DESTROYED
Chapter 24
SUMMARY: Collins calls Joanne for help. Someone, not Angel, is gonna be attacked and the reasons why will be shocking! Angel speaks more. Sam and Julian will return for this chapter as well. In this chapter, we learn something about Julia that may have some of you after her blood. It ain't gonna be pretty. Just another twist in this on going saga. You'll either love me or hate me for it afterwards lol. Enjoy! (And don't ask me what must've been going on in my head when I wrote this, because honestly I don't know!)
Note: I have had recent concerns over the Mark/Julia angle, and just so you all know, it has a reason. Trust me, it's gonna be good.
Also, I know that after reading this chapter, some of you are gonna question the validity of it all. Well, I know what I'm doing and it'll all make sense in the end.
One more thing – this is gonna be a longer chapter than the others, for which I apologise. I try holding myself to a strict standard, but this one kinda got away from me lol.
"Julia, wait!" Mark called after her, and she stopped and turned around, looking both embarrassed and pissed off.
"What!" she snapped, pushing some strands of hair out of her eyes.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened—"
"Mark, your friend is lying there in intensive care. I don't think it's the time for you to focus on anything but him!" Julia reasoned and wanted to get as far away from there as possible. Things were happening too fast for her, and with this impending thing with Mark… it wasn't worth the risk. Everything could fall apart and it would be her fault – she's already caused enough trouble as it is, and there was still the fact that she had obligations at home. She had let herself become so involved with this, that she was now in too deep and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be there. And Mark Cohen certainly wasn't making things easy.
"I get it," he replied. "It's just-- where are you going?"
"Home."
"What? Why? Because of what they said?"
"No. You just don't get it, Mark… this isn't my place. My world. I don't belong here."
"You belong here as much as anyone."
"Why are you pushing this?"
"Why the sudden attitude change?" he challenged back. "You wanted so badly to fit in and understand, now you're acting like you don't give a damn. Excuse me for being a little confused!"
The two stared each other down, both knowing that they weren't gonna go anywhere if they hooked up, but the fact that they were involved with what was happening to each other could not be overlooked. Mark wanted answers about who this girl was, just as much as she wanted answers to all the questions she had been asking. Julia shook her head in disappointment and didn't know what to say to that – he was right, she was screwing around, not deciding what she wanted to do. But things were worse than what she thought, things were too deep for her now and it was getting harder to resist the force of being pulled further into the hell her family and friends had warned her about when she asked about New York City. Standing there and seeing Mark waiting for an answer, she realised that there was none she could give – none that would make any sense anyway.
"I can't give you an answer Mark," she softly replied. "I just can't. It's too complicated."
"No shit. You go home now and there's the answer to your question about why things are the way they are here," he told her. "People running away from the problems they help to create. I thought you were here to support Collins."
"I was!" she cried. "I was, but I sit there and see you all together and I know I'll never be apart of that! So why should I bother?"
"If you're Collins' friend, you'll stay."
"Is it because of him that you want me to stay? Or… is it something else? Another reason?"
Mark didn't respond. After that kiss, he was pretty sure that nothing could ever come of it except maybe a friendship, but that didn't mean he wanted her to leave any less. They were from separate worlds, and not all the time did that mean that romance couldn't develop – but in this case, it did. For Julia too, she knew that it would be foolish for them to become involved knowing the chances of it working out were not good… and other reasons, which she didn't care to share with him. Things weren't turning out as well as she hoped, but now everything had turned to hell and she couldn't get away from it. Sooner or later, they'd find out. And the worst thing of all? She had already grown to love Collins and his friends… they were awesome. But she couldn't disregard her obligations and what, in fact, she had to do – no matter how bad things got, she had to stick to what she had to do.
Mark dejectedly walked over to a chair and sat down, looking very tired and like he would fall asleep at any minute. Adrenaline kept him awake though, and he knew he had to get back to being at Angel's side.
"I just think you're too involved now," he finally reasoned. "Collins would want you here."
"Yeah, well… Collins' priorities aren't exactly in the right order now, are they?" Julia retorted with a little more harshness than even she expected, and it caught him off guard. "Angel wants him here, but he left again. That says something…"
"Don't you even dare," Mark cut her off. "Don't start. Don't say it."
