Souls in Peril (42 page)

“If you
’
re sure.” Max nodded. “Still can
’
t believe the idiot punched a cop,” Jeff said. “I
’
ll see you tomorrow.”

Max went directly to Izzy
’
s room, hoping her father had magically dropped off the face of the earth. He hadn
’
t.

“Hello, JD.” The pervert looked at his daughter
’
s smiling face and frowned. “I
do believe you enjoy seeing JD
more than you do me, Isabelle. You never smile like that when I visit.
Do y
ou two have something going on I don
’
t know about?”

“I guess our secret
’
s out, Izzy. You
’
re right, sir. Izzy and I are eloping as soon as she
’
s released. I
’
m carrying her love child and she
’
s agreed to marry me.” Max regretted saying it the second it passed his lips, as did JD. But the damage was done.

Izzy laughed. “Dad, JD is kidding. He
’
s gay, remember?”

JD
’
s gay?

Max forced a laugh. “Yup. Just a little joke,”
you
freakin
’
pervert.

“Well,” he glared, “you
’
ve always had a strange sense of humor.” He kissed Izzy on the forehead, eyeing Max as he did.

“I
’
ll see you tomorrow, kitten. Did the doctor tell you what time you
’
d be discharged?”
When h
e stroked her hair
, she
pulled away from his touch.

“Lunchtime. At least that
’
s the plan.”

Kevin
picked up a leather briefcase from off the floor next to the bedside table. “I
’
ll try and get away by noon. I have a
n important
meeting tomorrow and I
’
ll be going out of town tomorrow evening, remember.  Maybe you should stay—”

“No. I
’
m coming home. I can take care of myself. The nurse said I
’
m a whiz at emptying this,” she patted her stomach. Max assumed she referr
ed
to the pouch. “So there
’
s no need to stay.”

“Very well.
I
’
ll see you tomorrow. Goodbye,
” he said with a short nod.

“Are you crazy? You know the only reason you
’
re allowed in my house when he
’
s gone is because
I lied and told him you
’
re
gay. Jeez, JD.” Izzy got up and, holding her pouch against her stomach,
gingerly
over to the door, shutting it.

“Sorry. I forgot.”

“How
’
s Emma?” She climbed back in bed.

“Better. She
’
s out of her coma, though she looks terrible.” Max leaned against the wall. “Are you really leaving tomorrow?”

“Yes. I
’
m going nuts in here. I can only do so much homework.” She pointed to the small pile of books and papers stacked on the nightstand. “Promise you
’
ll come by still. I know Em
’
s here and all, but don
’
t forget about me.”

Max
’
s heart sank. “Izzy, you
’
re my best friend. I promise I
’
m not going to forget about you. Especially not for Emma McKay. Now Jeff
Morgan
,
maybe,” he smiled mischievously.

Someone knocked on the door, pushing it open. “Time for another lesson, Izzy.” A tall man in a white lab coat
padded to
the foot of her bed, a plastic bag in his hand.

“JD, unless you want to learn how to change my little baggie, you may want to leave.” No one had to tell him twice. He made his way out the door, promising to check in with her tomorrow.

The next day, Max rode the bus home from school. With a ton of homework weighing his backpack down, he didn
’
t want to carry it all the way home from the hospital. He called and checked to make sure Izzy had been discharged. She had. Since he needed to go from the hospital to Izzy
’
s, he broke down and took the pink bike to save time.

“JD, hi,” Em said weakly as he knocked on the metal doorframe. “Come in.”

He
walked in and glanced around for her dad. “The coast is clear. My dad had to work, and my mom took Noah to karate.”

Max
stepp
ed up to her bed. She held out her hand and he gladly took it. “How
’
s the face? It
seem
s a little better today.”

“It
’
s getting there. They arrested Nate, so I won
’
t have to worry about him, at least for a while.”

“Good. I
’
ve been
concerned
.” She squeezed his hand. “JD, I need to tell you about
t
his crazy dream I had. Have a seat.”

Max reluctantly let go of her hand and settled in a small plastic chair next to the bed. He immediately wished for the nice recliner from Izzy
’
s room as he shifted around on his sore tailbone.

“I dreamt you came to see me the first night I was here. You were telling me you had to hurry, though I can
’
t remember why. Anyway, you said Izzy needed me, except here
’
s the strange part. It was your face, but Max
’
s voice. Weird, huh?”

“Yes,” Max said, knowing full well it wasn
’
t. “Did I say anything else?”

“Ah, yes, but I can
’
t remember what.”

Max knew by the pink in her cheeks she remembered.
Good
.

“How is Izzy?”

“She
’
s gone home. I
’
m going over there after I visit with you.”

“Tell her hi for me, and that when I get out of here we can compare war wounds.”

