Cracker Jack

My recovery was painfully slow. Actually, it was just painful in general. I never realized before just how much I moved until I had to try and stay still.

Once it was perfectly clear that I was going to make it, my family life returned to normal. Dad went back to spending his waking hours in the bar, and Mom began to fight with the hospital staff about the medical bills. Jack was forced to go to school, but he spent the evenings by my bedside. It made me feel better, because I knew that by the time he left he would not have time to do any more investigating into whoever it was that had hurt me.

It was only on my third full day in the hospital when he was there to witness my mom's inappropriate behaviour. Jack was sitting with his feet propped up on the mattress, and we were watching game shows on TV. Suddenly, we heard a commotion coming from the hallway. I muted the television and tried to listen in.

"How much is that going to cost? She doesn't need any more pain killers! Do you want her to get addicted? She's fifteen, for Christ's sake!"

I sighed, giving Jack a resigned look. "She's the kind of person that goes to the doctor and tells them that their diagnosis is wrong. I guess I come by my argumentative attitude naturally."

Jack took his feet down from the mattress and sat up a little straighter. We both paused to try and hear my mother abuse the people that were trying to help me.

"Insurance only covers so much! Honestly, what happened to her going home after a couple of days? Hasn't she been here long enough? She's a teenager, she doesn't want to be here anymore. I can take care of her at home. It's time for her to leave."

I rolled my eyes at Jack. "Now she thinks she knows what I want, apparently."

The door to my room opened and a sullen-looking nurse walked in. "Ma'am, for the last time, I don't control anything about your daughter's care. I bring her food and medicine, and I make sure that she is as comfortable as possible. If you have any more complaints, you need to talk with your doctor."

"Mom," I nearly yelled. "Lay off. She's just doing her job. I'm perfectly fine, okay? I have no problems with any of the treatment that I'm getting. I know we're not made of money, but you stressing me out every ten minutes is not helping the recovery process. You need to calm down and face whatever happens."

The nurse gave me a small, grateful smile. I nodded at her in reply. Mom, on the other hand, was seething.

"Well, there goes your college fund, Hayley."

"You expect me to believe that I have a college fund? Come on, be honest. Even if one existed, Dad would have drank it away by now."

Mom huffed and left the room. Jack laughed at me. The nurse set a paper cup of brightly coloured pills on my nightstand, along with a fresh pitcher of water. She glanced at the readings of my vital signs on the monitors, then smiled at me once more.

"You're doing remarkably well, Hayley. We're all amazed. You'll be up and walking around before you know it. But I won't lie to you and tell you that it will be easy. It won't happen by magic. It's going to take time and work. But it will be worth it."

I nodded and gave her my friendliest grin. "Thanks for not patronizing me. And please, don't be afraid to throw my mom out of here. I know how she can be."

Just as the nurse was leaving, someone unexpected walked into my room. Sofi threw her purse onto an empty chair as soon as she saw me and rushed to my bedside. Jack raised his eyebrows at me and got to his feet to give Sofi a chair.

"Oh my God, Hayley, are you okay? I just saw you and then I found out that this happened. I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. Can you forgive me?"

I fought off a laugh. "It's okay, Sofi. You really don't have to worry about it. I'm not mad, I promise."

She attempted to hug me, but it only made the whole scenario more strained and weird. Jack let out a choked laugh, then tried to cover the sound by turning his back on us and focusing on the TV. Sofi shot him an annoyed look, then turned back to me.

"I sent flowers. Did you get them?"

I looked around, trying not to point out that the only flowers in the room were from Evelyn. "No, they must not have delivered them yet. But thank you for the thought. That's really nice of you."

She sat down in the chair that Jack had just vacated. She shrugged and tucked her dark hair behind her ears. "They said that they would arrive today, so it could be at any time. So what's new?"

I raised my eyebrows minutely. "Um... drugs," I said, reaching for the cup that the nurse had left. I emptied it into my mouth and chased it with a large gulp of lukewarm water. "Other than that, I really can't leave my bed. I can't move too much yet. How about you?"

