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Chapter 29

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The morning could not arrive quick enough for James. He mentally paced, rubbing Mindy's back vigorously. She was enjoying the attention she was receiving.

Finally, he heard the door open and someone approaching his bed. "Good morning, Mr. Hathaway," Dr. Moore greeted his patient. "Are you ready for me to remove those annoying bandages?"

"Yes Sir," James crossed his fingers.

"Good," Dr. Moore slowly unwrapped the bandages. With only one layer of gauze still to remove, he informed James to keep his eyes closed until he was told to open them. The ophthalmologist dimmed the room lights and slowly removed the last layer. He poured some warm liquid across James' eyes and dried them. "Okay James, slowly open your eyes."

James slowly opened his eyes, the room was dark. He could not see anything, but dark shadows. His heart raced with fear, his breathing deepened with panic. He could only see a blurry light Dr. Moore was waving before his eyes.

"How's that?" The doctor asked.

"Just fuzziness," fear and anger boiled inside him. The doctor flushed his eye some more, but only causing James to loose hope of ever gaining his eyesight back.

Disappointed Dr. Moore dropped his head down and sighed. "These things take time," trying to sound cheerful.

"Please, do not give me that," James snapped. "And do not cover my eyes again." Tears were streaming freely down his face. He blinked several times trying to clear his eyes, but the room before him stayed blurry.

"I'll check back in a couple days, Mr. Hathaway," Dr. Moore moved toward the door. "James, this is not the end. Your eyesight can return today, tomorrow, next week. Don't give up."

James bit his lower lip and cursed. He heard the doctor leave, but he could hear someone enter the room. "Mr. Hathaway," Nurse Peters had entered.

"I don't want to," James did not want to listen to anyone telling him how sorry they were. He wanted to be left alone.

"We need to get you up and moving around," she interrupted him. "Feeling sorry for yourself won't do any good. Mindy, off the bed." Mindy quickly licked James and jumped off the bed into a chair. Faye moved to the head of the bed to unhook the oxygen.

"You won't be needing this thing anymore," she slowly raised the head of the bed. "You might feel as if your chest is going to fall apart, but I promise you, you'll stay together. We've put enough glue, tape and staples in you to hold you together."

"I don't want to," James protested again.

"I don't care what you want, Mr. Hathaway," the nurse argued back. "I'm the boss here and you do what I tell you. Now, roll to your left side and swing your legs over. I'll help you with the cast."

Painfully and reluctantly James rolled onto his side, with help he was able to move his legs over to the edge of the bed. His head was pounding, bright lights danced before his eyes. He felt like the bones in his chest were grinding together. He bit his lip more to hold the pain back.

"I know your in a little bit of pain, but you'll feel better soon. Now just sit there until you've caught your breath," she coaxed her young patient. "I've called for a couple orderlies to help."

"A bit, is a major understatement," James groaned. He felt hot and sweaty as he struggled to catch his breath. Every bone in his body burned and ached. James felt as if he was fixing to throw up, when suddenly a dark shadow moved close to his face causing him to flinch. 'Maybe having my eyes covered was not such a bad idea,' he thought.

Someone placed an oxygen mask up to his mouth and a cold moist cloth dabbed across his forehead. "This might help," the nurse held the wet cloth to James' face. She noticed he was breathing easier. "James, we're going to move you to a wheelchair now. Just relax and let them do all the work."

James could see two shadows approach him. He wondered if this is what all blind people saw, fuzzy shadows, light fuzzy shadows, dark fuzzy shadows and more shadows. He cursed under his breath.

Even though he knew the orderlies were going to move him, James still jumped a little when he felt two sets of large hands gently move him. "Sorry, Mr. Hathaway," one orderly apologized. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"Can this collar be removed?" James begged the nurse.

"A new set of x-rays have been ordered for tomorrow," she tried to give him some hope. "If everything looks good then I'll be more than happy to remove the collar."

"Yeah, sure," he was feeling defeated.

