Lovely Girls(81)

I still couldn’t open my eyes, but I had the sensation that I was on wheels. There were people nearby, both the ones pushing me and others we were passing by.

“Hold the elevator,” a voice from above me called out. There was a slight bump, and then I was rolled into a new, smaller space.

“Where are you going?”

“Third floor. Surgery.”

“Oh, my God. Is that a knife?”

“Yeah, she was stabbed.”

“Jesus, that looks bad. Is she going to make it?”

I didn’t hear the reply. The overwhelming pain returned. I wanted to scream, I wanted it out of me, but I couldn’t lift my arms. I couldn’t even move.

Make it stop, I thought. I can’t bear it anymore.

The merciful darkness came again. This time I intended to stay there.



I opened my eyes.

Where am I? I wondered, but just as quickly, my thoughts answered me. I’m in a hospital room.

I was lying in a bed, hooked up to monitors that were letting out soft regular beeps. There was a needle taped to my arm that connected to an IV rack next to the bed. Directly across from the bed, there was a cabinet upon which a beautiful vase of white roses sat. There was a whiteboard on the wall above it, which, strangely, had my name written on it. I turned my head to the side and saw an empty chair.

Where is everyone? I wondered.

Then, suddenly, Alex was there, walking into the room. She was wearing an oversize black T-shirt that had SURFSIDE GRILL screen printed on the front. She saw me, and her eyes widened. “Mom? You’re awake!”

“What’s happening?” I asked. My voice sounded creaky.

“Hold on, I have to get the nurse.”

Alex rushed from the room, and when she was back, she was accompanied by both a nurse and Detective Gavin Reddick.

“You’re going to have to wait to speak to her until we’ve had a chance to assess her,” the nurse told the detective. She was around my age and had blonde hair cut in a short spiked-up style. She smiled at me, and her face softened. “How are you feeling, Kate?”

I considered this. I was tired, very tired, and the pain was still there. But it was muted compared to how it had been. I looked down at my chest. The knife was gone, and so were my blood-soaked clothes. I was wearing a clean blue hospital gown.

Detective Reddick and Alex both stood back while the nurse bustled around, checking my vital signs on the machine I was hooked up to, asking me whether I wanted to sit up, and then helping me sip some water through a straw. She set the plastic mug on a side table that she rolled over, closer to me.

“Take small sips when you’re up to it. Not too much all at once,” she said.

“I can help her,” Alex offered.

“Good girl,” the nurse said. She eyed Reddick warily. She didn’t seem to like the detective any more than I did. “Don’t tire her out,” she ordered him. “I’ll be back with the doctor.”

“Emma?” I asked, my eyes moving from the detective to Alex and back again.

“She was arrested,” the detective said. “She’s facing charges of attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon, along with breaking and entering.” He shook his head. “You got lucky. The doctor said that when Emma Thacker stabbed you, she missed your lungs by millimeters.”

“I feel lucky,” I joked, although as soon as I spoke, I was hit by another wave of pain. I had to close my eyes for a moment.

“Mom!” Alex drew closer. “Are you okay?”

I opened my eyes and nodded. “It just hurts a little.”

“You were in surgery, but the doctor said you’ll make a full recovery,” Alex assured me. “But you lost a lot of blood. She said you’re going to feel weak for a while.”

“The USB stick,” I said suddenly.

“It’s okay. I gave it to the police,” Alex assured me.

“Thank God,” I said. It was over. Alex was safe. I turned to the detective. “Did you watch the videos?”

Detective Reddick nodded. “Daphne Hudson and Shae Thacker have both been arrested.”

“That’s good. At least I didn’t get stabbed for nothing,” I said with a faint smile.

“Mom, it’s not funny.” Alex looked shocked. “You almost died.”

“The vase broke,” I said. My thoughts started to feel hazy.

“I threw that decorative bowl at it. The one you keep by the front door for keys. I wanted to distract her.”

“Good thinking.”

“I thought she was going to kill you. There was so much blood. It was all over the kitchen.”

My smile faded, and I nodded. I remembered the blood, remembered how warm and sticky it had felt dripping down me. I felt a wave of fatigue, and then the pain grew more intense.

“I’m tired,” I said. “I think I’m going to close my eyes for a minute.”



The next time I woke, Joe was sitting in the chair next to my bed, holding a paperback book in one hand.

“I’ve never seen you wearing glasses before,” I said.

Joe looked up, startled, but then he grinned at me. “I’m secretly incredibly vain.” He set down his book and reading glasses and reached for my hand. “How are you feeling, sweetheart?”