Love Immortal (10 page)

“What can I get for you, sweetie?” She
reached to ruffle his hair, a habit she just couldn’t give up, but
pulled her hand back at the sight of the bandage still enveloping
most of his head. She started to pinch his cheek, but thought
better of that as well. Finally, she bent and gently kissed his
forehead.

It was amazing. Collin had known Gladys for
most of his life. He and his uncle had moved in with her shortly
after his parents were killed. When he looked at her though, she
didn’t look any older than she had when he lived with her twenty
years ago. She didn’t look much older than him, maybe early to
mid-thirties. He knew she must be at least fifty. He wondered why
she wasn’t married.

He briefly thought about asking Gladys for
his phone and a phone book, but he knew that she would spill the
beans to his uncle as soon as Percy returned from the airport.
Invalid or not, Percy did not like to be disobeyed, and would not
temper his yelling at Collin for circumventing his wishes.

“Well, I haven’t seen you in a while, I
thought we could talk.”

Gladys’s face lit like a thousand stars.
Collin was certain that he was her favorite nephew, even if he
wasn’t really her nephew.

“What do you want to talk about?” Gladys
pulled a cushioned arm chair from the corner of the room and placed
it so that it was facing Collin’s bed. After she had made herself
comfortable, she folded her hands in her lap.

“So, how’s Montana?” Collin began.

Gladys laughed. “Oh sweetie, I haven’t lived
in Montana for close to seventeen years now. Shortly after you and
Percy left, I moved to Greenland, then the Ivory Coast, and now I’m
hanging out in the Bahamas!”

“Why do you move around so much? You sound
like Uncle Percy.”

“Maybe that’s why we get along so well!” She
laughed. “How do you feel dear? I just hate to see you looking like
this.” She asked, smoothly changing the topic of the
conversation.

Collin didn’t miss the evasion. He had
learned when he was young that when his ‘family’ didn’t want to
talk about something, it didn’t matter what you did, the matter
would not be discussed. “Well, I guess I don’t feel all that bad.
My chest hurts a bit still when I breathe. I think this bandage on
my head bothers me more than the cut underneath. It doesn’t hurt to
smile anymore, but it does hurt to laugh – both my chest and my
face.” Collin grimaced. He liked to laugh and his Uncle Percy
usually had him rolling on the floor. He appreciated his uncle’s
restraint today. “It would be nice to be able to move my legs.”

“Sweetie, I’m sure you’ll be up and around
sooner than you can imagine. You always were a quick healer and
your Uncle Percy is a great doctor, even if he doesn’t practice
much. I keep telling him that he really should spend more time
working as a doctor.” She spoke fondly, with the same emotion of a
sister discussing her wayward brother.

“I suppose. I’m just so sick of being cooped
up like this. I guess some of Percy’s wanderlust has worn off on
even me.”

“Percy has a wheelchair. I could put you in
that and take you around the grounds; maybe down to the bayou? If
we hurry, we can see the sunset. It should be really pretty.” She
grinned at him.

“You know Aunt Gladys; I think that’s just
what I need.”

* * *

Percy filled Dot and Carl in on the ride
home. He described Collin’s accident and shared that one of the
doctors in the hospital, and one of the Orleans Parish sheriffs
were members of the Templar group. He had been told there were
others, but had not yet been introduced.

“Thanks to Dr. Babineaux’s influence, I was
able to move Collin home, before suspicions began to rise. He and
the other Templars will work with us, but we need to think of the
Family first.”

Chapter 13

Ashley was watching American Idol when the
phone rang. She looked at the caller ID and saw that it was Jewell
calling from her cell phone. Ashley grabbed the phone “Hey chickie
baby, what’s up?”

Jewell tried to answer through the tears but
the words wouldn’t come. She tried again, but nothing came out but
her choking gasps as she tried to breathe between racking sobs.

“Jewell, honey? What’s wrong?” Ashley asked,
panicked. “Where are you?”

Jewell managed to choke out the word
“hospital” before her weeping overtook her again.

“What is it? Your dad? Is Tommy hurt? Are you
hurt? What honey? I can’t help you if you can’t tell me what’s
wrong!” Ashley tried to think. As a nurse, she knew that she should
be able to handle the situation, but hearing the devastation in her
friend’s voice made her unable to think.

