Breaking the Cycle (18 page)

He tried to sleep on the plane. It was no use. His mind whirled with worst-case scenarios. He wasn’t ready to let Chloe go. He’d give his own life to protect hers. He was never so happy to see the lights of Minneapolis out his window.

Al was waiting for him as he crossed the concourse. Max cringed. He was supposed to be proposing to Chloe here later on that day. Instead, he was arriving at nearly noon, his ring stolen, and the woman he hoped would be his fiancée missing. The two men raced to the parking lot to get back to the house.

Liz threw her arms around him when he walked through the door.

“Anything?” he begged.

“No, Max. We’ve looked everywhere. We’ve called all the hospitals. We scoured the neighborhood. We just can’t find her.”

Max swallowed hard as his tears threatened to erupt again. “The police?”

“They’re on their way to take a statement.”

“She has her meds, right?”

The silence before Liz spoke was a knife to his gut. “No, Max. They’re still in the cabinet in the kitchen.”

He dropped his bags next to the couch then ran his hand through his hair. “I can’t sit here, knowing she’s out there alone. I’m going to go look.”

“Where?”

He shrugged. “Have we tried her favorite places? The coffee shop she loves? The gym? A friend’s house?”

The pain Liz was feeling radiated on her face. Max understood. He felt the same pain. She nodded slowly. Her voice was barely over a whisper. “Go look. Please find her, Max.”

He nodded back. Grabbing his keys, he ran out the door to his car.

It took a half hour for Max to realize what an impossible search this would be. He drove up and down the streets of their neighborhood. There was no sign of her. He checked her favorite coffee shop, her favorite book store, her favorite restaurant. His stomach flipped as he turned the corner and drove toward the hospital. It was the first logical place to look.

He stepped into the emergency room and stopped in front of the registration desk. He handed the nurse sitting there a picture of Chloe. “Was this girl admitted in the last day or two?”

The nurse squinted at the photo. “Not while I was here. At least she didn’t come through the front door. I don’t see those brought by ambulance.”

Max huffed. “Is there any way to find out if anyone has seen her?”

“Hon, I have patients to check in.”

“I can take it back. Just point me in the direction to go.”

“I can’t let you go wander around in the ER. Just park it in a chair. When I get a second I’ll take it back there.”

Max settled into the first chair closest to the desk with a scowl. He watched patients come and go. The hour hand wound around the clock more than once. Finally the nurse rose and wandered behind the set of double doors. Twenty minutes later she held the photo under Max’s nose.

“Nope. No one has seen her.”

Max took the photo from her and stood. He shuffled out the door to his car. He quickly looked up another hospital then pulled out of the spot.

The sun was setting as he stepped into second hospital. He shook his head as he slipped his wallet out of his back pocket and retrieved the photo of Chloe. He was completely confused where she might be. She could be anywhere at this point. With a heavy sigh he walked inside.

As he sat in the waiting room of the second hospital, he called Liz. She answered on one ring. “Did you find her?”

“Not yet,” Max answered. “Have you found anything?”

“I’ve called all our family and friends. Nothing. I’ve filed a police report. They’re looking for her too. Come home. I’ll make you something to eat. You can get a fresh start in the morning.”

“I can’t stop. I’m sorry. I’ll grab a sandwich.”

“Don’t apologize. You’re looking for my little girl. Thank you for doing it.”

“Your little girl is the woman I love. I have to do this. I’ll call you if I find anything.”

“All right. Talk to you soon. Bye.”

Max hung up his phone and slumped in the seat. He hoped that he wouldn’t have to wait as long this time. Two hours later the nurse returned with the photo of Chloe. No one there had seen her either.

He continued checking hospitals through the night. He dozed as he waited for the nurse behind the desk to question the other staff. A couple of security guards threatened to throw him out. Max snarled as he stood his ground. It was amazing how fast the guards backed down. He didn’t stop as the sun rose. Instead of the emergency room, he interviewed receptionists in the main hospital. He sighed. She hadn’t taken her medication for nearly two days. Her symptoms would be kicking in.

Shortly after noon, he gave into his complaining stomach. Stepping into a bar, he wove his way around the tables and settled on a bar stool. A auburn haired bartender sashayed up to him, her long tresses brushing her shoulders. “What can I get you, handsome?”

