They investigated at my house until almost five o'clock that morning. They had caught more evidence in that one night at my house than they'd caught anywhere ever. Good for their paranormal study, bad for my daily living situation.
After I got to Chad's that night/morning, I pulled my shirt off and found big whelps across my chest, letting me know what the fire I'd felt had caused. Susan had ended up with a black eye, which she blamed on a slip in the shower when people asked. Yet the guys hadn't had anything happen to them at all. Who or whatever was in my house was a coward, only messing with women or those who were weaker.
It was now Tuesday and I was still staying at Chad's condo. After he woke up Sunday evening, we went back to my house so I could quickly pack a bag with enough stuff to last me a few more days. We hadn't talked about what had happened at my house since we'd left. Chad said that Susan was contacting some people to either do a cleansing and a blessing or a full blown exorcism and that I shouldn't go back until it was done. I still thought it'd be easier to just take a loss and sell it.
I had dinner with Eric and Kim after work, who about died when I told them all that had happened. Kim just sat there with her mouth hanging open and Eric grilled me about every little detail. I told them as much as I could, surprised at how the fear I'd felt flooded me again. I wondered how long that would last. Even after my house was cleared of the evilness that was there, would I ever feel safe?
They were also surprised that I was camping out at his condo. "Well, what else am I supposed to do? I can't stay with you and Phillip. And I have too many germs to stay at Kim's." Kim's mom was not only a little off, but she was a germaphobe, too. "And I don't have money to stay at a hotel, so. . . ."
"Who is this Chad fella, anyway?" Eric asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah, what's his last name?" Kim chimed in.
"First off, he's just a friend. After what happened, he didn't want me staying there alone. And since he works nights and sleeps all day, he said I'd practically have the place to myself until I could go back home. And his last name is Bales. Chad Bales."
"So, what does this Chad Bales look like?" Kim asked.
I shook my head. "You two are impossible."
"We know, but what does he look like?" Eric asked again.
"He's muscular, taller than me, with short, wavy hair, kind of darkish, and green eyes . . . or blue . . . greenish-bluish, I don't know."
"Age?" Kim asked.
"He looks my age and that's all I know."
Eric continued to quiz me. "Where does he work?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know where he works? He could be a drug dealer or prostitute or something."
I laughed. "If that was the case, you'd have recognized his name," I teased Eric.
"True."
They finally dropped the topic of Chad, only to bring up another touchier one. "So, has Billy called you anymore?" Kim asked. I shook my head, hating the fact that every time I forget about him for a few days that someone would say something to bring him back into my thoughts.
We finished dinner and I headed back to Chad's condo, knowing he had already left for work. I had been sleeping on his couch, since his second bedroom was used as an office and exercise room. As I got ready and laid down, I noticed a note on his coffee table.
I don't know if you read, but you can browse my kindle if you want.
It was interesting that he was a reader. I never took time to read, but seeing as how I had time right now, I reached over and opened up his kindle to see what all he had on it. I turned the lamp off and pulled the kindle light out so I could see, snuggling down into my pillow. I clicked on his favorites file to see what genre he liked. The series that surprised me the most was 'Harry Potter'; he didn't seem like the wizarding type. The ones that didn't surprise me were the ones by Stephen King, which seemed more his speed, and the ones I'd never heard of, but had scary titles.
Wanting to keep it as non-scary as possible, I clicked on the first 'Harry Potter' one and started reading. I was several pages in when I heard a noise coming from behind the couch.
No. It can't be. . . .
It almost sounded like fingernails scraping across the leather, but I tried to ignore it and kept reading, not hearing anything else. When I reached up to turn the page, the kindle light shifted ever so slightly, shining on a ghostly face that was mere inches from mine. I dropped the kindle and scramble up the couch, trying to get away from the thing that was sitting in the floor next to me. I reached for the lamp, and in my haste, knocked it over. As I went to catch it, it fell against the table and broke, slicing my arm open.
The fear of what I'd just seen was replaced by the sheer terror of how much blood that was suddenly everywhere. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed the nearest towel that I saw, wrapping it around my arm. I turned on the light, looking back into the living room, which was now empty. I immediately started to feel light headed, so I laid down in the kitchen floor, holding my bloody arm up in the air. I knew I would have to go to the hospital and get stitches or I'd bleed to death, but I also felt like I was going to pass out and was afraid to drive.
I slowly stood up, looking to make sure I was still alone, and saw my phone on the coffee table—the same coffee table that I'd just seen that scary-as-hell face next to. I had no choice but to go back in there, so I turned on all of the lights that I saw switches for and grabbed my phone, falling back onto the couch. I called Eric first, but Phillip had taken his car, so he had no way to come and get me. I called Kim next, but all I kept getting was her voice-mail. There was no way I'd call Chad at work; he was nice enough to let me stay here, but I wasn't about to bother him at his work.
