Fueled Obsession 2 Read online

  God didn’t say a word as someone shoved a tube in my mouth and rearranged my clothing. I didn’t hear anything, but peace came over me. I wasn’t afraid anymore. No matter what happened, I wouldn’t be afraid. Whatever I faced, life or death, I knew I’d be okay.

  Chapter Three — Mollie

  Going to work was the last thing on my mind, but I couldn’t take any more time off. I had just a little over a week left of training and then it would be official. I’d be a full blown, pediatric nurse. Registered, credentialed and out of any internship or residency. I’d go find a full time nursing job, maybe even here with Judith, although I knew my dad wanted me to work at University Hospital.

  I rolled out of bed, stood up and my thoughts turned to what I’d overheard the doctor saying yesterday about Jack testing positive for drugs. That really sucked. Drugs were a turn off. A deal breaker. There was no way I’d go out with someone that was using. Too bad, even after that kiss because if Jack Fitzgerald knew how to do anything, he knew how to kiss.

  I got dressed and warmed up a breakfast hot pocket. Thank God, Dad had already left. I knew he’d been snooping around the accident, talking to his lawyer and police friends, trying to find out what really happened. I was on eggshells, waiting for the bomb to drop.

  I got into my car, took a bite and got lost in thought as I tried to piece it all together. I’d finally met someone who woke up my long lost feelings, and it turned out he was a druggie-illegal-street-racer. You really picked a winner, Mols. Yet, the fact that he’d almost died yesterday made me shiver. Cardiac arrest, due to the trauma in his chest and it was nothing short of a miracle that every bone in his body wasn’t broken. Truly a miracle. According to what I overheard, he’d had some pretty strong drugs in his system when they brought him in. Cocaine or meth. I thought back to that night and realized what Ernesto must have been talking about when he sniffed and swiped his nose. How could I have been so stupid? I sighed to myself, and pulled into the parking lot in front of the Village Clinic.

  At least I got to work with Dr. Hopkins today. He was a great boss and a genuinely nice person. He had a big heart and it showed in his bedside manner. I walked through the back door and hung my jacket and purse on the coat rack as Dr. Hopkins came out of his office and caught me getting ready for my shift. It would be a short one today; he only needed me for four hours. That was perfect, I was tired and I wanted to go by the hospital. I’d hoped Judith would let me go in to see Jack, again.

  “Good morning, Mollie. How are you today? How is your friend over at the hospital?”

  “Hi, Doctor. I’m fine. Are you talking about Jack? He’s not doing very well. I didn’t know you even knew about that.” I grabbed my stethoscope and slid lollipops into the pocket of my scrubs.

  “Yes, I do. Elaina came by this morning and told me all about it. Do you have a minute or does Nicole need you right now at the front desk?” He gave me his friendly smile.

  “I’m not sure, let me check and see how busy she is right now.” Hmm… I wondered what this was all about. “Hey Nicole, Dr. Hopkins wants to talk to me for a bit, are you okay? Do you need me?”

  “No, go right ahead. It’s really slow right now, but our afternoon schedule is pretty busy.”

  I tapped the doorframe with my hand and said, “Thanks, be back in a minute.”

  I walked back to Dr. Hopkins’ office, where his door was wide open. “Come on in, Mollie. You can leave the door open. Thank you.” He was a man who was constantly concerned about avoiding impropriety. He seemed like a true gentleman.

  “So, Jack had a rough day yesterday?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s in very bad condition,” I replied and wondered if he’d called me into his office just to talk about Jack.

  “I’m not surprised. I think the boy has a death wish.” I didn’t say anything and just listened to the doctor talk. I thought I was in trouble of some sort. “Mollie, you’re a good nurse. You care about the people who come to us for help—that’s not something everyone does. Unfortunately, many people in the medical field just come in, do their job and leave. That’s sad when you take that to the extreme, but there is some wisdom there, as well.”

  “What do you mean, Doctor?”

