Chapter Twenty-Five
Cam
I didn't say anything as I drove Alex to the hospital. I knew we were going to have to talk about what I'd told her, but I also knew that this was not the right time to broach the subject. Alex was worried about Liz and she needed to handle the situation before we could talk about our future.
"Do you want me to come in with you?" I asked as I looked over and saw a lone tear running down Alex's cheek. She reached up and quickly wiped it away as she nodded.
I parked the truck on a side street and took her hand as we walked to the hospital entrance. Alex asked for Liz's room number and then headed for the elevator.
"I'm scared, Cam," she whispered as we ascended to the sixth floor. "I don't know what to do to help her if she won't let me."
"I know," I said, taking her hand and squeezing it gently. "We'll figure it out...together. But first, let's just see how Liz is doing and find out if she needs anything, okay?"
Alex gave me a look of gratitude before she stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. She held my hand as we walked down the hall to Liz's room but dropped it just before we walked through the door. For a moment, I felt hurt, but when I saw Liz lying in the bed looking very small and pale, I understood Alex's impulse to protect her and hung back in the doorway.
"Liz? It's Alex, I'm here, sweetie," Alex said softly as she sat down on the edge of the bed and took Liz's hand.
"Alex?" Liz mumbled as she tried to open her eyes. "Alex? I don't feel so good."
"I know, sweetie," Alex said, smoothing her hair as she held Liz's hand. "They're trying to figure out why, so you need to help them, okay? Tell them everything so they can fix you."
"I did," Liz said softly as she forced her eyes open and looked at Alex. Tears welled up as she spoke, "I told them everything. I don't know why I'm feeling so bad, Alex."
"Are you sure, Liz?" Alex asked as she leaned forward. "Are you sure you told them everything you can possibly think of?"
"I'm not doing drugs, if that's what you're asking," Liz said as she clung to Alex. "Everyone thinks I'm a drug addict, but I'm not. I swear I'm not."
"I believe you, Liz," Alex said looking away from her friend. I could tell by her expression that she wasn't entirely convinced that Liz was telling the truth but that she didn't want to challenge her friend while she was struggling with such a serious problem. "We'll figure out a way to make it all better, okay?"
"You don't believe me," Liz said in a flat voice. "I can always tell when you don't believe what I'm telling you."
"Liz, look, I believe you," Alex said as she sat back. "I'm just really worried about you. I want you to get help."
"Fuck you, Alex," Liz said in the same flat tone. "You don't believe me. Get out."
"Liz, don't do this," Alex pleaded.
"I said, get out," Liz repeated as she pulled her hand away and looked out the window. I could hear the pain in her voice and I knew she wasn't kidding. She looked back at Alex and yelled, “GET OUT!"
Startled, Alex stood up and rushed out of the room without looking back. I thought about following her, but thought better of it when I looked back at Liz and saw her hunched over holding her head in her hands.
"Liz, are you okay?" I asked as I walked across the room and sat down in the chair next to her bed. "You know she just wants what's best for you."
"I know," Liz sobbed into her hands. "But I can't get anyone to believe me! I swear I'm not taking drugs, but I don't know what's wrong with me!"
"All right, let's say that I believe you -- because I do," I said, looking at her tear-stained face as she raised her head. "The question is what's going on? What's happening to you?"
"I don't know!" Liz cried as she ran her hand through her hair. "All I know is that I'm tired all the time, I'm tripping and falling down a lot, and I can't think clearly. I thought it was because I was stressed out and tired, but after last night, I know it has to be something more than that, I just don't know what it is and the doctors can't figure it out."
"So, that would indicate that we need to approach this differently," I said as I thought out loud. "We need to look at this like a fire."
"What are you talking about?" Liz asked as she wiped her face and looked around for her water glass. I grabbed it off of the nightstand next to her bed and handed it to her. She reached out to take it, but it slid through her fingers and spilled down the side of the bed pooling on the floor as she yelled, "Dammit! This is what I'm talking about!"
"Hang on, Liz," I said as I grabbed a towel from the bathroom and mopped up the water. "I know it's frustrating, but let's go through what's happened and see if we can't pick out some common details."
"Screw that!" she shouted. "I'm tired of questions I can't answer and accusations that are going to cost me and my best friend our educations!"
"What are you talking about?" I asked, genuinely confused by her outburst.
"Didn't Alex tell you?" she said. "Victoria Metzler and her gang of mean girls has accused Alex and I of cheating on our practice exams and the school has ordered an investigation."
"Yeah, so?" I replied, not following.
"When they do an investigation, they also put a hold on any scholarship or loan money until they figure out what happened," she said wryly. "They don't like throwing good money at bad students."
"So, you've been accused and they've withheld your money?" I asked.
"Exactly, only the problem is that if we don't pay our tuition on time, we get dropped from our classes and can't be reinstated until the next term, which is after graduation," she said. "We're set to graduate at the end of this term so that means we have to wait until next fall!"
"But if you didn't cheat, they should be able to clear you immediately, right?" I said, trying to understand what the problem was.
"We didn't cheat, but Violet hates us and she has pull with the department head and the nursing internship supervisor, who both have to be character witnesses for the investigation," she said, hitting the bed with the palm of her hand to underscore the problem. "Neither one of us cheated, but we have no way of proving that beyond a shadow of a doubt, and the program doesn't want to lose the donation that Violet's dad made to the school. She wants us out, she gets what she wants."
"That's a shitty thing to do," I said, shaking my head.
"Yeah, well, have you met Violet Metzler?" she asked sarcastically. "She's shitty human being."
