And Playing the Role of Herself... (29 page)

I put processing the information about what my body had gone through on hold and contemplated her question, fighting fatigue and the slowly encroaching haziness brought on by the morphine.
There was something I wanted to ask…about Robyn…
I closed my eyes to concentrate and sleep took me again.
##
I woke briefly on and off over the next several hours; long enough for a nurse to ask me how I felt and for another hit of morphine before drifting off again.
When I finally woke with my head clear of haziness and my body rested enough that fatigue and pain didn't make me want to go right back to sleep, I was in a different room - a much smaller room - and the array of machines beside me was much less impressive. The sharp odor of antiseptic was overlaid by something sweet and floral; I looked around curiously and found that nearly every available spot of counter space, along with some floor space, was taken up by flower arrangements off all sizes and even a stuffed animal or two.
I tried to chuckle at that, which ended up as more of a wheeze, and a nurse who was scribbling something on a clipboard at the end of the bed looked up. She smiled. "Oh good, you're awake again. How do you feel?"
I thought about that for a moment before answering.
"Not great," I croaked, and cleared my throat. "But…better," I added, surprised that it was true. My head still throbbed but the nausea was gone, my face didn't feel quite as tight and swollen, and mind was much clearer.
She glanced at the display of one of the machines beside my bed and wrote something down, then looked back at me. "Good." She poured me a glass of water and I nodded gratefully when she handed it to me.
"What time is it?" I asked, noticing weak gray light coming in the room's one window.
She looked at her watch. "It's about a quarter after six. Wednesday morning," she added before I could ask. She hung the clipboard on the end of the bed and refilled the water glass I'd set down. "How does some food sound? Maybe some toast…some juice?"
I nodded slowly, realizing that now that the nausea was gone, I was hungry. "I could eat."
"Great. I'll go fetch you something, and your brother was just in here…he went to find some coffee, I think. I'll let him know you're awake."
"Which brother?" I asked bluntly, not wanting to deal with Sebastian quite yet.
She smiled slightly. "Perry. He's been here most of the night." She motioned to the corner of the room where a messily folded blanket lay across the back of a chair. "I'm Kara, by the way. I'm on until eight. I'll be back in just a bit with your breakfast."
"Thank you, Kara." She smiled and pushed out of the room.
A few minutes later Perry poked his head hesitantly through the door, smiling uncertainly. "Hey. Morning, sleepyhead."
I gave him a wide smile in greeting, happy to see a familiar face, and flinched slightly at the pull on my right cheek. I raised my hand curiously, feeling the swollen tightness of my skin and the evenly stitched welt that followed the line of my cheekbone beneath my right eye. Exploring further I found another welt running along my jaw from below my right ear to the middle of my chin and a small, painful knot on my forehead above my right eye. The left side of my face in comparison felt smooth, with only a few tender areas of scrapped skin.
"Caid, you okay?" I blinked and glanced over at him. He had entered the room and was looking at me worriedly.
"Yeah…sorry. Just hadn't…felt the damage before. How does it look?"
He looked at me uncomfortably, "Uh…well…"
"That good?" I asked dryly. Perry looked at the floor and bit his lip. "It's okay, Per. I know I probably look like the bride of Frankenstein, but they tell me it'll all heal up fine."
He shoved his hands in the pockets of his jeans, still looking at the floor.
"It'll be fine, Per, I promise. Didn't the doctor talk to you?"
"Yeah, she's been really cool." He nodded and was quiet for a moment, then looked up with a tiny grin. "She's a babe, too."
I raised an eyebrow - my left one. "Is she?"
"Oh, come on, Caid - I woulda thought you'd notice something like that, after your recent…discovery." His grin widened.
"My brain was a little scrambled when I met her," I smiled slightly, glad for the change of subject and Perry's brightened demeanor. "I'll try to pay attention next time."
He grabbed the chair in the corner and dragged it over next to the bed, dropping into it with a chuckle. "She's got some balls on her, too…Sebastian's trying to pull his crap on her, but she won't take any of it. And they say when he had Robyn tossed from your room, the Doc turned around and tossed him, too…oh, I would have loved to have seen the look on his face."
I frowned. "Robyn was here?" A vague memory of her worried, tearstained face surfaced, and her voice telling me to stay with her. "And Sebastian tossed her out of my room? Why?" I shifted restlessly. "And why the hell is he here, anyway? He should be in church thanking god that his sinning sister got what was coming to her."
