Addison (The Mitchell/Healy Family #6)(7)
“He’s in the best of hands. We’re keeping an eye on him. The doctor said she’ll give him some anti-nausea meds if it keeps up. We’ll have to give him an IV soon to get fluids in him.”
“Do me a favor. Make sure he has my number tonight before you leave. I don’t know if he’ll want to reach out to anyone. If he does, he’s going to need someone to reassure him this can be done.”
“Look at you, always around to save the day. That’s why Joe wants to get in your pants so bad. You’re like a real life angel.”
I rolled my eyes. “Give me a break.”
“It’s true. I admire you, chick. You’re a tough cookie. I don’t know how you don’t bring this home with you at night. I hate it. I see so many come and go, half don’t make it. They leave behind families, children even. It’s disgusting.”
“We all have our demons, Sammy. I’m just trying to make up for the bad I’ve done. One day at a time, ya know?”
“Yeah, I get it.”
When I headed out, I wanted to check in on Cole again, but knew not to push it. He needed to rest, and my bugging him for answers wasn’t going to help. Cole was different from the other addicts. He still knew what he was doing, and the pain it inflicted on others. He still cared. There was hope. I just needed to help him see it.
That next morning I was supposed to have class. I downloaded my work onto my laptop, but couldn’t focus to save my life. My mind had been on Cole since I’d left the hospital. Since I wasn’t due back there for another six days I had no reason to show up unannounced, and I’d never come back for one single patient. One thing about my job that I took seriously was being professional. I’d never had favorites, but for some reason I couldn’t help from wanting to help him, at least if it was just for guidance.
Instead of heading straight there I decided to take a different approach.
Joe Carter was a local state trooper. He’d made it obvious last year that he wanted to date me. Every time I turned him down he’d come up with another reason why we should go out. He was easy on the eyes, clean cut, pretty fit, and super sweet; the opposite from what I’d always been attracted to.
Joe’s eyes lit up when I pulled into the place he always sat to do traffic stops – another thing I hated about him. He was predictable.
I waved a coffee and a bag with a pastry in his direction. He unlocked his passenger door and started to open it for me. “Are you stalking me now?”
“Shut up. I needed to talk to you about something. Since you’re the most predictable cop I’ve ever known I figured I’d catch you here.”
“Did you come here to finally invite me to meet your daddy?”
Of course he’d assume that. What was with men thinking they would get what they wanted if they kept pushing? “No. Actually, it’s not.” I offered him the coffee and bag with the pastry. “Here. I got you these.”
“Um, I hate to break it to you, but I didn’t get this body from eating doughnuts.”
“It’s not a doughnut. Just say thank you and hush for a second.” I fidgeted with my hands, because I knew this wasn’t going to be the conversation Joe wanted to have. “Tell me about Cole.”
Right away he rolled his eyes and lightly punched the steering wheel. “Seriously? That’s why you’re here?”
“Why have you never mentioned him before?”
“He’s a deadbeat. Why would I want to? My family took him in when he had no one else. They felt sorry for him, because his mother was a crack head. She’d leave him overnight and go out to party with her friends and not come home until days later. He went days without baths, and sometimes being fed. My mom and dad couldn’t ignore it. When social services came into the picture they offered to foster him. I think he was around nine or ten. By the time he was seventeen he’d been in trouble more times than I could count. He got caught with a bag of marijuana on school property and was expelled two days before graduation. They mailed him a diploma, probably because they didn’t want him coming back for another semester at any school in the county. After that he joined the Army. For once he did something right, but it didn’t last. He was discharged early from having an altercation with a superior officer after sleeping with the guy’s wife. Why he wasn’t court marshaled and locked up I’ll never know. It would have served him good. After that we lost track. He didn’t call during the holidays or on birthdays. It was like he forgot everything we’d done for him. Then, out of nowhere he shows back up.”
“Was he high?”
“I don’t even care. He went out and got high, so what’s the difference? He’s a lost cause, Addy. If you’re trying to help, don’t. It’s not worth the time. He’ll be out of here as soon as he figures out there’s nothing left for him.”
As much as I hated the way it seemed like Cole had used Joe’s family, I couldn’t help thinking of a little boy, alone and scared in the world. He’d been dealt a tough life from the beginning, but that didn’t mean everyone had to give up on him. Cole was fixable, he just needed to want to do it. “I’m sorry for asking. It’s obvious you don’t get along.”
“I always wanted a brother. For a while Cole was it. Then he changed. Our lives went in different directions.”