INK: Abstraction (11 page)

“Shayleigh? How
are you feeling?” He’s genuinely concerned.

“Okay,” I
answer quietly.

Everyone in the room is
staring at me silently as I push the button to prop the bed up. The
entire room is overflowing with flowers, balloons, cards and stuffed
animals. “What is all of this?” The first thing I think
of is Eli went a little overboard with the get well wishes to one up
McNab. Eli’s jealously is kind of sweet. But really? McNab?
Eli's got nothing to worry about.

Eli smiles. “All
this is from your fans.”

“My fans?”
Surely he’s screwing with me. “Seriously, where did all
of this come from?”

Carl picks up a stack
of cards and opens the top one. “I hope you feel better soon,
dying to see what happens next with the Sanguine Specter.” He
opens the next four or five that all have a similar sentiment.

“This is nuts!
How long have I been asleep? How did they even know I was here?”
I’m completely bewildered. I’m flattered beyond belief,
but bewildered nonetheless.

“I would say they
probably found out from the press release that Raphael put out. And
it’s eleven A.M., so about twelve hours.” Dad’s
mouth pulls to the side.

“Apparently he
was trying to do damage control from the initial press release he
sent out indicating you were dead. Trish says it was really great for
sales, but that he had to be the first to break the news that you
were found or look like an asshole,” Eli explains.

“Raphael is an
asshole,” are the first words that come to mind. “So
you’re telling me that this whole thing has played out on the
five o’clock news?”

“I’m afraid
so, Doodlebug. There were a lot of people looking for you.”

I flop back on the bed.
“Shit.” Dad shifts in his seat, he’s uncomfortable
with me swearing. I need to try to watch it around him.

Carl comes to the
bedside and hands me a brown paper bag with grease stains on it.
“McNab will be back in a bit. He’s handling some business
with the home office. But he wanted me to bring you this.”

Eli comes closer to see
what’s in the bag as I open it. “Oh man. I love these!”

“What is it?”
Eli asks.

“It’s a
blueberry muffin from Don’s Bakery.” My eyes light up
when I pull it out and see the butter is melting off of it.

“He said he knows
you really like those after a long night.” Carl smiles.

“I do love a good
blueberry muffin with the big sugar crystals on top dripping with
real butter. It doesn’t get any better than this.” I bite
into the muffin and Eli tenses up. I can see a million questions
running through his mind. Eli knows that after a night of hot sex I
have an insane craving for blueberry muffins. He should know, since
we’ve had our share of blueberry muffin mornings. I let out a
groan. “This is so good.”

Everyone in the room
watches as I have a quasi sexual experience with this muffin. “I’m
hungry and this is delicious.”

The attention is drawn
away from me and to the commotion in the hallway. I’m relieved
that everyone stopped staring at me, but I’m worried about
what’s brewing out there. There’s yelling and I think I
hear a scuffle. Then it’s as clear as a bell, we all hear it.
“Fuck you, I’m going in there.”

In unison we all say it
out loud. “Trish.”

Dad and Eli both look
at me as if to ask if I want to see her. I’m really not ready,
but I think it’s safer for all concerned if we let her in. “Let
her in for God’s sake, before she goes all King Ghidorah.
Someone’s going to get hurt out there.”

Carl opens the door and
says something to the security guard. The sound of the clickety-clack
of her heels precedes her. When she finally makes it through the door
she looks at me and stops with her mouth agape. “Holy fuck!”
She rushes to my bedside and looks down at me. I’m frozen in
place, worried that she’s actually going to hug me. I’ve
got a mouth full of muffin and can’t say anything to stop her.

“Is that an ‘I
got laid’ muffin? Girl, you should be resting, you look like
shit; you shouldn’t be fucking.” She looks around the
room, and after ruling out my dad and Carl as my sex partners, she
looks at Eli. “You can’t let the girl rest for one night?
You’re a fucking pervert.” She swats him in the arm.

I swallow my muffin and
shake my head. “No, McNab sent it.”

Her eyes round out.
“Girl, I’m so proud of you finally expanding your
horizons.”

“No, no. He just
sent me a muffin,” I explain. My poor dad has gotten up from
his chair and he’s sifting through the cards on the counter.
Carl can no longer contain his laughter and Eli is seething.

