Post-Season Finale
Woody's POV:
I heard she left.
Lily walked into my hospital room on a Thursday evening. It was raining. It always seemed to rain in Boston. I knew what she was going to say well before she opened her mouth. Jordan had left.
Lily explained it more as a leave of absence to begin to readjust to life with Garrett. Apparently, there was some cover up on a case from years and years ago. I didn't really follow because Lily began to cry as she talked about Garrett's corruption. Her words eventually disintegrated into silent tears. A hero fallen.
Lily said that Jordan needed some time to begin to sort things out. Jordan had looked to Garrett as a father figure and brother for so long. I couldn't even begin to imagine what she was feeling. I had done nothing but push her away. Garrett had done nothing but shake her confidence. It was too much for a woman that didn't have anything besides a morgue and coworkers in her life. I wasn't sure if I would ever see her again.
Nigel told me to buck up, but his eyes told me a completely different story. His eyes were full of despair. He said he found Jordan sobbing in the locker room yesterday. Nigel said he found pictures of me and Garrett in the garbage can in her office. The only two men that had ever provided Jordan with consistency had managed to expertly excise themselves from her life. That left Jordan with shaky confidence and a whole lot of nothing in Boston.
I imagined Jordan running somewhere sunny and warm. Something always drew her back to Los Angeles. I tried to imagine her there. I imagined the sun on her pale skin, and the sand between her pedicured toes. It made me smile.
She told me that she loved me. I remembered every word Jordan said to me as I was being wheeled out of surgery. She told me that she was sick of waiting and game playing. It was now or never. After being told that there was a good chance I would never walk again, I chose never. I didn't want her to feel obligated to care for me. I didn't want her to always have to deal with damaged goods. It wasn't fair for me to ruin her life.
"Big brother, you've really screwed up this time," Cal said. He had been kind enough to call me. I imagined that Jordan had orchestrated it.
"I know," I replied as I fiddled with the IV tubing that provided my pain medication in regular intervals.
"Don't worry about Jordan. She's here with me," Cal replied. That was an immediate cause for concern. Cal had already proven that he couldn't be trusted with Jordan. He would get himself or both of them killed.
"What do you mean don't worry? You sure as hell better not harm a hair on her head. Where the hell are you?" I cursed into the telephone.
"This coming from the guy that turned her away. You hurt her, Woody," Cal replied. I couldn't tell if his tone indicated that he was mad or frustrated.
"Where are you, Calvin?" I demanded.
"We're safe. I'm clean. I'm not in any trouble," Cal replied a little too nonchalantly for my liking, "I'm not going to treat her the way you do. You were always so much like Dad."
"Don't you dare. I did nothing but sacrifice for you. I gave you everything that I could," I replied.
"I've got to go," Cal said.
"Where are you?" I demanded again, but the line went dead before I could wrangle an answer out of Cal.
I threw the telephone across the room. My nobility had always managed to get me in trouble. This time my desire to act in her best interest drove her right into the arms of my coke-head, lying little brother.
What had I done?
A/N: Let me know if you think I should continue.