Chapter 13
Alex, Friend
Against the advice of her doctor, Melanie Joyce insisted that she would be going home by the end of daybreak.
“You’ll do no such thing,” her doctor, a grey-haired man both old and slim. The lab coat he wore had the scent of cigarettes, and his breath smelled of bourbon rinsed with Listerine. But no matter how much he tried to mask it, Melanie knew the smell. If there was anything she knew like a sixth sense, it was all things alcohol.
Aunt Melanie sat up on the hospital bed. “You’re not going to stop me. I have to take care of my niece,” she said, as if Alex wasn’t in the room with her. She was, sitting on a high stool while reading one of the hospital’s many assortments of magazines. Roses and Gardens Digest was the one she chose. From it, she had learned of ten different ways to arrange flowers, as well as why it was important not to water plants and grass during hot, sweltering afternoons.
“I’m going to strap you to that bed if I have to,” threatened the well-intentioned doctor.
“No you’re not.”
“Listen. Your stitches aren’t completely healed yet. And if you’re not extremely careful, you’re going to re-open your wounds. Not to mention the fact that your joints are still too stiff to move. You won’t be able to walk.”
“I don’t care. I am not spending another night in this hospital. I’m tired of being treated by nurses like I’m some kind of baby.”
Aunt Melanie kicked her feet onto the cold, hospital floor.
“See. I can move perfectly fine.”
She pushed herself off the bed, relying on her legs for support before suddenly realizing that she was given none at all. What followed after was an image reminiscent of a Loony Toons feature, with Wile Coyote standing in mid-air, looking down only to find that gravity was about to send him plunging down. In that very same manner, Aunt Melanie fell to the ground, knee caps spraining.
“Aaah!”
“There goes two days of healing,” the doctor thought aloud. He lowered himself and helped her back up on the bed.
“That’s why you always listen to your doctor,” he pointed a disciplinary finger.
In between grasping her injured knee and moaning loudly, she managed to utter like a curse, “I hate you.”
“That’s the spirit. Now you remind me of my in-laws.”
She groaned facetiously despite the pain.
“Want some morphine?”
Aunt Melanie shook her head.
“I need to get back to take care of my niece.”
“The only person you need to take care of is yourself.”
Alex butt in. “He’s right Aunt Melanie.”
“No he’s not. I’m going to take you back home, and we’ll sort everything out together. And if he tries to stop me, I might have to inquire about whether or not he’s really sober enough to be working.”
The doctor tensed. It was a threat, and not one that was likely to bode well for him if he didn’t do as she asked. He remained quiet, pretending as if he hadn’t heard a single word she’d said, yet proving to her by his lack of response that he was willing to comply.
“Aunt Melanie,” Alex spoke up. “I’ve taken care of myself just fine these past few days.” Making a new friend, finding joy in serial killing she didn’t add. “Believe me, everything is fine.”
Aunt Melanie resisted, but when she could no longer deny the facts, she inhaled a deep breath of air to suppress the pain, and she reluctantly agreed.
“Could you pass me my purse?” her eyes were pointed at the hospital hanger that held her clothes. There was no purse.
“You don’t have a purse,” Alex said, and it was enough to remind Aunt Melanie of the night she was robbed and attacked.
Hopelessly, Aunt Melanie turned to the doctor. “Could you give her some change?” she pleaded.
“Not a problem,” the doctor said easily. “Here’s twenty dollars.”
“I don’t need money. I have enough.”
“Take it anyways,” the doctor insisted. “It couldn’t hurt.”
Alex took the bill. “Thanks.”
“Keep yourself safe.”
“I will. Just make sure my aunt gets better. That’s what matters the most right now.”
“No it’s not,” Aunt Melanie firmly interjected. “What’s most important is that I keep you alive and well for as long as I can. Promise me you won’t talk to strangers on your way home, and that you’ll stay at the house for as long as you can.”
“Aunt Melanie, don’t worry about me.”
“Just say yes, Alex. It’s bad enough I’m going to be stuck here for another day.”
“Two, actually,” the doctor cut in.
“One,” she gnashed her teeth in annoyance, as though she had authorized herself the final say on the matter. “Alex, just listen to me on this. I know I’m not your mother, but I want to do what’s best.”
Our soulless girl saw the sincerity in her aunt, and she realized that it would be something to remember her by come tomorrow. If Alex was going to leave for Vienna, this would be the last time they would ever meet. And judging from what little was learned of her aunt during their brief time together, Alex knew better than to question her Aunt Melanie’s intentions. In spite of her weaknesses, she’d always done what she thought was right for her. Aunt Melanie never asked her to conform to expectations, or to fulfill her own deep-seated wishes. She just wanted Alex to be who she was. Given that, it was starting to become more and more apparent to Alex that unlike her birth parents, Aunt Melanie might have been the one person in her immediate family most likely to accept her for the soul-deprived girl that she was.
“Alright Aunt Melanie.”
“Good. Now remember, stay in the house at all times. Don’t answer the door for strangers.”
“Fine.”
“Not even if they say they know me. In fact, make that, especially if they say they know me.”
“I understand Aunt Melanie. Honestly, you’re too worried about everything.”
“Well isn’t that my job now? To worry?”
“Only about yourself. That’s what the doctor said.”
“Please. Don’t be ridiculous. Anyway, you should go back to the house now. I don’t want you to leave when it’s too late. Here, I’ll call you a cab.”
“No, it’s alright. I’ll walk back home. The apartment isn’t far from here. And besides, I’m in the mood for a bit of a stroll anyway.”
“Okay. Fine. But I want you to call the hospital, call the doctor,” she pointed her finger directly at the doctor who was now standing several feet away like a statue. “Call him, and let him know the moment you make it back. He’ll tell me, and I’ll know that you’re alright.”
“Of course.”