He flipped out the photo in his hand. It was an old habit now. “Have you seen this woman?”

The bartender took the photo from his hand. “She’s cute. Your sister?”

“My girlfriend. She went missing. I’m looking for her.”

The redhead handed the photo back to him. “Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.”

Max stared at her, dumbfounded.
Could that be it? Did Chloe leave to get away from everyone? What hurt her so much that she needed to escape?
He shook his head to dispel the thought. “Get me a burger and fries, please.”

“How about a cold one?”

“No thanks.”

“You look like you need to relax.”

“Just the food please. And water. Thanks.”

He watched her walk off with his order before he slumped against the bar. Exhaustion was getting the best of him. But he couldn’t rest. Not now.

“Hey handsome.”

Max nearly jolted off the stool. The smell of beef filled his lungs. He met the amused smile of the bartender. She pointed at the hamburger and fries in a red plastic basket. “You dozed off. You looked so sweet I didn’t have the heart to wake you. But I didn’t want your food to get cold.”

“Thanks.”

She left his tab next to his glass. “Don’t mention it.”

Max inhaled the burger and fries. As he ate he retraced his steps and decided where he would search next.
Chloe, where are you?

He left a few bills on top of the check, and then stepped back out into the Minneapolis afternoon. He redirected his steps toward the hospital down the street. It was time to start over. There had to be new staff on hand. Someone had to know where she was.

For the second night he caught a snooze or two while he waited for Chloe’s photo to be circulated.

Shortly after midnight, three teens tried to rough him up for his wallet when he stepped outside for a bottle of pop. When he left one writhing on the ground gasping in pain, the other two decided it wasn’t worth the trouble. After that it was difficult for Max to close his eyes.

He settled into a chair and twisted the top off his pop as his mind raced. What if she’d already started an episode? Would he be able to find her? Would the doctors know how to treat her? Most likely not. He frowned as he thought of the bartender’s words again. Did she run away on purpose? Did she not want to be found? What had happened that had made her need to get away? Was it Leo? Was it him?

He sighed. None of his questions would be answered until he found her. And the first thing he was going to do wasn’t ask questions. He was going to hold her. He was going to kiss her long and hard. He was going to tell her he loved her. And he was going to propose. Ring or no ring.

Max startled as his cell phone rang. He glanced at the screen then answered it. “Mark, are you back?”

“Yeah. I arrived last night.”

“That’s great. I can’t talk right now.” Max fought the tears in his throat. “My world is upside down. I still can’t find Chloe.”

“That’s why I called. I found her. She’s here in the hospital.”

“I’ve been to all the hospitals in Minneapolis. Twice. They said they didn’t have anyone admitted with the name Chloe Davis. I even showed them her picture.”

“She’s here under the name Jane Doe. I was visiting a friend of mine who works for Saint Joseph’s in Saint Paul. He told me about this crazy Jane Doe case. When he told me all of the symptoms I asked to see her. It’s Chloe.”

“Saint Paul?”

“They were headed to my hospital but the ER was taken over by a massive accident. They redirected her to Saint Paul.”

Max stopped in his tracks. “She had no identification.”

“I guess so.”

“I’m on my way.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Have you talked to her?”

“She’s out cold. My friend said they’ve had to keep her sedated.”

“Go ahead home and rest. I’ll call Liz.”

“All right. Keep me in the loop.”

“Will do. Thank you. I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing. Get to your girl. Bye.”

Max hung up his cell and spun on his toe. He sprinted back to his car and climbed inside.

»»•««

The hospital corridor was sterile and quiet. Max shuffled along, his hands jammed in the pockets of his jeans. He read the numbers of the rooms as he passed. He needed room six-hundred thirty-four. Part of him screamed at him to run to her. A cold pit had formed in his stomach that had nearly locked his feet into place. He couldn’t understand why. He needed to see Chloe and know she was all right.

However, the last time he had been in a hospital, she had been clinging to life. He was terrified he was going to find her fighting her way from death again. He wished he could trade places with her and take her suffering. Just for one episode, he could be hooked to IVs and feel like his insides were turned inside out.

