Distractions (12 page)

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