| Chapter 4 |
�Zack! Zack!� Chrissy ran into the house, searching frantically for the little boy. �Zack, where are you?� �Mommy,� he cried, running into her arms. �Mommy!� Chrissy picked the little, shaking boy up and cradled him in her arms. Salty tears were streaming down his cheeks, and he held onto her as of she was his only lifeline. He was sobbing on her shirt. �You�re finally home. I can�t deal with this kid anymore! You will have to find someone to take care of him while you are at work, because I can�t deal with his shit!� �Ethan, stop!� Chrissy cried. She turned to her son. �Zack, honey, can you go play in your room for a minute so mommy and daddy can talk?� �Okay, mommy.� Chrissy gave him a kiss, and he ran off to his room. �What the Hell is your problem?� Chrissy asked once she knew Zack was out of earshot. �That is your son you are talking about.� �Not, he is your son.� �He is our son,� she said. �And he is only four years old! He doesn�t know when he is doing things wrong. I never want to hear you say you are going to kill him again, or I will take this to the police!� Ethan grabbed Chrissy�s shirt collar, and she immediately regretted what she had just said. He got right in her face, and as he spoke, she could feel his hot breath on her face. �You listen closely. If you ever, and I mean ever talk to anyone about this, I will not only kill the kid, but I will kill you. This is my house, and what I do in here is my business. My damn business, no one else�s.� He slapped her across the face, and threw her backwards before storming out of the house, slamming the front door behind himself. Chrissy sat on the floor and cried. �Mommy?� Zack asked, cautiously walking into the kitchen. �Are you okay? Why are you crying?� �Come here baby,� Chrissy said, reaching out for the child. She held him in her arms and continued crying. Zack tried his best to wipe the tears away, and then kissed her nose. �I love you, mommy.� �I love you, too.� The next day-3:55 PM A knock on her office door caused Chrissy to look up from her paperwork. A smile found its way to her face as she saw JC standing outside, looking in at her and smiling. She waved him in. �Hey doc,� he said. �Oh, how did everything go last night? Is your little boy okay?� Chrissy gave a half smile. �Yeah, he�s okay.� �That�s good.� He took a seat in the same chair he had for the past two days. �So,� Chrissy started. �Where were we yesterday?� �Um�hey, what happened?� �What do you mean?� �Where did you get that bruise,� JC said, pointing to her cheek. He reached out to touch it. �It wasn�t there yesterday.� �I�um�I f-fell. Yeah, I fell down.� �Don�t lie to me,� JC�s voice was soft and caring. �Really, what happened?� �Nothing. I just fell, that�s all.� Chrissy started shuffling papers around to avoid eye contact with JC. �Okay,� JC leaned back in his chair. �So, let�s pick up where we left off yesterday.� �Whoa,� Chrissy said, noticing the time. �It�s already quarter after five. I completely lost track of time.� �You�re right. Man, I want to keep talking to you�hey, do you have any open slots tomorrow?� Chrissy checked the calendar. �No, I don�t have anything free for the rest of the week.� �Man! Hey, why don�t we go get some dinner? My treat.� �Well,� Chrissy knew Ethan would be ripped if she didn�t come home right away, she was already late, but the idea of spending more time with JC tempted her. �Sure.� �Great,� JC said, rising from the chair. Chrissy shut off her computer, put her papers in her briefcase, and followed JC out the door. �Goodnight Jane,� she called. �See you tomorrow.� �Night doctor Smith. See you later.� �How long does she usually stay at night?� JC asked once they got outside. Chrissy giggled. �Too late. I always tell her she overworks, but does she ever listen to me? Of course not. So, are we taking your car or mine?� �Mine,� JC said, opening the door to his red Jeep. �I mean, if that�s okay with you.� �Fine,� she said, climbing in the passenger seat and fastening her seatbelt. JC climbed into the driver�s seat, and put his seatbelt on. As he started the car, soft jazz music filled the car. �Do you mind the music?� JC asked. �I can put in a tape or change the station, if you want.� �This is fine,� Chrissy said. �Unless you want to change it.� �I do,� JC said, smiling at Chrissy as he pressed a button on the control panel. Soon, a familiar song, Shaggy�s �Angel� filled the car. JC started singing with the radio. The song faded out, and the DJ�s voice came in loud and clear through the small car speakers. �Here is the latest single �Pop� from the hit boy band *NSYNC. We have word that band member Joshua Chas�� JC quickly reached over and changed the station before he had to hear more people talk about his problems. Sometimes people didn�t know when enough was enough. �Why did you change it?� Chrissy asked. �I like that song.� �Because I don�t need to hear one more person talk about my problem,� he said harshly. �What are you talking about?� Chrissy asked. �They were talking about that guy from *NSYNC.� �Like I said, I don�t need to hear�wait a minute. You don�t know, do you?� �Don�t know what?� Chrissy asked. �JC, you are really starting to confuse me.� �Never mind,� he said. �Damn, I wonder if I should have told someone where I was going.� �What?� �Huh? Oh, nothing,� JC said. He didn�t know Chrissy had heard the last part he had mumbled under his breath. He knew she was confused, and tried to change the subject fast. |