"You're awful quiet, Jude." Tommy said in a low tone as I climbed into his Viper. I didn't know what to say to him. I just kept envisioning the blood pouring out of Ethan's arms and the hurt in his eyes when the police carted him away. My heart hurt.
"I'm fine." I whispered as he reached out and took my hand in his. The touch was soothing despite the fact that I felt angry at him for leaving.
"Are you here to stay?" I asked him quietly as he perused me from where he sat.
"I'm here to stay." He confirmed as I stared out my window even harder—lost in my own thoughts. The day suddenly felt chilly to me. Tom reached over into his back seat as he stopped at a STOP sign to grab his leather jacket before handing it to me. I pulled it around me quickly—inclining my head to let him know I appreciated it. He just shrugged.
"How did you get yourself into that mess?" Tommy asked as I just stared at my clenched hands suddenly. I didn't know if I wanted to answer that question, and I didn't like that he seemed upset about it all.
"Because I let my emotions out rule my brain. I let the fact that you left make me act stupid—like a darn child. It was a mistake. We all make them, Tom. It just seems those mistakes become larger as you become more famous. I was stupid. Enough said." I answered vaguely as he turned down a street heading toward the studio. I didn't want to be here right now. The events of the past two days had drained me.
"I'm sorry you had to come back to something like that." I stated simply as he glanced at me from the corner of his eye.
"We all have our problems, Jude. You would have gotten yourself out of it, I think. You looked like you had things pretty well in control when I got there." He replied evenly as I just shrugged. I don't know. Maybe I had. A building caught my eye, and I grabbed his arms suddenly.
"Stop!" I yelled as Tommy hit the brakes suddenly throwing me a look that said 'this had better be good.' Then he looked over to see what I was staring at and he grew quiet. We were sitting in front of the hospital.
"Just stop." I whispered this time as he nodded thoughtfully—not even considering questioning me as he pulled into the visitor parking lot. My curiosity was just getting the better of me. I couldn't help it. Climbing out of the Viper, I started walking—not even glancing behind me to see if Tommy was following until I entered a large main area with a pristine collection of plants and a fancy wooden desk. I made my way over to the desk.
"I'm looking for a little girl named Rebecca. I think she might be a cancer patient here." I asked the lady behind it uncertainly as she peered up at me from underneath a pair of horn-rimmed glasses.
"She'd be in the Pediatric Ward if she were. That's the third floor. You can try there." She answered in a bored tone as I thanked her and headed toward the elevator. Tommy grabbed me by the arm as he followed me into the space.
"How do you think this is going to help anything, Jude?" He asked me quietly as I just looked down at where his arm held me. He instantly let go.
"I need to do this." I stated frankly as he shook his head as the doors closed in front of us.
