Souls in Peril (6 page)

“
Hello, sir. How
’
s Emma doing?
”
Sitting up,
his
head pound
ed
in protest
.
Max about swallowed his tongue at his faux pas.
Stupid, stupid
!

“
You know my daughter?
”
Mr.
McKay
held out his hand and warmly shook Max
’
s.

“
Ah, not really, no.
”
Max fidgeted as he tried to cover his tracks.
“
I
’
ve seen her at school, you know, cheering, and I
’
ve seen you pick her up after school while I waited for the bus. I know she
and Max were dating. I just wondered how she was doing with hi
m
being gone and all.
”
Max still couldn
’
t bring himself to say dead. He laid his head back down.
Where
’
s Mel with something for this pain?

“
Son, are you alright?
”
Mr.
McKay
stepp
ed closer.

“
Yes. I
’
m a little weak from the accident still.
”

“
That
’
s why I
’
m here. I need to speak to you about what happened that night. Are you up to it?
”

Max didn
’
t know exactly what to say. He
’
d have to be vague since he had limited knowledge.
“
Well, I can promise you I wasn
’
t high at all.
”

“
Yes, we got your blood test back, everyone
’
s actually, and it
’
s all good. Also, the tests performed at the accident site proved no one was driving at excessive speeds. 
We
’
re
eager to figure out what exactly happened and
,
we
’
re hoping you can fill in the blanks.
”
Mr.
McKay
sat down next to Max in a stiff plastic chair and opened the file he
’
d brought in with him.

“
I
’
m sorry, sir. I just don
’
t
remember anything,
”
Max offered
weakly.

“
Do you remember if there was something in the road?
”
Max shook his head.
“
What
’
s the last thing you recall?
”
Mr.
McKay
asked.

“
I remember looking through my locker for something after school that day. I don
’
t even remember what it was,
”
Max admitted. He should have asked JD what he was looking for, but he was too busy kissing Emma. Guilt washed over him. Why didn
’
t he offer to help JD?

“
That
’
s it?
”

“
Yes, sir. I
’
m sorry. Really
,
I am.
”

“
Hello, Officer
McKay
.
”
In
sauntered
Mel with a pink water pitcher.
“
The nurse is going to be in with your pain pills in a minute,
”
she said to Max.
“
So
,
is my baby guilty of something?
”
She
glowered
at
Emma
’
s dad
,
square in the eye.
A
look
he
’
d
seen his own mother do a hundred times when she
had
felt the need to protect
him
. Max called it her
mother bear
look.

“
We
’
re still investigating. Interviewing JD is our final step.
M
y report
should be ready first of next week
.
”
Mr.
McKay
closed his folder, stood and shook Max
’
s hand.
“
JD, sometimes accidents just happen and no one is to blame,
”
he said gently as he handed Max a small business card.
“
If you remember something, no matter how unimportant it may seem to you, please call me. Take care of yourself.
”
He turned for the door and over his shoulder said,
“
And Emma is going to be fine. Don
’
t you worry.
”
Max
’
s heart leapt as Emma
’
s dad walked out the door. He needed to see her himself,
just to be sure.

“
So what
do
you remember?
”
Mel asked cautiously. Max looked at her. She suspected her son was responsible, he could see it in her tightly pinched features
as she straightened his bedding
.

“
Nothing, absolutely nothing,
”
he assured her as best he could.
“
One minute I
’
m in the car, the next I
’
m in a strange room covered with a sheet.
”
H
e left out the part about accidentally dying and taking over her son
’
s body.

The nurse came in with a little white cup in her hand.
“
Here are your pain meds, Jayden.
”
She held the cup out to him.

“
I
’
ve changed m
y mind.
I
’
ll suck up the pain.
”
He
’
d never been a big fan of pain meds. He wanted a clear head when he went to see Em.

“
If it becomes too much, let me know.
”
She tucked the cup into the pocket of her pink scrub top.
“
I spoke with your doctor. He said if you tolerate dinner well, he
’
ll consider upgrading you to real food in the morning,
”
she said as she left.

Max pulled the tray back over to give the
Jell-O
another shot.
“
Maybe they
’
ll let me go home tomorrow. What do you think?
”
He slurped a chunk of the gelatinous mess.
Disgusting.

“
Tomorrow? Oh
,
dear.
”
Mel sank into the chair vacated by Emma
’
s dad.
“
I have to work a twelve hour shift tomorrow and can
’
t afford to take another day off. I wonder if they
’
ll let me pick you up after ni
ne. It will have to be in a cab
, since we no longer have the car.
”

“
I can take a cab home in the morning. I
’
m really hoping to be home early enough to go to school.
”
It was the safest place to see Emma. If JD suddenly appeared on her doorstep
,
she
’
d think he was a stalker
.

“
I don
’
t know, JD. You
’
re
pretty
banged up.
”

“
Please, mom. I
’
m tough, I can do it.
”
Max flexed his muscles
,
as pitiful as the
y
were. He had his work cut out for him.

Mel laughed.
“
I think the car accident knocked a few screws loose. I
’
ve never seen you this independent before—
turnin
g
down
pain meds, volunteering to take a taxi, and actually wanting to go to school. You
’
re like a whole new person.
”

You have no idea
. Max smiled and finished eating his
Jell-O
.

**

T
o Max
’
s
disappointment
, the doctor didn
’
t release him
until
five days
later
. By Monday, he thought for sure he
’
d lose his mind if he had to eat one more bland meal or sleep one more night on the hard plastic covered mattress. When
not
outlining a workout routine for JD, he
spent his time
obsessing
over
seeing Emma. His mother had to work all but one of the days, so most of his time was spent alone. . . thinking . . . worrying.

His body
grew
stiff from the lack of activity
,
and he decided to add a stretching routine to loosen himself up
. Only
the nurse came in
,
putting the kibosh on his plans. “
You may walk the corridors, Mr. Miller, but there will be no bending and stooping. With a head injury like yours, you
could
faint.
”

Max decided she was a bit on the dramatic side
,
and as soon as she left his room, he got up and started stretching again. Almost immediately, he toppled over and landed on his butt. He stuck to walking after that.

Five-thirty
that evening
, Mel borrowed a car from a coworker and brought him home during her dinner break.

“
Here, sweetie, a welcome home present.
”
She handed Max a plastic Wal-Mart bag. Inside was a six pack of underwear and a toothbrush.
“
While
I was
loading some manure for a customer yesterday, a strong impression came over me that it was time to get you some new underwear and a toothbrush. We
ird
, huh?
”

Gabe. Max sent a silent thank you to Gabe. He hadn
’
t even thought about having to wear JD
’
s underwear or use his toothbrush. He may be in JD
’
s body, but the thought of sharing his underwear grossed him out.

Mel gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and dashed back to work.
Tim
was off with his buddies
,
so Max had the place to himself for a few hours. He carefully picked up the trash spread across the living room, not wanting to become dizzy again. The place was even filthier than the day Gabe showed it to him on the monitor.
Exhausted by the time
he
’
d finished
,
Max
took a shower
.

JD
’
s clothes
fit
loose
ly
. After being in the hospital for almost two weeks,
he
must have lost some weight, though he still carried an extra thirty around, Max guessed.
He
stared
at himself in the bathroom mirror. Used to seeing
his own
cut, fit body
,
Max cringed
at the
flabby
reflection gawking back at him
. He had work to do, that
’
s for sure. What struck Max the most was the energy he needed to just carry JD
’
s form around.
His
o
wn
body felt
graceful
,
strong
.
JD
’
s felt clumsy and awkward.