"Say what?"
"That Collins is being reckless, because I don't wanna hear it." The sudden surge of protectiveness and the need to defend his friend wasn't a new feeling for Mark, as he would always jump to his friends' defense if the time called for it. But what was most confusing for him though was the sudden change in Julia's personality; her attitude and demeanor… now, she looked like she was hiding something and just wanted to get as far away from them as possible.
"I wasn't gonna say that," Julia insisted. "What I was gonna say was that he needed to stop worrying about his past and start thinking about his future with Angel. I don't think you'll disagree…"
"Very presuming of you."
"What's your problem!"
"What's yours!" Mark got to his feet. It wasn't a good idea to start a fight in the hospital, although neither were much concerned about that for the time being. "What's gotten into you?"
"Forget it, Mark, okay? Just go back with your friends."
"You know I can't do that. They're gonna wanna know where you've gone."
"Tell 'em the truth!"
"I still don't get why you're doing this!" Mark kept himself from exploding. This wasn't gonna be pretty. "Is it because of that kiss?"
"No," Julia reaffirmed. "I think we both know that nothing can happen. And maybe it's for the best too… just trust me on this, Mark. Just let it go – let me go home! It'll be best for everyone!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!" If only he knew… she thought.
"Mark!" another voice broke through the tension and brought them both back to reality. He turned around and saw Emily, the nurse, making a hasty approach with a very worried look on her face. Not bothering to acknowledge Julia's presence, she shoved a piece of paper into his hands. He looked down at it. A phone number. Emily's concern told him that this couldn't be good… great. More added stress they didn't need.
"Emily, what's up?"
"I just got a call. Apparently Collins has been calling here, asking for someone… he finally asked to speak to me, and they put him through on the phone at my desk, and he sounded—"
"Where is he?" Julia stepped forward, trying not to panic. "Is he okay?"
"I don't know. He just kept saying that he needed to speak to someone named Joanne. He said it was urgent. He didn't tell me why, he just—"
"Joanne?" Mark interrupted, confused as to what Collins needed with her. Not that he was surprised, after all Collins and Joanne are good friends, but the something must have happened… "Did he say anything else?"
"No. He just gave me the number. He wants her to call him back, and then he hung up."
Mark looked between her and Julia, and a part of him didn't wanna know what this new development was – whatever it was, Collins was surely able to handle it himself, right? He nodded at Emily, letting her know that he understood and she smiled sympathetically before turning to go back to the nurses' station. Mark and Julia stared at the phone number scribbled on the scrap paper.
"What the hell is that?" she whispered.
"No idea. Come on…" he started towards Angel's room again, but stopped when he noticed Julia wasn't following him.
"Julia? Come on, we gotta—"
"You go, Mark," she sadly urged. "They're your friends. Collins' friends. Not mine. As much as I think you guys' rock, this isn't any place for me." She walked over to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, and then kissed his cheek, smiling warmly – but with an underlying sadness. "Go on. It's cool, you know it makes sense. Collins will understand. Thanks for everything, Mark."
Without waiting for him to reply and keep her from leaving, Julia turned around on her heels and walked away, leaving a very confused and disappointed Mark Cohen staring after her, wondering what just happened. She didn't turn around. Mark watched after her until she turned the corner and was out of sight – he wanted to run after her and try to convince her to stay, but his efforts would be meaningless. Anyway, now, it was too late – she was already gone.
Finally he managed to put one foot in front of the other again and, trembling, he opened Angel's door and looked inside. Joanne and Maureen were still sleeping and Mimi and Roger were staring at Angel, both of them with comical expressions of amusement. Mark stopped just in the doorway.
"Did I miss anything?"
That managed to get them out of their dazed condition and Mimi and Roger, as well as Angel, turned their attention to him. Mark walked in further, this time more cautiously… had something happened? Well, Angel was awake, so it couldn't be bad, or at least as bad as him losing consciousness again…
Mimi looked like she had been crying again and Roger looked like he had been punched in the stomach. Both stared at Mark in much the same way as they just had been with Angel, so the shock was still very evident and present in their systems. To have Angel speaking now, only not even a day after his surgery, was remarkable and totally unexpected.
