Choices (46 page)

“Hello?” Her voice put a smile on my face and one in my heart knowing that my Noah was safe.

“Hi Mom, how’s the baby?”

“Oh, sweetheart, he’s fine. I just fed him his lunchtime bottle.” I could hear the others swimming in the pool.

“You must be outside enjoying the sun.”

“Oh, honey, we are. How’s your first day back?”

I choked back a few tears but managed to answer her. “It’s good. I’m working with Ebony and I’m taking a break. I need to go to the basement and get a couple of supplies. Is Vanessa helping with Noah?”

“You tell that Ebony I said hello and she needs to stop by and visit. That construction isn’t finished yet? You still need to go to the basement?”

I laughed, “Yeah, I still need to go to the damn basement. It’s pissing me off. I’ll tell Ebony you said hello. You didn’t answer my question, is Vanessa helping you?”

“Hmm? What’s that darling? Oh, Vanessa, she’s fine and don’t worry Brielle’s here and more than capable.”

“Okay, so now I’m worried. Where’s Vanessa, Helen?”

“Don’t be upset.”

“Too late. Spill.”

“I let her go to the beach for the day with this lovely young man and his family. He called right after you left and asked if Vanessa could go with his family to the beach for the day. Laurel, you’re not breathing.”

“Jesus, Helen, who are you and what have you done with my mother. I was never allowed to do that!”

“Of course you were! You went to the beach all the time.”

“Um, yeah, with Kristy, never with a boy.  Christ! Did you talk to his mother at least? I’m pretty sure it was Patrick, though, right?”

“Laurel, please, don’t insult my intelligence by thinking I didn’t have the common sense to talk to his mother. And yes it was Patrick. She’s been crushing on him for a long
time and his mother is lovely, just lovely.”

“Listen to you…crushing! Okay, Mom, I
’ll see you when I get home. The elevator is here, finally! It’s a good thing I know the family!”

“Okay, dear, I need to go
. Jakie wants me to get in the pool and I need to hand Brielle Noah so she can lay him down for me. Have a good afternoon, Laurel. Bye.”

She hung up on me! Sheesh! I was never allowed to do anything like that with a boy. Granted she is going with his family, but still. What is Helen thinking these days? Not okay for me but okay for my thirteen year old daughter to go.
The elevator chimed and I stepped inside and made my descent. I was distracted by my thoughts as I walked out of the elevator and headed toward the supply room. If I was paying closer attention instead of listening to the rattling going on inside my head, I might have noticed that it was darker than usual, with less maintenance workers but that’s what I wanted-distraction. Before I entered the supply room, I reached inside the door to flick the switch and managed to stifle a scream when a rat scurried across the floor as I walked into the room.

“Damn, I hate the basement! Now where are those thermometers and bp cuffs?” I began searchi
ng through the shelves when the lights went out and a huge hand obviously male wrapped itself around my mouth and I was lifted off the ground and pushed through the door. I tried to scream. I could smell his fear, his sweat mixed with his Old Spice deodorant.
Oh God! NO! Not again!
Surprisingly I wasn’t so much afraid as I was totally and thoroughly pissed! My aggressor was pushing me through the door when I decided to bite his hand. It was dark and I couldn’t see my own hand in front of my face. He let out a slight yelp and dropped his grip on me. I had a moment to run which I didn’t need anyone to tell me to take advantage of. The darkness, however, prevented me from taking full advantage of it. I tripped and fell flat on my face. I screamed but my attacker grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back so forcefully I thought he would snap my neck while with his other hand he stuffed what felt like a bandana half way down my throat and tied it around the back of my head and gave me a karate chop to the back of my neck that would have made Bruce Lee proud. Needless to say I was not. I crumpled to the floor.

