Neither one of them could believe their eyes. Here, right by the door, was Leslie�s suitcase and backpack. But was she here? And how did she get inside without them waking? Their bedroom was right by the door!
With tears in her eyes, Charlotte Flynn hesitantly began to climb the stairs to her daughter�s room when she saw the stains: red splotches of blood dappled the beige carpet.
�Oh my god,� she whispered, hand immediately covering her gaping mouth. Not even saying a word to her husband, she began to run up the rest of the stairs.
As Bryan followed her, noticing the blood at her departure, she swung open Leslie�s door and ran in. Greeted by multiple pictures of the Backstreet Boys, it took her a moment to truly see the figure sprawled on the small twin-sized bed.
�Oh no,� she cried, falling to her knees at the site of her unconscious daughter�s bandaged figure. �What happened to my baby?� she screamed, tears falling from her eyes.
Bryan, just as shocked at the sight of his baby girl, fell beside his wife and tried to comfort her. Neither saw their son Charlie, woken up by the commotion, walk into the room. Immediately, he tried to coax his parents to get off of the floor and pull themselves together.
�Let�s get her to the hospital,� he told them, picking up his broken little sister and carrying her towards the car.
Realizing his son was right, he helped his bawling wife to her feet and supported her as they made their way to the garage.
*
Albert woke up in a panic. Since he�d found that scrap of paper, he couldn�t get it out of his head that something was dreadfully wrong. Nightmares had plagued his sleep as he kept seeing Leslie�s battered face and the many events that could have caused it.
Rolling over, he glanced at his clock. 7:42. Why hadn�t his dad or mom woken him up before they left for work as they�d always done? Not dwelling on it, he reached over and picked up the paper that he�d found in the passenger seat of his truck last night.
242-555-6814
Call me so I know you
got home safe.
It was obviously a male�s scribbled handwriting, but whose? She didn�t know anyone in Kentucky as far as he knew, but obviously someone cared enough about her well-being. Here it was almost eight hours after she�d landed.
�He�s probably worried sick, but who�s �he�? Jeez, Leslie. Your mystery just gets bigger and bigger� but maybe this guy will have some answers�
Climbing out of bed, he headed towards the kitchen and picked up the phone. With one more look, he quickly punched in the long distance number and grew nervous with each ring.
�Hello?� a deep voice answered.
~
Kevin had gotten worried when, at one a.m., he still hadn�t heard from Angel. Deciding that she�d just been too tired and had fallen asleep the moment she�d reached home, he fell into bed and went to sleep himself. What could he do for her anyway?
The next morning, he woke to the shrill ringing of his cell phone. Believing it to be the hospital with news of Nick�s condition, he didn�t bother to look at the called ID or he�d have noticed that the call was coming from an unfamiliar area code.
�Hello?� he answered, his voice heavy with sleep.
�Who is this?� a nervous male voice answered back.
�Who�s this?�
�I�m Albert.�
�Well, I�m Kevin,� he replied, confused and still half asleep.
Silence fell across the miles of telephone line.
�Why was your phone number in my friend�s pocket? Why was she supposed to call you? Who ARE you?� Albert shot at him.
�Whoa, slow down bud. Who�s your friend?� But Kevin already knew who this strange kid was talking about and relief filled him at the knowledge that she�d made it home.
�Leslie� Leslie Flynn. Maybe you know her as Angel Thomas� it just depends what she wants you to call her� or what day it is� It�s weird��
Kevin interrupted the young man. �So she did get home all right?�
�Yea. I picked her up from the airport myself.�
�Are you her brother? Did you take her to a hospital?�
�No� to both. I�m just a good friend of hers and she told me she�d be fine. She just wanted to go home and sleep� her parents will probably take her when they realize she�s back home.�
�Did they not know she was coming back last night? Her flight was pre-planned. She didn�t just decide to leave here at the last moment.�
�They didn�t even know where she went. Just one morning, we all woke up and she�d gone. Just a note saying she knew what she was doing and she�d be back sometime. And when she shows back up, I barely recognize her in the airport because she�s beat and in a wheelchair. So what happened and who are you??� he demanded.
Kevin let everything sink in. The girl ran away from home for his cousin�s funeral. Everything was making more and less sense with each word.
�I�m a friend of a friend she came to see one last time. What happened, well� you have to get that from her because I�m not very clear on that myself. But Albert, please give this number back to Ang� Leslie for me. Tell her that when she feels better to call me� and that I�m keeping all my promises. All right? Can you do that for me Albert?�
��yea I guess.�
And the line disconnected.
Looking at the phone in his hand, Kevin replayed the conversation back in his head. She went by two full names? She seemed too much in control to be schizophrenic, so why two names? And her friend made it sound like that was just a part of her - simply a quirk.
Throwing the phone down, he began to get dressed for the hospital so he could see how Nick was doing.
*
Dr. Ryan walked into the waiting room to find his patient�s family. It was only too easy to spot the bawling mother, shaking father, and numb brother clothed in his pajamas amongst the calmer faces of people waiting for patients undergoing routine procedures.
�Mr. and Mrs. Flynn, your daughter is going to be just fine. She needed a few stitches and a little cleaning up, but she�s going to be all right.�
When neither parent asked any questions, he turned to leave. In the hallway, the teenage brother caught up to him.
�Please, doctor, tell me all that�s wrong,� he requested.
�I�m sorry son. That information is classified.�
�I�m her brother. You�re supposed to use that classified bullshit on unfamiliar parties. What�s wrong with my sister?� he demanded, his politeness melting.
