Chapter Six  


 

JC wasn*t prepared for what he saw when he and Alona entered the curtained off room the hospital had temporarily put Alexa in. This was the first time he had ever seen her without makeup after one of Tyrell*s beatings. As Alona walked over and sat next to her, JC stood back just taking everything in. Her left eye was swollen shut and the majority of her face was black and blue. It was obvious to anyone who looked at her that her nose was broken and this upset JC more than he thought possible. He knew that this new crookedness would be permanent and he hated Tyrell for marring such a beautiful face. The most sickening aspect of her injuries was the way her jaw hung awkwardly out of its place. The doctors would be coming back in a few minutes to take her up stairs for surgery that would fix that, but now it was a grim reminder of just how badly Tyrell had hurt her.  


Alexa couldn*t say much because of her jaw, but she motioned for JC to come towards her. Alona looked at him sadly as he took a seat beside her. "Hey Lex," he said softly, taking the hand that she offered him. "I got here as soon as I could." She offered her best smile and then took her hand from him. She glanced at Alona desperately and began to make various gestures with her hands. JC looked at Alona and then back at Alexa, clearly perplexed.  


Alona laughed and nodded knowingly. "Lex took sign language when she was in high school back in Wisconsin. I know enough to get by."  

"Oh*so, what is she saying?"  


Smiling even brighter, Alona signed something to Alexa and then began to speak. "She says that she*s glad that you*re here and she thanks you for coming."  


More signing occurred as JC sat silently, looking back and forth between the two friends.  


"And she wants you to know that this isn*t your fault, so stop frowning."  


JC smiled just slightly and nodded his head. "I*m sorry."  

"Uhh*she*s says that the doctors think she*ll be okay. Her ankle is broken but it should heal up alright. And*what? Oh*"  

The two continued to sign but Alona suddenly stopped translating for JC. He could intuitively tell by the increased speed of their hands and the looks on their faces that they were arguing. He also saw that Alona was giving the sign for "no" over and over again. Finally, Alona threw her hands up in the air, causing JC to flinch slightly and scoot his chair away from her.  


"Dammit, Lex! I had to. I*m sorry, but I just had to!"  

More signs from Alexa. Her hands were slower now, more reserved. JC could see the tears in her eye that wasn*t swollen shut. He looked at Alona, concerned, but she didn*t acknowledge him.  

"He won*t be able to hurt you now. The}*ll arrest him and*"  

The "no" sign from Alexa.  


"Yes they will," Alona insisted. "They*ll find him and arrest him and then you*ll be safe. You won*t have to go through this ever again."  

JC was bewildered. Just minutes earlier Alona had confessed to him that she was worried about her own safety. Yet here she was, telling Alexa that there was nothing to be afraid of. JC didn*t see where lying about the situation would do anyone any good. He figured that if Tyrell were as important of a dealer as Alona made him out to be, he would have ways of skirting the police. And if that were true, then all three of them definitely had a reason to be concerned.  

Exasperated, Alona turned suddenly to JC. "The doctors told her I called the police."  


"I gathered that," he nodded, playing with the brim of his baseball hat.  

"And now she*s afraid that Tyrell will be even more pissed off and come after*" she paused and looked down at the floor, "all of us."  

This is what JC had been afraid of. But out of the blue, his worry was gone. JC had a sudden moment of divine realization. Before he could second guess himself, he was speaking. "You could both come stay with me for a while. I*ve got plenty of room and*"  

"I don*t think so," Alona cut him off. "Tyrell has your business card, that*s what started this whole mess in the first place. If he has that card then he knows your number and where you live. So staying with you isn*t going to make us any safer. Unless, of course, you think your good looks and bad hair is gonna deter him."  

He chose, for the moment, to ignore her friendly insult. JC just shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. Alona had taken his invitation the wrong way. "No, I don*t mean stay with me here in LA. You girls could come back to Orlando with me. Just until it's safe, I mean. I have my own personal security team there and Tyrell couldn*t possibly*"  

"Are you joking?" she exploded angrily, standing up, hands on her hips. "Please, tell me you*re joking! You can*t honestly expect us to just drop everything and move across the country with you. We don*t even really know you. And besides, we have lives here! If we do that, we*re letting Tyrell win. We*re showing him we*re scared and we*re running away. All we*d be doing is giving him exactly what he wants!"  

It took quite a bit to make JC lose his temper. He had been trained to stay calm in hectic situations. That was the only way to keep the press off his back. But Alona was getting very close to pushing him over the edge. He stood up and took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched his fists, and tugged at the belt loops on his jeans before continuing. When he did speak again, his voice was stony. "Look, Alona, I understand what you*re saying. But think about this. Would you rather stay here, do nothing but prove to Tyrell how stubborn you are, and wind up getting hurt, or come with me, show him that maybe you are a little scared, but be safe?" The muscle near his jaw twitched involuntarily and his eyes were icy. JC was challenging her to take him on.  

Alona began to shout her reply, unnerved by his coldness, but a Kleenex box flying just between their heads silenced both of them. They turned to find Alexa glaring at them, obviously angered. She began to sign rapidly.  

"Slow down," Alona interrupted bitterly, unable to keep up.  

Alexa repeated her signs and then sat quietly, waiting for Alona to translate.  

Dragging a hand through her dark curls and exhaling loudly, Alona turned back to JC. "She basically just told both of us to shut up and stop acting like children. She says she should be the one to make this decision, not either of us. But, she thanks you for your offer and she says she*ll think about it." She stopped briefly, smiling in spite of herself. "That was the clean and edited version," she concluded, turning then to leave the room.  

"Hey," JC called to her. "Where are you going?"  

"I have to go call Jim and tell him that his two best waitresses won*t be in for a while and hope that he doesn*t decide to fire us both. Especially since I*m calling him at," she looked down at her watch, "1:30 in the morning."  


"But*I thought you said*"  


Alona stopped at the door and looked back over her shoulder, amused by how confused JC appeared to be. "I*ve been Alexa*s best friend for almost three years. I know her. She*s already made her decision. I hope you*re ready for a couple of house guests Mr. Good Samaritan." Laughing to herself, Alona made her way out of the room. This was going to be very interesting.  

[::-::Back::-::][::-::Next::-::]