Trish looks at me then
Eli. “So it’s
just
a muffin?”

I nod my head fast.
“Yeah, Trish, just a muffin.”

She blows out a breath.
“Well I’m glad you’re resting then.”

“Yes, how are
you?” I ask, speaking slow, praying she can lay off the
swearing at least while my dad’s here.

“I’m
awesome. My best friend is alive, my boyfriend’s back and I’m
taking the day off from work!” She beams.

“Good.”

She looks around the
room. “What is all this shit?”

“Fans,” I
answer.

“Fucking Raphael
and his Goddamn press release.” She sits on the edge of the
bed. “Do you know he leaked the info about your kidnapping
before the police even started looking for you?”

“Figures.”
I put the muffin on the table next to the bed, I’ve lost my
appetite.

“So where the
fuck were you? Who did this?” I really can appreciate Trish’s
straightforwardness.

Eli and Dad both come
closer to me upon hearing Trish asking the questions everyone else is
afraid to.

“I don’t
know,” I answer quietly.

“Trish, I don’t
think she’s ready to talk about it,” Dad says, putting
his hand on her shoulder.

“Why not? Talking
about it will be good for her. I mean, did you get the guy who did
this?” She’s adamant.

“She’s not
ready, Trish.” The seriousness and anger in Eli’s tone
makes me shrink back into the bed. Carl cuts a look to me, noticing
the change in my demeanor.

“Eli, can you
come outside with me for a minute? I think we need to discuss the
security detail we’ll be setting up at the house.” Carl
opens the door.

“I really don’t
want to leave her,” he says, looking at me with pained eyes.

“I’m fine.
I’d actually just like some time to talk with Trish.” I
smile at him, taking his hand. “Dad, why don’t you go
home and get some rest.”

Dad looks up from the
cards at Carl then comes and kisses me on the forehead. “Okay
sweetheart. I’ll be back later tonight. Do you want me to bring
you anything?”

“No, I think I
have everything I could possibly need.” I smile. When the
three of them leave, Trish and I are alone in the room and I feel
like I can breathe again.

“So are you
okay?” Trish leans in, serious as a heart attack.

“No, Trish, and I
don’t know if I’ll ever be okay ever again.”

Shay

Trish
visiting was good, I really didn’t want to see her go. I’m
dreading what I know is coming. They are all going to want me to talk
about it. Trish has been gone for about three minutes now and no
one’s come back in. I’m sitting here alone. Terrified.

“
You are never
alone, my love.
” The voice in my head sounds. Oh God,
please no. I don’t know how much longer I can walk this line of
insanity. It's real and I’m hearing it. But I’m not sure
if it’s really him, or if it’s something my imagination
cooked up. “
I’m here, I’m never far from you.
”

“Eli,” I
call out. This room is far too silent, too lonely. I don’t want
to be alone, and if I really want to be honest with myself I’m
just going to fucking say it. I’m scared. I’m fucking
scared. “Eli,” I scream while pressing the nurse’s
call button.

Eli bursts in the door.
“What is it? Are you okay?” He’s standing at the
ready to go all Jackie Chan on someone. Carl isn’t far behind.

“I’m fine.”
My gaze falls to my lap at the shame of why I was calling him. “I
just didn’t…I didn’t know where you were.”

“I’m right
here, babe. I was just outside the door, I didn’t know if you
wanted a little time to yourself.” He holds onto me, leaning
down to look into my eyes.

“Oh.” I
want to cry out to him and scream at him that I never want to be
alone again, but fear is keeping me from saying those words too. “I,
um…I just didn’t know where you were.”

“I’m sorry,
I’m right here.” He must see the panic in my eyes. He’s
trying to soothe me. He exchanges a look with Carl. I know what they
are thinking. Look at the scared little girl.

“No, darlin’,
that’s not what we’re thinking.” Carl comes closer
to the bed and pulls the chair up on the opposite side of Eli. “We
were both thinking how happy we are to have you back, safe and
sound.”

I press my lips to the
side, feeling stupid, feeling so slight. “Really?”

Carl’s eyes widen
then roll. “Good Lord yes. He was unbearable while you were
gone.” He leans into me as if telling a secret. “If
anything happens to you, he’ll be lost.”

