Page 4 of Out of the Darkness

“Get out,” he demanded, completely ignoring her response.

“Hang on. If you just talk to me for a minute, explain to me what?—”

“I said get out!” he yelled at the top of his lungs. “Get out! Get out! Get out!”

David suddenly began grabbing things off of the tray that sat by his bed and chucked them at her with an alarming force. She actually had to duck to avoid them, though one came dangerously close to hitting her upside the head.

At the same time, the door banged open behind her, and several nurses rushed inside, followed by a couple of security guards she had seen earlier wandering the halls. While the nurses tried to calm David down, the security guards quickly led her from the room. Thankfully, one of them grabbed her purse for her on the way out.

Madelyn was shocked by what had just happened, shaken to her very core, and she didn’t say a word as she was escorted from the building. She had no idea what had set David off like that or what she had done to deserve that kind of treatment. It was completely out of the blue, and she wondered if he maybe had some kind of head injury. How else could she explain going from hot and heavy to him throwing her out of the hospital like that while simultaneously ending things?

After saying goodbye to the security guards, she walked back to her car in a confused and somewhat angry stupor. David blaming her for what happened to him was both cruel and uncalled for. She had nothing to do with it. Nor did she know what ‘psycho’ he was talking about. She was frustrated and hurt by his reaction to her, along with the fact that he wouldn’t stop freaking out for two minutes to explain to her what had happened and why he felt it was her fault.

As Madelyn neared her car, she pulled her cell phone out of her purse and quickly dialed her best friend’s number. She needed someone to vent to, and there was only one person in the entire world she was willing to do so with.

“Hey. I thought you were going to see David today,” Melanie’s voice came through the phone after only two rings.

“I did,” she said bitterly, digging out her keys as well. “And the asshole had me escorted out by freaking security.”

“What? Why?”

“He blames me for his being in the hospital, apparently.”

“That… that doesn’t make any sense, Madelyn.”

“You’re telling me. Listen, I need to ask a favor.” She paused next to her car and leaned against the door, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Anything. What’s up?” Melanie said a little too quickly.

That was how Madelyn knew Melanie felt sorry for her. It was, after all, her fault she was in this mess in the first place. She was the one who had forced Madelyn to step out of her comfort zone and give David a chance. Now, she was all too eager to offer her help when she didn’t even know what the favor was. Madelyn didn’t need pity, she needed answers.

She hated the fact that she was about to ask this of Melanie, but the reality was that she didn’t have any other choice. David certainly wasn’t going to tell her, and since Melanie was a detective with the Cedarwood Police Department, she was the only one left to ask.

“It’s a big ask, Mel,” she began. “It could get you into a lot of trouble. So, if you aren’t comfortable with it?—”

“What’s the fucking favor, Madelyn?” Melanie asked firmly.

She pressed her lips together and looked around the parking structure to make sure she wasn’t going to be overheard. For a brief moment, she thought she saw someone standing over by one of the concrete support pillars a couple of rows down. But she quickly brushed it off as being a trick of the light because she was clearly alone.

With a sigh of resignation, she raked her fingers through her hair. “I need you to find out what happened to David last night. I need to know why he blames me for this.”

Melanie went quiet for a few moments, and Madelyn figured she was trying to figure out the best way to decline, not that she would blame her. It was a big ask, and she could get into a lot of trouble for it. In hindsight, she should have waited until she went back to work herself since she worked at the station too. She was only a receptionist, so she didn’t have the same kind of access to files that Melanie did, but she could probably figure it out. That way, it would only be her ass on the line. All of this was just going to bug the crap out of her until she knew what was going on.

“You know what? I’ll do it,” Melanie suddenly told her.

“Wait, really?” she asked, not bothering to hide her surprise. Even though Melanie was her best friend, she hadn’t expected her to agree to something like this.

“Yeah. I want to know what his deal is too,” Melanie replied. “Just give me a few days to look into it and dig up the reports and stuff.”

“You are the best, Mel. Thank you.”

“Awe, I love you too. Listen, I have to get back. Call me later?”

“You bet!”

Madelyn ended the call and put her cell phone back into her purse before she opened the car door. She realized then that, in her haste to get into the hospital, she must have forgotten to lock the car because it was already unlocked. Just as she was about to get in, she spotted a white envelope sitting on her seat and a hand-carved, wooden dove, both of which had her freezing in place. Maybe she hadn’t forgotten to lock it after all.

Her brows creased in curiosity and confusion as she picked up the items. The little wooden dove was beautiful and carved with immensely intricate detail. She could see every single feather on the wings and tail. Whoever had carved it was clearly talented with their hands. But it was the letter that drew her attention.

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