Safe and Sound (15 page)

 
After a time,
Dr. Jones
jerked
to a stop
and said,
“Oh, shit, we need to get you stitched up.”

 
Lola laughed and sobbed as the same time. She’d never heard Sebastian’s mom swear.

 
“Come on, honey.” She patted her hand and handed over a tissue. “Let’s go perform some minor surgery. You want Sebastian with you?
Of course you do. Come
on.”

8

 
“Your mom stopped by, signed papers, and left,”
Dr. Jones
told her, gaze intent on Lola’s face.

 
Pain stabbed her chest and Lola looked away from
Dr. Jones
’s probing gaze.
“Must have…had stuff to do.”

 
“Something more important than being with her daughter when she’s hurt?”

 
Lola was saved from answering when
Sebast
ian walked into the room.

 
He
took one look at Lola’s face
and rushed over. “What happened? Are you okay?”
His eyes searched her face. She was sure she looked quite
fe
tching with her puffy eyes and red nose.

 
“She’s fine. Sit down
on
the other side of the table, on
her
other
side
, Sebastian
.”
Dr. Jones gave her arm a light squeeze. “This will sting a bit.
Hold still.
Deep breaths.
”

 
A hand enclosed hers and held it tight.
Sebastian’s.

 
“
Debbie, is everything ready?” The nurse said it was.

 
Her chin was swabbed with a cold gauze pad that smelled like alcohol.
“Okay, Lola, here we go.”
Lola closed her eyes as the needle came nearer, a sharp sting and
pressure letting her know
the injection was taking place.

 
It took a few minutes for the area to numb up, a few more for the six stitches
to be
placed.

 
“How you doing?”
Sebastian asked once it was done.

 
Sebastian
still held her hand
and Lola squeezed it in silent thanks
.
“I’m fine.”

 
“You looked terrible when I first came in.
You don’t look much better now.
”

 
Lola laughed weakly. “Thanks.”

 
His mother came up behind him. “Okay, Sebastian, time to leave again.”

 
He didn’t move, kept his eyes on Lola.
“
I’m not leaving Lola.”

 
“
Yes, you are
. Lola and I have some things to discuss. She’ll be out shortly.”

 
Sebastian released her hand.
“I’ll be waiting out front, in the waiting area.”

 
Lola nodded and sat up. She looked around the white room with its many counters, cupboards, and unusual instruments.
Anywhere but at
Dr. Jones
.

 
She couldn’t tell her
and Lola knew that’s what
Dr. Jones
wanted to talk about
. She didn’t even really know
why
. She wanted to tell her, she really did. But Lola couldn’t.

 
Dr. Jones
swiveled around in the chair and looked at her.
Those eyes knew. Dr. Jones’
lips pressed
into a line
and she clasped her hands together.
“You have bruises on your arms, neck,
cheek
, and a fading one above your eye.
How did you get them?”

 
She looked at her shir
t and fingered the
thin material.
Why
couldn’t she tell her?

 
Sebastian’s mother let out a sigh. “I can’t help you if you won’t tell me what’s going on.
So?
Lola? What’s going on?”

 
“Nothing.”
Why did she say that?
Take it back, Lola, and tell the truth.
Her lips wouldn’t move, no words would form.
It was like her brain shut off.

 
“Nothing?”
Disbelief and disappointment rang clearly in that one word.

 
She jumped down from the table. “I have to go. I have to work.”

 
Dr. Jones
Jones
stared at her, incomprehension clouding her features. “Why?”

 
She purposely misinterpreted her question.
“Because I’m on the schedule.”
Lola walked to the door, opened it, and turned back to look at Sebastian’s mother. “Thank you.
For everything.
”

*
**

 
Sebastian walked her
across the street
to
her house
. Lola’s eyes kept going to the door; she wondered what
Bob
was doing at that very moment.
If he was waiting for her.
If he would come out and yell at her.
Sebastian needed to leave.

 
“Thanks for everything,” Lola told him and inched toward the door.

 
“It’s the least I could do. After all, it was my girlfriend that attacked you.
” He tried to smile, but failed
. “What time you need to leave by?”

 
“I don’t need a ride, Sebastian. I’m fine.
Really.”
Fear of what
Bob
would do or say if he found out
she’d gotten a ride from Sebastian
caused her to sound harsher than she meant to.