"Ooookay…" Mark slowly added, and stood at the end of the bed. "Apparently I missed a lot. What's going on?" he shifted his focus from them to Angel who smiled up with him with a kind of serene, euphoric expression – peaceful, yet a still somewhat mysterious and even mischievous glint in his eyes told Mark that something big, indeed, had just gone down. "Roger? Mims? What's happened?"
They didn't respond to him but just looked at him. Angel was apparently amused by all of this, despite his still sleepy demeanor. Perplexed and wondering if they were about to pull some joke on him regarding what just happened with Julia, understandable Mark approached this with caution and even suspicion.
"Someone say something!"
Angel's smile grew even wider. He opened his mouth. "Markie and Julia sitting in a tree…" he softly teased. Mark's jaw dropped. Angel always loved to shock and make some sort of impact, and no doubt he was now… "Who couldn't see that coming?"
The same feeling of shock that had almost paralyzed Mimi and Roger only moments earlier had now done the same thing to Mark. Angel spoke? Mark walked forward, taking only baby steps and having a hard time believing it.
"Angel?"
Angel's smile diminished only a little and he became more serious. "Hey honey," his whispered. There was only so much he would let himself say, as the pressure on his throat when he spoke was intense. Angel visually inspected the state his friend was in. "Mark, you look like shit!"
"Yeah, thanks for pointing it out." Mark smiled and moved next to Angel, getting over the initial shock, while Roger and Mimi stifled their amusement. "Can't believe you're talking!"
"And I can't believe you kissed Julia!" Angel shot back, still teasing. "I knew you had it in you, Markie."
"Had what?"
"The balls the make the first move on her. Nice work." The strain on Angel's vocal cords was very noticeable, but he didn't seem to care that much or at least, he was hiding the discomfort very well.
That remark earned a few chuckles from his friends, and Angel's love for them only strengthened further – was he mad that Collins wasn't there? Absolutely. He didn't get a chance to fully understand why he had to go in the first place, and until he did, there was much resentment he felt to his lover. Angel looked to the corner and saw both Maureen and Joanne snoozing away; Joanne holding Maureen in a lover's embrace, and immediately Angel felt a rush of jealously. He really missed how Collins used to hold him like that… it made the situation worse, knowing that there was still the chance that it may never happen. There were still a lot of issues he and the professor needed to work out.
"Makes a change from them not fighting," he commented and turned back to the others. "Where is he?"
Mimi held his hand and rubbed the back of it. "He's um… he's still not back yet, sweetie. I'm sorry."
In his heart, Angel knew he hadn't returned and it would probably be awhile before he did, but still – he became even more disappointed and it wasn't hard for his friends to see.
"Angel, he had to do it," Roger added. "Some shit he had to take care of… he didn't have a choice."
"I bet he didn't," Angel whispered, bitterly. "He did it to me again…" it was clear that Collins not being here in conjunction with the memories of what happened with Julian were starting to take it's toll on Angel, as even he couldn't withstand the torment that those memories and thoughts inflicted. For all he knew, Sam and Julian were still loose on the streets and Collins wasn't here to make sure he was okay… although it was great having his friends with him, it just wasn't the same. Collins promised to protect him. And now he wasn't here. "Sam and Julian are still out there and he doesn't care…"
"That's not true!" Mark told him. "He does care… that's why he had to go do this. And as for Julian and Sam… I wouldn't worry about those assholes anymore."
"What?"
"Mark caught Julian on tape. Total confession and everything!" Mimi explained, excitedly. Angel was horrified. What? Was Mark crazy!
"Huh?"
"He called Alexi Darling and the footage got aired on Buzzline. Sam and Julian are running now!" Mimi was grinning now, though Roger and Mark remained solemn and subdued. Angel turned to Mark.
"Is it—?"