I came back to myself with my face pressed to something very hard and cold. I was dizzy and nauseous and tried to adjust my eyes and figure out where I was without moving my head. I could hear the faint buzz overhead of what I thought was fluorescent lights, and due to the sickly yellow haze that floated throughout the room I was pretty sure I was right. I saw a long rectangular table and chairs scattered haphazardly around it, some strewn sideways on the floor and a white board. I must be in one of the abandoned conference rooms which they now used for maintenance storage units. I decided to push myself up. I gingerly began to lift myself up off the floor when I saw two large black shoes in my field of vision and felt a rough hand shove me back onto the floor.

“Don’t
move; just stay there until you’ve completely recovered. I know you haven’t yet. Although no one could tell you what to do in all the years I’ve known you, could they Laurel? Jesus, why did you have to go snooping? Why are you making me do this to you? Things were fine. I was a little nervous when I first heard about him but then he ditched you and I figured…well…I figured…” He snapped and then suddenly trailed off into his own thoughts.  That voice brought tears to my eyes immediately. He was scared. I could smell it. Once I was able to blink my eyes a few times to clear my vision of my own tears, I could see he was nervous. He was pacing and sweating, running a hand through his salt and pepper hair while he was mumbling to himself.

“Why? I don’t understand?”
I croaked.

“Damn you, you bitch! You don’t have to understand.” Alright enough with the tears now, my anger was provoked.
Is the whole fucking world crazy or just mine? Oh, hell I think I already know the answer to that question! FUCK!
I shot upright even though every sensory nerve in my head protested.

“Now, hold on one fucking minute!
Yes, I do have to understand! My life’s at stake!” I choked back tears of disbelief and a broken heart; not only mine but my friend’s as well.

“Well, it wouldn’t have been had you not dialed that phone number you found, you nosy bitch.”

“Ah you know what? I’ve about had it with the bitch routine!” I scrambled to my feet and walked right up into his grille. I was beyond furious now at this point. My anger was seething and made evident by my leaking breasts, heaving chest, flushed face and burning eyes. I was not going to be at another’s person mercy ever again! I was not going to be a victim! I was not going to die in this filthy basement!

“Listen, pal, stop calling me bitch!” I shoved him. He shoved me back, even harder, so hard I landed on my ass. He flashed wild, desperate eyes on me. I thought my anger was charged, his was electrifying.
He wasn’t the same person anymore. He wasn’t the man I knew and trusted. He was pure evil now and it was oozing out of him like blood oozes from a knife wound. I guessed the knife wound was going to be my heart. His face was so close to mine now that I closed my eyes and felt his breath against my face. I smelled his rage, his fear and his panic. He was panting and sweating. I could feel the moisture from his face and knew he was sweating profusely now. I kept my eyes closed not wanting to see what I was seeing and wanting to remember the kind, patient man devoted to saving lives not taking them.

I realized quickly that this tough girl routine wasn’t going to get me anywhere fast except maybe dead. I held my hands up as if in surrender. Not that I was surrendering, no fucking way, but as a way to call a truce and put an end to the physical nonsense that was taking a toll.
I opened my eyes and reached out a tentative hand. I was going for broke now. I did the only thing I knew how to do. I was scared to death; scared he would grab my hand and snap it in half, slam my head against the wall or simply stab me. My fingers drew back and then flexed and then I stroked them across his forehead to wipe the sweat off his brow to ease and gentle him. I let out a slow painful breathe that I didn’t even realize I was holding.

“George, listen to me, it’s going to be alright. You hear me. It’s going to be alright.” I whispered into his ear
as I embraced him. He slumped against me as I ran my hands up and down his back to comfort him.

“That’s right, George, relax, breathe, it’s going to be alright.” He laid his head
on my shoulder and sobbed.

