Human Blend (11 page)

She was unable to talk right away and was
spared from answering; the man she came with pulled her away from
the scene. The look on his face told her she was going to pay
dearly.

The dream began to fade.

Julie's eyes were suddenly open. She was back
in the hospital room with Michele. She stared blankly, trying to
comprehend the images she had seen.

Doctor Elsworth re-entered the room carrying
a tray filled with food. He saw the distant look in Julie's eyes
and immediately put the tray down, and went over to her.

“Julie. What's wrong? Are you in pain?” he
asked.

Julie blinked a few times and shook her head.
“No, I... I just had a dream, I think,” she replied, her voice
distant. In her head, she knew it was more than just a dream. She
did not want to discuss it with Eli, at least not yet. She smiled
at the concerned look on the doctor's face. “I'm fine, really. Just
hungry,” she emphasized by hugging her stomach. Eli gave an uneasy
chuckle, still not convinced Julie was telling him everything. He
decided to not push it at the moment.

“The kitchen crew was restocking, I got
lucky,” he said, retrieving the tray. He bought the tray over to
Julie. It was filled with sandwiches, juice, and fruit. “I didn't
know what you liked,” he explained.

“So you brought one of everything?” Julie
laughed, seeing the tray.

Eli found himself laughing as well. That was
another puzzling piece to the fascination he felt towards her. He
had never found it easy to laugh or smile, yet he found himself
doing it more often around this girl. “Just eat,” he said, trying
to understand these feelings.

“Aren't you going to have any?” she
asked.

“I don't need to eat that often,” Eli
stated.

“Why not?” Julie asked.

“Eat,” he ordered.

“Are you ever gonna give me any answers?” she
asked, unwrapping one of the sandwiches.

“Even exchange, remember?” He reminded her of
their agreement. Julie didn't reply. She munched quietly on her
food.

After eating her fill, Julie did feel a lot
stronger. “I think that was it,” she said. “I just needed food,”
Julie walked over and stood next to the doctor. He was checking
Michele's vitals. “How is she?” Julie asked, looking at the
monitors.

“She is stable. I'm not going to lower her
sedatives until I see what the scans show in a few hours,” he
explained.

“Hours? Shoot. What time is it?” Julie
asked.

“Three. Why?” Eli asked.

“I'd better head home. I need to shower and
change. I am meeting Mrs. Gosley at nine to see the apartment,”
Julie reminded him.

The Doctor closed the chart. “I'll drive you
home,” he said.

“I can...” Julie started to say.

“Non-negotiable. It's late. You are not
walking,” Eli said firmly.

She pursed her lips together, but decided not
to challenge him. Silently, they walked to the parking lot. “This
town seems deserted at this time of the night,” Julie remarked on
the ride home.

“That's why it's my favorite time,” Eli
responded.

“I like the quiet, sometimes. Then there are
times when I hate being alone,” she said, wistfully.

The Doctor pulled up in front of the hotel.
“You don't have to be alone, unless you want to be,” Eli said. If
Julie had looked at Eli's face, she might have seen more to the
comment he had just made. She was, instead, staring up at her room.
“Someone's in my room,” she said, watching the curtain move
slightly. She also noticed the light was on. “I just saw the
curtain move, and I know I turned the lights off,” she said,
already getting out of the car.

Eli shut the car off and got out with her.
Once inside, Julie hesitated.
What if it's them? What if they
found me?
“You can't go up,” she said to Eli.

“You are not going alone,” he said.

“Eli, please. I can't put you in danger,” she
said.

“Do you think it is the people you are
running from?” he asked. Julie started to feel anxious.

“I don't know. I was sure I covered my
tracks, but...” she stopped there. Julie had this intense urge to
just run. “I... um...” she stammered, backing up toward the door.
Eli grabbed her arms.

“Julie, you can't run forever. I won't let
anything happen to you,” he tried to reason with her, but Julie
kept pulling back.

“No, I can't. I can't go back. I gotta get
out of here,” she was letting the panic and fear consume her.

Eli pulled her to him and embraced her. He
touched her face, his lips near her ear. “You are going to be fine.
No one is going to take you back. I won't let them,” he
whispered.

