Chapter 47
"Jeff can you hear me?" Jeff heard his brother asked as he struggled to focus on what was going on. Matt's voice was muted and he felt like he was in a haze. "You're in the hospital, but you're okay." Jeff tried to speak but couldn't.
"Just relax. Don't try to talk." Gil warned him. "They had to put a tube down your throat to help you breath." Jeff nodded as Amy came back with the nurse who came over to him. She looked at the monitors and turned to them with a smile.
"Everything looks good. We paged the doctor so he should be here shortly. Just remember, he needs to stay calm." She warned them then turned to Jeff. "Welcome back. You had quite a few people here very worried. You're going to be fine. Do you feel any pain?" Jeff shook his head and the nurse left them alone.
"Man, you scared the crap out of me." Matt said. "Don't ever do anything like that again."
Jeff glanced around the room at all the relieved faces. After looking around the room he realized someone was missing. Jessica, he thought to himself. Why isn't she here? He looked to his brother who seemed to be able to read what he was thinking because he shook his head. Jeff closed his eyes, not sure what was going on.
He struggled to remember what had happened. He remembered the car accident, the abandoned house and then the way she softly kissed him before walking out the door with Shane. Matt shook his head, Jeff thought. Did that mean they hadn't found her yet, or that she didn't make it? He opened his and stared at his brother waiting for him to explain.
"We don't know where she is." Matt finally said. "There hasn't been a trace." Again Jeff closed his eyes and a single tear fell down his face. How could she just disappear?
"But they haven't given up." Gil told him. "We'll find her. Everyone's out there looking for her."
"She'll be okay." Amy added then looked to Stephanie to also reassure him.
"Yea, you wouldn't believe how many people are out there searching." She said. "Hell, Shane hasn't stopped looking for her since the moment he found out." Everyone jumped as Jeff started to flail his arms. Thinking something was wrong Stephanie went back out for help as Gil and Matt tried to restrain him.
"Jeff calm down." His father said but Jeff was still shaking. The doctor came running in and took one look at him before ordering one of the nurses to give him a sedative.
"Is he okay?" Amy asked as one of the other nurses tried to usher them out of the room.
"You'll need to wait outside." She said showing Amy and Stephanie to the door. "Family only."
"His pulse and pressure are rising." The doctor said after they had left. "Probably due to the stress. We're just going to give him something to calm down." Jeff shook his head not wanting to sleep. He needed to let them know it was Shane. As the nurse came in with a needle Jeff grabbed his brother's hand. Matt looked down at him and saw what his brother wanted.
"No." He said loudly getting the doctor's attention. "He doesn't want it. Grateful, Jeff laid back down.
"Are you sure?" The doctor asked him and he nodded then raised his hand to the tube in his mouth.
"Not yet." He was told. "You punctured your left lung. Right now that's helping you breath. I want to run a few tests before it comes out. In the meantime, you need to stay calm. Another incident and I'll have no choice but to sedate you again." Jeff nodded and tried to calm himself down so the doctor would leave them alone. He couldn't believe no one had figured out it was Shane. Now he had to try to tell them with no way of really communicating.
"Someone we'll from radiology will be in shortly to take him for some tests." The doctor told them when he saw Jeff's stats return to normal. "Just try to relax."
When they were alone Jeff tried to figure out how to tell them but nothing was coming to his mind. Exhausted from all the energy he had already exerted he struggled to stay awake. She needs me, he thought. I have to get them to see.
"I'll go anywhere I want." Jeff immediately recognized Vince's voice booming from the hallway. Pushing past the nurse he came into the room.
"It's okay." Gil told her.
"What happened?" Vince asked after she had left.
"He got upset when he found out Jess was still missing." Matt told him. Jeff raised his hand and pointed to Vince. They all looked at him not sure what he was trying to say.
"What is it?" Matt asked but he had no way of saying it.
"Well what was said?" Vince asked.
"We were trying to tell him not to worry that there were a lot of people looking for her and he flipped out." Gil said as Vince moved in closer.
"Jeff? Do you know who did this?" He asked. Jeff nodded and pointed to Vince again.
"You think I did this?" Vince asked outraged and Jeff shook his head then pointed down. The three of them stared at one another confused.
"Wait, I have an idea." Matt said and went to the door. "Amy, go get some paper and a pen. Hurry!" She and Stephanie went off to find them.
"Do you think you could write it?" Matt asked turning to his brother. Jeff nodded his head repeatedly. "Okay just hold on." They all glanced at each other anxiously. This was what they had been waiting for, finally, a clue that could lead them to Jessica. They looked up expectantly as someone came to the door but it was just an orderly.
"Time for your tests, Mr. Hardy." He said and started to prepare Jeff for transport. Jeff started to protest but Gil stood up.
"Just give us a minute please." He told him as the girls came rushing back in.
"This is all we could find." She said handing him a piece of paper and a pencil.
"I really need to take him down." The orderly said releasing the break on his bed.
"Just hold on." Matt said handing the paper to Jeff. His hand shook as he slowly wrote Shane's name on it. He handed it back to Matt as he was wheeled out of the room leaving the five of them to stare down at it in shock.
"It can't be." Stephanie said unwilling to believe that her brother would be able to cause this much pain. "He wouldn't do this. He's been out there looking for her. He wouldn't do this." She repeated glancing to her father, but Vince didn't say anything.
"Did you speak to him today?" Gil asked her.
"I called his cell but it went straight to voice mail." She said.
"Well, did he at anytime say where he was before?" Amy asked.
"Just somewhere in Virginia." Stephanie said shaking her head.
"Alexandria." Vince finally said. "When I spoke to him, he said he spent the night at a hotel there."
"We need to tell the cops." Matt said and Vince nodded numbly.
"My son." Vince said quietly then walked out of the room.