 
Sebastian blinked and fell back a step.
“Right.”
He looked away. When his eyes met hers, they were gray pools of pain. “Can we start over? I don’t know what happened. I don’t even care. I’ve been miserable this past year. At first I was mad, but now…it just sucks. I miss my best friend.”

 
Her chest constricted. She wanted nothing more than to go back to the year before.
Everything had been so much simpler then, better, happier.

 
Lola thought of all the obstacl
es between them. Roxanne,
Bob
, her life, and shook her head. They couldn’t go back. It was impossible. It was sad, but impossible.

 
“I’m sorry, Sebastian…I…can’t.” Her voice trailed off, the last word a barely audible whisper.

 
His spine stiffened and he turned his back to her. “What’s going on with you and Jack Forrester?”

 
Lola blinked. Where had that come from?
“Nothing.
He’s a friend. Why?”

 
He swung around, holding her in place with his troubled gaze. “He’s bad news, Lola, and since when do you hang around messed up people?”

 
Since I became one.

 
“There’s nothing wrong with Jack. I like him.”

 
He made a sound of derision.
“Yeah.
I guess I don’t know you anymore. You’ve changed.” In a bad way, his words implied.

 
Anger erupted inside her.
“Really?
Well, so have you. Since when do you date girls who are
psycho
?”

 
Sebastian opened his mouth, closed it, and gave a low chuckle. “She is pretty nuts, isn’t she?”
He laughed
. “God, what was I thinking when I got involved with her?”
Lola stared at him, stupefied. He looked at her face and laughed some more.

 
He shook his head. “I don’t know
what I was thinking.
I just missed you so muc
h and was lonely and Roxanne had
been after me—“

 
“Forever.”

 
“Yeah.
Forever.
Guess she wore me down.”

 
“That’s great, Sebastian, real impressive.”

 
He smiled and gave a helpless shrug.
“I’m weak. What can I say?”

 
You’re not weak. You’re strong. I wish I was as strong as you.

 
“Anyway.
No ride then?”

 
“No”

 
He shoved his hands in his pockets and hopped off the porch. “I think you just like to torture me.”

 
“What does that mean?” she called after him.

 
“See you tonight, Lola,” he said with a mocking bow.

 
Lola watched his lean frame cross the street, eyes on him until he disappeared into his house. She turned around and went motionless.

 
Bob
stood in the open doorway, eyes on
Sebastian’s house
.
He had on a brown shirt and red sweatp
ants. He was unshaven and his skin had an oily sheen to it
.

 
Terror clawed its way up her
throat
.
That suffocating sensation came back to her.
He didn’
t say anything, just stood there, watching
.
She tried to move past him, but he blocked her way.

 
“You remember what I told you, don’t you?”
he said in a low voice.

 
Lola was chilled by the threat in his tone, though she had no idea what he was talking about.

 
“You remember what I told you the last time that boy showed up here?”

 
She stood there, barely breathing, heart racing. A memory tried to make its way to the surface, but was shoved
back down by Lola
. She didn’t want to remember.
Couldn’t bear it.

 
“No? Should I remind you?” His voice was even, calm. He
enjoyed
her pain.
“Not so toug
h now, are
ya
?”

 
Lola wordlessly shook her head.

 
“What the hell happened to your face?”
Bob
suddenly demanded.

 
Her eyes flew to his face to see if he was testing her. He didn’t know.
Her mother hadn’t told him. Why?

 
“Fell. Had to get stitches,” she mumbled, eyes on her shoes.

 
“God
damn
it, girl!
All you are is one huge expense after another. Maybe you should start giving your checks to me.
Help pay some bills. They’re all because of you anyway.

 
“Go on now.” He moved back
just
enough to allow her to slid
e
past him. “Get to work and make me some money.
”

 
Lola waited for him to move more, but he didn’t, had no intention of doing so. She held her breath, angled her body as far away from his as she could, and sidled inside. His gut rubbed against her breasts and Lola gagged, hurrying down the hall to her room.

 
“Lola?” her mother called from the living room.

 
Lola ignored her, slamming her bedroom door and resting
her head
against it.
What had
Bob
meant?
Why
couldn’t she remember? Her pulse sped
at an alarming rate
and she felt hot and cold at the same time.

 
It was awful. Whatever he’d said was awful, she knew.
Dread swam in her stomach and threatened to overwhelm her.
Lola felt sick, like she might vomit. She put a hand against her stomach and pressed.
Don’t think about it. Go to work. Don’t think about it.