"Yeah, it's true Ang," Mark confirmed, nodding. "Apparently they've disappeared now – the cops are out hunting for them as we speak. Man, are they pissed as all hell, those cops… totally humiliated the PD. That's what they get for not getting off their fat asses to find them before…"
Angel understandably didn't know what to make of this – part of him should be so happy that those fuckers are gonna rot for what they did, and be grateful that Mark would risk his life and go to such drastic measures to make sure they got punished. But on the other hand, what Mark did was incredibly stupid, not to mention reckless… Sam and Julian had 'friends' they could count on to solve the problem…
"Do… do they know it was you?"
"Oh hell yeah," Roger said. "They found us at the Life Café just after Mark gave Alexi the tape. They know."
Angel's confusion didn't lessen. "How'd they know you were there?"
Roger and Mark both hesitated. Good question. How did they know where to find them? Sam had said that they expected both he and Roger would be at the hospital, and so how did they find out where they were, with the obvious purpose to confront them? Such questions were not thought of to be answered by either of the men, and it produced an uncomfortable silence. Angel indicated to Mimi that he needed water and she gave it to him, holding the cup and straw to his mouth. Drinking and relaxing at the soothing, cool liquid running down his sore, painful throat, Angel closed his eyes. After he finished drinking, he opened them again – this time they saw tears forming. The memories were just too painful.
"I want it over," he cried softly. "I just wanna…" he trailed off. Mimi was also on the verge of tears.
"Wanna do what, babe?" she encouraged him to continue.
Angel wasn't sure if he should say… it would only hurt them all as much as it was hurting him. He didn't wanna feel like this, but it was so hard not to. It was seeming more like he was being punished for being in love with Collins, and also it seemed like an even worse punishment on Collins, who had to witness all this and not be able to do anything about it. The pain was unbearable.
"I wanna die," he whispered so softly that they all had to strain to hear him. His heart was wrenching in his bandaged-covered chest, and with each rise and fall of it from each breath he took in, the broken ribs were also forced to expand and contract – so it really did feel like his heart was killing him. Mimi gasped and clasped her hand over her mouth, trying to stop herself from sobbing, and Roger rushed around the side of the bed to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist. Feeling guilty that he couldn't do anything to ease Angel's pain, Mark's gaze fell to the floor. Sam was gonna rot for this… him and his junkie friend… Angel had officially lost his will to live, and that in itself was a tragedy, given that he used to spread more love and hope more than anyone. He was a true angel, who now had fallen.
WITH JULIA
This sucks. Why did they have to be so fucking charming and great people? It just made everything that much more difficult for Julia to deal with, along with all the shit going on in her life now. Though, if they found out the truth about her, I'm sure they wouldn't be as nearly as accepting of her… but that wasn't what she was thinking about right now. Julia wanted to escape the torments of this city. Mark had been right… it sucks you in to the point where it really isn't any sort of life to want, or have. She must have been kidding herself to believe that this was something she wanted to experience for herself. Suddenly home – her friends and family – didn't seem as unappealing.
She hurried down the street, still feeling scared as she was not at all familiar with the city, but she had to get back to her car which was parked near the loft. Probably not the smartest idea either, but then again what did she know? Each second that passed meant it was getting closer to nightfall, which terrified her. Julia did not want to be left alone on the streets of New York at night time.
She quickened her pace and kept alert for any sudden movements, watching the people she came across… she had fucked up big time and was expecting to be punished for it any second. What she didn't know was that she would, in fact, be punished for what she did. Under the circumstances that she even knew Collins, and how she came to know his friends, it would definitely be considered a small world if you knew all the facts, but we can get more into detail about that soon, in due time. Spending time with Mark and all of them, Julia realised just what was so special to Collins that would make him so desperate to get back to the city, and to rekindle his relationship with Angel. They were special people; special characters that made life so interesting. And now she hated herself for what she did.
Julia crossed the street, not paying special attention to anyone, but remaining aware of those around her. It was fear of reprisal she was scared most of, and was starting to wonder if it was, in fact, a smart idea to leave the safety of the hospital. Of course though, the hospital proved not to be as safe as she would've expected, considering Julian did actually manage to get through and attack Angel.