  “I want you to be careful, Mollie. I know Judith has talked with you about your soft heart, and we don’t want you to be hard-hearted, but you have to put a shield up at times like keeping Jack Fitzgerald at a distance, for example.” I felt my face redden—hadn’t I heard this same lecture from my Dad already? My first instinct was to get pissed off hearing it again, but knowing the doctor’s friendly demeanor, I knew he had no ulterior motive. He was a kind man and I’m sure he only wanted to help me and save me from heartache if he could and unlike my dad, the doctor didn’t want to control me.

  “I understand what you’re saying doctor and I don’t think I’ve been inappropriate or foolish. I simply want to help someone who doesn’t have a support system around them. Have you met his mother or father?”

  He nodded, his dark brown eyes widened at the memory. “Oh yes, Nellie Fitzgerald. I know all about her—hard woman, not a decent bone in her body. When I first came here, oh, almost twenty years ago now, she was one of my first patients. Back then, she still had her looks. Nellie was a pretty one then, but she was already a drunk. She had that boy who was always getting hurt, but I suspected she was abusing him and I reported her to the authorities.” He searched along a row of files on a shelf next to his desk, pulled one out and flipped it open. He scanned through it and tossed out photo after photo of a child’s bruised body.

  “Oh my God…” was all I could say. There were bruises on his chest, what looked like a fractured wrist, suspicious burn marks, all the disgusting hallmarks of child abuse.

  “Yes, I know it is disturbing. I’m only showing these to you so you can see what you’re getting into. People who experience his kind of trauma all their life don’t do well in society, not normally at least. It’s certainly not his fault how he grew up and what happened to him but what he’s doing with his life now is his sole responsibility.”

  I stared at the photos. “What did the police do? Anything? They couldn’t take him away from her?”

  “I was still a resident back in those days. Nellie’s brother worked for the police department. Captain Fitzgerald was a big man and just as mean as her. He’d always step up, lean on his sister and make her keep prying eyes out of her house. You see—she wasn’t the only one abusing him, she had a few boyfriends in her day that would slap Jack around, too. Old Captain Fitzgerald died of a heart attack I think, massive coronary from what I heard, and I wouldn’t doubt it the way he yelled all the time. Not a likable fellow and neither was his sister, Nellie.” He shoved the photos back in the folder, closed it and looked at me over the top of his glasses.

  “Here’s this kid, a man now, and he’s a mess. Racing through town, caught up with the local hoods.” I stared at him in surprise. He laughed, “I’m not just a doctor here, I live here, too.”

  I laughed. “Sounds like you know a lot about the Village, but what about Jack? Do we just forget about all he’s been through? Do we just give up on him because he’s had a bad childhood? Seriously, Doctor—I don’t know if I can do that. Now that I know him— and especially knowing how he’s suffered, I can’t help but believe, he’s more than an unfortunate kid or a lost adult. I don’t want him to be alone right now. He still has a lot of healing and recovery ahead of him.”

  “That he does, but he has a fantastic team there at the medical center looking after him. If he does what they tell him to, he’ll have a good recovery, but why would you want to take him on? Are you two in some sort of relationship?”

  “No, Dr. Hopkins. I just care about him, like I care about anyone,” though I’m sure my reddening face didn’t back me up.

  “I see,” he said seriously. “I’ve told you about Jack the kid, but I must warn you, I think Jack the man is dangerous. He’s got a death wish, racing cars and doin
g drugs. He’s a thug when he needs to be, he’s been arrested for fighting in public and not just with his crazy mother. He’s a mess, Mollie.”

  “But, Doctor. You don’t know—”

  “Please, let me finish, then you can make up your own mind. The truth is, as bad as this car accident was, as hurt as he is, I don’t believe for one minute it’ll change him. I’ve seen people like him. He’ll leave the hospital and go do the same thing over and over again until he’s dead. Please don’t get mixed up with him. You have an amazing future ahead of you.”

  I didn’t know what to say. Dr. Hopkins was taking on a lot here, breaking patient confidentiality and talking to me about my private life. I made it a point to avoid getting personal with my co-workers. I figured the less they knew about my life, the better. Not that it was bad, I just didn’t want to get too comfortable, and I kind of felt Dr. Hopkins was overstepping the line here, albeit in a gentle kind of way. If this had been anyone else, well, other than Judith, I would’ve stormed out.

