I have been working at the doctor's office for a few weeks now. Dr. Shapiro had heard about what had happened to me and offered to let me stay in a rental home that she currently had vacant. It was very quiet little apartment on the other side of town. The place came already furnished. It was mostly carpeted throughout the unit with tile in the kitchen and bathrooms. In the living room sat two grey sofas and a flat screen that was mounted above a small dark grey stand. Off near the kitchen was a small glass dining table that had stackable washer and dryer in the closet nearby. She told me I was free to decorate it how I liked, but I thought it was just fine the way it was. Since it was just me, I often would make myself a frozen dinner with a can of pop.
Things had quieted down. The FBI was still looking to locate Mr. Whitman to question him about his involvement in the murders at the mansion. During their search they uncovered his little secret society thanks to the data collected by Robbie. Several politicians and government officials were arrested among the many millionaires taken down in the raid. They were all brought up on charges of money laundering, sex trafficing and many other crimes. I never told a soul about what happened between robbie and I that night. I just wanted to put it all behind me. I still haven't heard from Craig and most of the bodies had been identified through dental records.
I wondered if Mr. Whitman took him off somewhere. Every once in awhile I check the crime database to see if they had found him yet. There are so many reports of sightings of him all the way from Korea to South America. I am sure half of the leads are bogus and are being called in to throw off the cops. I missed Craig so much, but I knew I had to move forward. I really enjoyed my job. Dr. Shapiro talked me into taking some online courses and was teaching me all about the practice.
She was so comfortable with me that she booked herself a much needed vacation. She was so excited that is all I ever heard about. Finally the day had come that she was leaving for two weeks. I knew she trusted me, but could tell she was a bit nervous.
̈ ̈Jade, I are you sure you can handle it ̈ she would often ask?
̈ ̈Yes Dr. Shapiro ̈ I tried to reassure her.
Ok, I will be on the cruise, but you can email me anytime. Whenever I can connect to wifi I will make sure to respond to you. She gave me a hug and ran out of the office. The next few days were pretty boring. The phones never rang because we sent out postcards letting all her patients know she would be out of the office for a few weeks. Even the fax machine was quite. I spent most of my day just rearranging the charts and shredding old records. After work I would go home and fall into my usual routine. I would pop in my microwavable dinner, open a soda and sit and watch the news checking for any new updates. I was the epitome of boring! I couldn't take it anymore. I got up from the table and walked into my room. I opened the sliding closet doors while trying to avoid pulling it off the hinges again. I squatted down onto the floor and started looking through my shoes. I pulled out a pair of blue keds, then a pair of white ones, and then finally my running shoes. ̈ ̈Yes ̈! I walked over to my bed and sat down. I pulled the shoe onto my foot and tied the laces. Then I slipped on the other one. It had been ages since I had been out for a run. I got up and grabbed my keys off the coffee table and headed out. I must of ran through my neighbor for about an hour before my legs finally started to tire out. I headed back home and took a shower. I was feeling so refreshed from getting out of the house. As I lay in bed that night I actually felt happy for the first time in a long time. The next morning I went into the office and opened up as usual. I headed into the back to grab some coffee and a danish that one of our patients dropped off. As I headed back up to the front of the phone rang. I grabbed it and without even thinking I just rattled off the usual greeting.
̈ ̈Doctor's office, how can I help you ̈?
̈ ̈Jade ̈ the voice questioned?
̈ ̈Yes this is her ̈ I replied.
̈ ̈Hey, April, don't ́t hang up ̈
I jumped to my feet and looked around. My heart began to race. I thought to myself, is she calling for Mr. Whitman? Just as I went to hang up the line, I stopped and wondered if maybe she knew what had happened to Craig.
̈ ̈What do you want ̈ responded coldly.
Her voice now a little shaky.
¨ I just wanted to call and apologize to you. Also, I wanted to thank you for not turning me into the feds after what I did to you.
My blood pressure must of shot up because I instantly got a headache and my face flushed. I didn't know what to say. At this point, I didn't want to hear her sorry excuses and I didn't want to forgive her. After a minute of silence, I spoke.
̈ ̈April, don't ever call me again and if you come anywhere around here I will tell the police everything I know about you ̈
I slammed down the phone. The audacity that she thinks she can just call me! I was so mad. I grabbed some printer paper and walked over to the fax to load the machine. I wanted to put that life behind me and start new. I had started a new, I told myself! The phone rang again.
̈Are you kidding me¨ I shouted now full of rage!
̈ ̈Jade, what is going on ̈?
̈Are you ok ̈?
Oh no it was Dr. Shapiro! My voice cracked as I tried to explain why I answered the phone so rudley. ¨I am so sorry ̈. I began rearranging the papers that were on my desk. I am not sure why, but I feel I needed to move around.
¨We had a crank call and I thought it was them again ̈
Dr. Shapiro now sounding more concerned.
̈ ̈Call the police jade and lock the doors ̈
I told her it wasn't necessary that it was just some kids playing around. I didn't want to ruin her vacation. She has done so much for me in the short time that I have known her.
̈Are you sure Jade that is all it was ̈
I promised her that I was sure it was nothing to be concerned about. I changed the subject and asked her how her trip was going?
̈ ̈Great Jade ̈!
¨I really needed this time away ̈
̈ ̈What would I do without you ̈
I couldn't help, but smile. Wow she really appreciates me, I thought to myself. She went through her usual spiel and told me not to stay late and make sure I lock up when I leave at night. We talked for a few more minutes before her phone dropped the call. That night I closed up for the weekend and I headed home. I kept checking behind me to make sure no one was following me. I had thought about getting a gun, but I don't ́t know how to use one. When I got into my apartment I felt like crap. All this stress was catching up to me. I decided to go to bed and I would just go for a run in the morning.
The next day, I got up and walked over to the window. It was a gorgeous day outside. The sky was so blue and not a cloud for miles. The sun light was pouring into my room and onto my bed. I went into the bathroom and brushed my teeth and pulled my hair back. I was still feeling crappy so I decided to take some vitamins. It wasn't long before I puked them up. ̈Ugh, I should've at something first ̈. It's never good to take anything on an empty stomach. I was all dressed to go and just as I reached the door I got the worst feeling in my chest. It was like I couldn't breath. I bent down and put my hands on my knees while trying to catch my breath. My heart began to race and I started to perspire. ̈ ̈Get it together ̈ I said as I tried to compose myself. I can ́t let fear rule my life anymore. I had to go out or it will just get worse. I took a couple deep breaths and drank some water. I headed back towards the door. I grabbed the door knob and took a deep breath again and headed out. After locking up I began running my usual route. My apartment was at the top of a hill so it made going down so much easier. As I began to run I could feel the breeze blowing through the loose strands of hair that had fallen out of my rubber band. Sweat started to trickle down my face and onto my chest. I ran down and around the block. I decided today I would cut through the old baseball field so that I was off the road. Saturday traffic was the worst and I didn't want to risk getting hit. As I ran across the field I could tell the grass was still wet from the sprinklers that go off every morning. Mud started to splash up around the sides of my shoes. As I made my way through the field and back down near the ally way I couldn't help, but feel like someone was behind me. I stopped and looked back, but no one was there. I started up again This time running a little faster. I could hear my feet pounding against the pavement. I ran past the bakery's dumpsters and down around the side of their building.
As I kept running I could hear someone else's footsteps. I jerked around, but again no one was there. Am I going mad! I turned back and took off running again. I was starting to feel uneasy so I started to make my way back up to the front of the alley way when I heard someone kick a can that I had just passed. I didn't need to look back, I knew someone was definitely following me and I ran as fast as I could to get out of there!