Not far behind though, a person started walking to catch up to her… things would end here and now. Samuel glared at the back of her head, knowing exactly what he was gonna do to this bitch. She was gonna pay.
Stupidly, Julia decided to take a short cut through a back street not too far from the loft. If she remained alert enough and moved quickly, what harm could come from it? Well, she'd soon find out. However, her naivety meant a failing of reason to deduce that she was in the middle of Sam's territory…
Her heart started thumping against her ribs and something in the back of her mind was telling her that something wasn't right. She stopped and turned around quickly, but saw nothing – no one – behind her. Reluctantly, she continued walking and pondered the stupidity of this decision to take a short cut, but it was too late now. Stepping over an old bicycle wheel, Julia wrapped her arms around herself, though it wasn't actually that cold.
Behind her, Sam stepped out from behind the shadows and continued following her silently… she fucked him over and now, since he was wanted by the cops for rape and attempted murder, committing a murder for real didn't seem as bad anymore. His life was already over, and he was gonna take Julia Sampson with him… not for any purpose but that she could testify against him and Julian, and that wasn't a risk – a liability – he was willing to let slip through his fingers.
It was then that Julia knew she definitely heard something behind her, and turned around so fast that she almost took him off-guard. She screamed when she saw who was standing there. The evil look in Samuel Michaels' eyes was terrifying… dangerous… deadly.
"Sam…" she stammered, backing up. He moved forward, ready to advance on her. This time, instead of a knife he had a gun in his pocket. "Sam, I can explain…"
"I bet you can," he cut her off. Then, as fast as lightning, he launched himself at her, and Julia screamed and tried to run, but she wasn't fast enough. From behind, Sam grabbed her by the shoulders and violently slammed her against the wall and turned her around so he could see the fear in her eyes – which he could definitely see. He covered her mouth with his hand and pressed the gun against her head while using his body weight to keep her still.
"You little fucking BITCH!" he screamed. "You betrayed me! You fucking whore!" he then let up off her a bit and slapped her, hard, sending her to the ground, sobbing. It was an eerily similar situation to what happened with Angel just over a week ago.
"Sam, it's not like that—" Julia tried to defend herself, but he grabbed her by the throat and dragged her to her feet. His superior strength allowed him to easy manage her and pressed her against the cold brick outer wall. Once again, the gun was pressed to her right temple.
"I tried!" she spluttered, gasping for air. Sam squeezed her neck a bit more.
"You betrayed me and Julian! You and Mark Cohen? You were there when he got that footage—"
"How'd you—"
"SHUT UP! You were there… and you didn't stop him. You let him take the tape to that Alexi Darling… you didn't tell me!"
Julia struggled against him. "I wasn't gonna help you kill Angel! I'm no killer!"
SLAP
Another hard blow to the other side of her face caused her to fall down again, and this time blood started trickling from a cut that opened up on her left cheek. Sam's psychotic side was showing its true nature. He then reached down and grabbed her arm, pulling up her sleeve to expose the underside of her right arm, revealing multiple injection marks (recent ones, too!) all up and down the middle of her arm. Just as he'd expected. She didn't hold up her end of the deal.
Okay, so you all may be confused as to what's happening here, so let me explain. Julia had been getting some fresh air outside the hospital after her initial meeting with Angel, when Julian approached her and they became friendly… and he made her an offer she couldn't refuse. Now, her arrangement with Sam seems to have been completely thrown out. It had been Julia who had given him and Julian the information as to where Angel was staying in the hospital, any patrolling nurses, and Angel's overall condition. It had been her who told them when Angel was alone and when the others were present. It had been her who informed them of everything they needed to know, including that it was really her idea of the plan of Sam luring Collins out of Angel's room so Julian could go in and do his thing. Also, she had told them about Roger and Mark going to meet Alexi at the café, but that's as far as she would let herself go, trying to keep in tact at least one ounce of humanity in her bones. Bet y'all didn't see that coming.
