It's amazing how quick I can get a chapter done when I only have one story to focus on. Enjoy.
Chapter 28
After breakfast the next morning it was time for Jude's first physical therapy session. Dr. Anderson wanted to get her up and moving so her body didn't get too stiff. He said if she did well she'd get a set of crutches and be able to get up on her own. Her wrist hardly hurt anymore. She hated being stuck in bed all day long.
Tommy was not sure if he should stay or go. They had taken her monitors off, but he still noticed her breathing get erratic when she would panic ever so often. Dr. Anderson said the drugs were finally out of her system. Tommy wasn't sure if she would freak out with him out of the room. She seemed so much better after everything that had happened the day before and he didn't want her to have a set back. He just stood back while the physical therapist worked with her.
Jude noticed Tommy standing by the door looking unsure of something. "Can I have a minute?"
"Sure. I need to talk to the nurse about something."
"Tommy, why don't you go home, get a shower, and check in at G Major. I think this may take a while." She was determined to get up and move around even if it took hours working at it.
"Are you going to be okay?" He said taking her hand.
"I know you'll be back. Besides what are you going to do just stand there and watch me the whole time? I really want to be able to get around on my own and I know this is going to take a while."
"Don't work yourself too hard. You still get tired really fast." He said cupping her face.
"I promise. But the faster I can get around the faster I can go home to you." She said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll be back in a few hours. I love you." He kissed her forehead.
"I love you, too." She said before pulling his head down to meet her lips. She'd missed the feel of his lips on hers.
Tommy pulled back with a smile before leaving the room. He was still worried about her because she seemed to do a complete turn around in one night. He hoped it was real, but felt like it was part of her denial. Only time was going to tell on that. All he could do was do what she asked for now.
"Hey, I didn't expect to see you here." Sadie said when he arrived at G Major.
"Jude's idea. She is in physical therapy all morning and she didn't want me to have to stay around the whole time." He explained.
"So she's doing better? That's good."
"I'm not too sure, but we'll see. I told her I would be back in a few hours. Is D around?"
"He's playing golf with the Mayor, should be in around noon. I actually need to talk to you about something. Has the police come back to talk to Jude yet?" She asked following him in to his office.
"No, why?"
"Dad spoke with his lawyer yesterday and the DA is taking Jude's case on personally."
This seriously confused him. "Why would the DA take a DUI case on when it was a single car accident?"
"It's an election year and because Jude's status he feels he needs to make an example of her. I asked Darius to make a call, and that is why he is playing golf with the Mayor. Tom, I'm afraid this isn't just going to go a way."
"It's a first offense DUI. How bad can it really be?" He'd seen people get more than one DUI and get nothing for them.
"Thirty days in county."
"She would never last." Tommy said rubbing his face.
"Hopefully Darius can help with the situation."
"Yeah, but at what price. Jude will not be pushed back into G Major. She has to come back on her own free will, and I'm not sure that will ever happen."
"I guess we just have to wait it out. I better get back to setting up next Monday's show. I'll let you know when Darius is in."
"Thanks Sadie. I guess I need to go help Mason and Mike as much as I can."
Jude was taking a ten minute break from her therapy. It wasn't too hard to get around with the cast, but the time she'd spent in bed had left her pretty stiff. She'd need more therapy when the doctor takes the cast off. That was going to be the hard part. She'd done a number on it; breaking it in three different spots. She knew she was lucky that was the only thing broken.
"Jude Harrison?" She was brought out of her thoughts by a police officer walking into the room.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"I'd like to ask you a couple questions about the accident that put you in here." He said pulling a pad of paper out of his pocket.
"I don't really remember anything…" She started explaining.
"Don't say anymore." Darius said walking in the room with her dad's lawyer. He handed the officer a court document. "I believe you are done here."
"D, what's going on?" Jude asked all confused after the officer left the room and lawyer left the room.
"I'm just taking care of my family. If any more cops come ask you questions call me okay?"
"Sure."
"You ready to get back to work?" He therapist asked coming back in.
"I better get to G Major and I will see you soon."
"Okay, bye, D."
Jude was still not sure what was going on, but she tried to push it out of her mind. All she wanted was to go home and be with Tommy. It was all she needed, but if she couldn't make it to the bathroom three feet away on her own there was no way they would release her.
Tommy was amazed by the contestants that were assigned to them. They all had talent, but one girl stood out above the rest of them. She was young, but very bold. She wanted to be different than everybody else. She reminded him a lot of a younger Jude. "She'd really good." He told Mason.
"I know. Everyone is saying she's a front runner."
"Well, we still have nine more weeks. You can never tell how the audience will vote from week to week. Make sure she sticks with this song choice. It is perfect for her voice." Just then he saw Darius walk through the lobby. "D is here. I need to talk to him and get back to Jude. You two have this?"
