Rookie (13 page)

“Keep going, Sid,” she muttered, her hands trembling on the wheel.  “Just keep going.”

She reached a straightaway cut into the hills.  On her left, the land rose, but on her right, it dropped at a gentle, tree covered slope.

Frantic, she punched the gas pedal, hoping to put distance between her and the car behind her.  But he sped up, too, ramming her car hard.  She jerked the wheel unintentionally and lost control, heading for the slope to her right.  Her car crashed sideways through the weak rail as she hit her breaks and tumbled down the hill, rolling like a dog doing tricks, stopping right-side up only when it struck a thick tree.  Airbags burst from the steering wheel and the dash, startling her further.

“Oh, no,” she cried, her heart positively exploding in her chest.  Her quivering hands fought with the seat belt while blood trickled from her head into her eyes.  Her head pounded and her side ached but she didn’t realize it in her fear.

Twisting in her seat while continuing her battle with the seat belt, she searched the darkness for her stalker.

Phone.  Find your phone.

“Yes.  Yes,” she said as the belt released.  She leaned over the console and cried out as a sharp pain flared in her side.  Tears poured from her eyes as she tried again, ignoring the excruciating pain in her efforts to locate her phone.  Fighting the darkness that threatened to overcome her, she patted the floor, hand landing on various objects she couldn’t identify. Finally, she located her phone and, with a cry of joy, dialed 911.

“I need help,” she shouted as the operator answered.  In a rush, she gave them the road she’d been on and told the operator what happened.

“Are you hurt?” the kind voice asked.

“I’m not sure.  A little.  Just send someone, please.  I don’t know if he is still here.”

“I’m alerting the authorities in your area,” the woman said.  “Just stay on the line.”

“Okay,” Sidney said, her head swimming, gray edging in on her vision.  “But I don’t feel well.  A little dizzy.”

“Keep talking, Miss,” the lady said.  “Tell me your name.  Is there anyone I can call?”

“Sidney Roper,” she said, her head growing heavy and her speech slurring.  “Rob.  Call Rob.”

Then she knew no more.

Ten

When she woke, head pounding, body aching, she realized immediately where she was.  Memories of her flight from the car behind her surfaced, causing her heart to race and a monitor above her head to beep.

“You’re all right, honey.  Relax.”

She opened her eyes to a warm face peering at her in concern. 

“What’s wrong with me?” Sidney asked, her voice gruff and scratchy.

“Concussion, head laceration,” the smiling nurse said.  “Some bruised ribs and a broken wrist.”

Groaning, Sidney closed her eyes.  No wonder she felt as if a dump truck had run over her.  Her hands trembled as she thought of the accident.

“The police,” she whispered.  “I need to talk to them.”

“They were here already,” the nurse explained, checking the monitors.  “They said to let them know when you woke.  We’ll give them a call.”

Sidney tried to nod but it hurt her head too much.  Turning it instead, she glanced at the clock above the door.  Five-fifteen.  Was that morning or evening?

“Is there someone we could call for you?” the nurse asked, scooting a table next to the bed.  She picked up a cup and offered the straw to Sidney who took it gratefully.

Should she have them call anyone?

“The police said that you told the 911 operator to call Rob,” the nurse continued.  “Is that your husband? Boyfriend?”

“My friend,” Sidney said, straining for the straw again.  The cool water was heaven on her throat.

“We can call him if you’d like,” the nurse offered.  “One of the other nurses found a card with a Rob Ross on it.  Is that the Rob you mentioned?  We can call him.”

“Don’t want to disturb him,” Sidney said as tears formed in her eyes again.  Horrible didn’t do justice to how she felt.  She ached.  She hurt.  And she was scared.  Scared out of her head - for she had a feeling that she knew her attacker.

“I’m sure your friend would want to know,” the nurse said, hands resting on the bed rails.  “Someone should know where you are.”

The tears fell to her cheeks.  The nurse, whose nametag read Debra, took Sidney’s uninjured hand and gave it a squeeze.

