Fatal Intent - Jamie Jeffries Page 0,33
one, he’d take what he could get. Things were looking up in his world. He kissed her again.
“So, what do you say? Are you spending the night with me again?”
“Honey, I really need to spend tonight here, with Nana and Dad. I’m sorry.”
He understood. He didn’t like it, but he understood. She’d be back in two weeks, and maybe he could go to her next weekend. It would have to do. The important thing was that by September, she’d be with him every night. He could wait.
THIRTEEN
On Monday, Alex told her housemates that she’d decided to go back to Dodge for the rest of the summer, and revealed she’d be moving in with Dylan as soon as he got his transfer. Lisa and Natalie took the news in stride, saying they’d miss her, but they’d always known she was only there for a few weeks.
Alex had learned they were more than friends within days of moving in, and that Natalie’s parents owned the house and let them live there rent-free. It wasn’t as if the two girls would be in financial trouble when she left. In fact, the rent she paid financed one of their frequent Rocky Point expeditions each month. They told her it was too hot to go there through the summer anyway, and they’d have a new roommate when school started again.
Now the only things she had to do were finish her classwork and try to wrap up the story about Dawn. Sarah’s story would take longer, no doubt, but she could probably work on that one from Tempe once she was settled there. Before Monday was over, she went to the Gila River reservation to talk with Dawn.
Alex found Dawn in good spirits and willing to go out in her wheelchair in the late afternoon. Monsoon hadn’t begun yet, so it was hot, but the two Arizona-born girls knew how to stay hydrated and relatively comfortable. Dawn prattled on about her prosthesis, which was being made to specifications just for her and would be ready soon. Alex hated to ask her to remember the terrible days when she thought she might die in her car, but the story wouldn’t be as dramatic without that recollection. It turned out Dawn was eager to tell someone. Her parents couldn’t deal with the details, she said, and Jesse had stopped calling.
Alex started by telling Dawn about her own ordeal. It was the worst thing ever to happen to her, except maybe her mom leaving, but she didn’t remember that. When she was done, Dawn was ready to open up.
“I didn’t know, Alex. Are you sure you can handle hearing this?” she asked.
Alex was touched. “Girl, if you can handle telling it, I’ll handle hearing it. I think you had a worse time of it than I did.”
“I’m not so sure,” began Dawn. “I thought I would die, but I never thought someone was coming back to rape me. I was sure they thought they’d killed me. It wasn’t really that bad, except it went on for so long. Of course, my leg hurt at first. All the windows broke when the car landed in the gulley, and I was always in the shade because of the overpass, so it wasn’t unbearably hot. I even had water, for the first few days. I always carry plenty.”
She stopped then, and Alex gave her some space by scribbling notes on her pad. “When did your leg stop hurting?” she asked, after a minute.
“I’m not sure. It was dark, you know, when it happened. I think I may have slept that night, even though my leg felt like the whole car had landed on it. I waited all the next day for someone to spot the car and get me out, and I tried not to drink too much water, because… well, you know. I couldn’t get loose to go to the bathroom. Eventually I had to just pee right there. After that, I drank enough water to survive, because my leg didn’t hurt anymore, and I knew if someone would just find me, I’d be okay. I guess it stopped hurting sometime during the first day.”
She seemed surprised by that. Alex knew the torment she’d gone through, and didn’t want to ask Dawn about her state of mind. Though she wasn't happy about it, she knew she had to for the sake of the story. Maybe it had been different for Dawn. So, she asked.
“Honestly, I did try to think about why