Now, I know you must be shocked, and in your head you must be screaming 'WHY THE FUCK WOULD SHE DO THAT!' Well, the explanation isn't all that simple. A small world it is indeed. A little known and well-hidden secret of Julia's… a nasty, dark one that not even Collins would've suspected. She's an addict, and good at hiding the symptoms, and is the reason she's hated her time at home. So you can pretty much guess what kind of arrangement they made when Julian noticed track marks on her arms, and made a nice offer. He and Sam had observed her with Collins earlier that day when he first met her… so they decided that she was the best way to get to him. And they were right. Not to mention that she hadn't had a fix in days, so it wasn't hard to make the deal. Even though it went against every natural instinct in her body, and as much as Julia hated herself for doing it, she just couldn't resist the offer of a few bags of free 'goodies'. All those times when she mentioned how miserable she was at home should've been a good indicator to it all, but she hid it well. Most junkies, especially those from rich backgrounds, new how to hide it well. Basically the deal was – she helped them by getting information, and they'd give her free drugs. What addict would pass that up?
In Sam's mind, their arrangement had been that Julia would make sure that Angel wouldn't say a thing; that they wouldn't become a target of the investigation. And as far as he was concerned, she failed. She didn't do this because she hated Collins, far from it – she really liked him and Angel. But her friendship with him couldn't triumph over her 'needs'.
The thing with Julia is that she learned to hide her addictions so long that it was like second nature for her… and the results were devastating for Collins and Angel.
Basically, it was Julia Sampson who set up Angel to get attacked for the second time. Her relationship with Collins, and the fact that she got close to Mark, made it easy for her to get the information.
Sam towered over her. "You're already halfway to being labeled a murderer, honey. I swear, if Julian and I get done for this, you're coming too. And your addictions, your role in all of this is gonna come to the surface… and I doubt mommy and daddy will shell out money for lawyers for their junked up daughter."
Julia whimpered on the ground and stared up at him – the dominance; the superiority… the danger…
"I couldn't do it!" she tried to explain. "I couldn't do it! Angel doesn't deserve to die—"
"Angel deserves to die and you deserve to rot with him!" Sam replied. "You sold out your friends for some bags of coke and heroine… don't tell me you're an innocent victim here. Says a lot about who you really are, doesn't it? Of course, I doubt Collins would be very understanding…"
"He wouldn't listen to you anyway!"
"Oh he will – it's only a matter of time before he's forced to connect the dots on who gave us the information on where to find Angel. Given complete access to his lover… who gave us all the information we need!" Sam wasn't smug. He wasn't seeking sweet revenge. This was real anger. And as we all know, it's not a good idea for someone to piss off a dealer of his magnitude… and even worse, no junkie ever wanted to get on the bad side of the person who was supplying them.
Sam roughly grabbed the back of her neck and pulled her into a seated position where she was sitting on her knees. Covered with blood and dirt, Julia couldn't even cry out for help – the sounds of her cries muffled by his rough hand covering her mouth. Well, she couldn't convince herself that she didn't deserve to die, but this way? When everyone found out what she'd done, she'd be lucky if they didn't hunt her blood themselves… especially Collins. She had forsaken their relationship, and Angel's life, for the few bags of coke.
"You betrayed us. And now you got the consequences, honey!" Sam hissed in her ear. He took his hand away from her mouth.
"Sam!" she cried, basically pleading for mercy. "Come on! I told you I didn't want any part in you hurting Angel! But what Julian totally went over the line! You told me he was just gonna go scare him!"
"Learn to walk the streets of this city before you decide to play ball," Sam advised her. "Julian did exactly what you knew he'd do. You just didn't care. All you wanted was your drugs. No wonder you hated your life in Massachusetts. Tell me, who found out about your crack habit first, your mom or dad?"
What had prevented Julia from stopping Mark getting the footage in the first place? Well, if she had it would've been suspicious to Mark in the first place – a very perceptive guy he is. In the second place, what difference would it have made other than probably Mark getting killed? No… she fucked up any chance with him the moment she made a deal with Julian.
Hiding her addiction could only last song long, and now the consequences, as Sam put it, had to be paid. Despite having been a brilliant student, slowly she had been sliding down further into her own torments, only held afloat by her relationship with Collins, as he breathed new life into her. Now, after everything, she was surely to drown… only God knows what he'd do when he finds out.