“I’ll give him a call,” she whispered.  “Rest, honey.  You’re safe now.”

Sidney tried to shake her head but it only aggravated her pain.  She closed her eyes again, confused, angry, hurt, embarrassed…

She dozed as another nurse came into the room and fussed with her IV.  She bent closer to Sidney’s head to whisper that she was giving her pain medication and that it would help her to relax.  Sidney didn’t respond – was certain that if she tried to speak, she’d start to sob and not be able to stop.

Just as she’d finally started to relax, as the pain began to wash away like the tide, the door opened to reveal a disheveled Rob.  His hair was a mess and he was wearing his clothes from the night before.  His eyes, red and wide, fell on her as he approached the bed.

“Sid,” he breathed, scooting a chair close.  He took her hand.  “What the hell happened?  The nurse just said that you’d been in an accident.”

She opened her mouth to tell him but began to cry instead.

“Hey,” he said as he lowered the bedrail and sat on the bed, trying to take her into his arms.  “Shh.  You’re all right, now.”

As he whispered soft words of comfort, two police officers entered the room.  Rob sprang to his feet and faced the officers, reaching behind him for Sidney’s hand.

“Do you know what’s going on?” he asked.

The first officer, a tall, broad African-American man, extended a hand to Rob.  “I’m Officer John Waltz.  This is my partner, Phil Walker.”

“Rob Ross,” Rob said.  “Sidney, here, is a friend of mine.  The hospital called and told me she’d been in an accident.”

“That’s what we’re here to talk to her about,” Waltz said, leaning around Rob to nod at Sidney.  He moved closer to the bed.  “Miss Roper, can you tell us what happened?”

Taking a breath, Sidney tried to sit up, but cried out when her ribs screamed.

“Hang on, Sid,” Rob said, hitting a button on the side of the bed to elevate her head.  She smiled her thanks.

“Um, I was leaving a cookout at Rob’s house.  I didn’t get far when I noticed a car behind me.”  She told him the rest of the story as best she could remember, trembling the entire time.  Rob moved to the other side of the bed to hold her hand, his lips in a tight line.

“Do you know who the other driver was?” Waltz asked.

Sidney closed her eyes for a second.  “I didn’t see him.”

“Has anyone been giving you any trouble?  Calling you?  Following you?”

“That Grant guy,” Rob said, squeezing Sidney’s hand.  He looked at the officers.  “Some guy from her hometown in Indiana.  Grant…”

“Grant Perthe?” Officer Walker asked.

Sidney’s eyes widened as she nodded.  “That’s his name.  How do you know?”

Walker consulted his notebook.  “A rental car was found abandoned at a gas station about a quarter of a mile from the wreckage.  The front bumper was banged up pretty badly.  We ran the car through the rental agency computer and his name came up as the renter.”

Sidney sank into her pillow as her heart fell and her stomach twisted.  Never had she imagined Grant would take things this far.

“Can you tell us what has been going on with him?” Waltz asked. 

Quietly, Sidney explained the phone calls she’d received since she’d relocated to California.

“And you dated him in Indiana?” Walker asked.

“Briefly,” she said, not daring to look at Rob.  “When he found out that I’d applied for the internship here, he got angry.  He got a little rough.  He apologized and I forgave him but when it happened again, I ended things.  He didn’t like it and called several times but I moved so I figured I was safe – out of his reach.”

Rob swore under his breath.

“Okay,” Waltz said.  “We’ll locate him and bring him in for questioning.  In the meantime, is there somewhere that you could stay?”

“With me,” Rob said.  “I have plenty of room.  She can stay at my house.”

Sidney tried to protest but Rob wouldn’t listen.  Instead, he gave his contact information to the officers who took it down, thanked them both, and left.

Sidney’s head, which had been growing fuzzier by the minute, gave in to the effects of the pain medicine and began to shut down.

“Rest,” Rob said, taking the chair beside the bed.  “I’ll stay with you.”

***

“Make yourself comfortable on the sofa, Rookie,” Rob ordered as he helped her into the living room that evening.  “I’ll check with Mrs. B to see if the guest room is ready.”