"Yeah, go on. Tell Jude hi for me." Mason said waving him out.
Jude was picking through her lunch when Dr. Evans walked in. "How are you feeling today, Jude?" She asked sitting down by the bed.
"Better." Was Jude's only response. She still wasn't so sure about talking to someone. What good would it really do?
"I understand you had quite a physical therapy session today."
"The faster I can get around with this cast on the faster I get to go home." She said crossing her arms across her chest. Just having Dr. Evans in the room was making her chest squeeze.
"I see and you really want to go home." She observed.
"I don't like hospitals."
"Is that because your mother was in one so often?"
Jude turned her eyes towards the window and stayed silent. She wasn't ready. She needed to keep the band aid on longer. If her heart started bleeding now it would never stop. There were some things that people needed to deal with on the own and this was clearly one of those things.
"You want to go home, but to go home you are going to need to talk to me. Jude I've see girls like you all the time, I can help."
"Nothing is wrong with me. I was in an accident and I am healing so I can go home. There's nothing to talk about." Jude said pushing the nurse button.
"What do you need, hun?"
"I'm done with my lunch and think I'll take a little nap."
"Okay, just call me if you need anything." Emily said coming in and taking her tray.
Dr. Evans just watched as Jude ignored her and rolled over to take a nap. She'd really hoped to get Jude to open up. There was nothing worse than holding in grief. It only caused more problems and she wished she could get Jude to see that. She had a feeling this was going to be her most difficult case in a long time.
On his way back to the hospital, Tommy was baffled by all the information Darius had given him. He was glad Darius was helping because that meant the whole situation would stay out of the press. He'd always been good at keeping things away from the media. He could also help keep her out of jail if she agreed to a drug rehab program.
She was asleep when he walked into her room. Her body was slightly shaking and he could hear her sniffing. "Jude." He said sitting on the bed. When she didn't wake up he shook her slightly. "Jude, baby, wake up."
"Hum?" She asked rolling over.
"You're crying." He said cupping her cheek.
"I must have been dreaming." She said shaking her head.
"Do you remember what it was about?"
"No, it's fine now. I'm glad you are back. This day hasn't been so great." She said placing her head on his chest as he laid back.
"How did your PT session go?" He asked running his fingers through her hair.
"It was good. He said I would need a couple more sessions before I could get up on my own, plus I'll need to go through it all again when the cast gets taken off. Did you happen to talk to D while you were at G Major?" She asked glancing up at him.
Tommy hadn't wanted to go straight into this conversation, but it was better to get it over with. "Yeah, why?"
"A police officer came by to ask me some questions and Darius came in with dad's lawyer. Do you know what is going on?"
He sighed deeply. "The night of your accident your blood alcohol level was way over the legal limit. Plus your tox screen showed high levels of narcotics."
Jude knew what that meant. "So, I'm going to loose my license and get community service?"
"I wish it was that simple. The DA was ready to make you an example. He was going for the maximum penalty of thirty days in county lock up, but Darius talked with the Mayor and he was able to talk the DA down. But the consequences are still pretty severe."
"What will I have to do?" She had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.
"A court appointed therapist will look over your case and suggest you go into a rehab program.
"I don't understand all this just for a DUI?"
"You are in a position to set an example for the younger generation and the DA sees that harmful to his reelection if he doesn't do something about it."
"What have I ever done to him? I didn't even hit anybody. Plus I haven't recorded in years. No one is looking up to me anymore." Jude could hardly catch her breath. The pressure in her chest was more than she'd ever felt before.
"Just breathe, Jude." Tommy said rubbing her arms.
"Tommy, I don't know what to do." She said as tears streamed down her face. "It just hurts so much. Everyday with out her makes me want to crawl in a hole and never come out. At first I would drink so I could forget for a little while. Then that didn't work anymore. I didn't mean for this to get so out of hand."
"I know, baby. That is why we all want to get you the best help we can."
"I don't know if I can talk about it." She said shaking her head. She was trying her best to stop crying. She wanted to go home so bad and now thinking about having to go to rehab for who knows how long made her chest squeeze even more.
"Can you try? Your lawyer is meeting with the DA and the appointed therapist tomorrow and Dr. Evans really needs to write up your evaluation for your file."
"I'll try." She said nodding.
"Thank you." Tommy said capturing her lips in a soft kiss.
...
So the reviews were better for the last chapter, so keep them coming!!!! Jude is finally ready to face her grief, but does she really believe she has a problem? Is rehab really the answer? Keep letting me know what you think and I will keep the updates coming as fast as I can... Please REVIEW!!!!