Sam now held the gun to the back of her head and leaned down so his head was next to hers, and she could feel his breath on her neck. But before he could say or do anything…
"Sammy!"
Julian finally found his friend, holding a gun to Julia's head… well; he wished it was him in that position, because he wanted to be the one that gave the bitch what she deserved. They didn't have time for that, though. Sam scowled and reluctantly let her go, but pressed his foot to her back and kicked her to the ground. Julia gripped at the grasses and started coughing from having the wind knocked out of her. Sam stood up straight and turned around.
"What!" he growled. "You told me to take care of her!"
"Change of plans," Julian replied firmly. "Donovan and Jeff just got themselves collared."
"What!"
"Yeah. They were on their way back in from a deal, and they got snagged by a couple of D's… Undercovers, I think."
"Those motherfucking incompetent, useless—"
"I know!" Julian said, calmly. "But we gotta bail. Everyone's scattered – Randy pulled his business, we're done here, man… set up shop somewhere else, but we can't stay any longer!"
To Sam, this was never really about business, despite what he told them. Leaving now would mean that firstly, they'd be declared as fugitives; secondly, they would have no where to go; and thirdly, his business with Angel and Collins would remain unfinished. He sighed and restlessly shifted his weight.
"What about her?" he gestured to Julia who was still struggling to get up. "You said—"
"We can't kill her. Let her go."
"WHAT! Julian, what the fuck have you been smoking!"
"She turns up dead, and they'll know who did it. It's not like we need to add murder to the list their willing to take us down for."
"What if she talks?"
"She won't."
"If she's dead, she can't talk!"
"Sam, she stays alive! Now let's go!" Julian wasn't as impulsive as his paranoid and psychotic friend, so it was easier for him to take the lead in situations like this, and Sam would usually follow. Sam looked back at her, and then Julian, unsure of whether to follow his instincts and waste her, or act on the side of caution and follow Julian's lead. He opted for the latter, and reluctantly placed the gun back in his pocket.
"Don't think we can't find you," he issued a dark warning to her before leaving her there, crying and in pain.
BACK AT THE HOSPITAL – 30 MINUTES LATER
Having no clue as to what just went down with Julia, Mark and the others stayed at Angel's bedside, determined not to leave until at least Collins got his ass back here, which was taking him quite a while. It was now dark, and nothing was indicating that he was coming back, or that there was anything wrong. Maureen had woken up first, followed by Joanne fifteen minutes later, and of course, both went nuts when they heard Angel was talking again – Maureen, being the drama queen that she is was absolutely crazy and offered to go get champagne and crackers, but eventually her excitement was contained, and the six of them were now together, just relaxing and being with Angel. It was when he put his hand in his pocket, and felt a scrunched up piece of paper, that suddenly Mark remembered something.
"Fuck!" he jumped to his feet and turned to Joanne.
"You okay, Mark?" Roger asked.
Ignoring Roger, Mark grabbed Joanne's arm, much to her annoyed protests, and dragged her out into the main hallway, closing the door behind them.
"OWW!" Joanne yanked her arm away and rubbed it. "What's the big deal?"
"I forgot something," Mark told her. He removed the paper from his pocket and forced it into her hand.
"What's this?" she asked, looking at it.
"A phone number."
"I can see that, idiot. For what?"
"I have no idea…"
"Mark!"
"Honestly, I don't!" he insisted. "I was out here with Julia; the nurse came up to me and said that Collins left a message for you to call him back. She that he sounded like he was in some sort of trouble…"
"And you forgot to tell me this?"
"I know, I know! You don't gotta say it!"
"Oh really?"
"Well I was kinda distracted when Angel started talking."
Joanne sighed and shook her head, staring at the number. "Knowing Collins… he's probably got his ass thrown in jail or something. Where's the nearest phone?"
"Around the corner there," Mark gestured to the corner just over Joanne's shoulder. "Let us know?"
"Of course…"
The two then parted ways, and Mark returned to the room.
"What was all that about?" Maureen asked, thinking that they were fighting again… over her.
