Catch Me When I Fall (Chapter thirteen)
Lydia and Jimmy James sat down at a table in their daughter's hospital room, waiting for Dan Scott to show up to collect the ledger book that they had fixed for him. A few minutes passed, and the door opened. Dan walked in looking calm and collected. He looked at them and then looked at Haley. "Why are we doing this here?" he asked.
"We don't want to leave her alone right now. Some disturbing test results came back and she doesn't know about them yet," Lydia lied, hoping Dan believed her.
"Can she hear us?" he asked. Lydia shook her head.
"She was given a sedative to help her sleep. She's been out like a light for almost two hours," Jimmy said. Dan nodded and walked in closer.
"So do you have it?" he asked. They both nodded.
"There is something we should tell you about it, though," Jimmy said.
"What? Don't tell me you weren't able to make one amount smaller than the other. You are supposed to be the best of the best. That ledger better be done properly," Dan said making a move to take it from Lydia, who released her grip on it as soon as Dan's hand touched it.
"No, that's not what we were going to tell you. We just hope that nearly killing our daughter was worth it just to get your hands on it," Jimmy said.
"You know damn well that I was after you, not her. The shooter shot the wrong person but its your fault that the shooter was there in the first place. If you had done what you were supposed to do from the beginning, I never would've had to put a hit out on you," Dan said. All of a sudden, something fell out of Haley's bed. Dan looked at the floor and noticed that it was a tape recorder.
"Whoops," Haley said quietly as she painfully bent down to grab the tape recorder before Dan could. She succeeded but not before Dan got his hand around her throat. Haley gasped for breath, but still held onto the tape recorder. She put it behind her so she was lying on it.
"Let go of her right now, Scott!" Jimmy exclaimed.
"Not until she gives me that tape recorder. Now, young lady," he said. Haley was wheezing now, but still had enough strength to stop him from reaching behind her to grab it. All of a sudden, the door opened and Nathan walked in.
"Dad, let go of her!" Nathan exclaimed, running over but Dan was strong enough to keep his hands from interfering.
"If you girlfriend is smart, she'll give me the tape recorder," Dan said.
"Haley, give it to him," Nathan said in defeat. Haley blinked her eyes a few times signalling that she wasn't going to. "Please!"
"Haley, do it," her father said.
"Please. Putting him away will mean nothing to me if you die," Nathan said. He looked down at her from beside his father and pleaded with his eyes. Haley reached behind her and grabbed the tape recorder and held it out where Dan could grab it. Dan released her and Haley started coughing. Nathan was by her side in an instant. "Don't even try to talk yet," he told her as she continued to cough.
"That will teach you to try and outsmart me, young lady," Dan said, before walking out of the room with the ledger. A few minutes passed and Haley was fine.
"Tell them to grab him outside," Haley said.
"Honey, we can't. That tape was the only thing backing up our story. Without it, it's our word against his and he's a mayor," her mother said. Haley reached down behind her and when she opened her hand, she revealed a small plastic audio tape.
"I took it out before. That's why it dropped," Haley said. Nathan smiled and kissed her hair.
"I love you but don't ever scare me like that again," he said. Haley chuckled and kissed him back but on the mouth.
The End