Disclaimer: All still apply.
SOMETHING TO PROVE
(PART TEN)
Jesse lay on his bed, long since having given up any attempt to sleep. His fears chased themselves round and round his head, not giving him a moment's respite and certainly not allowing him to rest.
They didn't believe him. The people that he cared about and trusted more than anything in the world, didn't believe him. It was the only explanation that his tortured mind could come up with. Why else would Mark have been avoiding him? Why else had Amanda been unable to meet his eyes?
He lay for hours, staring at nothing and trying to figure out what the Hell he was going to do. He'd heard Amanda's incessant knocking and, later, the persistent ringing of the telephone, but he ignored them. He couldn't face any more bad news.
Jesse had managed to convince himself that the next time he spoke to his colleagues, it would be to learn of his dismissal. Not knowing what was going on at the hospital, even as he lay there, he could see no hope in his situation.
He tried to imagine the words that Mark would use, the look on his face, as he fired him. Would he see regret, or pity? Or would it just be disdain? After all, if his mentor really did believe Melissa's word over his, then surely he would be glad to see the back of him.
Unable to stand the thought that his friendship with Mark, along with his career, had been destroyed, Jesse sat up. He didn't think he could ever face the older doctor again and certainly not just to have it confirmed that his life was effectively over.
Coming to a sudden decision, Jesse quickly dressed, then pulled an overnight bag out of his wardrobe. He didn't want to have to endure the pitying looks from his colleagues after his dismissal became common knowledge, didn't want to see the disappointment in Mark's eyes when he sacked him.
Well, he thought, as he stuffed a few essentials into the overnight bag, at least I can spare us both the embarrassment of that.
He had tears in his eyes, as he continued to pack. I'll just quit, save him the trouble of having to fire me.
But Jesse also knew that he couldn't do that in person. He didn't want to see any of his friends ever again. Nor could he go without at least trying to explain why.
After a few minutes frantic searching, Jesse eventually found a notepad and pen. Sitting down at the kitchen table, he began to write.
*****
Steve didn't quite understand his dad's urgent insistency that he go to Jesse's straight away. Even though Mark had explained both his and Amanda's worries, he simply could not share them.
He had tried to argue that Jesse might simply have gone out. After all, he had been confined to that apartment for two whole days. He must have been climbing the walls with boredom.
But Mark had refused to be swayed. So Steve eventually capitulated to his dad's almost pleading request and headed off towards Jesse's.
When he arrived at the apartment, the first thing he saw was the young doctor himself and, as he felt relief flood through him, Steve realised that in spite of his protestations, he had been just as concerned as anyone.
Jesse was just getting into his convertible when Steve pulled up and his appearance brought a frown to the detective's face. The doctor seemed a little unsteady on his feet and his face was unnaturally pale. Steve felt a stab of fear. Surely his young friend wasn't about to get behind the wheel drunk again?
Steve got out of his car, knowing that he had to stop Jesse before he did something both dangerous and stupid. Even through his worry, he found himself smiling. He had the news that would make everything all right again.
"Jesse, my dad wants to..." His words trailed off and his smile faded, as Jesse completely ignored him.
Without saying a word, the doctor slid into his car and gunned the engine into life. An instant later he was accelerating away from him.
Steve stared after the retreating car in absolute disbelief. If his friend was drunk, then he was in serious trouble. Not only would Steve be unable to bail him out again, but he was also driving way too fast...
He wanted, needed, to go after the young doctor, to try and stop him before it was too late, but his feet seemed firmly cemented to the ground. As the car grew smaller in his vision, he noticed that the lights at the next intersection were turning to red.
That might have given Steve the chance to catch up with him, but he still couldn't move. He could only continue to watch in horror as Jesse's car showed no sign of slowing down. There was no tell-tale flare of the tail-lights, no sudden screech of brakes. The Mustang sped straight through the red light and into the path of intersecting traffic.
*****
Mark was in a genuinely upbeat mood for the first time in what felt like forever. His meeting with the hospital Board had gone better than he had even dared hope. Jesse was as good as in the clear.
Even though his evidence at the time was only word of mouth, he had managed to produce an argument that had left serious doubts in each and every one of the Board Members' minds.
During the course of the meeting, it was revealed that Eric Flynn was demanding compensation somewhere in the region of fifty thousand dollars and, needless to say, the Board had been only too delighted to find a way to get out of making that kind of settlement.
In fact, they had been ready to simply call Flynn's lawyer and tell him exactly what he could do with his compensation claim.
But Mark had managed to talk them out of that. He wanted Mick Donovan to have the chance to confront them. He wanted to see their faces when they realised that their 'get-rich-quick' scheme had failed. And he wanted to find out the truth behind Melissa's bruises.
More than anything else, he wanted Steve to call and tell him that he'd found Jesse and that his young colleague was alright.
*****
Jesse had instantly recognised Steve's car and, at the sight of it, thought that he was about to faint. He didn't need this confrontation. He had just wanted to slip away, as unobtrusively as possible.
The letter that he'd written to Mark was in his jacket pocket and he intended to mail it as soon as he got to... Well, wherever he ended up.
He had no particular destination in mind, just the overwhelming urge to get away and try to find some way to close the door on what had once been the best chapter of his life.
Steve smiled at him but Jesse, still not in the most rational frame of mind, believed that he saw sympathy in that smile.
"Jesse, my dad wants to..." Steve had begun.
Jesse didn't wait to hear any more. My dad wants to see you. He silently filled in the words that he hadn't allowed his friend to speak. He's gonna fire you. Or, even worse: He told me to tell you not to bother going back to work. Ever.
He slammed his car door shut, cutting off anything else that the detective might have said. With shaking hands, he started the engine. Then he floored the accelerator, knowing that, in all likelihood, Steve would come after him. He needed a good head start. He needed to get away.
As he drove, Jesse found his eyes drawn to the rear-view mirror. He could clearly see Steve, standing in the road and staring after him in utter shock. Without even realising he was doing it, he speeded up even more and turned his eyes back to the road.
His distraction had only lasted for a few, short seconds. But that was enough. As Jesse tore his attention away from his friend, he heard the blaring of a horn, then caught a glimpse of the shining silver grill of a truck that was almost right on top of him.
A part of his mind briefly remembered the red light that he had noticed only at the periphery of his vision. The red light that he had just driven straight through.
Then the truck slammed into the side of his car and he was aware of nothing else.
TO BE CONTINUED...