"Not about you," Mark replied. Maureen shot him a dirty look before turning away. He sighed and looked at Angel, who was still awake and like the others, watching what Mark was doing.
"I dunno if I should say this here…"
"Mark, honey," Angel's now raspy yet soft voice spoke up with obvious strain. "Just say it. Is it about Collins?" there was hope Mark could hear. He nodded.
"Yeah, um… I forgot to give Joanne a phone number… apparently Collins' got himself in trouble. Legal trouble, probably…" knowing that Collins would do almost anything short of putting people in immediate danger, to prove a point. Angel seemed to not care, maybe still angry with the fact that he felt Collins deserted him for a third time, no matter what anyone else tried to tell him. It wasn't like the first time, when Angel still felt he had strength in him… now he just wanted to give up on it. The dead look in his eyes was all they could see now, and no longer was he so easy to talk to or understand… just sadness and the loss of faith. They could see how much Collins needed to be back here if there was any chance of getting the old Angel back, and that chance was slipping away fast with each moment that came to pass.
"What!" Roger got to his feet. "And you had no plan on telling us?"
"Well I came in the room to find Angel talking again, just after I found out. It slipped my mind, I'm sorry!" Markdefended himself.
"Is he okay?" Mimi spoke up. Mark shrugged.
"I don't know. Joanne's calling the number now; I assume he's okay… who knows what he said at that convention."
"What convention?" Angel asked as Maureen applied a damp cloth to his forehead.
"No idea."
"Mark…"
"I'm just telling you what I know!" he said and sat down. "Look, Joanne said she'd tell us, so we just gotta wait, I guess."
15 MINUTES LATER – 9:00PM
Joanne walked into the room and almost immediately everyone sat up to give her their attention, and Angel in particular was curious to hear what she had to say. Without saying a word, Joanne walked over to the empty bed which her bag and her jacket were laying on, intent on leaving.
"Well?" Maureen prompted her. "Baby, what happened? Where's Collins? Is he okay?"
"Oh, you could say that," Joanne chuckled, biting her lip with contempt. "He's in jail."
No surprise there.
"Why?" Roger queried, removing his leather jacket.
"Officially, I can't tell ya. I'm his lawyer now," Joanne said, slipping her jacket on. "I gotta go to Mass. All I can say is that," a smile broke out across her face. "He's made us proud. That was some good shit he pulled at that convention."
"Wait, Pookie!" Maureen also got up. "I'll come with you—"
"Honeybear, you can't!" Joanne scolded. Roger rolled his eyes… pet names? "I'm going there as Collins' attorney; I'm gonna bail him out… We'll be back by tomorrow, okay?" she kissed Maureen and headed for the door.
"It'll be alright, guys. He's fine. A little pissed off, but he's fine. Rambling on about some shit of burning down their values or whatever; he was too pissed off to make any sense over the phone. But I'll let you know."
She left, leaving everyone else to wonder what exactly had gone down. Another tear slid down Angel's face. Forget anger. Forget regret. He just wanted his Collins back.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: I know, I know… I'm sorry, I just had to throw a twist in there to keep you all off balance. I felt the story was getting a little too predictable. This twist is something that I've been cooking up for about a month now, but had decided not to run with it, but then I changed my mind. This is how it went down – after meeting Angel for the first time (back at chapter 15 or so), Julia met up with Julian, whom she didn't know, and they arranged a deal. She set up Angel to get attacked in the hospital.
And the revealing part about it is that she is a junkie. It's my attempt to demonstrate just how well addicts can hide their addictions, I'm bringing some of my own experiences into this as I once almost became an addict last year, and no one suspected a damn thing.
But overall I thought it'd be a good twist. If you're finding it hard to understand or there's something troubling you, feel free to email me to talk about it or the story in general. In the next chapter, Collins returns to the city and learns of everything that's gone down. Julia confesses everything. Sam and Julian get caught. Also, a very sweet, tender Angel & Collins moment.
Please review, and I always accept constructive criticism. This chapter was just an experiment on my part to see how it'd fit in. I might change it in the future, I'm not sure. Also, I'll be going over it again to check for plot holes so don't worry if you find any. I assure you'll they'll be fixed.