Dr. Ryan hesitated and then pulled him down into a pair of chairs in the hallway.
�Your sister has been badly beaten, but it had to be a number of days ago. Any fingerprints have been washed away as the wounds have been cleaned, or at least someone has attempted to clean all her wounds.� He paused, debating on whether the young man could handle the details. �I�ll go from top to bottom. Are you sure you want to know all this? Your parents should really be the ones to hear this first.�
�My parents are in no position to hear any of this. Tell me and I�ll tell them as they can bear it.�
�Very well. Leslie�s nose is fractured; the cranial plates around her left eye are cracked; cuts in her cheek required thirty-five stitches; both lips are busted with three stitches needed in her bottom lip; her right shoulder was dislocated; left hand fractured and her two smallest fingers were broken in four places; six broken ribs - four completely shattered; internal swelling to her organs, but no serious damage; chips of bone are loose in both ankles; and we had to put twenty-six stitches in the left sole and sixteen in the right sole of her feet. Plus you have all the bruises and cuts on top of that.�
Charlie stared at the doctor and swallowed hard. �Was she� raped?�
�No, definitely no signs of rape or any sexual activities at all (AN: Damn it! No S&M accident gone wrong. *snaps fingers*). She�s just been severely injured.�
Charlie placed his face in his hands. Who would do this to a fifteen-year old girl?
�Do you have any idea who might have done this?�
Looking up at the doctor, he replied, �No, I don�t even know where she�s been for the past week. She leaves one night and then appears in the middle of the night a week later. None of it makes sense. I don�t even know how she got home if she was in this condition.�
�Well, she�s safe here and here is where she�ll be for at least another week. If you get any clues or ideas to what might have happened, don�t hesitate to tell me so we can report it, and hopefully when Leslie wakes up, she�ll be able to shed some light on everything.�
Dr. Ryan stood up to leave. �I need to go do my rounds, but you can go in to see her in a few hours. We�re having a few more tests ran just to double check everything. In the meantime, try and talk to your parents.�
Charlie nodded before standing up and heading back to the waiting room to inform his miserable parents to the extent of his sister�s injuries.
~
�How is he?� Kevin asked, Howie following close behind him.
�He�s fine, slept the entire night. One of the nurses said that he woke up around eight this morning, but fell back to sleep soon after. One of your friends is in there right now if you�d like to go in and see him.�
Both men nodded and headed down the hallway to Nick�s private room, only to be surprised to see A.J. sitting in a chair next to his bed.
�The doctor told me there wouldn�t be any permanent damage, so that�s good, but when I asked about Angel, she said no one was here by that name. I�m glad Nick�s going to be all right but� I almost� killed Angel. I have to make sure she�s going to be all right too,� A.J. said quietly, never taking his eyes off of Nick.
�You can�t see her,� Kevin responded.
�Why?�
�Because she�s not here. She went home.�
�What?!� Howie and A.J. both exclaimed. �How?�
Kevin went on to explain the events of the evening before and how Angel had demanded he take her to the airport.
�Why didn�t you tell me? I need to apologize to her, make sure she�s all right!�
As Kevin shrugged, he jammed his hands into his pants� pockets only to feel a small box in his right hand. Pulling it out, he stared at the black object for a moment.
�She told me to give this to you J,� Kevin told him, handing the box over.
�What� is it?�
�I don�t know. She said it wasn�t bad and that I had to promise to give it to you after she�d left.�
A.J. stood and began to back out of the room, stopping only long enough to say, �Don�t leave him alone.�
�All right,� Howie replied as Kevin took the vacant chair and nodded.
*
What propelled him, A.J. didn�t know, but he didn�t slow down until he was in a park a few blocks from the hospital, the box still clutched tightly in his hands. He slid onto a bench, glossy beneath the late morning sunlight, and stared at the gift, not sure if he should discover what was hidden beneath its lid.
Curiosity got the best of him, however, and with shaking hands, he pulled the top off only to find a folded piece of paper. When he pulled it from the box, a necklace was uncovered. Holding the box in one hand and the note in the other, he pulled the chain out.
He held a simple silver chain that had three charms hanging from it: a green piece of jade with the word �hope� engraved on it, a similar piece of blue lapis lazuli with �fate� etched on its surface, and an angel charm between the two stones. Looping the chain around his left hand after throwing the box into a trashcan near the bench, he unfolded the note and read:
A.J.
Hopefully you�re getting this soon after my departure
from Lexington. Please take this necklace and wear it always.
Think of it as a gift from a guardian angel and don�t worry
about me. I�ll be fine. A few stitches and I�ll heal nicely.
Promise me you�ll take care of Nick, even if he doesn�t
want you to. If he tries to leave in hopes of finding me, tell
me as soon as you hear anything. And always remember:
If hope is what makes humans
And peace is what makes angels
Then fate is the only thing that separates the two.
~Angel
Reading the note as the words blurred, A.J. studied the address and phone number at the bottom until they engrained themselves into his brain. As the tears spilled, he folded the note and put it into his wallet so he wouldn�t lose it. Standing up, he clasped the necklace around his neck and put it under his shirt, concealing it so Nick wouldn�t see it when he woke up. He felt that the necklace should remain his secret.
Wiping the tears away, he began to trek back to the hospital to watch over Nick. After all that had happened, it was the least he could do. He just hoped that Angel�s confidence with her recovery was as accurate as she believed.