea what would make her snap like
this.  Who would choose the life she would have had with her real parents
over the one Callahan’s had given her?

Out
of the corner of my eye, I can see someone approaching from the hallway to my
left.  “Vicki, I need you to put the gun down slowly and let Alyssa go,”
Tony says.  His gun is also drawn and aimed right at the two of
them.    

Vicki
directs her attention to him, so I take a few more steps toward the two of
them.  For the first time, I’m able to concentrate on Alyssa.  She
was probably staring at me the whole time.  The terror in her eyes breaks
my heart.  I attempt to take another step, but Alyssa shakes her head no
as a tear falls down her cheek.  It was so slight, I almost missed
it.  She’s afraid of what will happen if Vicki sees me getting
closer. 

That’s
when I hear the gunshot.  I couldn’t tell where it came from because of
the echo in the lobby.  It sounded like it was coming from every direction
at the same time.  Both girls are slumped against the fireplace and
sliding down to the floor.  Vicki’s arm is still wrapped around
Alyssa.  Alyssa’s eyes are wide open and unblinking.  Crimson red is
everywhere.  It’s all over the fireplace, the wall next to it, and the
floor.  My feet are moving before my mind tells them to.  There is
yelling all around me, but I’m not comprehending any of it.  I’ve stopped
breathing.  My heart refuses to pump one more time.  As I’m running
to her, my eyes are searching every part of her body for where she was
shot.  When I finally reach Alyssa, I fall on my knees to the floor in
front of her. 

“There’s
so much blood.”  When I look at her face, she finally blinks and her eyes
focus on mine right away.

“It’s
not mine,” she tells me.  Confusion spreads through me. 
“Rocco.”  Her hand reaches up to me when I don’t move.  “It’s not
mine.  I’m okay.”  Realization replaces the confusion.  Despite
the fact she has Vicki’s blood all over her, I scoop her up and carry her to
the other side of the room.  There are police and paramedics running in
through the door.  Tony is directing everything.  Two female EMTs
come over to where I am holding Alyssa. 

“Can
we just check her out and make sure everything is okay?” one of them asks
me.  I cannot see Sunshine’s face because she buried herself in my
chest. 

“Outside,”
she says barely loud enough to hear.  “Please get me outside.”  They
both nod at me and walk out ahead of me.  There are so many people out
here.  I don’t want them to see her this way, but she will lose it if I
keep her inside the lobby.  Shane comes out of nowhere before we make it
half way down the front steps holding a blanket.  He drapes it over her,
but is looking to me for answers.

“She’s
okay,” is all I can say at the moment and he nods his head.  He stays on
one side of me holding the blanket, so it doesn’t fall off of her.  A few
police officers have come over to block the view of the crowd until we get to
the back of the ambulance.  Once we get there, they all walk away and the
one EMT directs me where to put her.  I lean over to put her down and she
latches on to me even tighter.  My eyes squeeze shut and I inhale deeply as
I try desperately to hold the tears back.  I kiss her on the head and tell
her, “Sunshine, I’m not going anywhere.  I’ll be right here with
you.  I promise.  Please, just let them check you out and then we’ll
go home.”  Slowly, she loosens her grip from around my neck and she lifts
her head up off of my chest.  Gently, I set her down and take her hand in
mine, when I sit next to her.  I lean over, kiss her on the forehead and
whisper, “I love you.”

“I
love you,” she whispers back as a single tear escapes from each eye. 

They
set to work going over her vital signs and asking her some basic
questions.  Alyssa answers every one of them, but she doesn’t lift her
eyes from the spot on the ground she is staring at.  Just as they are
finishing up, Tony comes around the side of the ambulance with another
officer.  I look up at him, the unspoken question on my face.  He
glances from me to Alyssa, then back to me.  He motions for me to come
with him. 

“I’m
not leaving her,” I tell him.  The look on his face shows he understands
why. 

This
causes Alyssa to look up to see whom I am speaking to.  “It’s fine. 
You can tell him whatever you need to,” she whispers to Tony. 

“She’s
on her way to the hospital.  It doesn’t look good, though,” Tony
says.  “Alyssa, are you okay?  Can I get you anything?  Do
anything?”  She shakes her head.

“Alyssa? 
Where is she?  Where is Alyssa?  The police told me she was over
here.”  We hear Leah’s voice loud and clear.  “There you are,” she
says when she finally reaches us.  Instantly, she throws her arms around
her roommate and Alyssa reaches up with the one arm not holding me to hug her
back.  “What the hell happened?  Why is there blood all over
you?  Are you okay?  Are you hurt?” 

“I’m
fine, Leah.  It’s not mine,” Alyssa tries to assure her. 