“I will.” He leaned in closer to her. “Em, can I ask you something?” She nodded. “Do you still wish you
’
d, you know, died that night?”

“No.” She shook her head
, biting her lower lip.
“I don
’
t. Promise. Being here and seeing how
anxious
my family and friends were opened my eyes. I have a lot to live for. But honestly, JD, it still hurts. I miss him so much. The life we planned together, the adventures we were going to have all died, too.”

“I know, but—” A couple cheerleaders burst into the room carrying shiny silver balloons. Elise held a fuzzy teddy bear. Max moved away.

“Oops, sorry. We
’
ll wait out here,” said Elise. They backed out of the room.

“It looks like your cheer team is here. I
’
ll be back tomorrow.”

She reached out and took his hand, giving it a little squeeze. “Thanks, JD. You
’
re the best.”

He made his way out of the room through the sea of balloons. Not only cheerleaders
came
, but several other
people
stood waiting to see her
as well
. A nurse
stepped
in front of the female mob and recited the rules for visiting Emma.

“Five minutes each, and no more than three people at a time, per the family
’
s request.” Max left as several of the girls begged the nurse to make an exception
for them.

He pedaled to Izzy
’
s
, perspiration streaming down his back. He hated spring heat waves. Summers were hot enough, spring didn
’
t need to be miserable also. He parked the bike on the front walk next to the house and rang the doorbell.

“Hello, JD.”
Kevin
stood in the doorway, his eyebrows pulled tight. “Ah, go around to the back patio. I
’
ll send Izzy outside. You
’
re a mess.”

Max thought it strange, but didn
’
t say anything. He waited for Izzy to come out as he
viewed
the backyard. He decided
Kevin
Thurston
had a thing for white. Every flower was white and every flowering bush had white blooms.

Izzy
lumbered out
, grinning. “Let me guess. He saw you covered in sweat and told you to come out here.” He nodded. “As you know, the guy
’
s a clean freak.” She sat carefully on one of the white lounge chairs.

Before Max could sit, her dad came outside and laid a white towel over the other lounge chair. “Here you go, JD.” Izzy rolled her eyes.

Max lowered his sweaty body onto the towel. “Thank you, sir.”

“Kitten, I have to pick up Wanda. Our plane leaves in two hours. Call me if you need anything.”
Kevin
leaned in to kiss
her
, she pulled back.

“Dad, we have company.” She pointed to Max.

“Stay out of the house, JD. The cleaning woman just came yesterday.”
Kevin
went back inside, picking up a canvas suitcase and his leather briefcase.

Izzy twisted around and watched him leave. She stood and walked to the patio door, stretching to see. “He
’
s almost down the driveway.” She stepped inside. “Okay. He
’
s gone. Let
’
s get out of the heat.”

Max followed her inside, practically swooning when the cool AC air hit him. Izzy poured him a glass of lemonade as he put on her dad
’
s slippers. She poured herself some water.

“I
’
ve been
working on some of my
painting
s this morning
. Do you want to see?” She handed him his glass.

“Yeah. I
’
d loved to.” Max had no idea Izzy painted. In fact, he
’
d never known anyone who painted.

“It
’
s up in my room.” He followed her up the grand staircase off the living room. He still couldn
’
t get over how immaculate the house was. He thought it kind of weird since the guy was a filthy pervert.

Izzy led him to the second room on the left. He smiled as he stepped in. The room exploded with color, mostly purple. Her bed, a
white
four poster with a purple canopy
sat near the window, unmade. Discarded clothes covered the floor and the top of her dresser.

Off the bedroom sat a small room with tall windows. Unlike her bedroom, order
reigned this room
. Paintbrushes, canvas, chalks all stacked in neat, perfect rows. On a shelf in the corner sat fifteen, maybe twenty sketchpads.
The room
smelled of paint thinner
.

“Here it is. What do you think?” She stood next to an easel near the corner that held a large canvas, probably twenty-four by thirty-six inches. Max stepped over next to her, hoping she didn
’
t paint the crazy modern art junk his mom used to love. When he looked at a picture of a person, he didn
’
t want to see six arms, one eye, and three breasts. Okay, maybe the three breasts.

Holding his breath and planning his controlled reaction, he turned to the canvas. His mouth dropped open. Izzy was an artist. A genuine, real-deal artist. On
the
left side of the canvas she
’
d
painted a couple holding hands, walking along the beach, footprints trailing them. On the other side
,
two little girls ran toward the couple with their arms swinging wildly in the air as they approached a flock of seagulls.
I
ncredible
details
, even the birds, each in different stages of flight,
brought the canvas to life
. The
expression
of sheer joy on the faces of the little girls made him smile.