“Okay,” she said, easing her aching body to the sofa.  Her left side was on fire even though the nurse had given her a shot before discharging her from the hospital.

She sat somewhat crooked, resting her right side against the sofa arm, and closed her eyes.  The police had not been able to locate Grant but had assured her they would keep looking.  Which only reinforced Rob’s insistence that she stay at his house.

“Mrs. B has the guest room all freshened up for you,” Rob said when he returned and sat gingerly next to her.  “She’s making your favorite – potato soup.”

“That’s nice of her,” Sidney said through clenched teeth.

“Still in pain?” he asked.

She nodded.

“Give the shot a chance to get working,” he said, hovering.  “Unless you want to go up to bed…”

“No,” she said.  “No.  I’m tired of being in bed.”

“Rookie, you’ve only been in the hospital since last night,” he said with a hint of a smile.  “It’s not like you’ve been bedridden.”

She appreciated his attempt at humor but was in no mood to laugh.  She opened her eyes long enough to roll them before closing them again.

“The police gave me your keys,” he said, shifting so that he could sit back on the sofa.  “Show me which one is for your apartment and I’ll give it to Chad.  Lexie volunteered to go to your place to get you some clothes but Chad won’t let her go without him.”

“Good,” Sidney said, shuddering at the thought of Grant lurking around her apartment, mistaking Lexie for Sidney and attacking.  She took the key ring from him and showed him the apartment key.

“They’ll come by in the morning,” he explained.  “I asked them to let you rest tonight.  You’ll be all right sleeping in those, right?”

Opening her eyes, she looked down at the pale blue scrubs the nurse had given her to wear home.  Loose and roomy, they were quite comfortable.

“I’m fine.”

“Good,” he said.  “I’ll just go check on the soup.”

For the first time since she’d met him, she was glad to see him leave.  Although she was grateful that he was letting her stay, and his concern touched her, she couldn’t bear to have him fussing.  The nurse had helped her into the bathroom before she’d been discharged and she’d seen her reflection.  The entire left side of her face was bruised and cut from banging against the driver’s side window.  She had several tiny lacerations on her forehead and in her scalp.  She was thankful that the ones in her scalp hadn’t needed stitches – she didn’t think she could have handled having part of her head shaved.

She looked awful and she knew it.  She felt it, too.

“Here you go, honey,” Mrs. B said as she brought a tray with a bowl of steaming soup into the living room.  She set it on the coffee table and gently helped Sidney into a more comfortable position.

“Thanks,” Sidney said as Mrs. B arranged the tray on her lap.  Although she wasn’t very hungry, the warmth on her legs and the rising aroma made her give it a try.

“I’ve sent Rob out to pick up your prescriptions,” Mrs. B said, standing over Sidney.  “I thought he might be driving you crazy, hovering about.”

Sidney cracked a smile.  “Just a little.”

“He’s just worried,” Mrs. B said.  “Very worried.”

“I know,” Sidney sighed as she blew across her spoon.

“Oh, look at me,” Mrs. B said.  “Here I am, complaining about Rob hovering over you, yet I’m clucking around like a mother hen.”

Sidney set her spoon on the tray so she could look up at the other woman.  “You’re fine.”

“I’m worried, too,” Mrs. B admitted as several lines appeared on her forehead.  “I’m glad that you’re okay but I hate to see you all banged up.  How about if I draw you a nice hot bath?  I’ve asked Rob to pick up some bath stuff for you.”

Sidney sighed.  “A bath sounds wonderful.”

“Eat up, then,” Mrs. B ordered.  “And once he returns, I’ll help you with a bath and then we’ll put you to bed.”

“Thanks.”

“And holler if you need anything.”  Mrs. B flashed a smile before disappearing through the kitchen door.

Sidney managed a few more bites before the pain meds kicked in.  Leaning forward, wincing in pain, she set the tray on the coffee table so she could settle back into the sofa.  She was asleep before Rob returned.