Ashley grabbed her cell phone from the
charger as she spoke on the cordless house phone. “Sweetie, stay
put. I’m coming to get you. I’ll call you from my cell in one
minute. Hang up, and I promise, I’ll call you right back.” Ashley
waited for the click that indicated the connection had been
terminated. She quickly punched the three button and send to call
Jewell’s cell phone. Jewell didn’t pick up the phone. When Ashley
heard the voicemail pick up, she hit the end button, immediately
followed by the send button. She pulled open the car door, slid
into the driver’s seat, and jammed the keys into the ignition. She
heard Jewell’s voice mail pick up again. She quickly tried again
while turning the key. Her car chugged, trying to turn over, but it
wouldn’t start.

“Come on!” Ashley screamed, pumping the gas
pedal of her 1980 Toyota Corolla; she really needed to get a new
car now that she had a job. She turned the key again, praying that
the car would start. It whirred twice again, before she finally
heard the engine roar to life. She jammed the car into reverse, and
floored the gas pedal. As she backed into the street, she slammed
on her brakes as she heard the long scream of a horn announcing
that she was about to crash into a passing car.

Ashley took a deep breath, trying to calm her
racing heart. She wasn’t going to do Jewell any good if she was
dead. She carefully looked behind her as she pulled out into the
main road. She turned towards the Causeway and picked up the phone
to call Jewell again. This time, Ashley was relieved when Jewell
picked up the phone.

“Ashley?” Jewell was still crying, but she
seemed to have calmed down a bit.

“Jewell, thank God. What’s going on? What’s
happened? Is it your dad?” Ashley tried to probe Jewell for more
details.

“No, not my dad.” Jewell started crying
uncontrollably again.

“Jewell, take a deep breath.” She heard
Jewell suck in a large breath of air. “Okay, now let it out
slowly.” She listened as Jewell slowly released the breath. “And
again.” Jewell did as Ashley instructed. When it sounded to Ashley
like Jewell was in control of her voice, she tried once more. “What
happened?”

“Oh Ashley, he’s gone!” She sobbed into the
phone.

“Who’s gone? What are you talking about?”

“Collin. He’s gone.”

“Oh God Jewell; I’m so sorry.” Ashley knew
that Jewell had developed some strong feelings for Collin in the
short time that she had known him. “But it’s really amazing that he
survived as long as he did. He should have died that first night.
Sometimes, there’s just nothing you can do.” She grieved for her
friend’s loss.

“No Ash; he’s not dead. He’s gone. They’ve
taken him out of the hospital.”

Ashley didn’t know what to say at first. She
was relieved, but it took her a minute to figure out what her
friend was saying. “Well, that’s not so bad. Do you know where they
took him?”

“Yeah; his uncle took him to a private care
center. I’ve got the name, and a phone number and address. It’s in
Lake Charles.”

“Well, call him then. What’s the big deal?
Why are you so upset?”

“I tried. I got an invalid phone number
message. Ash, I don’t know what to do. I have to see him.”

“Okay Jewell, sit tight. I’m on the Causeway
now. I’ll call you when I get to the city. We can figure out what
to do then.”

“Thanks Ash. I know this is crazy, but thanks
for understanding.”

“Don’t worry about it hon. Are you going to
be okay until I get there?”

“Yeah. I’m in the parking garage. I’m just
going to wait for you here in my car. I can’t drive right now.”
Jewell clicked the end button on her phone and set it on the seat
beside her. She had only known Collin for a little over a week.
Really, she’d only known him for three days; since the first time
she’d actually spoken to him. She leaned her head against the seat
trying to think about what she wanted to do. Suddenly, she heard
her phone ring. She glanced at the clock; nearly twenty minutes had
passed, she must have dozed off. She looked at the phone and saw
that it was Ashley calling. “Hey Ash.”

“Hey. I’m just coming into the garage, where
are you?”

“Third floor, near the elevators.” As she
hung up the phone, she could hear the engine in Ashley’s car
approaching. Jewell was surprised Ashley was willing to drive that
death trap across the Causeway every day. Jewell opened the
driver’s door and eased out, testing her legs. They seemed sturdy
enough so she got out and walked around to the back of the car to
wait for Ashley. Just as she leaned against her car she saw
Ashley’s car chugging around the corner.