I should have kept my mouth shut. Sofi went into a long tale about a woman cutting in front of her at the supermarket. Jack motioned to me that he was leaving to get a soda from the machine. I was incredibly envious that he had that luxury. When he returned and she had moved on to an enthralling tale about a man that had tried to hit on her.

"Don't worry," she assured me. "He backed off as soon as I told him that I had a boyfriend. Can you imagine me doing something like that to Angel?"

I forced a laugh. "No, of course not." Over her head, Jack caught my eye. It took everything that I had in me not to snort with laughter.

"Hayley," he said, graciously interrupting my conversation with Sofi. "Have you finished that assignment that's due tomorrow? I promised I would take it in for you, so you don't have any excuses. You haven't exactly had anything else to do over the past few days."

"Oh, am I keeping you from doing homework? I'm sorry, Hayley. I'll go. I'll come and visit again soon. Get well soon."

I managed a wave as Sofi got to her feet and left. Jack took his chair back and flashed all of his teeth in a triumphant grin.

"Thanks, Jack. She means well. It's just that she gets a little carried away sometimes. And I can't exactly run away and escape in my condition."

He chuckled happily and scooted the chair closer to my bed. "It's what I'm here for."

A news report broke across the television screen and interrupted us. A man dressed in a dark suit was standing on a street corner, holding a microphone.

"I'm here on the scene, where a young woman was just stabbed to death by a mystery suspect wearing jeans and a black hoodie. Eyewitnesses claim that the man stood about six feet tall and weighed roughly one hundred and sixty pounds, though it was hard for them to tell due to his bulky clothing. No one got a look at the man's face, as he had it covered with his hood. If anyone else has any information on this crime, they are asked to call the Detroit police department."

I looked over at Jack with wide eyes. I could practically see the gears turning inside of his head. His jaw was set, and his eyes were narrow. I gulped.

"Jack, don't you dare move from that chair. The cops are looking for him now. They'll find him, and it will be okay."

He looked over at me sharply. "Hayley, he killed someone. Hell, he almost killed you! If I had just gone after him, I could have-"

"You could have what?" I cut him off, my voice jagged and hard. "You could have killed him first and gone to jail for the rest of your life? You could have confronted him alone and gotten attacked and hurt? Jack, whatever you tell yourself to help you sleep at night isn't true. You couldn't have stopped this. You couldn't have prevented what happened to me, either. It's over, okay? This insane need for vengeance has got to stop."

"Oh, don't be such a God damn hypocrite!" Jack jumped up from the chair and began pacing. "I know that if this situation were reversed, you would have gone after that guy before the ambulance even showed up. Don't pretend that you would just sit on your ass and watch the whole thing play out, because we both know that isn't true."

"You make me sound like a monster! I would have stayed where you wanted me, Jack. I would have made sure that you were okay. And If you asked me to stay with you in the hospital, that's exactly what I would have done."

"That's bullshit and you know it! You're only saying that because that's what you asked me to do. Hayley, I would have wanted you safe. I know that you wanted the same thing for me, but you've got to know how much it's tearing me apart to know that that guy is still out there. He's still hurting people. How is it okay to just let him go?"

My face was heating up with the effort that it took to lie still. I wanted to dive at him and choke him until he listened properly. "I didn't say that it was okay! Do you think I like knowing that he's out there somewhere? I'm going to be scared to death every time I walk to your house from now on. I'll be looking back over my shoulder every minute. But it's better than the alternative. It's easier for me to be scared than to know that I let something bad happen to you. I've had to live with that once, and I won't do it again!"

Jack's fists were clenched by his sides. "That wasn't your fault, okay?"

"That's where you're wrong, Jack. That was my fault. But this isn't yours. Honestly, you did more for me by staying with me than you would have by going after that guy. Please don't do anything now. I'm begging you."

He continued to pace the linoleum floor. "I already told you I wouldn't go, didn't I? I just feel so useless here!"

"And I don't? At least you can leave and go home. I can't even go to the bathroom without someone helping me. Look, if they still haven't caught this guy once I'm better, I won't stop you from going after him. I'll even go with you. But I can't sit here helplessly, wondering if you've killed him or if you're dead. I just can't."

He blew the hair off of his forehead. "Okay, Hayley. It's a deal."