  “I hear what you’re saying Dr. Hopkins. I’ll be careful, I promise,” was all I could offer him. He stood up, clearly relieved at having talked with me. I guess his conscious was clear now.

  “Thank you, Mollie. I hope you don’t think I’m prying. I’m just worried about you. You’re a very bright girl. You have something not a lot of the people who work here have and I’d hate to see it lost by making bad decisions.”

  “What’s that, Doctor?”

  “Heart, Mollie. You have heart.”

  I thanked him and left his office feeling confused. I knew the doctor was a kind, patient person, but this seemed out of character for him. I didn’t want to believe my father had influenced the doctor. Maybe he did, maybe he didn’t but Jack sure went through hell to get where he is, and I knew I’d probably never go out with him because drugs are definitely a deal breaker, but he needed a friend.

  The hours didn’t exactly fly by after that. Jack kept popping into my head but I had plenty to do. We administered shots, monitored fevers and I spent a lot of time talking to sick kids. I think that was my favorite part of the job. When my short shift was over, I headed to the hospital and silently prayed I’d get to see him.

  There were police cars at the hospital again, but they were there every day and I tried not to think the worst. I got the elevator up to ICU and looked up and down the hall, there was no police presence there and I knew I should probably check with Judith first, but I didn’t. What if she said no? I slid past the nurse’s desk and nobody said a word so I pushed on the door handle without knocking. I knew he wouldn’t be able to answer me even if he was awake but as the door opened and I saw him lying there, I gasped.

  Jack had more bruises now than he’d had right after the wreck. That sometimes happened with severe trauma events—the real, ugly bruising comes later. He had a black eye, bruising on his neck, presumably from the steering wheel and he looked extremely pale and weak. Jack was naturally lean, but now he just looked frail. I put my jacket on the chair and went over to his bed to take a closer look. He was sleeping, thank goodness. I looked at his chart, which listed numerous contusions and injuries, including a concussion, fractures in his shoulder and some internal bleeding. He was lucky to be alive. His blonde hair was matted and he had circles under his eyes. Sometimes the medication can make some people look like that. I touched his face tentatively, pushing the dark blonde hair away from his eyes. Jack didn’t stir, he didn’t move. I couldn’t believe this had happened to someone as alive and vibrant as Jack. I felt my eyes watering as I thought again about the accident and how I ran down the street to him and how ridiculously selfish and uncaring it was to see everyone else flee and leave him alone in the ditch.

  I sighed. “Hi, Jack. I’m here. I didn’t leave you, I’m here. You get better okay? You get better soon.” He didn’t move or try to wake up. I whispered to him, “I know you can hear me, Jack. You wake up soon, okay?” I took his hand and held it, I thought I felt him squeeze mine back, just a little but I’m sure I imagined that. Someone tapped on the door. Great, it’s probably the police. “Come in,” I whispered. Whoever it was, I wasn’t running. I wasn’t about to leave him like everyone else had.

  The door pushed open and Andre walked in. “Hi, Andre. What are you doing here?” Of course, that was a dumb question. I knew he was here to see Jack. I’d heard the illegal racer was a small town hero, at least in the Village. The kids loved him!

  “Here to see Jack. The nurse lady let us come in, but we have to be quiet,” he whispered. “I’ve got Ricky and Trey with me too. They brought some stuff.” The tall, lean teen looked nervously at Jack. It must have been pretty disconcerting to see their hero looking so bad.

  “Sure, just tell them to keep quiet. We don’t want to get in trouble.” I smiled and waved Dre and Ricky forward to Jack’s bedside. Ricky clutched a bouquet of balloons, each one a smiley face in a different color, one balloon was flower-shaped and said, “Get Well Soon!”

  “Here guys, we can put these over here so Jack can see them when he wakes up.” I took their gifts and put them at the table at the end of the bed. “How nice. He’s going to love these!”

  “Is he, is he going to die?” Ricky rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his worn, navy blue sweatshirt. He let out a sob, but just one. I’m sure he couldn’t let the other boys see him cry. Andre stood beside him, patting him on the shoulder.

