Guilt by Association

I'm racing down these dark, deserted streets, hoping to escape the law. I've been trying to flee from these unwavering detectives for what seems like a lifetime now. Every fiber in my being is screaming in pain, and my heart feels like it's going to pound out of my chest. I want to end this merciless chase, but Jen and the boys will be in grave danger If I do. So, with every ounce of strength, and determination I can muster, I keep moving on. My name is Tommy Campbell, and this is my story.

***

It all began on what seemed to be a typical hot July day. The temperature was in the mid-nineties, but the high humidity made it feel like it was triple digits. Drenched in sweat from head to toe, I was more than ready to call it a day. I'd just clocked out when my phone rings.

"Hello?" I wipe the sweat from my brow. My feet stick to the asphalt when I rush across the lot. "Jen has been in an accident?"I feel the color drain from my face. I can hear my heart pound furiously in my head. Stopping dead in my tracks, I press the phone against my ear. My hands tremble as grave images flash through my mind. I first imagine her bloody body in the middle of the street. I then picture her on a slab at the morgue. Pushing these horrid thoughts aside, I stutter, "Is... Is she alright?" Sweat pours down my face. Tears stream down my cheeks. "No, damn it, tell me now, is Jen alright?" I yell. "She's in critical condition. I'm on my way."

Dodging around the slower traffic, I manage to zip through rush hour in record time. Pulling up to the patient drop-off, I spring out of my car. I see my mother-in-law crying in the waiting room when I bolt through the sliding glass doors. The lush stumbles my way. Besides the small cut on her forehead, she appears to be fine.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy," she sobs, pulling me close.

The smell of liquor is so overwhelming that it makes me gag. I push her away. "Sorry about what? Where's Jen? Is she alright?" I anxiously look around.

"None of this would've happened if her friend her picked her up like she planned," Mary sobs.

"What wouldn't have happened?" I ask, more frightened than before.

"Jen was in a terrible accident, and they're not sure if she's going to make it. I'm sorry, Tommy, so, so sorry," she cries.

I glance down the cold, sterile hall. "Where is she? I need to see her?"

"They've taken her to surgery."

"Surgery?"

"They're trying to stop her bleeding."

"What about our baby and the boys?"

"The boys are at home with their sitter."

"And the baby?"

"The doctors aren't sure they can save her."

"It's a girl. We're having a girl?" I plop down in the chair. After having three boys, we finally get a girl. "She has to live. She has to," I say, throwing my head in my hands.

"I'm so sorry, Tommy, so sorry this happened," Mary bawls.

The totality of the situation hits me. Springing from my chair, I growl, through gritted teeth, "This wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been drunk."

Mary glances towards the ground.

"Your drinking has gotten out of hand, Mary, way out of hand. My daughter and wife are fighting for their lives because of it." I snarl.

She wipes her mascara-streaked face. "I know, Tommy, I know. I promise I'll stop this time. I swear I will."

I roll my eyes. "How many times have we heard that before?"

"I mean it this time, Tommy, I really do."

"A week later, we'll find you sloshed again."

"The only time you'll stop is when you're in your grave." A flash from the past suddenly comes to mind. I picture myself, a scrawny runt of a kid glaring up at his dad. "Please, daddy, please buy some food this week." The school was about to end, taking my only meal with it. I then recall me spouting off, "The only time you'll stop is when you're six feet under." He and his mom died in a car accident later that night. The memory becomes so unbearable. I turn away. I lost my parents to alcohol, and I could just as easily lose my wife and daughter too. My sadness turns to anger and anger to rage. I'm not losing another person to booze. I spin back around. "I want you to stay out of our lives for good."

Mary falls to her knees. "Don't do this to me, Tommy, please, don't do this."

"You did it to yourself." I start to tromp down the hall when the doctor steps into the waiting area. I run towards him.

"How's Jen and the baby? Are they going to be alright?"

"You are?"

"I'm Jen's husband, Tommy."

The doctor glances over at Mary, she nods. "Jen's condition is stable for now."

"For now?"

"She has a condition known as cardiomyopathy, which is an enlargement of her heart."

"Yes, yes, I know. She's been taking medicine for that."

"The disease has become life-threatening."

"What do you suggest we do?"

"Your wife is going to need a heart transplant as soon as the baby is born."

"The baby, how is she?"

"We've given your wife some medicine to stop her labor. We're hoping to keep the baby in utero as long as we can. The longer she stays, the better."

"Won't this put Jen in danger?"

"She'll be kept on bed rest and monitored the remainder of her pregnancy closely. When it's time to deliver, I suggest we do a C-section, so your wife and baby won't have to endure the stress of labor."

"When can I see her?"

He glances at his watch. "Our next visitation starts in half an hour."

I storm towards the front door. "Where are you going, Tommy?" Mary questions.

"I'm going to get some money together for Jen's operation."

"What about visitations?"

"I'll be back before they begin."

We've looked into the cost of transplants when Jen was first diagnosed. Since my health insurance only covers a small portion and we're not eligible for financial assistance, my only option is to gather the large sum on my own. Besides winning the lottery, there is only one other way I know to accomplish the task; do illegal jobs the way I did as a child. Only this time, I'm not going to ask Hernandez and his gang for help. Not after having to pay them a large sum of money to get them to leave us alone.

Yeah, you heard me right. I've been on the wrong side of the law since I was the ripe old age of ten. I tried to make money the legal way, but no one was willing to hire a child, not for a real job anyhow, besides Hernandez, of course. A few of the townspeople gave me odd jobs, raking their leaves, taking out their garbage, things like that. I appreciated their charity, but it wasn't enough to put food on the table or pay the bills. Since Dad uses all his money for booze and mom left us, it's up to me to make ends meet. So, I did the only thing I could, and that was to steal.

I pull my phone from my pocket as I head towards my car. "Hey Vinnie, it's me, Tommy. I have a business proposition for you." Vinnie, Larry, and I did some major looting in our younger years, and I was hoping we could do it again. Vinnie's voice blares through the phone. "What would you say if I told you that you'd never have to work again?... Yeah, I'm serious. It's not another crazy scheme like the others, I promise. Meet you at our old place in ten, and I'll explain."

I pull up to our old hideout a few minutes later. Vinnie is waiting for me by the door. "So what's this great plan you've cooked up?" he asks, pulling me inside.

"I've been setting this up since I first found out about Jen's poor health." Seeing the inquisitive look on his face, I continue. "I've been placing cameras in the customer's homes when I install their satellite."

"What's wrong with Jen?"

'She has a heart condition. The doctor said the only way she'll get better is if she has a transplant."

A solemn look crosses his face. "I'm sorry to hear that, man."

"I need to do this job so that I can get the money for her operation."

"What kind of job is it?"

"Robbing houses." Seeing he's about to protest, I hold up my hand. "I know what you're going to say; it isn't worth the time, normally I'd agree, but the houses I have set up will put us on easy street in no time. I guarantee it." I pull out my phone and start running through the pictures. "What do you think about them?"

Taking the phone away, he looks for himself. "They're beautiful and all, but I bet they're locked up tighter than Fort Knox."

"That's where my surveillance cameras come in."

"You've been watching these houses?"

"Inside and out. I can tell you the security codes to every door and every safe. I can also tell you the best time to hit."

"Why do you need my help then?"

"I want to share this great opportunity with my friend."

"So what's my take going to be on these jobs?"

"We'll split the profit equally."

"You really think we'll make bank with this?"

"I know we will."

I had no idea that my new adventure would lead me down such a harrowing path.