“Well, I should say no more until the doctor gets here, or a family member. By the way, you’re one lucky dude.” The man in the blue clothes left the room.
Jeremy was confused, and every bone in his body hurt. Jeremy had no idea how long he had been in the hospital. A day? Two? A week? He wished there were someone who could fill in the blanks.
Suddenly, someone was there. At first he thought he was hallucinating, but he saw a familiar figure approaching his room.
“Jeremy?”
The voice was also familiar.
“It’s me, Regina.”
She knew she was taking a huge risk by visiting him, but she also didn’t think anyone from Sunnydale would visit someone they recently terminated. She stopped abruptly when she saw the handcuffs. “What on earth happened?”
“Hey, Regina. Honestly? It’s a bit of a blur,” he said in a raspy voice. “I was driving along the highway when an oncoming dump truck drifted into my lane. I guess he slammed into me. And here I am.” He wiggled in an effort to get more comfortable.
“I probably shouldn’t ask, but what’s with the bracelets?”
“I don’t know about that, either. An orderly said they found morphine in the wreck. I swear it was not mine.”
“Wow. That’s intense.” Regina pulled a chair closer to the bed. “No wonder I had to lie about being a family member. I hope you don’t mind, but I told them I was your girlfriend. I couldn’t think of anything else that quickly.”
Jeremy gave her a weak smile. “It’s fine. You’re the only girlfriend I have.”
“Good thing, because that could cause some kind of a ruckus,” Regina said, giggling. Then she suddenly got serious. “But what about the morphine? Where do you suppose it came from?”
“They think it’s mine. I was the pharmacist.”
“Well sure, but …” She stopped short. “You didn’t, did you?”
“No. I did not.” He strained to speak. “Can you hand me that cup of ice, please?” His arm was just short of reaching it. He sighed. “I don’t know what’s going on. But I promise you, I never took anything from the pharmacy. Not even an aspirin.” He paused to catch his breath. “I studied and worked too hard to do something to jeopardize my future.”
“There are some smart people who do illegal things.” Regina was being kind. “But I don’t think you are the type. You seem so buttoned up.” She quickly added, “I don’t mean that in a bad way.”
Jeremy smiled for the second time since … he couldn’t remember that, either. “When did the accident happen?”
“Don’t you know?” She hesitated, then looked at Jeremy with compassion. “It was two days ago. What about your family?” she asked.
“My family? They’re in Ohio. I don’t know if anyone has been in touch with them.” He strained his neck to see if there were any personal possessions in the room. “I guess my cell was lost in the wreck. Or is at the police station.”
“There was a small article in the paper. Hit-and-run.”
“That much I remember. A truck swerved into my lane. Everything after that is blank. Until earlier today.”
“When I saw the news, I phoned a friend who works as an EMS a few towns over. I wanted to see if he knew what hospital they took you to and if you were alright. He said by the amount of blood, you were laying there for a while before anyone came by.”
Jeremy furrowed his brow. “Wait. I vaguely remember seeing someone. A guy. Standing near the wreck.”
“And he didn’t help you?” Regina was doubtful.
“Maybe he was the one who called for an ambulance.”
“But he didn’t stay?” Regina looked as confused as Jeremy.
“Not that I recall. I must have blacked out at that point.” Jeremy was getting weary. This was the most conversation he had had since his accident.
Regina sensed it was time to leave and let Jeremy get some rest. “Listen, I’ll find out about your family. You take it easy. I’ll be back tomorrow.” At that point, Regina had totally forgotten about Clayton’s warning. The sight of Jeremy was unnerving. And no one notified his family? Wouldn’t they be concerned if they hadn’t heard from him in two days? Maybe they weren’t that close, but still. She decided to look up his file when she went back to the office and find his emergency contact info. Make a few phone calls. That’s when Clayton’s veiled threat resurfaced. Regina shrugged it off. How would she know? Regina was usually the only one in the small administration office. She would be careful.
An hour later, someone from the local sheriff’s office appeared in Jeremy’s room. Jeremy was fluctuating between semi-consciousness and a degree of awareness. He recognized the uniform immediately and tried to shake the fuzz from his brain.