Faye shook her head, she wanted to feel sorry for the young Sargent. However, she also knew feeling sorry for any patient would only make things worse for them.

Faye held the door open for the orderly as he pushed James into the hall. "Take him outside for some fresh air," she told him. "James, Nurse Montgomery is going to give Mindy a bath. Mindy will be waiting for you when you return."

"Whatever," he mumbled.

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The orderly wheeled James outside. He could hear traffic from the streets. He felt the warm March sunshine on his face. He was feeling better smelling the spring air.

The ride to the park was taking longer than James thought. The rough path was causing him some discomfort. "How much farther?" he questioned the orderly. James heard the orderly mumble something, but he could not understand.

Finally the orderly stopped the wheelchair, parking him in the comforting sun. James could smell the flowers and fresh cut grass. And he also smelled something that he had been craving for a week, a cigarette.

"Can I have a smoke?" He asked the man who pushed him outside.

"Of course, James," the orderly replied.

James heart stopped, he held his breath. The familiar deep sinister voice of the orderly chilled him. "Fitzroy!" James growled.

"I'm glad you remember me," Jimmy Fitzroy laughed. "The look on your face is just priceless, James my old friend. Just priceless." He held the cigarette up to James lips.

James moved his head back the best he could. He did not want anything to do with Fitzroy or his cigarette. He tried to move the chair, but the wheels were locked, James was helpless.

"Ah, don't you smoke anymore, James?" Fitzroy teased. "I remember when you couldn't step outside without lighting one up." He waved the hot end of the cigarette around James' face. James could feel the heat. He tried to move away, but the collar prevented him from turning his head.

"Oh, settle down, I'm not going to hurt you. Right now," the man continued to torment James. "She won't let me. We just want to talk. We never talked much before. Now we have all the time in the world."

"What do you want, Fitzroy?" James tried to hide the fear in his voice.

"Take a puff," he demanded. James clinched his mouth shut, but the man forced his lips apart to shoved the cigarette in. James coughed the smoke burned his bruised lungs.

"You're turning red, James. Can't breathe?" The man took a deep draw on the cigarette and blew the smoke into James' face. "I couldn't breathe when you put me in jail. YOU BASTARD!" He slapped James hard across the face. "Sorry, I'm calm. See I'm calm." Fitzroy ground the cigarette into James' arm.

James clinched his teeth together and breathed hard through his nose trying not to give Fitzroy the satisfaction of him screaming. The pain in his arm was becoming unbearable, then the cigarette was removed. James calmed his breathing and slowly opened his eyes, tears of pain rolled down his face. He tried to look at his tormentor, but James could only see a dark shape before him.

"I understand you've been having a bad week. Too bad," Fitzroy cooed. "I've got you beat, my last four years have bad for me. We're here to make you better."

"I don't give a damn anymore," James spit. His breath was coming is short pants. "Go ahead and kill me."

"Eeewww, has someone given up on life? Is little Jameszee mad and doesn't want to play with me?" Fitzroy baby talked. "Well, too damn bad. I'll kill you when I feel like it!" He wrenched James' face hard and held it close to his.

James was gagging on the man's foul breath. His mind was racing, trying to figure out what he could do. The man who killed Cynthia was right here in his face and he was unable to do anything. He felt useless. He tried to yell for help, but Fitzroy slapped him harder.

"Now James, you mustn't yell or we can't play together," Fitzroy talked to James as if he were a two year old. "I've waited a long time. Cynthia and I've been planing this for years. So, sit there and wait until I'm done then I might let you die. Might!"

"Cynthia's dead," James groaned. "You killed her, remember?"

"I know she's dead you fucking idiot! You made me kill her," he grabbed James' face squeezing hard. "She still talks to me daily. She's talking to me right now. She wants you dead."

Fitzroy's cold voice pierced his heart sending chills and fear throughout his whole body. James tried to feel indifferent, he thought he wanted to give up and die, but now all he wanted to do was fight. He wanted to live to see this man pay for his crimes.

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