Chapter 2 – Camilla
This man was too much. I was trying my best to keep a straight face. I didn’t know if I should laugh at his audacity or if I should be offended. I felt a little of both. It was my first day back to the office, and I’d had a few good breakthrough moments with others. I was feeling like it was going to be a good day, until the handsome devil in front of me sat down. Now I wasn’t sure if I hadn’t come back too early.
“Would you like to describe the scene and how you found yourself there?”
I tried not to stare at the hard lines of his jaw and the even harder chest in front of me. The pictures of him on the television had not done him justice, not at all. He was far bigger and cockier than he’d been in the clips that I’d found and watched of him over the weekend. I always did my homework, but it was never as extensive as it had been with him. His internet footprint was just too interesting.
“Sure, Doc.”
I cringed a little as he started. This was going to be a long hour. If I could get him talking about anything else, it would have to be better than this.
“We were there to get her something hot for an event that was planned for next week. I don’t know what I was thinking, letting her drag me out there in the first place, but you know how you women get.”
I could only imagine what he meant by that, but I wasn’t going to let it bother me. There was no reason too.
“Of course, go on.”
He paused and smiled at me, a dashing smile that showed all of his perfect white teeth and a small dimple in his chin that I hadn’t noticed before. His dark eyes held lust, and while it was misplaced, I was as guilty of it as he was.
“I think that I’m aggravating you, Doc? Is that true?”
“Not at all.” He was doing more than that, but I wasn’t going to argue with him, and I certainly wasn’t going to admit the way I was feeling about him. I had no business doing so, and I was trying my best to be as professional as I was able to with Tyler. He was all kinds of bad news, a man that I needed to stay far away from. That was going to be hard to do, and I was already wondering how long he was going to keep coming back.
“Good, because I was just getting to like you.”
“So go on, please. I would like to hear what happened from your point of view.”
“Well, like I said, we were there to get something for Ivy to wear. I didn’t really want to be there, so I was going to hang out in the front while she picked something out. The owner was busy, though, with someone else in the back, so she was waiting up front with me.”
Tyler was finally sitting back, and his eyes closed as he tried to picture the day in his mind. It was already coming back to me, and I wished more than anything that I could forget it for just a little while.
“I saw the man come in. I remember thinking that there was something off about him. He was really mad and had a bag in his hands. I thought that it was a return and he just had his panties in a bunch. I didn’t know that there was a gun in there until he pulled it out. The owner was the first one who got shot. It was quick and point blank. He yelled something, but I don’t remember what.”
My heart was racing. He was talking about Marge, and an image of her lying dead on the ground crept into my mind. I was going to miss her. I hadn’t known her that well, but she was always a bright spot in my day. Marge was a gentle woman and hadn’t deserved that.
The need to ask if it was quick filled my head, but I didn’t want to say anything. I shouldn’t have said what I did, so I let him speak. I wasn’t the only one who had to get it out.
“The sound was so loud. Ivy screamed. I mean, she really screamed. It was as good as those actresses in the horror films. That’s what made me get with it, her scream.”
In spite of myself, I was getting into his story. He was a good storyteller, even though I knew he wasn’t trying to be. The man was handsome, and now that his eyes were closed, I could look at him without having to worry about what he thought of me. I didn’t have to keep my eyes away. I knew that he was a patient, and that he was off limits and a mile out of my league, but he was at least fun to look at if nothing else.
“So what did you do?”
Those cocoa brown eyes opened up and met mine. I was busted looking at him, and I had to force myself to not look away guiltily.
“Well, I grabbed Ivy and I pulled her under the front register. I didn’t have anything on me, and the man had his gun pulled out before I could really think to do anything else. So I hid.”
“That was what kept you alive. You shouldn’t be ashamed of that. Your actions kept you and another person alive. That’s nothing to be upset about.”
He stopped, and our eyes met again before I finally pulled them away and looked at the notepad in front of me. I was so wrapped up in the story and my own take on events that I hadn’t written much of anything.
“I don’t feel bad about it, but in a way I wish I could have done more. So many people died for no reason. Do you know that they still don’t have a motive?”
“I didn’t. I’ve been staying away from the news.”
“I can’t stop watching it. I just want to know why.”
Tyler seemed frustrated, and I could tell that it was genuine. I felt the same way, and I felt helpless. I didn’t know why I’d been spared and so many others hadn’t, but I was happy that Tyler was one of the ones who’d been saved. It sounded like his quick thinking had saved more than one life.
“So even after the shooting, Ivy wouldn’t budge from under the cash register. The police had to coax her out.”
I could relate to that. I hadn’t wanted to leave the dressing room because that was where I felt the safest.
“But that was it. The cops came and we left.”
There was more to it, but it was clear that I wasn’t going to learn anything else just then. He was done with his story, and I didn’t want to press him for more. He’d said it all in a monotone voice, and although he liked to say that nothing had bothered him, it was clear that something had. It was hard to walk away from something like that and to feel nothing. I certainly felt things, guilt, fear and a myriad of other feelings. I just felt too much. It was all just too much, and for a moment I wished that I could just shut it off like he had.
“That’s quite a story. I’m glad that you two made it out of there okay.”
“Where were you, again?”
“I was changing into a dress when the shooting started.”
“A blue dress?”
Nodding my head, I asked him how he knew that.
“I saw you and I thought you were an angel. You didn’t have a spot on you, and you just walked through the chaos looking ahead.”
His description was nothing like how I would have described it. I’d felt like I was a shaking mess, and although it was all a blur now, I knew that there had been nothing majestic about me. I’d been terrified, and if the police officer hadn’t come to get me, I was sure I would still be in that changing room.
“It was quite a day, Tyler, and I’m glad that you shared that with me.”
“It was just another day, Doc. I try not to worry about things that I cannot change. I look forward to seeing him in court and picking him out. He’ll go to prison for the rest of his life, and I’ll be happy to help with that.”
The idea of having to come face to face with the man who had worn the boots was not something that I was looking forward to. It was the very last thing that I wanted to do.
“Well, then I’m glad that you were there and saw him. I only saw the man’s boots a couple of times. I wouldn’t be any good trying to identify him.”
Silence came over us. I knew that we were both deep in our own thoughts. How different the same experience had been for us. While he’d drawn strength from the experience, I was still nervous when I heard a loud sound. I’d been a doctor for years, and it still amazed me how differently two people could react to the same scenario. I wouldn’t say that it had ruined my life, but it had made my already fragile psyche a little more fragile.
“I find it rather odd that you’re my doctor and you were actually there. This must be some kind of coincidence.”
“Not at all. The police most likely talked to your family and gave them my number. Who did you say set up the appointment?”
“My mother was worried that it was going to emotionally scar me. I don’t know where she got your card from.”
“I work with the police department on a regular basis. Most of my clients have had traumatic experiences, so I’ve had several survivors sent my way.”
“I’m sure glad that it’s you. Here I was worried that it would be some stuffy man, but look at you.”