chapter 22

That afternoon I sat in the car with Jane, Sarah and Mathew. Jane was driving us all to the hospital and Rai had called to say she and Belle would catch up with us there. I was extremely happy and animated during the whole drive there. The others thought it was strange how I was acting but they didn't say anything else about it.

“The children will be very happy to have so many new people there to cheer them up.” I told them with enthusiasm in my voice.

“Jane told me that you play for them when you visit. Are you planning on playing anything in particular today?” Sarah asked from the front passenger seat

“I’m not sure, I didn’t plan anything but the kids have probably already put the music up on the piano.” I answered her question and began to think about the music I could play for the children.

“What if you play with her Sarah?” Mathew asked as if it was an everyday thing.

“You know what?” Sarah said as she turned and looked at Mathew in astonishment, “I think there might be something in that head of yours after all.”

“You know what--”

“Mathew” Jane interrupted Mathew with a warning tone in her voice.

“She started it” Mathew whined and stuck out his tongue at Sarah.

“Liar, liar, pants on fire” Sarah retorted and stuck out her tongue back at Mathew causing Jane to sigh in resignation.

This whole interaction was so amusing that I busted out laughing. It had been so long since I had laughed so freely that tears came to my eyes. When I finally stopped laughing I saw that Sarah and Mathew were both staring at me. I looked down at my lap as I felt the deep blush blossom on my cheeks. From below my lashes I saw that Sarah had a tender smile on her face while Mathew looked at me with an expression I couldn’t decipher.

“I don’t think I have ever heard you laugh. You have a very pretty laugh Adel” Sarah said in a tender voice that one would use on shy children.

“It’s beautiful” Mathew added in a breathless voice

“Don’t forget to breathe Mathew” Sarah teased and caused Mathew to blush and look out the window.

“Stop teasing him Sarah” Jane said with laughter lacing her voice but before she could fully laugh she was interrupted by a cough.

Sarah instantly looked worried and Mathew was at attention as if ready to jump into some sort of action if it was needed. I was a little worried but I just thought it was a sign of a cold but nothing to get so worked up about. Jane waved off the hand that Sarah had lay on her shoulder and continued driving with a look of irritation on her face. Mathew and Sarah shared a look that held so much worry and apprehension.

The car was silent for a long stretch of time and I felt as if I should say something to end the tension in the car. There was something that was going on between all of them and it had to do with Jane but it was understood that no one should talk about it.

Suddenly, my phone went off and the ring tone broke the silence of the car.

“Hello?” I answered with a light blush on my cheeks when Mathew and Sarah looked at me curiously.

“Hey Scratch, it’s me Sammy” Sammy’s voice came from the phone and it sounded as if he had been running a marathon.

“Oh hey Sammy, did you need something?” I asked in a worried tone since I knew that Sammy didn’t call me unless it was extremely bad.

“It’s Scott; he escaped the police custody this morning. It was some sort of accident.” Sammy sounded winded as he said all of this.

“That’s not possible...” I whispered as I began to feel like I was waking up from a long dream.

“Please be careful, Adel. I don’t know where he is or what he has planned but I know that he is out for blood.” Sammy said before gasping and then the line went dead.

I closed the phone but didn’t make any other movement and just starred at the back of Sarah’s seat in shocked silence.

“Are you alright, Adel?” Sarah’s voice filled the car with a worried and apprehensive tone

“I don’t know” I answered as if in a daze and looked out the window and noticed we were already at the hospital. Jane had already parked the car and all three of them were looking at me with identical concerned looks on their faces.

“Who called?” Mathew asked with suspicion lacing his voice

“Nobody” I answered curtly and got out of the car. Once I was outside and took a couple of deep breaths I regretted answering so rudely to Mathew.

“Hey everyone” Belle walked up with Rai in tow and a container of some sort in her arms.

“What’s in there?” Jane tried to sneak a peek at what was in the container but Belle swatted her hand away before she could get a look.

“It is for the children” Belle said in a warning tone

“But I am a child” Jane argued with laughter lacing her voice.

Mathew walked up beside me and looked a little down as if he had just been scowled. It was probably my fault he felt bad and maybe I should apologize.

“Mathew, listen, I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier.” I said as we leaned against the car and watched as the others tried to no avail to get a look at what Belle had brought.

“It’s okay, Adel I should have been more considerate of your privacy and waited until you wanted to tell me.” Mathew said with a timid smile flashing across his face.

“Stop flirting over there and come on" Rai called as she led the others to the front of the hospital building.

"I think they want us to follow" Mathew said and held out his hand in invitation.

"What harm could it do?" I asked out loud but it was directed more towards me than him. In this moment I was taking a great leap of faith by taking his hand. But he had some weird power over me and it caused me to trust him.

‘Don’t trust anyone’ Miloh's voice came into my mind as if called back from the past.
Sammy's news really shocked me if I was hearing Miloh’s voice in my head. The thought of her out of jail made me hopeful that she would be reformed. Maybe now she would leave behind the horrible life she had let Scott drags her into. But with hope also came worry and fear because Scott was loose and out for blood.

"A penny for your thoughts" Mathew's voice cut through the cloud of thoughts that had begun to suffocate.

"I just...do you..." there were so many things I could say right now but I was cautious,

"Mathew I need to know, are you still hanging around with Scott's gang?" I put on a mask of stone to hide the apprehension I had roiling inside. His answer would tell me if I could trust him or not.

"Of course not; is that what has been bothering you? Don't worry about that anymore, it’s all over." He said this as if he was trying to convince himself.

"Okay" I didn't believe a word he said but I wasn't going to tell him that.

He led me towards the hospital with a smile on his face but that smile was one that hid a secret behind its pleasant nature.

“What took you guys so long?” Sarah asked with a cheeky smile on her face.

“We were smooching” I told her teasingly and laughed when I saw her expression of shock and disbelief.

“Adel!”

My name was called out from somewhere in the lobby but before I could figure out who had called out to me, I was practically run over by little bodies. Suddenly, there was nothing wrong with the world. I was in a place that protected me from the cruel reality of life and allowed me to freely give and receive love. This place was a home that housed a family that was in need in more ways than one.

As I looked upon each child’s smiling face, I vowed I would always give to this hospital and its children all I could for as long as I lived. These children were more than just kids at a hospital; they were my children now and I would care for them with as much love and devotion as any other mother would.