Chapter Thirty Five

The truck rolled to a stop in front of Dorothy's building. Ari held me up as I exited the truck. 

"Don't try to walk. I'll take you to the clinic," he said. 

Dorothy appeared from around the corner, followed closely by Doc. 

"Jefferson was right," Dorothy screamed and grabbed my shirt. "You were waiting for the right moment to make sure he got killed." 

I tried to grasp onto something in the dark but could not and thudded in the dirt. My eyes pinched shut as twinges of pain pierced my body. I grabbed my thigh and concentrated on breathing so I did not scream. 

Ari bent down and wrapped his arm around me. "Dorothy, stop. Do not blame her for what happened." 

"Let's go inside," Jefferson cooed. "I'll explain what happened." 

"No. You're all going to take her side now? Tremont is dead because of her." She kicked at the ground, sending a shower of dirt and rocks into my face. "Just leave. All of you. I don't ever want to see you again." 

Jefferson whispered to Dorothy and led her inside. Ari lifted me up in his arms. 

"You don't need to do this," I said. "You can go to your mother." 

"I want to," he answered. 

Doc spoke up. "There's no consoling her, right now. Let's go check out your injury." 

I wrapped my arms around Ari's neck. "How did she find out already?" 

"Jefferson called her before we arrived. Didn't you hear him talking to her?" Ari asked. 

"No, I guess I zoned out." 

Doc held the clinic door open when we arrived and told Ari to put me in the last room. I hoped it was the last time I used that exam room. 

"Are there any painkillers which won't make you sick?" Doc asked. 

"Acetaminophen." 

He cracked a smile. "I'm afraid that is not going to help." He opened up the mini-fridge next to the sink and rummaged through the contents. 

I stared at the rupture at my knee. "Doc, I'm sorry." It was my fault. 

He stood up with a bottle and opened a syringe. "What are you apologizing for, child?" 

"I was there. I had this feeling... but I didn't act fast enough." 

"Don't listen to that devilish woman. It was not your responsibility to save him." 

"But I..." 

"I told Tremont from the beginning not to get involved in this. But he didn't listen and is the reason why he stopped sharing their plans. Don't blame yourself for my son's actions." He pushed lightly on my shoulder. "Now lay back." 

I did as he asked. After a light prick, the belt loosened and the throbbing eased. 

"I'm going to clean it out and do what I can, but you need to go to a hospital." 

"I can't go back to the city. It'll have to wait." 

He sighed. "I'll do my best. Try not to watch." His eyes moved up to Ari. "You might want to wait outside, son." 

Ari shook his head and took my hand. "I'll wait here." 

I smiled at him and squeezed his hand. 

He turned his gaze down to me. "So what are you going to do now?" 

"I need to go out west so my knee is repaired properly." 

"Because of the cyber... what did you call them? Implants?" 

"Not just because of them. They can rebuild the bone. I'm pretty sure my kneecap is in a million shards." 

The night's events weighed heavily on his mind. He swallowed hard. "Do you think Noah would have killed him?" 

"I know he would have." 

"Why did you stop him? He shot you. He tried to kill you." 

I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Once he realized it was me, he stopped. He was appalled when he realized he hurt me. And there was something he said, 'They aren't happy that you betrayed them.' Not Tremont disrupted him or the Paynes but people that only he and Tremont knew." 

Puzzled, Ari looked away, as though he was trying to put the pieces together in his mind. 

"Rose asked me if I wanted to rejoin the group.," I said. "Do you want to come as well? If you'd rather stay here with your mother, I wouldn't blame you." 

A slow smile built on his face. "No, I want to go with you but..." His voice cracked. "I was not sure if you wanted me to." 

"We did not have much time together. I would like to change that." 

His eyes softened, filled with an inner glow. "That is what I want. Just let like I said on Christmas. Let's see the world." 

Doc dug through the wound. I closed my eyes as dizziness washed over me. "Doc, is it as bad as I think it is?" 

"Probably worse. I removed the largest chunk of the bullet, but I don't think I can take out all of the pieces without causing further damage." 

After more movement in my knee, I inhaled sharply. The muscles in my lower thigh quaked. A wave of heat flushed down my body as I fought the urge to vomit. 

"Sorry, the local anesthetic must not be strong enough," Doc said. 

Ari's face glossed over and he wobbled on his feet. 

I pressed his hand to my chest. "Go get some sleep. I'm not going anywhere." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Yes. We can talk more in the morning." 

He bent down and pressed his lips against my forehead before letting go of my hand. Moments later, the shutting of the clinic door reverberated down the hall. 

Doc applied pressure to my wound. "I've sewed up what I can. This gauze will help accelerate the blood clotting." 

I took some deep breaths. 

"I can give you something stronger." 

"No. I'll be sick and in pain." 

"Alright. I want you to stay here. Don't move without me. I'll bring some pillows to keep your leg elevated." 

"No problem." I did not want to move. 

The door opened and shut again. I looked down at the mountain of bloody gauze and medical instruments. What a mess. 

Doc tried to make me as comfortable as possible. I did not think I could sleep much anyway. Between Doc’s checkups, I drifted off.

*** 

The next morning, the sound of a truck engine resounded outside the clinic. After a few moments, Rose walked through the door. A tear in her pant leg was surrounded by blood stains.

"Wow," she said. "You look like garbage."

I pulled myself up to a sitting position. "Thanks. That is exactly how I feel."

"Did you talk to Ari last night?"

"Yes. I told him I wanted him to come with."

The corners of her mouth upturned. "I'm proud of you."

My eyes flitted and danced away from her. "Thanks." 

"I hoped he was not tagging along without talking to you first. Was it really so hard?"

"After what happened last night, no it wasn't."

"Good. It is about time you did something for yourself."

I huffed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Don't stay because someone else wants you to. Don't come with me unless it is truly what you want to do."

But I did not have a clue what I wanted to do. I needed more time to figure that out. "I want to go with the Thorns again."

She patted my arm. "Good. Well, the truck is loaded. We'll go to the estate first. We packed up your belongings, so all we need is you."

"How are Fran and the kids moving?" 

"Mira brought the big truck last night." 

"Whose truck are we taking? Noah's?" 

"No, he's in Charlestown, getting his family ready. Doc gave us Tremont's truck." 

I winced at the sound of his name. 

Her hand clasped my right forearm. "Lily, it's not your fault he died." 

"Yeah." But the guilt lingered. 

I opened my eyes at the sound of the door opening. Doc handed Rose a medical kit and instructions on what to give me and when. Did they think I could not do it myself? 

"She needs to go to a hospital ASAP." 

I swung my legs over the side. My head felt woozy as blood rushed to my extremities. "I will." 

Rose left the room as he handed me a pair of crutches from behind the door. 

"I'm not going to be able to give those back," I said. 

"I know." 

I took them and leaned my weight onto them. "What will you do now?" 

"Go back to Charlestown. Something tells me they are going to be in need of doctors very soon." 

"During my stay here, while the others hated me, you helped me. Why?" 

"It is the right thing to do.”

I stared at the landscape poster on the wall. The gentle waves crashing on the beach were supposed to soothing. 

He took off his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief from his coat pocket. "My dear, I have been the top surgeon at two separate hospitals and both times I was ousted because I refused to treat patients differently based on their social status, family name, or religious beliefs. Everyone deserves fair treatment." 

Judging by the look on his face, there was more to it. I also wanted to ask him about who else Tremont worked for but I did not deserve to. Let him mourn his son. We were leaving. It was not my problem anymore.