  “It’s okay, Ricky. He’s going to be alright. Ain’t that right?” Andre had dark skin and big dark eyes to match. He was polite and protective of Ricky; that much was evident.

  “Hey Jack, hey Jackie. Wake up! It’s me, Ricky!” Ricky grabbed Jack’s hand and shook him. I stopped him.

  “No, don’t shake him around. He’s in a deep sleep. Sometimes when someone has a lot of injuries, like he does, the doctor will put them asleep so they can heal faster. He’ll wake up soon and he won’t be in as much pain. If they woke him right now, he’d hurt—a lot. He’s got a lot of bruises.” I smiled at Ricky and his face was twisted with worry.

  “Do you ever take a nap, Ricky?”

  He thought about it for minute then said, “I used to when I was a kid, but now I don’t take them anymore.”

  I laughed, hoping to lighten the mood. “Let me ask you this, when you were a kid, didn’t those naps feel good? Didn’t you wake up ready to run and play?” He nodded his head and his eyes widened. “That’s why the doctor wants Jack to take a nap, so he’ll wake up and feel like playing again.”

  “Oh, I get it, but he will wake up soon, right? He promised to come to my ball game next week. It’s my first game ever.”

  “I’m sure Jack will try his very hardest to be there. We’ll have to wait and see how his body feels. I think you guys better go now before we all get into trouble. Did anyone else want to see him?” Andre nodded, “Miss Elaina and Trey are out there. Can they come in?”

  “Sure they can. Let’s go out so they can come in. It’s supposed to be just two in the room at a time.” I walked the boys out and stayed with them while Ricky’s mom and another neighborhood kid went in to see Jack. On their way out, Ricky’s mom paused and said, “You take good care of him okay? He’s a good guy. He don’t always do things right, but he’s a good guy.” She wiped tears from her eyes and I hugged her.

  I patted her back, “It’s going to be okay. I promise I’ll take good care of him.” I hoped I’d be allowed to. After they left, I walked back into the room to get my jacket. It was going to rain and I didn’t want to get caught in a downpour without it. The phone on side table rang. It stopped after a few rings but then started ringing again so I picked it up and answered softly, “Medical Center, Room 617”

  “Who the fuck is this?” A rough female voice demanded on the other end of the phone.

  “Excuse me? Who—” It was not okay to talk to me like that.

  “You heard me, who the fuck is this? Let me talk to Jack!” She shouted.

  “Ma’am you really need to
calm down. The patient is asleep. Please call back in 24 hours; he may be able to talk with you then. May I ask who’s calling?”

  “This is his mother, Nellie Fitzgerald. You get him on the phone now. Wake his ass up if you have to!” Jack’s mother screamed into the phone. I could see there was no reasoning with her and I didn’t know if she was drunk or just having a bad day but she wasn’t going to take her craziness out on me.

  “Ma’am, please listen to me. First of all, you need to calm down. Your son is hurt. He’s in an induced coma right now and can’t talk to me, you or anyone for that matter. I’m sorry.”

  Nellie shouted a litany of obscenities at me and I hung up the phone. The nerve! That woman had my stomach in knots and my hands were trembling. Poor Jack. No wonder he used drugs. No wonder he was the way he was. The phone rang again but I didn’t answer it and turned the ringer off. She could go scream to herself. I looked at Jack one more time, said goodbye and promised him I’d come back as soon as I could. My schedule was kind of crazy the next few days, I had some major tests and clinicals to complete, but I was determined to see him as often as I could until he got better.

  I thought about going to see Simon for a second, and quickly changed my mind. I could only take so much heartache in one day. I texted Natalie to see if she could come over and got into my car and drove home.

  I’d get back to see Jack tomorrow. If he made it through the night.

  Chapter Four — Jack

  “Mmmm…” I groaned. My mouth was dry and sticky. I licked my lips and tried to moisten them, to no avail. My brain was cloudy. God, what the fuck? No binge I’d ever been on could ever compare to this feeling. I let out a hot breath. Where the fuck am I? I fucking hurt. “Ahhh…fuck.” I shook my head a little, hoping to clear the fuzziness but pain shot through my shoulder.