“Mz. Laurel, Mz. Laurel! Can you hear me? Oh, c’mon chil’, people been done looking for you for a day now! C’mon now, Mz. Laurel. That’s it! That’s it, girl, c’mon back to us! Good Lord, I have to call for help. You sweatin’ like a stuck pig and all trussed up like one too and by the looks of it you’ve done missed feedin’ that babe of yors too. Now, don’t you go nowhere Mz. Laurel, I’m getting help right quick!” I vaguely could hear him speaking into his walkie talkie.
Shit, Jerome, I’m not going anywhere - in fact the only thing I’m capable of doing is turning my head and puking. Why is everything so numb? JESUS! Am I tied up again? Of all the fucking…

“Mz. Laurel, help’s comin’. Hold on, girl, help’s comin’. That’s it, let it all come out, Jerome’s here. I’ll help you. Here let me wipe you down. Ima gonna untie you too. Lordy, Lordy, who would go and tie up a woman like this? Are yo hurt Mz. Laurel
? Were you…Did someone…Good Lord I don’t know how to ask this but are you hurt woman?” Jerome, the head maintenance supervisor who had the gentlest eyes and the kindest soul and the father of six grown girls was asking me I think if I had been raped.

“Jerome, is that you? What the
hell happened? Oh Christ, my tongue feels like sandpaper. No, Jerome, sweet man, no, I wasn’t raped. God, my breasts are killing me. I’m a mess! Oh, MY GOD! George! I have to get out of here. He has to be stopped. Jesus, where did he go?” I shot upright and quickly proceeded to fall down again.

“Whoa, now, easy, Mz. Laurel, easy. Whatchya goin’ on about, girl? You makin’
no sense! Who’s George?” It all came back to me in a rush, George, his story, the syringe filled with anesthesia. I puked again and lay down, shivering with fever.
Hmm, mastitis probably
from not feeding Noah for a whole day.

“Just rest girl, just rest, that’s it. Did yo know that the whole hospital been lookin’ for you for a day?
I just came in here to see if anything from the supply room ended up in here before they gone and moved it back upstairs. Lucky for you, I came in when I did. I about had my own heart attack. You got two handsome men been searching the hospital for you. Mmmhmmm, that ain’t none o’ my buzinezz but you is a fine looking woman, Mz. Laurel, fine fo sure!”

“Oh, stop Jerome. You’re going make me blush if I wasn’t already burning up with fever.”

“The cops been here taking notes, talking to Ebony. Damn, I ain’t never seen that woman upset and cry, shoot, she cried for hours when you was missin’, my guess she was cryin’ when yo was shot too and laid up at the other hospital.”

“Jerome, I have to get up! I have to get out of here! You don’t understand.” I tried to get up again and everything blurred and swayed.

“Ah, from the looks of it Mz. Laurel, Ima thinkin’ yo’s ain’t goin’ nowhere, besides, they comin’ to bring you upstairs and next door again. Yo givin’ them a workout next door that’s fo sure! Where the hell they at? Ima bout ready to walk you upstairs myself! Shoot!” I heard him talk into his walkie talkie again, while my mind drifted back to before George shot the hypodermic into my arm.

“Listen George, it’s going to be alright.” I was rubbing his back now, trying to get him to calm down, waiting for him to gain control.

“Just talk to me, tell me what happened. Help me to understand. I’m sure there’s a logical explanation for this whole shitty mess. He took a deep, shuddering breathe and raised his head from my shoulder.

“I’m sorry, Laurel, so sorry, for everything.”

“For everything?”

“Yeah, everything?” He scrubbed a hand down his face to wipe the tears that were starting fresh again.

“Do you know the real reason why Bonnie and I left Florida, not just the cockamamie story she tells everyone?”

I gulped some air and swallowed the knot in my throat and croaked out a shaky, “No.”
This wasn’t going to be good.
I was shivering and certainly not from the cold, it was hot as an elephant’s balls in here and what little air was left was completely sucked out of the room now.

“Well,
let me fill you in. God, that woman is so loyal. I love her so much and I’m going to have to leave her now because of you!” He shot upright and gave me a death stare that left me even colder.

“Alright, hold on, just tell me what happened and maybe we can figure it o
ut.” I hoped I looked sympathetic and not frightened or repulsed.

“I was young, just getting my bearings now that I finally finished my internship and was a full fledged doctor. I was tired. Bonn
ie and I had just gotten engaged and we were getting the house situated and carving out a life and a routine and I was a little cocky now that I had become a doctor.” I cocked an eyebrow at that and snorted.