Ashley saw Jewell standing behind her brand
new Ford Focus. Ashley thought to herself that she really needed to
get a new car. She pulled into the spot next to Jewell and got out
gathering Jewell into her arms. Jewell clung to Ashley like she was
about to fall off a cliff. After a minute, Ashley moved her hands
to Jewell’s shoulders and gently pushed her away so that she could
look at Jewell’s face. Even in the dim lights of the parking garage
she could see that Jewell’s eyes were red and swollen. A stream of
tears flowed from Jewell’s eyes and her body shook with convulsive
sobs, though she made no sound.

“Girl, you’ve got it bad,” Ashley commented
shaking her head.

Jewell didn’t trust her voice so she just
looked down at her pink and white shoes.

“So do you have a plan? What do you want to
do?”

Jewell shrugged in response, not having the
ability to respond around the lump in her throat.

“You have an address?” Jewell nodded. “Do you
want to go see if you can find him?” Jewell shrugged again. When
Ashley took her chin and gently pulled Jewell’s head up so that she
was looking into Ashley’s eyes, Jewell gave a slight nod. Ashley
sighed. This was absolutely nuts, but Jewell was by far her best
friend and Ashley would do anything for her.

“Well,” Ashley said glancing at her watch,
“it’s ten forty five. Lake Charles is what, like three hours away?
If we left now, we wouldn’t get there until two a.m. and there’s no
way they would let us in that late. Plus, even if we have the
address, we have no idea how to find this place. Why don’t we go
back to my place, we can map it to find where he’s staying. I’m not
working tomorrow,” she glanced at Jewell to see if she had been
scheduled. Jewell shook her head. “Cool. We’ll get some sleep; then
we can get you some decent clothes,” Ashley grimaced looking at
Jewell’s outfit. “You look like something that eats rainbows and
poops butterflies!” Ashley quoted from Horton Hears a Who; one of
her favorite movies. “We can get an early start and be there by
ten. Does that sound like a plan?”

Jewell nodded. “Good,” Ashley replied,
handing Jewell her phone. “Call your dad, let him know you’re
staying at my place tonight and tell him we have plans for
tomorrow. That way he won’t be worried.”

Jewell called her dad, then gave her keys to
Ashley so that Ashley could drive them home. “I’m not going to be
stranded in your car somewhere in Louisiana.”

“Yeah, I really do need a new car.” Ashley
said, sliding into the driver’s seat of Jewell’s car.

Chapter 14

Edgar listened to the blonde nurse he had
seen leaving Collin’s room as she spoke to the nurse at the nurses’
station. He had been in his room when he heard a commotion outside
his room. Usually he wouldn’t be interested, but the nurses’
station was right outside his room and when the name Collin Sykes
drifted through his door, he decided that this was a conversation
he did not want to miss.

He carefully edged out of bed and tested his
weight on his casted leg. It didn’t hurt too much so he thought
that he could make it out of his room with the help of his crutches
rather than the wheelchair. He used the crutches to limp to the
door, carefully cracking it open so he could hear part of the
discussion.

“Collin Sykes. The patient in room 637?” The
blonde nurse that he saw leaving the Sykes’ room earlier sounded
agitated, nervous.

“Oh, I remember him. I just came in about
fifteen minutes ago so I’m not sure. Give me a sec and I’ll see
what I can find out.” The other nurse, the one with the darker hair
responded. Her hair reminded him of the color of mud. Looking at
the beautiful nurse beside this one made her look all the more
beautiful. Her hair glistened like sunshine, and her skin glowed,
her cheeks were the color of roses. The nurse on call on the other
hand, had skin the color of paste, her hair was the color of mud,
and her eyes were as dull as graphite.

When the nurse at the station turned away
from him to use the computer, Edgar carefully eased out of the door
to his room and limped the few feet down the hall to the seating
area in front of the nurses’ station. He actually liked it here,
sort of. There were large picture windows that looked out into the
city. Although it wasn’t the best view during the day, the city was
so dirty; he had to admit that the city had its own beauty at
night, with all the lights, sparkling like stars throughout the
city.

Although any passing nurse, patient or doctor
would think that he was simply resting outside his room, admiring
the city stretched below, in truth he was listening intently to the
conversation between the two nurses.