Chapter 15

"Thank God!" Nancy grabbed my arm.

"What were you thinking?" Terrance slipped into a chair at the end of my bed.

I felt a little better, at least I could talk. But my jaw was aching. "Oh, I don't know," I mumbled sarcastically, "that I wasn't going to let what happened to Harriet, happen to Megan."

"Could you repeat that, miss Ryder?" A police officer walked into my room.

Oh, I thought, no. Why did I just blurt that out? Stupid...! Stupid...! Stupid...!

John swooped to my rescue... again. "Excuse me sir, but it was only a couple hours ago that she was brutally tied up and abused, so if you don't mind, can we leave the questions until she is out of the hospital and safe at home?"

"Certainly, young man." The officer nodded. "But please, do not forget," he said to me, "that you are a vital person to the cases of Eliza Dixon, Harriet Phillips, that young lady friend of yours and yourself. The sooner you talk to us, the quicker we can close the cases."

"Of course," Nancy answered for me, "Officer Jones."

It was as this information - the one Officer Jones was telling me - I sat up quickly, too quickly, in the bed and gasped, "Megan! What about Megan?!"

"She is in recovery right now. I have to consult with my boss." Office Jones left.

"It's alright, sweetie, Max is with her right now." Nancy smiled. So it had been Max that had called out for Megan. "I'm going to call Tammie, she must be worried sick."

"John, would you like some tea?" Terrance offered.

"That'd be nice, thank you." John was polite to him but the minute he and I were alone he let loose. "See? This is the problem with you!"

"What?" I couldn't understand what he was getting at. I had saved someone. Wasn't that a good thing?

"You always think of other people but you need to stop and think about yourself once in a while." John pulled a chair closer to my head and sat down in it. "Promise me that the next time you go off on one of you 'missing people' missions that you let me know so you don't have to do it alone."

"I can't always promise that," I said in my shaky voice, "but I can promise that I will try."

"No you won't" John said with a little smile on his face.

He brushed back my hair and placed his lips on my forehead. No matter how black and blue I must have been - there were no mirrors, and good thing too I guess? - the tingly feeling that John's lips gave me would win hands down. I thought through everything and then asked, "what happened to everyone else?"

"Grayson and Paisely have been arrested. They won't let a peep out." John frowned. "Megan is on recovery - like Nancy said - and you should be too."

"Which I am. That's why I'm stuck in this hospital room." I pointed out to him; I tried to hide the fact that it hurt to speak since I was punched in my jaw.

"But the weird thing is," John continued as if I hadn't spoken, "Harriet Phillips says her captors wore masks and Eliza Dixon won't let slip who did that to her. She says if she says anything then-"

"Then they'll come after her again." I nodded - slowly and gently - "Heard it loads of times before. How did you know where Grayson's house was?" I realised I had not asked that question.

"Err... don't get mad, okay?" John looked warily. "But... someone told me."

"Who?" I asked through gritted teeth. "John, who asked you?"

"Blake," John spilled and then quickly added, "don't get mad! I was getting into my mum's truck and he just showed up out of nowhere saying where Grayson's house was. That way I wouldn't have to go Tom Simpson's house to ask."

"Wait. You know where Tom Simpson lives?" I was stunned.

"Yes..." John muttered. "He called the garage and said that his precious convertible wasn't starting - turns out all he needed was a new battery. Anyway he told me his address to come pick it up and I was going to go there to ask him where Grayson's house was but that would have taken me longer and..." He trailed off.

"I might not be talking to you know" I finished for him, in a more tender way.

"Still up for Friday night?" John changed the subject forwith. "You should be out for monday."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" I tried to flirt a little but I don't think it worked because of the pain I was in. But I would never know if it had or not because right at that very moment the door opened.

It could have been anyone - anyone at all, a police officer, Nancy, Terrance, Tammie, Max, Grayson and Paisely to finish the job (if they had been released) - but no. It had to be Tom Simpson. The last person in the world I could be bothered to deal with right now.

"Wow," Tom said as he closed the door, "you've got quite a stiff upper lip."