My towel was soaked with blood and I felt like I passing out was imminent. Do I call 9-1-1? I could only imagine how much an ambulance ride would be. I scrolled through my contacts again and called Katrina. I didn't want to, but she was the only other person I was close enough to that I didn't mind calling this late at night. But just like Kim, I got her voice-mail.
"Oh, my gosh, does everyone cut their ringers off at night?"
I knew there was one other person who'd take me; one other person who I could call that would keep me from having to call an ambulance. But would it be worth it? As I broke out in a sweat and started to feel faint again, I knew I had to do something or Chad might come home and find me dead on his couch. Wanting anyone besides an ambulance to take me, I scrolled through my call log and found his number.
"Jacynda, what's wrong?" He knew something bad must've happened for me to be calling him.
"Billy." My voice was barely a whisper at this point. "I'm . . . I'm . . . I need you to take me to the hospital. I have . . . there's nobody else." I felt so weak that I thought an ambulance might've been the better option. Saving money isn't worth risking my life over.
"Where are you?"
"I'm at . . . I'm. . . ." Where was I? "I'm at those condos downtown. River Trace, maybe . . . something." I didn't even know what number this one was. "It's the first one." I knew I wasn't making sense, but it was like my mind was shutting down; I didn't like blood, especially when it was outside the body. I slowly got up and went to the door, opening it to see what number Chad lived in. "Four fifty-seven."
"River Trace, four fifty-seven?"
"Yeah." I laid back down in the floor near the door, leaving it open so the cool night air would blow in and hopefully keep me from throwing up.
"I'm on my way."
I don't think I passed out, but the next thing I knew, Billy was picking me up and carrying me to his truck. As he sat me in the passenger seat, I told him to get my purse and lock the door back. I rolled down my window as he headed back towards the condo. When he got back in and shut the door, I knew this was a mistake.
"I only need a ride. Just drop me off at the emergency room and leave," I told him as I raised my still bleeding arm up and hung my head out the window. You'd think that a gash as big as the one I had would hurt, but I didn't feel it. Actually, I couldn't feel my hand, either.
"I'm not leaving you, Jacy."
"Don't call me that."
"Whatever, I'm not leaving you."
I definitely should've called an ambulance.
When we pulled up to the emergency room door, he helped me in, making sure I didn't pass out before I could get seated. But when they saw me, they took me straight back.
"We'll bring the paperwork to you," the receptionist informed me.
"I'll be right back, I'm just gonna go park the truck," Billy said as he patted my good hand.
"Please . . . don't."
"Don't park the truck?"
"No, please don't come back," I pleaded.
He scowled at me and said, "I'll be right back."
I was lying on a gurney when a nurse let him into my room. If I'd have thought about it, I'd have told her not to let anyone in. But he was here now and I didn't want to cause a scene.
"So, what happened?" he asked.
"I knocked a lamp over and as I tried to catch it, it broke and sliced my arm."
"You lost a lot of blood."
"Don't remind me."
The doctor came in and introduced himself as he started unwrapping my arm. "Oh, you really got cut up good." Between Billy and this doctor, I was surely gonna lose my supper. "You might need to see our surgeon. Move your fingers for me." Without looking to see how bad the cut was, I wiggled my fingers. When I did, pain shot up my arm like I'd never felt, causing me to wince. "Can you move your fingers?"
"I just did."
"Okay, let me call Dr. Maja and let him take a look at it before I close it up. Sorry, but I can't numb it up just yet, not until he looks at it."
"That's okay. It only hurts when I move my fingers, so I just won't do that." I tried to force a smile, but my mouth wouldn't cooperate. After the week I'd had, I figured it may take it a while before I'd be able to smile again.
The doctor walked out and Billy stood up and walked to my bed, sitting down on the edge of it. "Your fingers didn't move."
"What?"
"When he told you to move your fingers, they didn't move."
I looked down at my arm, which he had thankfully wrapped back up, and tried to move my fingers. The same sharp pain shot up my arm, but my fingers didn't move—none of them. I started to cry, unsure of what this meant.
"Don't cry," Billy said, trying to comfort me as he wiped the tears from my face.
I quickly jerked my head away. "That's my cutting hand. How am I supposed to work?"
"I'm sure they'll fix it."
I shook my head and looked away. I wanted to scream. Scream for having a house that I was afraid to live in. Scream for seeing that face at Chad's. Scream for bleeding all over his condo. Scream for having a hand that I couldn't use. Scream for calling Billy instead of an ambulance. But then again, if I was going to be out of work for a while, I'll probably need the money that I saved. I still didn't know if it was worth it, though.
