72 St. Margaret’s Way Chapter 14
James woke up at some point with Madelyn asleep next to him on the bed, her hand lightly brushing against his. He thought he should move, maybe go over to the other bed and give her some space. This was inappropriate. Even if she wasn’t dating his roommate, he was her boss and he’d tried to hurt her. They shouldn’t be sharing a bed. But he was asleep again before finishing the thought. When he woke up for a second time, he was alone in the room and the sun was high outside the window.
Half an hour later, James was standing in the bathroom. He had tried, but he’d been unable to manage a shower. He knew he was dirty, not just inside. He’d been sweating and hallucinating for days now and clearly hygiene had been at the bottom of the priorities list. He’d feel so much better if he could just get under the shower spray.
But after the shower was on, he stood on the bathmat, staring at it. He’d had no idea that Amelia was tricking him into getting in this tub to save his life. He’d just followed along because maybe Adele wanted him to. And they’d all seen their captain like that. Docile and enthralled by this woman.
Shaking, James turned off the water and sat on the side of the tub, still fully dressed. He couldn’t do it, he couldn’t get back in that tub. There were a few worn face cloths on the counter from a load of laundry he’d done a few days ago. That would work okay for now.
James undressed, took a cloth and some soap to the sink, and quickly cleaned himself with it. Then he quickly scrubbed his hair with some soap and tried not to scream as he rinsed it out under the faucet. He didn’t even bother with the several days of stubble on his face, that was a problem for later. The end result wasn’t perfect, but he felt better as he pulled on his clean clothes.
So no shower. No food either, just the idea of putting anything into his body made him queasy. Water was fine, he slowly drank a small glass of water as he got dressed. But he’d attempted to eat a grilled cheese Amelia made him right before he went to shower and he hadn’t even been able to bite down.
He couldn’t quite remember the last solid meal he’d eaten. It must have been before he was compromised.
Compromised. It rang in James’s head even as he tried to function again. Compromised. He’d been compromised on a mission. He’d been mind controlled.
And with that, the water was back. As he shakily brushed his teeth after, the idea that they still didn’t know how she’d infected him was in the back of his mind. And he’d gotten dressed in clothes he hadn’t brought to work, so Graham must have gone in his room to get them. God, had he done anything weird in his room while he’d been…
Finally dressed and moderately clean, James forced himself to leave the bathroom. The privacy screen was tucked to the side of the hallway and he saw Madelyn sitting at the far computer, on comms with someone while the usual comms desk sat empty. He remembered the feeling of pushing that computer over, the sizzle and pop of sparks as Amelia screamed nearby. Now Madelyn looked up, smiled at him, and then went back to what was happening on the screen.
His side still hurt when he breathed. The small part of him that wasn’t dying of shame every time he felt it was proud of her hit. She’d apparently bruised his kidney with one swing, so she could clearly handle herself. But he wasn’t sure he could face her right now.
“How did the shower go?” Amelia asked from the kitchen doorway.
“It didn’t.”
“You can try again later. Want me to stay in there with you?”
He didn’t want to do it at all, but maybe that would work. She shouldn’t have to though.
“It’s no problem,” she added, though she sounded jumpy. “Go sit down, do you want some coffee?”
Before he could answer – or even figure out his answer – she motioned toward the empty couch, then went back into the kitchen.
James wanted to go hide in the bedroom, but he went over to the couch and sat down. The seat where he’d attacked Madelyn was empty and he looked away from it, out the window where the rest of the neighborhood was having a normal day.
There was a draft coming through the window, there always was. But now it made him so aware of how exposed he was in this t-shirt. They still didn’t know what happened, he thought as he looked around for a blanket.
“What are you looking for?” Madelyn asked.
“What’s that?” Bradley said over comms.
“Nothing, I was talking to James.”
“He’s up? How is he?”
Good question. James didn’t hear her response and he wasn’t sure he wanted to as he walked to his office. There was a blanket on the couch in there, but he froze in the doorway. He’d tried to hurt people in here. Why had he done that? He still didn’t understand.
“James?”
Amelia was there, holding a cup of coffee. She smiled uneasily at him. “You good?”
“I think I need to lay down,” he said, voice catching.
“Yeah, of course.”
She offered the mug but he shook his head. “I’m sorry,” he said, walking back through the living room.
This was how it had been, the three of them. He was going to kill them both and it had seemed so normal.
He had to get out of here. When Madelyn turned toward him, James just kept moving, not stopping until he was back in the gray bedroom.
***
James managed to join the others again later that afternoon, after several hours of once again trying and failing to sleep back in the gray bedroom. There was a movie on in the living room as everyone did side work except for him. The only people not in here were Graham, who was apparently coming in to do the overnight shift, and Bradley, who was on the phone in the back bedroom, talking with someone in a low, frustrated voice occasionally punctured by incredulous laughter. Gabriella was sitting on the couch, working on paperwork on her laptop as she watched the movie. Occasionally she’d look at James and smile and only once he managed to make himself smile back. But it must have been bad, because her smile had evaporated into concern.
He barely remembered seeing her at all, and was grateful for it in a selfish way. She’d seen him, he knew. He had vague memories of waking up beside her, of talking about Maine. But she was his little cousin and he’d failed her on so many levels by letting this happen. She shouldn’t have to see him like this, but she had.
He was sitting in the chair, a blanket around his body where his arms still felt too exposed. They hadn’t solved it. The case wasn’t finished. Anything could touch him and control him if he let it and he would have no idea. And not only that, but she was still out there. She could keep doing everything she’d been doing and there was no way for James to stop her.
He also had no idea what the movie was. Madelyn had chosen it and it was some black and white mystery. But the last few days and the fact that he hadn’t eaten were making him dizzy and unfocused. Not quite nodding off, but losing the plot of the movie even as he stared at the screen.
As the villain was approaching the stalled car, James jerked awake to the sound of the doorknob rattling.