"Tom, what are you doing here?" I asked.

"Well, after the party everyone went home except the team, the girls and everyone else weren't aloud to stay the night, and the lights woke us all up. We got told to go home after being questioned but my parents aren't home so I thought I'd see how you're doing." Tom shrugged as if it was everyday he wakes up to sirens and flashing lights and then checks on the victim.

"Okay I get that," I tried to make myself look not as pathetic as I felt, "but what I don't get is why you're not with Eliza. You only recently broke up with her so surely you'd want to check she's alright?"

"Look," Tom got defensive; glanced at John and then lost the cold tone, "you don't understand. Just drop it."

Enlighten me was what I was going to say but then I decided it's best not to poke the beast. I had already been in enough trouble for one night - or morning, I should say.

"Do you think you'll be in on monday?" Tom asked.

"Yeah." I noticed how John was glaring at him.

"Good. I know you may be a little shaken to go to the tub, so maybe next time?" Tom was dealing me a get-out-of-jail-free card.

"Sure. Just let me tell Nancy 'cause she'll be upset." I joked but no one laughed. John got my joke but he didn't laugh because of Tom. Tom didn't laugh, he just looked confused.

"Why do you call her Nancy?" Tom questioned me, "why not mum?"

This made the sad memory of my parents pop into my head. "Err... Tom, I'm tired so I'll see you on monday. It's just the doctors said I need my rest and everything-"

"I completely understand." Tom smiled and then left John and me alone.

I didn't say a word. John talked. He said he wouldn't move from the chair and he turned off the light. I just rolled over - so he couldn't see me - and silently cried myself to sleep. I was forgetting my parents. The social services told Nancy and Terrance it was better for me not to see any pictures - though there aren't many - until I was at least eighteen. I was forgetting their face, I forgot what they - what home - smelt like as Nancy had washed the blanket that I had wrapped around me in the car on the day of the accident. She was going to donate it to a charity but I managed to save it (it's now hidden on top of my wardrobe) but it doesn't smell of home anymore. My parents and home weren't all that I was forgetting...

I forgot about Blake. And Megan. And Tom and the others. And Max. And Tammie and Josh. And John.... and I was forgetting who I was. Who I am.

Chapter 16

Sunday night. Everyone's over again. Josh, Shannon, John and Megan. Shannon explained that her husband couldn't make it again - like friday - as he was at an important meeting for the car dealership company he works for, hoping to get a promotion. Shannon was showing Terrance and Nancy some of her recipes. We were all watching Russell Howard's Good News - as it was our custom - when my phone beeped. I ignored it. I was too comfortable cuddling up to John to move and reach into my jeans to read it.

Then there was another beep. It was Tammie's phone this time. She leaned forward on Josh's lap and took the remote with an "eurgh."

"Hey!" Max said as Tammie changed the channel over, "we were all watching that!"

"Yeah well, if somebody bothered to answer her texts," this was aimed at me, "then she would know that Winter says to put the news on."

Helen was talking to Mark on the news again, "Mark there have been rumours going around that Florence Ryder has saved, yet, another life. Police say that they she hadn't stayed to be questioned when Harriet Phillips and Eliza Dixon were taken into hospital and from the recent saviour of Megan Cosgrove, Florence Ryder was brutally attack as she tried to rescue Megan and was unable to answer any questions."

"Do you think we'll all know the answers to this mysterious Florence Ryder and why she is managing to save people, Helen?" Mark asked as he meant to do.

"The police have told us that anyday now they are going to take Miss Ryder in for questioning and figure this all out." Helen said and then Tammie muted them.

I wasn't cuddling up to John anymore. I was sitting on the edge of the couch, starring - jaw-dropped - at the TV screen. Nancy, Terrance and Shannon all walked in, right into the middle of the queer and still air that had engulfed the room.

"Okay, we just watched the news in the kitchen..." Terrance began.

"The secret has to come out-" Nancy was cut off.

"No!" I practically screamed. "It can't come out. It just can't!"

John placed a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "Then what are you going to do to cover it up?"