"Indeed," I said, thinking about how this shed new light on my contract with Richard Metzler and suddenly understanding Alex's hesitation when I told her about it. "So, what if we find a work around?"
"How in the hell are we going to find a work around for this?" Liz asked with an exasperated sigh. "It's not like Alex and I are millionaires who can finance our own educations. If that were the case, neither one of us would be worked up about this, you know?"
"No, but I think I have an idea," I said, rubbing my chin as I wondered how I was going to make it all work without Alex finding out.
"What are you going to do? Pay the bills, Mr. Big Shot?" Liz shot back as she rolled her eyes.
"In fact, I am," I said, still thinking about how all of this was either going to work spectacularly well or blow up in my face. "Don't tell Alex, though, okay?"
"Dude, I'm not saying a word," she said, shaking her head. "But if she finds out, you're going to be answering to her in a way that...well, just don't let her find out."
"Look, I'll front the money and when the scholarships come in, you can pay me back," I said as I pulled out my phone and started transferring money to the account I used for personal business. "Is there anything else that needs to be paid besides tuition?"
"Alex's rent," Liz said. "Don't tell her I told you, but her landlord is a stickler, and one late rent payment means she'll be served an eviction notice. It was part of her lease agreement because Mr. Deaver had had too many college students flaking out on rent. But like I said, do not tell her I told you. She'd kill me."
"I'm not saying a word," I agreed. "Don't you, either."
"Scout's honor," Liz said, holding up three fingers and giving me a solemn nod. "Or however that goes."
"Quick, give me the numbers," I said as I dug in the nightstand and found a pen and a pad of paper. Liz quickly scribbled the numbers on the sheet and gave me Alex's landlord's address before handing the paper over.
"I hope you know what you're doing, dude," she said with a lopsided grin. "You have no idea how mad Alex will be if she finds out."
"Finds out what?" Alex asked as she walked into the room with a tray full of food and drinks.
"Finds out I've been mainlining heroin here in this very room," Liz quickly shot back.
"Don't be smart with me, Banks," Alex said. There was an edge in her voice that hadn't been there before she'd left the room, and I wondered what she'd done besides get snacks while she was gone.
"I'm not being smart," Liz said as she took a slice of apple from Alex and bit into it. Quietly, she said, "I'm sorry, Alex."
"It's okay, sweetie," Alex said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "I know you're stressed out. I'm just worried about you, and I can't figure out how to help."
"I know," Liz said as she leaned over and gave Alex a hug. Her voice dropped to a sad whisper. "I really don't know what's wrong with me, Alex."
"I know, Liz," Alex said, patting her best friend's back. "But we're going to find out. Don't you worry, Liz. We will."
#
At Alex's insistence, I left her at the hospital with Liz while I went home to check on Tesla. I knew couldn't pay the tuition bill until the university offices opened back up on Monday morning, but I could find Alex's landlord and take care of that, so the next morning I drove over and paid her rent through the end of the term.
"Who are you?" the landlord asked suspiciously. "Does Miss Pierce know you're doing this?"
"Look, you're getting your money, aren't you?" I said as I handed him the cash. "Why ask questions? Now give me a receipt and send a receipt to Ms. Pierce so that she knows she's paid through to the end of the term."
"She's not going to like this," he said as he went to his computer and printed a receipt for me. "And what am I supposed to tell her when she comes asking who paid this?"
"I don't care how you explain it, so long as you don't say a word about me," I said as I walked toward the door. I turned and added, "And if you do, rest assured that you will regret it."
I called Alex to see if I could bring dinner to the hospital for her and Liz, but her phone went directly to voicemail, so I ordered dinner to be delivered and headed home to call Leo.
Leo and I arranged to meet at O'Neil's to discuss our plan for Metzler's announcement. When I arrived, Leo was entertaining a group of attractive young women who were skimpily dressed.
"Cam, I want you to meet the girls," Leo said, holding a glass of whiskey in one hand and gesturing to his companions with the other. "Girls, this is Cam."
"Hi, Cam," the pretty young things said in unison. I smiled and waved, then turned to Leo and tipped my head toward a back table.
"Sorry, girls," Leo said with the proper amount of regret, then turning to the bartender said, "Billy, buy these beautiful ladies a drink on me."
We moved to the back table and sat down before I could order a drink, so Billy had the waitress bring me a beer and a shot. I downed the shot and then said, "Okay, so what's our plan for Metzler's announcement?"
"Well, we both need to be there with the security team," Leo said. "He's requesting extra security for the first couple of weeks, so I've hired two more guys to work into the rotation."
"What the hell, Leo?" I said, looking at him. "We never talked about these guys! How do we know they can be trusted? Jesus!"
"Hey, I've been doing this for almost ten years," Leo said defensively. "I know what the fuck I'm doing, Cam, so back off."
"But you never run anything by me anymore," I protested as I took a swig of my beer and slammed the glass down on the table. "If we're going to do this together, then you have to treat me like I'm actually a part of the team, Leo."
"My bad," he said, holding up his hands in a show of surrender. "I'm used to flying solo, I screwed up. It won't happen again."
"Make sure it doesn't," I grumbled as I took another swig.
"What's got your boxers in a bunch tonight?" Leo asked as he signaled to the waitress for another round.
"I just...nah, forget it," I said, waving him off. I wanted to tell Leo about what had happened with Alex, but since I hadn't gotten an entirely positive response from her, I didn't want to jinx it by spilling the beans prematurely. What if she decided to walk away? I didn't want to have to deal with the pity Leo would feel.
"What's wrong, Cam?" Leo pressed.