Eli sits, holding my
hand. “I
would
be lost without you, I love you, Shay.”
He kisses my hand and looks at me with forlorn eyes.

“I love you too.”
I return Eli’s sentiment and turn to Carl. “Thank you for
all you’ve done too. You coming to me was the difference in
being able to hold on.”

“I’m glad I
came then, it was enough of a reward to know you were alive.”
The look in Carl's eyes is genuine. I feel an incredible bond with
him. An indelible trust that we could never break. I give him a tight
smile because he knows how I feel. He nods.

McNab comes in the
door, looking down at a tablet. “Hey kid, glad to see you're
awake.”

“I am, and thank
you so much for the blueberry muffin.”

“No problem,
you’re skinny enough with continuing to waste away on the gray
matter the hospital serves in lieu of food.” He pauses for a
minute, tapping on the screen. “Besides, I know how much you
love blueberry muffins.” He looks up at me and winks.

“Thanks for
remembering. It was good.” He has gone back to looking at his
tablet. “How did you remember that?”

“I’m an
investigator, I investigate. I notice things and file them away in my
memory for later use. It’s what I do.” His demeanor has
returned to weird, serious McNab again. This in my opinion is welcome
in comparison to that departure in his personality earlier. It’s
not that I don’t think McNab is sweet, because I know he is.
It’s just that it’s so strange coming from him.

Carl’s chest
rumbles with laughter. “The many faces of McNab.”

I smile at the private
joke we shared. Eli bristles, and I can tell he’s feeling a
little threatened, and not just from the conversation he had with Dad
this morning, but “muffin-gate” nearly sent him over the
edge. “I’d like to know all the faces of McNab. I want to
know which ones to watch out for.”

“Eli, McNab is
harmless. Aside from not being my type, I’ve told you before
he’s not really interested in…”I stop to think
about my words before I say something accidentally hurtful. “He
seems to think everyone’s in heat and he likes to, how did you
put it, McNab? Avoid those types of entanglements?”

“Yes, I don’t
need the type of roadblocks that relationships involve. I mean,
honestly, if I had a girlfriend, how would she feel about me being on
the opposite coast from her rescuing a damsel in distress?” he
says, looking up at me on the last three words.

I open my mouth to
speak, but Eli beats me to it. “I wouldn’t go so far as
to say Shay is a ‘damsel in distress,’ and I’m
betting that she could kick any one of our asses.” He looks
over at Carl, who’s smiling. “Except maybe you, Carl.”

“I don’t
know, do you think you could kick my ass, Shay?” he asks,
trying to mask his amusement.

“You know I
could.” I ball my hands into fists and in tiny motions punch at
the air. “I’m no ordinary damsel.” I don’t
believe it for a second. I’m weak, I’m small and I’m
helpless.

“
Not if you
join with me.
” The Specter’s voice sounds in my head.

I shake my head to push
the sound out. Carl looks at me with concern. McNab sits on the bed
by my feet, his gaze heavy with seriousness. “I never said you
were ordinary.”

It's hardly noticeable,
but I catch Eli’s subtle reaction. I would really like him to
stop with the alpha male bullshit. I need everyone here with me. If I
could chain all three of them to me I would so I’d never have
to be alone again.

“
Never alone.
”
The words waft by. I look at everyone else to see if they heard it
too. But they are all laughing and carrying on. I’m the only
one hearing it. Shit.

McNab studies me for a
second and looks at Carl. Carl shrugs, then McNab looks at me again,
trying to see through me. “Pitch got the results back for the
ink on those panels from the lab.”

“What panels?”
I ask.

“The ones that
were delivered while you were in the void.” McNab says it
normal like I was at the grocery store.

“The panels I
took off the coffee table?” I ask, looking for clarification.

“Yeah,
and
,”
he stands from the bed to do that lecturer’s pace he does when
he’s about explain something very complicated, “the
results are...odd.”

“Odd how?”
Eli asks.

“The number of
ectenic particles maxed out our equipment. There is so much
paranormal residue on these things we couldn’t
measure
it all.” McNab’s tone is excited with the discovery.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before. The paper
literally had cold spots on it and the ghost box picked up echoes.”