“Are
you okay?”  Leah looks at me. 

“Yeah,”
I tell her.  No need to tell her I’m still freaking out.

“This
officer and I are going to ask you a few questions, Alyssa.  We are going
to keep it as short as possible,” Tony looks to the uniformed man standing next
to him.  “Then we’ll make sure you guys get back to your apartment. 
They were able to get most of what happened after you left the call open. 
We just need to know what happened that led up to it.”

“I’ll
be close by if you need anything,” Leah says kissing Alyssa on the cheek. 

Over
the next twenty minutes, Alyssa recounts what happened.  Somehow Vicki
knew when Alyssa would be coming up the steps and was waiting for her. 
She revealed who she was then directed Alyssa to the Hamilton Building, which
is the closest one to where they were and had her text me to meet them
there.  There were people everywhere.  Some noticed the two of them,
but most didn’t.  Shane happened to be coming back from the Student Center
when Alyssa was being led up the steps to the building.  He called out for
Vicki and she instructed him to get me there as soon as possible.  When
they were in the building, she threatened everyone who came through the lobby
to keep them out.  Alyssa said Vicki didn’t say much until I got
there.  I told the rest of the story from there. 

As
promised, Tony escorts us back to the apartment building as soon as they
finished up.  We get out of his truck and he meets us on the
sidewalk.  Tyler drove Leah and Shane back and they are walking up from
the parking lot.  Paige is standing at the side door, holding it open for
us.  Tony walks over and hugs Alyssa who is still wrapped in the blanket
and attached to me.  “I’m so glad you are okay,” he tells her.  “If
you need anything at all, either one of you, don’t hesitate to call.”

“Thank
you so much for coming,” she says to him. 

“Always,”
he says before kissing her on the head.  He pulls away and hands her phone
over to her.  “It was on the floor.”  She takes it from him and
thanks him, again.  “Take care of her, Rocco.  And really, call if
you need anything.  I’m sure Carla will be calling to check on you
later.  Are you guys staying here tonight?”

Alyssa
looks up at me.  “Can we go to your house?” she asks.  “I really
don’t want to stay here tonight and my house is too far.”

“We
can go anywhere you want, Sunshine,” I tell her.  “Let’s go get you
cleaned up, then I’ll get you out of here, sound good?” 

I
say goodbye to Tony, then help her inside.  Our close friends have
gathered in her apartment.  She greets them all and answers some of their
questions.  After asking Shane to run back to our apartment to get me a
change of clothes, I take Alyssa right into her bathroom.  It’s hard to
keep her from looking in the mirror, but I do.  She does not need to see
the blood in her hair and smeared on her clothes any more than she already
has.  Leah brings in Alyssa’s clothes, including her favorite sweatshirt,
and sets them on the shelf next to the shower stall.  She hands me a black
trash bag for the clothes Alyssa is wearing, then she gets out towels and
washcloths for us.

“As
soon as you are done, get her out of here.  I will take care of cleaning
this up,” Leah tells me.  I nod in acknowledgement.  

Very
carefully, I remove all of her clothes placing the ruined items in the bag
before doing the same with mine.  Before I let her in the shower, I
whisper for her to close her eyes and to keep them closed until I tell her to
open them.  Thankfully, she does as I ask without questioning me. 
The instant she is under the water, the bottom of the stall is bright
red.  Either she can picture it in her head or the events of the last two
hours are catching up to her.  Maybe it’s the combination of the
two.  She starts to sob and falls into my chest.  My arms
instinctively surround around her and I start to cry right along with
her.  The thought that she was almost taken away from me forever is too
much to bear any longer.

Eventually,
every speck of blood is gone and we get out of the shower.  We dress
quietly.  I watch her in the mirror as she brushes her hair, then pulls it
up.  After she brushes her teeth, she turns to face me. 

“Thank
you,” she says.

“For
what?” I ask. 

“For
coming for me,” she tells me when yet another tear escapes from her eye.

“Sunshine,”
I say closing the gap between us.  “There isn’t anyone or anything in the
entire universe that could have kept me away.”

Our
friends try to convince Alyssa to let them come over to my house with us. 
She declines saying she just wants to relax and get some sleep.  The only
way Leah is satisfied is when Alyssa suggests they come over the next
night.  On our way to my house, Alyssa says she needs a Coke and fries, so
we stop and get some to bring back with us.  My mom is waiting for us when
we pull in.  Tony called her and filled her in on everything that had
happened.  She didn’t pressure us to tell her anything or to stay with
us.  She just holds Alyssa for a few minutes and tells her how happy she
is to see her.  I promise my mom we’d come find her the next morning.