31. Chapter 31
Chapter 31
Ginny
I feel like there’s a weight on my chest. Is someone on top of me? Is it Keith? Did I shoot him and he fell on me? I did shoot him, right? I’m going to suffocate if I can’t get this weight off of me.
Someone’s screaming. They really need to stop.
“Ginny!” someone yells my name.
I try to answer, but I can’t. I wish that person screaming would be quiet.
“Virginia!”
That voice. I know that voice. Does that mean Joker’s here? He’s come to rescue me? Why would anyone let someone scream like that? It’s hurting my ears.
“Beautiful! Open your eyes, please!” He’s yelling at me over the screaming.
I try to do what he asks, but that weight on my chest, it’s keeping me from doing anything.
“Do something to help her!” someone else cries. Trish? Lottie? I can’t tell because of the screaming.
And then it’s silent. The screaming has stopped. And someone has removed the weight from my chest.
“Ginny?” Joker says my name quietly, like he’s at my ear speaking just to me. “Beautiful, can you hear me?”
“Hmm,” I answer.
“Baby, I want to see your eyes. Can you open them for me?”
I try. But they feel like they’ve been glued shut or something. I shake my head. At least I think I do.
“That’s alright. You keep them closed as long as you need to.”
“Always…so…nice.” I’m slow to get the words out, but I do. Am I drunk? Also, is that my voice? I sound like I’ve been at a concert or something.
I feel the vibrations of his laugh. “You think I’m nice?”
“Umm-hmm.” I nod my head.
“I think you’re pretty nice, too. Do you hurt anywhere?”
I try to take an inventory of my body, but I really feel like a head floating above everything now. “Nuh-huh.”
“Good. That’s good. Rest now, okay?”
“Love…you…”
“Love you, too.”
It’s dark. I don’t know how I know that, but I do. At least no one is screaming now. But I’m not sure where I am. I can’t possibly still be at school, right? I mean, if I am, the floor is soft.
“Gin?” a female voice asks.
“Trish?” I gasp.
“Yeah. It’s me. Are you okay?”
“I think my eyes are glued shut, and where the hell am I?”
“You’re in the hospital.”
I rub at my eyes until they open. The room is blessedly dark, but the sandpaper I now own for eyelids really sucks. “Why?”
“What’s the last thing you remember, Ginny?”
“My classroom, Keith was there. He hit me. I pulled out a gun.” My eyes widen as the memory comes back. “I shot him.”
“You did. And then you lost consciousness.”
“How long? How long have I been here?”
“It’s been about nine hours.”
“That’s all? I feel like I’ve slept for a week. Is he…is he dead?”
She nods, her eyes filled with sympathy and reflecting the pain slicing through me. Not pain that he’s dead. Pain that people are going to start judging me again. “I feel like I’ve decimated the ‘didn’t die from natural causes’ numbers around here.”
“Ginny, why did he hit you?”
“Because that’s what he does when you make him mad?”
“You mean he’s—” She cuts herself off, shaking her head. “Doesn’t matter. We can talk about it later.”
“Trish? Where’s Joker?”
“We forced him to go to the cafeteria. He was driving us all up a fucking wall.”
I smile at that. “That sounds about right. Is my bag here? Can you get my phone out so I can tell him I’m awake?”
She goes over to the corner and opens my bag, grabbing my phone out. “Huh. It’s dead. We’ll have to charge it. I’ll text him from mine.”
“How can it be dead? It was fully charged this morning.”
“Shit happens, babe. We’ll get a charger in here, but now that you’re awake, maybe they’ll let you go home.”
“Home would be nice.”
Trish sends the text and I swear it’s not even a full minute before I hear him outside my room. He pushes open the door and stops when he sees me. His eyes say so much. “Beautiful,” he whispers before coming over to my bedside.
I reach out and grab his hand. “I’m sorry,” I tell him, the tears welling in my eyes.
“I know.” He gives me a lopsided grin. “It’s okay. How are you feeling?”
“I feel like I’ve been sleeping for a week, but I remember someone screaming? Is everything okay around here?”
He stiffens at my question and shares a look with Trish.
“What? What is it?” I ask, looking between the two of them.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, he takes both of my hands in his. “Baby, that was you.”
“Me?”
He nods. “Every time we thought you might wake up, you would scream, and they’d have to come give you something to calm you back down.”
“Why was I screaming?”
“I don’t know, Gin. Maybe you were having a bad dream. Maybe it was a subconscious reaction to what happened.”
“Everyone here is going to think I’m crazy, aren’t they?” I whisper.
Trish snorts. “They already thought that, remember?”
“This is true.” I smile at Trish.
“There’s some people out in the hall who want to see with their own eyes that you’re okay. And probably a nurse or doctor who is being blocked from coming in.” He grins at me.
“Still not scary,” I tell him.
“Speak for yourself.” Trish chuckles.
“Are you ready?” Joker asks and I nod.
Trish moves to the door and opens it. “Is everyone here?” I whisper.
“And then some,” he tells me.
Mom and Dad are the first two in the room followed by a doctor, a nurse, and Davis. He shuts the door behind him, and they all look at me like I’m a lab experiment.
“How are you feeling?” the doctor asks.
“Better, I guess?”
“Is everyone in here family?” he asks, eyeing Joker. “And do you want them to leave while we talk?”
“Everyone out there is family, too.” I look at him. “But I’m good with the people in here.”
Joker smirks at me and squeezes my hand, not moving from his perch on the bed.
“Do you remember what happened?” the doctor asks, obviously not bothered by my snark.