He frowned. "That's a little harsh, Caid. He seemed genuinely concerned. He's an asshole, but you're still his sister."
It was nice to think that maybe somewhere, deep down, Sebastian still carried around familial feelings for me, but too much had passed between us and too much had been said for me to lay any bets on it.
I didn't respond and Perry watched me for a moment and then sighed. "It's kind of my fault he's here anyway…when I got the call on Sunday about what happened, I tried to contact mom, to let her know I'd fly down to be with you and not to worry. The contact number I had for her was some little inn in Switzerland…they said they weren't expecting her group for another couple of days - at least I
think
that's what they said - anyway, I left a message and then I called Steve. I thought he'd want to know, too…"
Steve was our father, although Perry had never called him such. "And dad called Sebastian," I finished. Which meant dad wouldn't be coming down himself. I gave myself a mental shake, annoyed that after all this time, it still could hurt.
Perry nodded. "I couldn't get a flight out until Tuesday, but since Sebastian's in Tampa, he got down here Monday morning and I guess he found Robyn in the room with you - the nurses said she'd been with you since you were brought in - and he threw a fit about visitors being family only, and since he is a blood relative, and the oldest sibling, they let him have his way. I tried to get him to lighten up, but you know how he is."
"Where is she?" I asked hopefully.
He frowned. "Who, Doctor Reese?"
"No…Robyn. I'd like to see her."
Since I'd woken in the hospital the day before, more and more of the puzzle pieces that made up my memory had fallen into place. Memories of our weekend -good and bad - had surfaced and I desperately wanted to see her, to know where we stood. She'd stormed out after our fight, but she must have come back - for some reason - since she was the one that found me. That gave me some hope.
"She left last night, after she heard you'd woken up for real and were doing good…I talked to her a little before she left, and she mentioned something about her director threatening to replace her…she said she'd try to make it back tonight."
I closed my eyes.
Damn.
"…it's probably best that she did, anyway, a lot of the media people left when she did."
My eyes popped open. "Media?"
"Uh…yeah. I guess they tried to keep it quiet for a while, but…" he shrugged.
Just what I needed; more media scrutiny.
Fantastic
.
The pain in my head went from the dull ache I'd woken up with to a pounding throb, and went to rub my forehead with my palm, forgetting about the IV line and nearly jerking it out of my hand. "Shit," I muttered in frustration.
The door swung open and Kara pushed in, back first, with a tray in her hands. "Here we are." She smiled at Perry as he scooted the chair aside to give her room to place the tray on my table. "Toast and juice, as ordered."
I looked at Perry. "Is Sebastian here?"
He shook his head. "He went back to his hotel last night after Robyn left."
I looked at Kara. "Kara, could you let someone know that I'd like to make my own decisions about who can and can't visit me? Sebastian doesn't need to be involved in that anymore."
She blinked in surprise at my abruptness. "Um…yes, sure…"
"And Robyn Ward is welcome to visit any time," I finished, and reached for a piece of toast.
She nodded hesitantly. "Okay…"
"Thank you." I took a bite and chewed slowly, marveling at how good a plain piece of toast could taste.
Perry sat quietly as I ate and Kara asked me a few question about my injuries. When she left, I glanced over and found him watching me thoughtfully.
I paused in my chewing and swallowed. "What?"
He just shook his head and laughed.
I shrugged, finished off my juice and reached for my last triangle of toast.
"It's Robyn, isn't it? The woman you were talking about…the one you're in love with?"
I stopped with the toast halfway to my mouth. My smile, as lopsided as it was, must have said it all.
"Holy crap," he said, and laughed again.
I bit into my toast, amused at the expression on his face.
"Holy crap. I can't believe I didn't figure it out before. She was in your room in Big Bear, you're always talking about her, and the way she's been freaking about you being hurt…" He shook his head again. "I guess she changed her mind about not being interested, huh?"
I just smiled, and hoped he was right.
"Holy crap."
I laughed and finished my breakfast.