"What I've always done. Just continue as if nothing has happened, as if nothing is wrong and at least try to pretend to be normal for once." I was worringly calm about this.

"I don't want you to become a suspect in a crime and then be arrested for it just because you won't tell them the truth." Nancy said to me and then repeated it to Terrance, "I don't want our daughter to be a suspect!"

"Honesty is the best policy." Terrance agreed. "Don't worry Nancy. I'm sure she'll figure out a way to get everyone to drop it."

"But how does she do that?!" Nancy was getting hysterical. "I don't want our daughter to be a suspect, Terrance!"

I got so mad at the fact she kept saying 'our daughter' and 'suspect'. My blood was boiling in rage that I knew if I didn't get out of there, and soon, then someone was going to get hurt. "Look, I need some fresh air." I said walking out of the room.

"But-"

"Don't worry, it's not another rescue mission. I just need to think." I slammed the door.

Don't ask me why, but I went and sat on the bench in the graveyard that I always went and sat on when I needed to 'think'. I didn't scream when Blake appeared.

"You look much better than you did in the hospital." Was what Blake first said to me.

"You," I swallowed, "were there. You told John where to find me - and I guess I should be grateful for that - and you've visited me in hospital. You've been avoiding me. You didn't even come to help when I was blacked out." I was fighting back tears that threated to scar my face.

"Okay, you wouldn't have let me help anyway and I didn't even know you were going on a mission again. I told John because he could help a lot more than I could and I didn't want to upset you in the hospital." Blake said softly. "I'm not avoiding you. I'm trying to make you forget about me. Before you get hurt."

"Stop saying stuff like that!" I jumped up off the bench to pace the gravel pathway. "Stop with the riddles! I've already gotten hurt and if you don't want me involved then stop saying stuff like 'you need to forget me' and 'before you get hurt' and 'I'm bad company'."

"Wow, you really do listen to me." Blake laughed. "But I guess you hear what I say but you don't listen."

"Blake this isn't funny." I shot a look at him. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"You? Florence Ryder?" Blake sounded sarcastic but look shocked. "Giving up? Asking for help?"

"Yeah, yeah, hell's frozen over." I waved my hand indicating for him to make his point. "Look, Blake, you know I hate playing games."

"No, you like to play games but you don't like it when you're stuck. You've always taken on a challenge, Florence, so why stop now? So, people may call you a few names and they know your ability... but that's never stopped you before. Why now?" Blake was on to something. Why now? Why?

"I... I don't know." My gaze fell to the floor. "I can't stand Nancy and Terrance pretending to be my parents. I'm forgetting my real ones. The people who have always been mean to me are acting as if we're best friends. There's a lot more cases lately. I'm on the news. Tammie and Josh are now dating. Max now has Megan. I'm just breaking all the rules and yet no one seems to care."

"Well. Nancy and Terrance have had you since you were two, so to them you're their second daughter. Tammie and Josh are happy, right? So be happy for them. Same goes for Max and Megan. Of course you're going to be on the news, mysteriously saving people and not answering questions and of course there are going to many - many, many - cases, all over the world, when you find them it's up to the way the dice rolls." Blake smiled at me as if he was really seeing me, "no one is going to care if you keep breaking the rules... because that's you. That's who you are. If you didn't... that's when people are going to care."

"I..." I confessed, "I feel like this is the calm before the storm. Something's coming and I'm going to be right in the middle of it."

Before Blake could answer I heard someone calling my name. "Ryder?" I instantly knew it was John. "Ryder?"

"Over here John!" I called.

"Florence... if this 'storm' does come," Blake's eyes were pleading me, "then remember this: be strong now because things will get better. It may be stormy now but it can't rain forever."

"Ryder. Are you alright?" John asked as his voice coming closer.

I lifted my head in the direction of his voice and answered "yeah, I'm fine." Then I turned back to Blake. But instead, I was looking at the headstones. Blake had disappeared.

John stopped about four feet from me and stuck out his hand. "Come on. They said on the news that we all have to be ready..." I took John's hand. "... there's a storm coming."