He stopped for a moment as he stared at the room number. After taking a deep breath, he stepped inside. His heart leapt to his throat when his eyes fell on Chloe asleep in the hospital bed. His joy at finding her was quickly doused by worry. She was pale. Her face was gaunt. Her skin was pierced by IV needles. He could tell this episode was putting her through her ringer.

He silently moved to her side. Gently brushing her hair from her forehead, he smiled lovingly at her.
She’s still beautiful, even in the middle of an episode.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead before slipping out into the hall. He searched his speed dial then pressed send.

“Max,” Liz’s voice was weak.

“Yeah. Liz, I found her. She’s at Saint Joseph’s in Saint Paul. She had another episode.”

“Oh Lord, Max. Is she all right?”

“She’s sleeping right now. I’ll check on her in a bit and let you know.”

“Al and I are on our way. We’ll be there within an hour.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you soon.” Max ended the call and strode back into the hospital room, settling into the chair next to the bed. His eyes grew heavy from lack of sleep. Suddenly, he was startled back awake by the click of dress shoes on the tile floor. He rubbed his eyes so he could confront the doctor holding Chloe’s chart.

“I didn’t realize there was someone here with her,” the doctor addressed. “It’s good to see she has family.”

Max extended his hand. “Max Thomas. I’m Chloe’s boyfriend.”

“Dr. Adam Stevens. And I’m glad to know her name is Chloe. She was brought in without identification. It’s made treating her extremely difficult.” Dr. Stevens shook Max’s hand. Then, he rubbed his hand over his shaved head. “I have to admit, Max. I’m baffled. We’ve run a couple tests, but we don’t know what’s wrong with Ms. Davis. I’d hate to run more tests. We’ve had trouble keeping her electrolytes balanced from all the vomiting.”

“She has Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome,” Max answered quietly. He pulled his phone from his pocket and scrolled through his contacts until he found Chad’s. “This is her gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic, Dr. Chad Nicholson. He can tell you all you ever wanted to know about CVS.”

“Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome, you say?”

“Yes. She has medication for it and everything. Unfortunately, she left it at home.”

Dr. Stevens quickly jotted Chad’s contact numbers onto Chloe’s chart. “I’ll call Dr. Nicholson and see what course of treatment he wants her to have, right after I examine her.”

“Great. I’m going to step out and make a phone call. Thanks for taking care of her.” Max forced a smile on his lips before he walked into the hall. He looked down at his phone. In the midst of passing the phone to the doctor, the screen had gotten knocked to the call log. He frowned as he examined it closer. He pressed one of the many entries for Rico.

“Hey, Max. Any luck?” Rico greeted from the other end.

“I found her. She’s in Saint Paul. She’s had an episode. She’s in bad shape. I was calling to check on your leg.”

“I met with the orthopedic surgeon. Surgery will probably be next week. Mark’s breathing down my neck to get it done.”

“I agree with him.” Max fell silent.

“Is everything all right?”

“Just something weird about my phone. It said Chloe called the night of the fight. It would have been while we were cleaning you up in the shower. But there wasn’t a missed call.”

There was a pause from Rico. “Where did you leave that ring again?”

“Next to my phone.”

“I need to go check something out. I’ll call you back.”

Rico hung up before Max could tell him goodbye. Max slipped back into the hospital room. The smile that blossomed on his face was genuine when he met Chloe’s tired gaze. “Hey, baby,” he breathed. “You scared me to death running like that…” His words froze on his lips as tears overflowed and slid down her cheeks.

“Please, leave me alone,” she sobbed.

Max frowned, the confusion once again etched on his face. “Chloe…”

“Go, please…I don’t…want you…here.”

“Chloe, I don’t understand. What did I do?”

“Please, go.” She turned her back to him, burying her whimpers into her pillow. Max watched her cry. He couldn’t comfort her. He didn’t understand the how or why of it, but somehow he was the reason for her tears. He glanced around the hospital room as his own eyes burned. He was the reason she was here. And he didn’t know what he had done to hurt her.

His heart ached as he turned and slipped from the room. As he found refuge in the visitors lounge, he collapsed in a chair and began to cry.