I nod, swallowing. “I was at the school and was attacked. I…I shot him.”
The doctor nods. “You might have a few hazy areas, but your memory seems to be intact.”
“I don’t remember being here at all.”
“That’s because you weren’t really awake.”
“Gin, you passed out at the school. You were out for a while and then woke up screaming,” Joker fills in for me.
“We gave you something to relax you. That’s why you’ve been here longer than you probably would have been if you’d just fainted.”
“When can I go home?” I ask.
“In the morning. I’d like to keep an eye on you overnight. I understand that you injured your face.” He nods my way.
I reach up and feel my cheek, wincing at the pain. “That doesn’t feel good.”
“We don’t think anything’s broken, but we’d like to watch for signs of a concussion or whiplash-type injuries. And medicate that cut on your lip.”
“Thank you, doctor,” my mom says.
“Sure,” he replies. “If you need anything, let us know, but we’re going to let you get some rest. I’ll be back in the morning and see if we can’t cut you loose extra early?”
“That would be great.” And right on cue, my stomach growls, and everyone looks at me. “It’s been a while since I ate anything.” I grimace.
“I think we can probably help with that problem. Also, it’s getting pretty late and visiting hours are going to end soon.”
“You think I have the ability to kick those men out there anywhere?”
“No, didn’t think that.” He grins. “But maybe let them all see how you are and tell them to see you tomorrow?”
“We can make that happen,” Joker answers for me. “But they weren’t leaving until we had some answers.”
“Surround yourself with good people, and you’ll never be alone. Overcrowded maybe, but never alone.”
The doctor and nurse leave after the nurse has checked my oxygen. She puts an oxygen nasal canula on my face and takes the full mask away. She also promises to bring me back something to eat.
Two at a time, everyone comes in to check on me. Lottie and Tiny, Elle and Ranger, the guys Joker works with. The last two are Sammy and the lady from Briar Mountain that I met at the diner. The therapist, Claire. They stay, while Mom and Dad tell me goodnight and leave.
“Where’s Aaron?” I ask Davis. “And where was Nat?”
“Zach, along with Lucas, Harper, and Owen, has been on tiny kid duty for a while. Lucas has begged me to have you call him,” Davis says. “He’s really worried about you.”
“Poor kid. Does anyone have a charger? My phone is dead.”
“I have one,” Claire offers, pulling it out of her bag and plugging in my phone. “Wasn’t sure how long I’d be here.” She smiles at me and winks. “And my husband gets a little crazy when he can’t find me.”
“You have one of those, too?” Trish laughs.
“Hey!” Davis says.
“You don’t get to say anything until you forgive your father and move forward,” Trish says. “Fully forgive your father. You begged to name your damn kid after him, for goodness’ sake!”
Joker turns to Claire. “You should probably just leave a few cards. If they don’t remember you, then at least they’ll have your number.”
“I have her number,” Trish grins at Joker. “And the kids love her.”
“I’ll have to stop and see them while I’m here. Sounds like Lucas might need some reassurance?”
“He does. Because of this whole thing,” Trish confirms.
“Sammy?” I ask. “What do we know? Are you here to arrest me?”
“No. I’m not. We saw the security footage. We couldn’t hear what was said, but we saw him attack you.”
“There’s no sound?” I ask.
“No. Not on those. What did he say to you?”
“He said my friends were getting too close to figuring shit out, and that he never does his own dirty work?”
“Why did he hit you?” Sammy asks as gently as he can.
“Because I told him that the longer we were apart, the more I realized he needed me more than I needed him.”
“Good girl,” Joker mutters under his breath.
“Fuck yeah,” Trish says, not even trying to hide anything.
“What did he pull out of his pocket?” Sammy asks, trying to bring the conversation back.
“A jagged piece of what he said was my cello. He was going to stab me with it. He wanted to watch me bleed.”
“I swear, it’s a good thing that fucker is fucking dead or I’d fucking kill him.” I reach out and squeeze Joker’s knee. He looks at me and shakes his head. “Sorry.”
“What about the boys?” I ask. “What’s going to happen with them?”
“They have been in questioning all day. Mr. Brown was a pill pusher. He offered the kids enough drugs to get them to agree to anything he wanted. And he got them messed up enough this morning that they did all the damage. They’re sitting in holding right now. They are all sixteen or older.”
“Let them go,” I tell him.
“What? No!” Davis objects.
“You can’t do that,” Joker voices his opinion.
“They are kids. They don’t belong in jail, they belong in rehab. They were used and abused by someone they thought they could trust. They need sympathy and understanding, not hard time.”
“There are still going to be charges brought against them for destruction of school property. And there will probably be some type of fine to replace the instruments,” Sammy tells us.
“Don’t include the Eastman in that cost. Please. That was my personal property and I don’t want that on them. Can I talk to someone to help them?”
“I’ll have to talk to the county attorney. I don’t know.”
“Thanks, Sammy.”
“Are you going to be okay?” he asks, the cop mask removed and my friend in its place.
“She’s going to be just fine,” Claire answers for me, grinning.
“What she said,” I assure him.
“But I’m staying a few days to help you through anything.” She winks at me.
Sammy stands, patting my foot. “Take care of yourself.” He turns to Joker. “Can I see you and Davis in the hallway?”
“Be right back,” Joker says to me, kissing my forehead before following Davis and Sammy out of the room.
“Why do they always talk about the good stuff without us?” I ask Trish.
“Oh, sweet girl, it’s not just them, it’s all men.” Claire laughs. “But if they are good men, they’ll come back and fill you in.”
I grin at Trish. “They are the best men.”