Matt wished desperately that the common room had a clock. It was frustrating not knowing what time of day it was and having to rely on the staff and their ever present clipboards to feed him and get him to his therapy sessions. If some doctor thought that not knowing the time would make the days here go by faster, it had the complete opposite effect. At Juniper House, the days dragged by and time seemed to come to a standstill.
He pushed away from his spot by the window, eyes still searching the room for any signs of Drey. The sun had set some time ago and it had been awhile since they'd finished the evening meal, which was the last time Matt had seen him. He knew visiting hours had ended by the scattering of patients that had trailed back into the common room. So where was Stan?
He approached one of the patients. "Hey, Riley, have you seen Stan?"
"What do you want, Crower?" the man asked, scowling at him.
An orderly assisting a patient who was pointing out the colors of everything in the room kept a watchful eye on the two men. Meanwhile, a nurse in the corridor just outside the door peeked into the room.
Matt sighed. "Have you seen Stan Drey?" he repeated. "Tall guy? Ex-cop?"
"Oh, the bug guy?" Riley started to smirk, then thought better of it. "No. Haven't seen him in awhile. Maybe he's in his room."
The idea seemed ridiculous to Matt since he hated being trapped in his room and took every opportunity he could to stay out of it. Drey, however, hadn't been here that long and he certainly hadn't enjoyed the depressing experience of isolation. Matt shrugged and left the common room. As he stepped into the hallway, the nurse outside the door glanced up at him from her clipboard, then returned to sorting the various bottles on the medication cart in preparation for the evening rounds.
Matt walked down the hallway and turned the corner into the wing where the patient rooms were located. He groaned as he saw who was at the far end of the corridor.
Melvin stood in front of one of the doors with a smug look on his face. The orderly stopped grinning when he saw Matt approaching.
"What're you doin' here, Crower?" he demanded crossly.
Matt's steps quickened when he realized Melvin was standing in front of Drey's room. "Patient rooms. I'm allowed to be here," he replied defensively. "Something going on?"
"None of your business," the orderly said as he strode up to Matt, blocking any further progress down the corridor. "Now get out of here." He gave Matt a shove.
"Okay." Matt started to turn around, then quickly pivoted on one foot and raced down the corridor. He could hear a squeaky cart wheel and Melvin's pounding footsteps as the orderly shouted obscenities at him. Those sounds all faded when he skidded to a halt outside of Drey's door and heard the muffled cries for help.
Matt peered through the small window in the door. He could see Drey tugging desperately at the bars to the outside window in the room, constantly looking behind him, a terrified look on his face. The bedding was almost completely off the bed and Matt could see part of an overturned chair near the door.
"Hold on, Stan!" Matt called, pulling at the doorknob. It was locked. Matt backed up a few paces and was about to make a run at the door when he was suddenly shoved against it, his head striking the metal bars.
"Troublemaker," he heard Melvin hiss in his ear as the orderly slammed him against the door yet again, followed by a blow to his back.
"Think you're better than me."
Matt struck the door a third time. He wobbled on unsteady legs and would have crumpled to the floor if the orderly hadn't been holding on to the back of his shirt. He felt the blood running down his face and the medical part of his brain reminded him that head wounds always bled more due to the thin skin on the scalp.
He sensed Melvin tighten the grip on his shirt and Matt fervently hoped that his head's next encounter with the door would render him blessedly unconscious. He sunk to the floor as Melvin unexpectedly released his hold.
Matt slumped against the door to Drey's room, breathing heavily and trying to figure out what just happened. Over the pounding of his head, he heard sounds of a scuffle and the thump of a body hitting the floor. He started to shake his head to clear the blurred vision, but quickly stopped when his stomach churned in protest. Matt swallowed several times and remained still until the nausea retreated, then a face suddenly appeared in front of him.
"Hey, you all right?"
Matt blinked his eyes rapidly to dispel the haziness. The face finally came into focus and he blinked again, this time in confusion.
"Riley?"
"Yeah." The man peered at Matt closely. "Man, you got blood all over you. No way you're goin' be able to keep this quiet. Better do whatever you were goin' to do while you still have the chance."
"But…I…don't understand," Matt managed to say. He clung to the door as he struggled to stand.
"What's to understand?" Riley said, grabbing Matt's arm to help him to his feet. "I came around the corner and saw Melvin beatin' the crap out of you."
"Melvin." Matt wiped the blood away from his eyes and glanced around to find the orderly sprawled motionless on the floor. He leaned against Drey's door, trying to get his bearings and make sense of all of this. "Why?" he asked Riley, looking at the man. "Why would you help me?"
"Don't get me wrong," Riley said. "I don't like you, Crower. But him," he waved at hand at the orderly, "him, I hate. That son of a bitch kept me from seein' my kid for a month just 'cause he could." He glanced down the corridor, but only spotted the medication cart at the far end. "Can't believe no one's come yet. You better get a move on."
