Chapter Four
The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. Oliver stuck around for an hour or so before being called home by his parents. Mom stopped by later in the evening to bring me something that was much better than hospital food: pizza!
That pizza was the best thing I'd ever tasted. She couldn't stay for long, though; her work in the Emergency Department beckoned her away. She left with promises of a long talk and some more pizza.
I was amazed at the courage and resiliency Mom always seemed to have. I could tell she was sad, but her energy was high. She had nearly lost her only child and her only other living relation, even if it was by marriage, had just been declared missing in action on the other side of the world. Mom was very special.
Sunday morning seemed to have been blessed by the Angels. I woke, feeling energized and in a little less pain. Mom was able to get the entire day off so she was waiting for me downstairs in her mini-van at eight-thirty. Of course, as is the way with hospitals, I wasn't discharged until after nine, but that didn't upset Mom.
As soon as she saw me come through the front doors of the hospital she jumped out of the midnight blue eight-seater and rushed to my aid.
"Mom – Mom!" I said with a chuckle. "It's okay, I got it."
She looked up, lips pursed in a motherly fashion. "Jamie, don't tell your only mother not to help. I gave birth to you, you know." "Yes Mom, I know."
I climbed in the car, albeit gingerly. The trek from my room on the third floor of the hospital had used up more energy than I would have thought. The demons were renewing their grasp on me. I'm really in terrible shape…
It wasn't long into the trip before Mom started in.
"Jamie, I know it may be too early to get into it, but I have to know: why?"
"Why what, Mom?" There was a bite to my words that I hadn't expected to be there. She began tearing up at the sound. "Mom…I'm sorry. I don't know why. I just wanted to be alone I guess. I was being selfish and I should have called you to let you know where I was. I'm sorry…"
She hit the brakes and pulled over to the side of the road; once stopped she threw her arms around me and sobbed into my shoulder. I wrapped my good arm around her shoulders. "Mom, it's okay. I'm okay. I know Uncle Rob will be okay too." I hoped that it sounded believable.
She pulled away, tears pouring from her green eyes. Smile lines speared away from the outside corners of each eye. Her black hair, which had been passed down to me, was tied up with a ponytail holder.
"Jamie, you almost died. The skin around your eyes and mouth is just starting to go back to normal but it was blue, Jaime. Blue. Because you drowned."
"Ah…almost. I almost drowned."
"Don't play semantics with me right now; you know what I mean." Her tears had dried up but the sadness in her eyes and voice was heavy.
"Yeah…I get it. I practically drowned. I'm sorry, okay? I had no other choice. Those guys would have killed me."
"Those guys are going to jail."
"What? What did you do, Mom?"
"You know what I did. I called the police and told them everything that happened. They are going to be stopping by tomorrow after school to get your statement."
"Mom, I can't give them a statement."
"You damn sure will give them a statement, Jamie Tyler Anderson." "Seriously? The "whole name" thing? Aren't I a bit too old for that?"
She stared at me in silence for a moment, her eyes now slits. "You're not ever going to be too old for it." She paused for a moment to check her mirrors before putting the van in drive and taking off again.
"And you will give an accurate statement to the police." "You know that I can't do that. That will bring more trouble down on my head from those guys. Besides, the police aren't going to do anything to any of them."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, none of them actually hurt me. I kind of beat the shit out of myself…"
"Jamie!"
"Mom, I'm 15!"
"Don't cuss in front of your mother!"
I let slip a laugh. "You do it all the time!"
A look of innocence overtook her features. "I'm the mom!"