“But he didn’t do anything!”
I straighten and listen closer.
“What do you mean?” her mother demands.
Larry sobs, rocking back and forth. “He never touched me. He never kissed me. He never did anything.”
“Why did you say he did?” the psychiatrists asks calmly.
I’m far from calm.
“Because I wanted him. So badly. And then she comes around. I thought I could make her go away, but sending her back to school and breaking her car didn’t work so I just had to tell her what was necessary to make her disappear.”
“You mean Deirdre?” Kian asks.
“Yeah, her. She’s not good enough for my Jesse, and I didn’t want him with anyone before I was old enough. Then he would’ve noticed me.”
“So, you never had sexual relations with Mr. Tinley?” the psychiatrist asks.
“No,” she snaps and then grabs Jesse’s uninjured hand again. “Oh, Jesse. I’m so sorry. Please forgive me. I’ll wait until you’re out of prison. I promise.”
Does the girl even get that her confession just freed him?
“He never kissed you?” the psychiatrist asks.
“No,” Larry screams turning in her chair. “He didn’t do anything I wanted him to do.” She goes back to Jesse. “Why didn’t you notice me? Why couldn’t you see how much I loved you? Why did you have to go out with her? You acted like I was nothing. Barely looking at me. Just wanting me to watch the store or Cam, but I knew that one day, you’d open your eyes and see me, finally, and then everything would be as it should. You’d finally love me like I love you.”
I’m kicking myself. I saw her crush and devotion and didn’t say a word. Would Jesse have even believed me? Still, I should have said something. The signs were there. But, it never occurred to me that everything would get so far out of hand. That Larry would make the accusations she did.
“Come along, Laurentia.” Kian has her by the arm, gently pulling her away from Jesse’s bed. “We’ll get you some help.”
Her eyes brighten as a smile forms on her lips. The hair stands up on the back of my neck. She is not in her right mind and far more disturbed than I realized.
“Help. Yes. I need help. I can go to Baxter. I’ve heard all those kids need help. Then I can see Jesse almost every day. This is perfect.” She glances back at the bed a grin on her face. “See, we will be together.”
I blink open my eyes and look around. Deirdre’s sitting in the chair by my bed reading. She’s got to have better things to do on her vacation. I’m not sure what day it is, but I’m pretty sure she was here yesterday. Maybe it was the day before.
No, last night I was move from ICU and put in a regular room. I’d been there since Saturday night, I think, so this must be Tuesday.
My brain is so foggy, I’m not sure if a day has passed or a week.
She glances up and her eyes widen when she realizes I’m looking at her. Deirdre puts her book aside and stands.
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I’ve been hit by a train.”
“We’ll, you kind of look like it too.” She smiles at me.
“Cam?”
“He’s with your parents.”
My heartbeat increases, as does the beeping from somewhere behind my head. “Florida?” Did they put my son on a plane and send him down there?
“They flew home Sunday. Kian called them Saturday night and the got on the first plane.”
My pulse calms. At least he isn’t with strangers, or that stupid babysitter I hired.
“Oh God.” Larry accused me of…my stomach tightens and I think I’m going to be sick. I don’t even want to think about it.
Will I go to prison? I’ve lost my job, that’s for sure, but what of my son? Will they let my parents raise him?
No! I can’t go to jail. I didn’t do anything wrong.
“What?” Deirdre asks anxiously.
“Larry. What she said.” I can’t repeat it but I sure as hell am going to defend myself. I’ll just get the best lawyer out there. My grandmother left me a nice trust fund. This isn’t what she intended that I use it for, but I know she’d approve it if saved my ass.
“Shhh,” Deirdre places her index finger against my lips. “Don’t worry about it.”
Is she nuts? How can I not worry about it?
“She recanted.”
My heart stops for a second and look up into her light brown eyes. “Recanted?”
“Yeah.” Deirdre smiles. “After she saw you like this yesterday, when you were still out and in ICU, Larry finally confessed she made the whole thing up.”
Thank God. “Did anyone hear her?” What if there was only one witness. She could change her mind and start lying again.
“Her parents, a psychiatrist, Kian, and it was videotaped.”
I blow out a breath, finally feeling calm for the first time since I woke. “Is Cam okay?” He hasn’t seen me since Saturday morning. I know he’s only nine-months-old, but I’m his dad, and the one person he sees every day.
“He’s fine. A little cranky, but doing okay.”
“I need to see him.” I have to assure myself that my son is okay.
“We thought it best to wait until you were more awake and maybe looked a little better.”
I hadn’t thought about that. “How bad is it?”
She lifts the top of the rolling tray over my bed. There’s a mirror on the other side. I’m almost afraid to look, but I do. “Crap!” One eye is practically swollen shut, and the other is a brownish black. There are bruises on my cheek, stiches in my chin, and a cut on my lip. Cam can’t see me like this. It’ll traumatize him. Hell, I’m traumatized. “Is my nose broken?” It’s swollen and hard to tell.
“It was, but they fixed it.”
Fourteen
A nurse breezes into the room with a bright smile. Nurse Gretchen, I believe. She
