“Yes, she lives in the same city as I do, but not in the same house,” I explained. “Do you have a message you want me to bring back to your Aunt Mia?”
“You must be August?” the woman in the chair asked, sitting up. “Mia told me you would be coming by.”
“Guilty.” I extended my hand to her. “I can’t stay. I just wanted to deliver these flowers for a special little girl.”
“I’m the special little girl,” Sophie told her Mom. “Aunt Mia wrote me a note too.”
I heard the intercom calling again for Imogen Martin to report to the emergency room. Of course, all I could think about was the girl on the elevator. If it was her they were calling then they hadn’t found her yet.
Maybe she’s still hiding somewhere, and I can help her get out. I need to leave.
“I have to get going now, Miss Sophie, but before I go, your Aunt Mia asked me to give you a big hug,” I said opening my arms wide. “Do you think that would be okay?”
Sophie pushed her sheets back and stood up on her bed with her arms out wide.
“I have a hug this big.” Sophie stretched her arms out as far as she could. “Mommy, is it okay to hug a stranger? It’s for Aunt Mia.”
“Yes, it’s okay to hug him. He isn’t a stranger anymore,” Chloe told her daughter.
Sophie and I shared a big hug then said our goodbyes. Chloe walked to the door with me, and I handed her an envelope Mia had sent with me for her.
The intercom called for Imogen again. I didn’t know why, but I felt like I needed to go find her. I headed toward the elevator. I never saw her slip into the room after I left.
Chapter 3
IMOGEN
“It’s okay now,” the voice said, “they shouldn’t come back.”
Did I dare believe? I lifted my head from my knees and looked into the eyes of an older version of the little girl in the bed. I didn’t know why, but she looked like someone I could trust.
“Are you sure? He never stops ‘til he finds me,” I whispered, afraid he was outside the door listening. “Can I stay in here for a while ‘til they rack off?”
I didn’t want to believe. Couldn’t let myself believe. I leaned my head back against the wall and felt blood seep from my eye again. I should have just tried to leave town, but this time my eye was in bad shape. If I could just hide out there for a few hours and figure out what to do, that would be great.
“Come on, Imogen, let me help you,” the voice said. “You can trust me. I laid a clean towel on the sink and some antiseptic. Take your time, clean your lip, then come out and let’s talk.”
“I don’t know why you’re helping me,” I cried. “You don’t even know why this happened to me. What if I’m a bad person?”
“Are you?” the voice demanded.
I stood slowly holding onto my ribs with one hand and the grip bar next to the toilet with the other. I tried to smile but all that got me was a stream of blood down my chin. Once I was standing, I looked into the friendliest eyes ever.
“No, I’m not.” I said
“Good to know,” the woman responded. “I’m going to help you.”
“I don’t think you’ll be able to help me, but you’ve given me a reprieve for now. Thank you.” I reached my hand out to shake hers only to be pulled into a gentle hug.
“You don’t have to thank me. Someone had an open slather on your face, but if I can help, it won’t happen again. I’ll be waiting in the room with my daughter. You come out soon,” the voice ordered. “My name is Chloe, by the way, and Sophie is waiting to make sure you’re ok before she goes to sleep.”
I rinsed my face and cleaned my split lip the best that I could with only one functioning eye. It wasn’t my first split lip, but I prayed it was my last. I listened at the door while Chloe read a book to her daughter. I could hear them laughing. I felt terrible for bursting into their room. It had occurred to me already that the little girl must be very ill, but how ill? I stepped into the dimly lit room and gave a tentative wave.
“Miss Imogen, now do you want to hold Benjamin?” Sophie smiled. “You can hold him in that chair while mommy reads my book.”
“I would love to hold Benjamin. I’m gonna sit here and listen too?” I asked, taking a seat but never taking an eye off the door.
With Benjamin tucked to my side, I listened as Chloe read a cute story about a dog that loved to dig. The door cracked open and I nearly jumped out of my skin. Chloe put her hand over mine to motion to me to stay.
“Good evening, Chloe, I’m just coming on, so I just need to get her vitals. Our dear Sophie can get to sleep,” the nurse said only once, looking over to me. “Sophie, aren’t you a lucky girl to have a visitor tonight.”
“Yes, she is. This is my cousin from out of town,” Chloe jumped in before Sophie said something. “Silly grommet was laughing with Sophie and banged into the door when I had the lights off earlier.”
“Oh, poor thing. That eye doesn’t look so good,” the nurse said, making notes on Sophie’s chart. “Want me to take a look at it?”
“Would you?” Chloe asked. “She didn’t want to leave Sophie yet and we didn’t see how bad it was until now.”
The nurse walked over to me. I could tell she wasn’t fooled by Chloe’s story, yet she said nothing. She checked my vitals then took a small pen light out of her pocket to check my pupils. I glanced at Chloe, who sat typing away on her cell. The nurse said my lip would heal without stitches, but she would bring back some ointment to help stop the bleeding.
“You probably need a scan of the eye to make sure there are no fractures to the orbital bone, but I don’t see any signs of concussion,” the nurse smiled. “I’ll bring you an ice pack for the eye, the lip, and those ribs that you keep holding on to.”
She turned and left the room. I was thankful but terrified, at the same time, that she would report me. Sophie had fallen asleep and it was easy to see Chloe wanted answers.
“He’s the sheriff. I’ve tried to leave him before. He always finds me,” I said, pacing along the wall with the big window. “I appreciate this safe place for right now, but he’ll have someone at every exit. He’s relentless in his pursuit of me.”
Chloe sat quietly listening to me explain. Never once did I see a judgmental look. When I had run out of words to explain what I’d been through for the last year, she then spoke.
“You need to do the harry.” Chloe said “Not just here in the hospital, even though that is step one. Step two is to get you out of the area completely, so he can’t find you.”
“That’s correct. Except step one is going to be very difficult.” I leaned my head against the glass.
The nurse came back in with ice packs, two pillows, and a blanket. She seemed to know exactly what was going on.
“You’ll be safe in here tonight while I’m on shift,” she whispered to me. “Get some rest. I’ll let you know when my shift is over.”
Tears pooled in my eyes. How had I gotten so lucky? Maybe this was going to be my chance to escape Brice.