"Huh?" Matt's head throbbed terribly and, once again, the medical part of his mind took over and told him that despite how it felt, his brain really wasn't going to slide out of his ears.
"Whatever you were goin' to do that made him jump you," Riley said. "Once he wakes up, that'll be it for you. Most likely you're goin' back to isolation."
Isolation. Matt felt pressure squeezing around his heart at the mention of the word. Darkness. Loneliness. Despair. No more contact with the outside…Drey.
"Riley, I need the keys for the door," Matt said, feeling his brain finally kick into gear.
The other man searched through Melvin's clothes while Matt wiped his eyes again and looked through the window into the other room. Drey sat crouched in the far corner of the room, muttering incoherently, his eyes riveted to a spot on the floor
"Here you go." Riley handed him the keys and Matt fumbled with the lock until Riley finally took the keys from him and unlocked the door himself. Matt yanked the door open and started to walk in. Riley grabbed the back of his shirt and held him in place.
"Watch your step," Riley warned.
"I take it that's not your average spider?" Matt asked, not bothering to turn around, preferring to keep a close watch on the floor in front of him. He took a cautious step into the room.
"If you mean your average black widow spider, then no." Riley started to crouch down. "I've never seen one that big."
Matt heard quick footsteps and was about to turn when Riley crashed against him and they tumbled to the floor in a heap. Riley's head smacked against the floor and Matt rolled away from the other man, barely avoiding the spider, who continued its journey across the room. He glanced up in time to see a livid Melvin unsnapping his can of pepper spray and was barely able to squeeze his eyes shut and throw a hand over his face before he heard the sound of the spray being released.
Moments later, Matt lay on the floor, his eyes burning and stinging. Coughing, he tried to force his eyes open, but they refused. He grunted as Melvin kicked him in the stomach. The nausea rose again and there was a heaviness to his head that was starting to worry him.
"Bastard," Matt heard the orderly say as the man kicked him again.
He felt the man's breath on his face as the orderly said, "Maybe I'll just lock you all up in here. Get rid of you all at once. Yeah."
The spider, Matt thought. Where was it? His eyes agreed to open only to slits and then proceeded to water up on him. He heard the whoosh of air moving rapidly and the crunch of wood shattering followed by the unmistakable impact of a body as it struck the floor. The subsequent silence was punctuated only by Drey's low mournful cries.
As Matt struggled to open his eyes further, he heard footsteps move past him. The light in the room was painfully bright, burning his eyes, and they teared up even more in retaliation. He managed to glimpse white loafers as the person again stepped past him and a blurry figure bent over what Matt thought was Melvin. He blinked rapidly in an attempt to clear his eyes as the figure straightened. Matt recognized the sound of latex gloves being stripped off and the person turned in his direction. Then the blissful unconsciousness he'd been waiting for finally claimed him.
The next morning Ronilyn phoned the hospital to check on Loris. After being informed that Loris would be discharged sometime that morning, she called in at work, then notified the school that Caleb Temple would not be coming in that day. News about the death at Juniper House was all over town and she wanted to get Caleb to the hospital to see Loris, bring them both back to the boardinghouse and then head to Juniper herself.
Lucas opened the door to his house and they stood staring at each other on the porch. Ronilyn finally broke the icy silence. "Caleb ready?" she asked.
Lucas glanced over his shoulder to inside the house and called, "Caleb! Your ride is here." He looked back at her.
Ronilyn readjusted the strap of the handbag that dangled on her shoulder. "I'll wait out here for him," she said.
"Suit yourself," Lucas replied with a shrug. "I don't recall invitin' you in anyhow." He turned and walked into the house without looking back.
"Everything go okay last night?" she asked Caleb as he climbed into the car. She could tell he was still somewhat angry with her by how he avoided eye contact, but he didn't seem distraught or withdrawn so Ronilyn assumed that Lucas had avoided certain topics of conversation.
"Yeah," the boy said, stowing his bag on the floor. "He didn't say anything, but I could tell he was kind of mad that I'd already eaten dinner."
Ronilyn smirked as she drove off. Yes, it was petty and childish, but Lucas had the ability to get under her skin like no one else.
"That's good you two got along," Ronilyn said, flipping on the turn signal. "You probably should get to know him a little more. I mean, he is your father, after all."
"Hmph," Caleb mumbled as he stared out the car window.
"Doesn't mean you have to like him or hang out with him," Ronilyn said. "Just…find out who he is."
Caleb frowned when he realized they weren't headed to school. "No school today?" he asked, clearly puzzled.
"Caleb," she said, giving him a sideways glance. "There was an incident at Juniper House yesterday…"