“I'm scared,” she said quietly, letting his
arms encircle her. She hid her face against him until her heart
rate calmed.

When Eli felt her relax, he pushed her back
and looked at her. “Let's go see who this is,” he said. She
trembled, but nodded. They made their way upstairs. Julie noticed
her door was slightly ajar as they approached. Eli glanced at her
for confirmation, she again nodded. He put his finger to his lips
as he pushed the door open. Julie stayed with her back against the
wall, too scared to look in. Much to Julie's surprise, Eli ran
inside her room. She heard a commotion and ran to the doorway. The
doctor had a man pinned to the ground, “Who are you? What are you
doing in her room?” he shouted at the man. The man's face was being
pushed into the carpet and only a muffling sound escaped his lips.
Eli flipped the man over but kept him pinned to the ground. Julie
was surprised at who it was.

“Anthony! What the hell are you doing in my
room?” Julie shouted angrily.

“You know him?” Eli asked, looking back at
her.

“He's one of the clerks at the front desk,”
Julie said, still glowering at the pinned man.

“Uh, M... Miss Miller. I am oh s... so sorry.
I became concerned when the maid said you were not in your r...
room when she turned down your bed for the evening. I... I didn't
see you come in, and wanted to b... be sure you were alright,”
Anthony stammered.

“You check on all your guests that way,
Anthony?” Eli questioned, not believing a word he said.

“P... Please, I'm sorry, I just became
concerned. I will never do anything like this again, I swear,”
Anthony promised.

Eli climbed off of Anthony and stood next to
Julie. Anthony quickly righted himself. “I'm very sorry, Miss...”
He started to say.

“Save it, Anthony. Just get out,” Julie
ordered. The look on Julie's face prevented him from trying to say
anything else. He quickly exited the room. Julie marched over to
the door, closed it the rest of the way, and locked it. She leaned
her back against the door and looked at Eli.

“So much for peace and quiet,” she said.

“You're not staying here,” the doctor
said.

“I wasn't planning on it,” Julie said. “There
are a few other hotels just outside of town,” Julie stated,
remembering what Austin had mentioned. She pulled her duffel bag
out from under her bed.

“No. You can stay at my place,” Eli said.

“I'm not your responsibility,” Julie said,
packing her stuff.

“Julie. I saw how scared you were when you
thought the people you are hiding from had found you.”

“My problems are not yours,” Julie said. She
walked into the bathroom and began collecting her toiletries.
Why did I get other people involved,
she thought.
I had a
plan when I started out
.
What happened
? She walked back
out into the main room. She paused when she noticed Eli reading the
note that Austin had sent with the rose.

“Your boyfriend?” he asked.

“Snoop much?” Julie replied taking the note
from his hand.

“Billy will be upset,” he teased.

Julie smirked at the comment. She went over
to the safe and retrieved her bag from inside. She placed it in her
duffel bag before zipping it up. “That's everything,” she said.

“You travel light,” Eli noted.

“Makes it easy to pick up and go,” she
explained.

He walked over and picked up her bag. “Let's
go,” he said.

“To the hotel,” she reiterated.

“You're stubborn,” Eli said, walking to the
door. Julie smiled following after him.

Chapter Five-- A New Place to Stay

Down in the lobby, no one was behind the
front desk. “I'll stop back tomorrow and check out,” she said,
thankful that she didn't have to see Anthony again.

In the car, silence was a welcome friend.
Julie was glad Eli wasn't still trying to persuade her to stay with
him. They had just passed the hospital when he turned the car off
into a parking lot. The building sign read, 'Towne Apartments' and
consisted of three floors.

“This isn't a hotel,” Julie said.

“I know. This is the place you have an
appointment to see in a few hours,” Eli said.

“Uh, I think Mrs. Gosley would be a little
ticked off if I woke her up this early,” Julie said.

“That, she would be,” Eli agreed, getting out
of the car.

“What are you doing?” Julie whispered,
mindful of the late hour.

“We're here,” he whispered back, taking her
bag out of the trunk. “I live here. I can be stubborn too,” he
said.