I decided not to scream and just sighed heavily instead. I turned my head and shut my eyes, trying to go to a happy place far from here. But then I felt his hand on my leg, which pulled me right back.
"Don't touch me," I said with my eyes still shut.
"Why did you call me?"
I opened my eyes and glared at him. "Because no one else answered their phone. And the one person who did answer the phone had no way to get me. I didn't want to have to call an ambulance and I was afraid to drive myself, knowing I would probably pass out on the way. So don't flatter yourself by thinking that I called you for any reason other than that."
He smiled, which infuriated me even more. "So, whose condo were you at?"
"How do you know it's not mine?"
"Because surely if it were yours you would know your address."
"Well, it's none of your business whose condo it is."
"Why didn't you call them instead of me?"
"Because it's complicated, okay."
I was done. I was done talking. I was done listening. I was done. I rolled over and shut my eyes, begging sleep to take me. Sleep must be a sympathetic thing because it did, wrapping me in its arms and leading me into a dreamless sleep.
I don't know what time it was when the doctor came back in and woke me up. Billy was still here, asleep in the chair by my bed. I hoped he would stay that way.
"Ms. Johnson, I heard you have a nasty cut here," he said as he unwrapped my arm. I kept my eyes up as he looked at it. When he told me to move my fingers, I cringed, knowing that pain was coming. "Well, it looks like the flexor tendon has been severed, so we are going to have to do surgery to fix it."
"Surgery?"
"Yes. You won't be able to use this hand for at least a couple of months."
"But I do hair."
"I'm sorry, but it looks like you're going to have to take some time off."
"Will she be able to use her hand again?" Billy asked from where he'd been sleeping. I hated that he was awake, but that was a question that I needed to know the answer to and was too afraid to ask.
"Most likely, but you may not have full range of motion, so it may make your job a lot harder and probably painful. You'll definitely have to go to therapy."
I felt sick. "When will you do the surgery?"
"Right now. They are going to come in and prep you and then we'll get started."
He went through more details about what they were going to do and what would happen after the surgery, but I didn't hear most of it. All I kept thinking about was what I would possibly do if I couldn't do hair again.
"Do you have any questions for me?" I shook my head. "Okay, then. I'll see you in a bit. If you have any questions before they bring you up, just let the nurse know. For your own comfort, you'll be asleep for the surgery, but it's a light sedation, so you should feel fine when you wake up." I nodded, not knowing what to say. He patted my leg. "I'll fix you right up," he said as he walked out.
"Where's my phone? I've got to call Eric and tell him I won't be at work tomorrow. And Chad, I've got to tell him what happened so he doesn't come home to a bloody mess and think I'm dead somewhere." Billy got my phone out of my purse and handed it to me. I immediately start dialing Eric's number, looking back at Billy as it rang. "How long did he say I'd be in here?"
"Just until tomorrow, I think."
"Hello?" I could tell I had woke him up.
"Eric, I'm sorry to wake you, but I'm at the hospital."
"Are you okay? I thought you just cut your arm?" He sounded more awake now.
"I did, but I cut it pretty bad and they are fixing to do surgery on it."
"Oh, my word! Are you serious?"
"Yes, listen, I won't be at work tomorrow. Tell Beth what's happened and that I'm not going to be able to do hair for at least a couple of months. Tell her she's got to figure out something I can do with just one hand." I almost started to cry but sucked it up. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay. Call me as soon as you get out surgery."
I was hanging up with him when the nurse came in. "Are you ready?"
"No." I explained that I needed to make one more phone call.
"Honey, you go right ahead. I'll get your IV going and the paperwork and everything ready first."
My head started to spin at the thought of an IV. I tried to push it to the back of my mind with all of the other bad thoughts that I was storing back there as I tried to find Chad's number. I hadn't put it into my contacts yet, so I had to scroll through my texts to find it. I started to call him, but just sent a text instead, not knowing what he was doing or if he could even talk at this hour.
Im ok. I saw a face--maybe it followed me--& I accidentally broke ur lamp which almost cut my arm off. Im at UT & they r fixin 2 do surgery. I'll see u 2mrw when u wake up & I'll explain everything.
I hit send, but thought of something else.
I'll buy u a new couch & whatever else my blood ruined. Im sorry...4 everything.
I hit send as the nurse started inspecting my veins, ready to do my IV. I turned my head, not wanting to look, and looked right into Billy's tired eyes. I think I'd rather look at the needle and pass out. His eyes had always drawn me in, like a riptide pulling me out to sea. They were an ocean that I'd always wanted to get lost in, but now they made me feel like the waves of our past were pulling me under and I was drowning.