##
Sebastian visited later that morning, and with Perry's words about his concern in mind, I did my best to be civil. We actually conversed for at least three minutes before we ran out of safe topics and he started in on my choice of careers and how the assault was basically my own fault; a direct result of my association with 'those people', and in particular, 'that woman.' I asked him to leave and don't bother to come back, at a volume that brought nurses running and with language colorful enough to even impress Perry, who had to step between the two of us and finally escorted Sebastian out.
The run-in shook me up as well as exhausted me and I slept into the early afternoon, waking to find two police detectives being ushered into my room. One was in his late twenties, tall and well-built with dark hair cut in a military style buzz and sharp brown eyes and the other was older, in his mid forties; short and fit, with thinning brown hair and a reddish mustache that he pulled at often.
"I'm Detective Fischer," the shorter one introduced himself, "and this is my partner Detective Linden. We're with the Monroe County Sheriff's office…" His voice held a hint of the south and reminded me of Liz, which in turn made me wonder how she was taking this whole thing, or if she even knew. Perry had mentioned media coverage…
I realized the two men were watching me expectantly, and brought my mind back into focus. "Sorry…" I told them with a wry grin. "I was just sleeping…I'm still a little out of it."
They both nodded, and this time the tall one, Detective Linden, spoke. "Not a problem, ma'am. We're sorry to bother you. How are you feeling?"
"Like some crazy man beat the crap out of me with a stick," I said dryly, drawing a slight grin from Linden and the barest flicker of what might have been sympathy from Fischer.
"Can you tell us what happened?" he asked and pulled a small notebook from his pocket. "We have a good idea, but we'd like to hear it in your words."
I carefully reached out for the cup of water on the table by my side and took a few sips, gathering my still slightly jumbled thoughts. As my mind had gotten clearer over the last several hours, I'd remembered the attack, and the wild-eyed man who did it, but this would be the first time I'd put it in words.
"I was down on the beach…I'd just gone for a run, and was cooling down. I started back to the house, I saw this man - I'd seen him before, on my run, he was on the beach, one house over…he had a walking stick, and was limping, looked like he was having trouble getting over the rise, there, between the houses…I thought I could help him, and wondered what he was doing, what he wanted..." I paused for another sip of water and to clear my throat as the memory of his face came vividly to mind. I took a breath. "I said hi, and asked him if I could help him…he said yes, and started swinging with that damn stick." I shook my head and fought down a wave of nausea, closing my eyes until it passed. I blinked them open again. "Took me completely by surprise, knocked me down, kicked me a few times…I tried to get up and he grabbed me and punched me…then I got hit in the head, and that's all I remember until I woke up here."
"Did he give you any indication why he attacked you?" Detective Fischer asked.
I nodded slowly, choosing my words carefully. "I was staying with a friend for the weekend - Robyn Ward. Just before I was knocked out, he said, 'I saw you with her'….how he said it, his face…he meant her, I think. He was angry with me for spending time with Robyn."
Both men nodded, as though I'd confirmed something, and Linden pulled a small envelope from his jacket. "We'd like for you to look at some pictures for us, and tell us if you see the man who attacked you?"
I nodded, and he opened the envelope and pulled out four mug shots, laying them carefully on the table beside me. Familiar, pale, wild-looking eyes looked back at me from the third picture, and I sucked in a sharp breath. Seeing him made everything much more real. I pointed at it with a shaky finger. "Him. That's the guy. Who is he?"
Linden hesitated, shooting a look at Fischer who nodded at him. "His name is Todd Massey." He glanced at me, his expression asking if the name meant anything. I shook my head slightly, and he picked up the pictures and slid them back in the envelope. "We picked him up in a public restroom on Long Key after we had a call about suspicious behavior…thought he was just some tourist off his meds but as soon as he started talking, we knew he was the guy."
"He confessed?"
"Yes ma'am, and then some. Guy won't shut up now, he's being pretty vocal, ranting about what he did to you, seems proud of it even. Turns out he's got a history of stalking…nothing violent in those, but sounds like it was just a matter of time. Three restraining orders against him in the last five years for harassing his subjects…he's a photographer for World Weekly, based out of New York. Paper says he was sent down here to get shots of Lonnie Colchev, but if the stacks of photos found in his hotel room are anything to go by, our guy seems to have developed a fixation with your friend, Miss Ward. Looks like he's been following her for a few weeks, developing some kind of fantasy that they're together…keeps saying he was protecting Miss Ward from you, which matches with what you told us he said during the attack."