“You tricked me!” she fumed, stomping after
him as he walked through the front entrance. Julie was behind him
and couldn't see the smile he wore. “I'm not happy about this,” she
said, still keeping her voice low.

Eli stopped in front of apartment number 107
and unlocked the door. He pushed the door open and gestured her in.
Julie folded her arms and refused to budge. “Stop being difficult,”
he said to her. He shook his head and walked into the apartment,
dropping her bag on the sofa, before going back out into the
hallway. “Will you please come inside?” Eli asked.

“I don't like being told what to do,” Julie
argued.

“This is the best solution,” he said.
“Tomorrow, you will see your apartment, sign the papers, and move
in. Why is it so difficult for you to accept my help?” he
asked.

Julie sighed. She knew he was right. She was
just being hard-headed. “Fine,” she said, begrudgingly.

“I have a spare bedroom,” Eli said once
inside. He carried her bag to the room and placed it on the
bed.

Julie stopped in the bedroom doorway. “I'm
sorry for giving you a hard time,” she apologized.

“I'm getting used to it,” he said,
smiling.

“I guess... I can be troublesome,” she said
and laughed.

He walked over and touched her face. “Not
troublesome; protective. It's an endearing trait,” he said, kissing
her cheek.

“I'm going to head on back to the hospital,”
Eli said, walking back into the living room. “There is food in the
kitchen, help yourself. The bathroom is over here,” he
gestured.

“I should go back with you,” Julie said.

“Julie,” Eli moaned, pinching the bridge of
his nose.

“I'm giving you a headache, aren't I?” Julie
smiled. “I'm kidding, sort of. I'll meet with Mrs. Gosley, but then
I am coming over to check on Michele,” she stated.

“Fine,” Eli said. He wondered how she had
managed to turn the tables on him yet again. “Here is an extra key.
Make sure you lock up when you leave. “ He handed her the key.

“Thank you,” she said, holding onto his hand,
“for everything,” she added.

“You're welcome,” he said. “Get some rest,”
he said, pulling his hand away and tousling her hair.

“What? Am I five?” she laughed, dodging his
hand.

“You act like it sometimes,” he said, heading
for the door.
Touché
, she thought and smiled as he left.

Julie looked around the apartment, taking in
its ambiance. It was as sparsely decorated as his office had been.
Everything seemed very generic; plain. She took a quick tour of all
the areas and stopped at a closed door.
This must be his
bedroom, s
he thought.
Walk away
, she told herself. Julie
listened this time, and went to her own bedroom. She gathered up
her bathroom necessities and went to take a shower.

After the shower, she still had an hour to
kill before her appointment. Eli's closed bedroom door kept calling
her. She found herself standing in front of it again, her hand on
the doorknob. “No, this is wrong,” she said, and forced herself to
walk away. She plopped down on the sofa and turned on the
television. The local news channel was broadcasting breaking news.
Julie turned the sound up when she saw a reporter standing in front
of the hotel she had been staying at.

“
Police are still investigating the brutal
murder of a local man. The man, whose name is not being released,
pending notification of family members, was found viciously beaten
and shot behind the General Francis Marion Hotel early this
morning. Police Commissioner Ramsey commented, 'This kind of stuff
just doesn't happen in our town.' They are still investigating. As
soon as we can, we will bring you more on this breaking
story.”

Julie sat in shock. “Early this morning,” she
repeated. She realized both she and Eli had been there around the
same time as the killing. She shuddered at the thought. She would
ask him about it later. Maybe by being at the hospital, he had more
information on the poor soul who lost his life. Julie flipped
through the channels, mindlessly watching images flicker. Soon
enough, it was time to meet Mrs. Gosley.

She walked down to apartment 101 after
locking up the Doctor's place. She knocked quietly on the door. A
woman, about sixty-five years old, opened the door. “You Julie?”
the woman asked, giving her a once-over.

“Yes, ma'am,” Julie replied.

“You got points for being on time,” the woman
said.

“Oh, okay,” Julie replied, unsure on how to
respond.
Should I ask her how many points I need to rent the
apartment
? She asked herself, but kept quiet.