Flatline - Murder | Mystery | Intrigue

Chapter 12

Emile

Kay looked pale and unsteady. I hooked my arm around her and guided her to the door and then we made our way to the reception area. 

“Kay,” someone called out as we walked to the reception desk. Kay turned around and recognition flared in her eyes despite the daze she had been in. My eyes narrowed. They seemed to know each other quite well, I wondered who he was. 

“Peter, is he ok? Where is he? What happened?” she asked, grabbing his arms, shaking him slightly, her breathing somewhat labored. 

“He’s being treated as we speak, all we can do right now is wait,” the guy said, then in a quieter voice, “Kay, has Seth been using drugs that you know of?” Kay’s face fell. 

“I suspected  that he was, we have an appointment with a counselor tomorrow, I was going to tell him about it tonight,” she choked, her shoulders slumped. “What happened?” she faltered. 

“I don’t really know, someone called me from his phone and said he needed help, they gave me the address and hung up,” he started. “I called my partner and got there as soon as I could, the location was really close to a known drug dealer so I knew it was probably serious.” Confusion, sadness and anxiety warred on Kay’s face. 

“We entered the house and found him on the floor, it looked like an overdose. He was alone. We grabbed him and brought him here as fast as possible,” he explained. 

I had witnessed an overdose before, I was glad he didn’t go into detail about his condition when he was found. I was sure it would traumatize her. Kay slumped further. I watched their interaction awkwardly, like a third wheel. 

I caught a familiar figure from the corner of my eye and my jaw tightened. What was she doing here? I looked at Kay again, she would be ok with this guy for a few minutes. 

I followed through the winding corridors at a distance, sure she was up to something. Eventually I watched as she entered a doctor’s room. I checked that no one was paying attention and walked up to the door which was slightly ajar. My blood boiled and my fists automatically clenched at what I heard. 

*_*

Kay 

“Maybe if I had acted sooner, this wouldn’t have happened,” I agonized and trembled, overwhelmed by the sense of failure. I promised to protect him and I had failed. I prayed that he would make it through, and then I would do better. 

“You know that’s not true Kay, you’ve done an amazing job raising him. Something strange is going on with him, we need to figure out what it is. This is so unlike him,” Peter comforted. “Let’s just sit down while we wait,” he led me to the seats slowly. 

I recalled the last few weeks, puzzled. Had I missed more signs? What could have triggered this or maybe the question was who, vaguely remembering Tiffany or Tammy or whatever her name was. As far as I knew he wasn’t having trouble at school or being bullied. He could handle himself well enough, maybe he had fallen in with the wrong crowd. He wasn’t easily influenced either, I had ensured it. I sniffed and inhaled deeply, I needed to get a handle on my emotions and  think about it with a clear head. 

As I mulled over it, a doctor came over. I tensed, not knowing what to expect. 

“Ms. Maloney?” he enquired. 

“Yes?” I stammered. My breath hitched, both looking forward to and dreading what he had to say. My hand gripped Peter’s tightly.

“Seth is out of danger, he was very lucky to get here when he did. Any longer and he probably wouldn’t have made it,” he explained. 

“Oh thank God,” I exhaled, tears suddenly pooling in my eyes. “Can I see him?” still sounding distressed despite the relief I felt. 

“He’s still unconscious, but his vital signs are stable. You can see him, he’s in room 221, he’ll have to stay under observation for another few days to ensure his organs are still functioning well before we can release him. Ideally we would like to release him into a rehabilitation program, please give it some thought and we can discuss it in the next few days,” he concluded. 

“Thank you Doctor,” Peter said, “let’s go Kay.” We made our way through the corridors, my body recoiled at the antiseptic smell. Visceral memories suddenly flitted through my mind, nauseating me. No, I didn’t need to be thinking about that now. I shook my head, grateful that Peter had been holding my arm. 

I gasped as we walked into Seth’s room, adrenaline suddenly pumping through me. 

"What the hell are you doing here?” I seethed. My jaw clenched, suddenly I understood. 

“Kay, it’s been a while,” the bastard smirked. His once brilliant blue eyes appeared washed out, his clothes hung on his tall, scrawny frame and his skin was pock-marked and saggy. He looked greasy, I didn’t want to know what he smelled like. It wasn’t hard to see what his life had been like. 

“Just checking up on my boy here,” he mocked. The waste of space was actually mocking me. My eye twitched and I lost it.  

“You f*cking piece of sh*t,” before he could react I lunged at him, gripping his throat with both hands. My fingers tightened as if they had a mind of their own. “It was you wasn’t it, you got him hooked,” I growled. I was going to kill him, the world would be a better place for it. Peter was at my side in an instant, trying to pry my fingers from his throat. 

“Kay, let him go, he isn’t worth it, whoever he is,” Peter said. He was a cop, so of course he was thinking of the consequences. “This isn’t like you at all, think,” he pleaded. 

“I.. he did this, he’s the reason Seth almost died,” trying hard to reign in the rage. Peter finally managed to break my grip and pulled me away from him. Jason dropped to one knee, coughing and gasping for air, his face red with the effort.

“Who are you?” Peter asked him, perplexed. He had never seen me react that way to anyone before. 

“Meet Jason Hudson, Seth’s drug addicted sperm donor,” I introduced through gritted teeth. Peter still hadn’t let go of me, probably still feeling my murderous intent. 

I hadn’t seen him since he tried to get custody of Seth when he was little, but he was a drug addict and no judge would award him custody. The truth was that drugs were always his first priority, his interest wasn’t fatherly at all.

Jason rubbed his throat, bruises already forming. 

“I came to check on my son, I am his father after all,” he sneered. I breathed deeply. 

“You’re just after his money, don’t think I don’t know what your game is,” I hissed. I still wanted to kill him, there was no way I would allow him into Seth’s life ever again. 

“Aunt Kay?” Seth mumbled weakly. My head whipped his way, he struggled to open his eyes. His face was flushed and he seemed sluggish. I rushed over to him and hugged him to me.

“Oh Seth, I was so scared I’d lose you,” I sniffed. Tears making its way down my cheeks again. He was awake, thank God he was awake. “Don’t you ever do that again,” I ordered.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his expression laced with guilt and hurt. I hugged him again and he hugged me tighter, holding on as if his life depended on it. 

“I don’t know what happened, but I love you. You’re going to get some help and we’ll get through this together ok? I love you so much,” I soothed, stroking his hair.

“I love you too Aunt Kay,” he mumbled. After a moment, he piped up again, “What did you mean when you said he was after my money?” I stiffened, I had hoped he hadn’t heard me, but it was probably time I told him the whole truth. 

“Yeah, why don’t you tell him who he really is?” Jason provoked. I’d forgotten he was there, my fists clenched. I glared at him.

“Peter…” I started.

“On it,” Peter replied, grabbing Jason by the arm and forcing him out of the room. Jason tried to resist, but his wasted body was no match. He was dragged like a ragdoll, he didn’t say anything as he left, but his look told me it wasn’t over.

I wasn’t planning on having this conversation until Seth was at least eighteen, damn Jason and his toxic existence. It seemed like Seth needed to know anyway, the vultures were already circling.