CHAPTER THIRTEEN

-:- DESTINY -:-

Yesterday left my mind reeling with the instruction from Garrett to cut off the cash to Jerica. He was more than a little angry about me working two jobs to keep Jerica and Jessica safe when there was no need.

I’d already told Garrett when he was arrested that I didn’t want him to pay me to look after Jessica. She is my niece and I love her. Looking after her is not a job for me, it’s a pleasure. With not having a lot of contact with Jessica before all this happened, it’s wonderful getting to know her and enjoy her personality.

“Aunt D, my arm hurts,” Jessica whines. She’s not normally one to complain, and this isn’t the first time she has told me her arm still hurts. The cast came off four weeks ago, so she shouldn’t be feeling any pain and I think it’s time it was checked again.

“Okay, we are going to get your arm looked at. Get your shoes on. We’ll see what’s happening with it.”

I check for an Uber and see one near so book it quickly. Grab my purse and give a secret grin when Jessica calls me Aunt D again. Where that has come from I don’t know, but it started with Auntie Destiny, then Aunt Destiny, Aunt Dest, and now Aunt D. I don’t give a hoot what she calls me, as she’s not saying it disrespectfully.

Things happen quickly when we arrive at Emergency. Probably because they are dealing with a child. If it had been me, you can bet I’d be sitting here for hours before I was seen or treated.

The lady doctor is calm and speaks to Jessica in a way she understands what is happening. “If you look here Jessica, you can see a line…” pointing at the x-ray she has showing on her monitor, “that is a hairline crack. How the last doctor missed that I don’t know, but I’m going to put a compression bandage on it, giving it support. I want you to keep it clean and dry. We’ll put your arm in a sling too, and that’s to stabilize it. It needs rest time. Thankfully, any swelling has gone, but the constant use has stopped it from healing fully.”

“After Jessica had her cast removed, she fell, and the doctor said she’d be okay, just to be more careful.” Giving the doctor a look that tells her what I’m thinking.

“I think you probably did the damage at that time. I’m going to check on this doctor because whoever it was needed a dressing down.” The doctor has a pinched look of annoyance clear for all to see.

“Will Jessica be alright to go to school?”

“Yes, but she needs to be careful she doesn’t knock it anymore. If this gets worse, we’ll put a new cast on to make sure it stays stabilized or she'll heal with it not being totally aligned.”

Three hours later, we have Jessica in school, bragging about her arm and playing it up for all she’s worth. Jessica’s teacher and I smirk at each other, knowing exactly what’s she doing, but Ms. Blair assures me she’ll be watching her closely.

I quickly walk from the school, further into town and to the bank. Now the bank has me nervous since it’s had two robbery attempts. But as it’s only one of two in the town and I’ve been with them for years, I don’t want to move but I will if I keep feeling nervous entering the building.

Thankfully, I’m only one of two customers, so I am seen by the teller quickly. I stop the automatic payment to Garrett’s account and know that Jerica is going to be angry that the money has stopped. But that’s not my problem anymore, and with Garrett telling me not to worry, I’m doing my best not to.

Next port of call is the Fire Department, but first I need to stop at the store and pick up some fresh vegetables. I give Mr. Stearman a wave as I take a cart and push it past him, where he is standing behind the register. I love coming here because it’s a small family grocery store, and they need the support of the community or the store will close. They are only dimes more than the large supermarkets, so I’m happy to shop here.

“You doing good, Destiny?” Mr. Stearman asks as I pass by him.

“I am. Thank you for asking. How are you and Mrs. Stearman?” I ask in return.

“We are both good. Decorating again.”

“Oh, didn’t you do that six months ago?” I seem to recall they did the bedrooms.

“Yeah, we did, but you know Trudie. She likes to keep things spotless.”

Now, the whole town knows that Trudie has an OCD problem, but we all ignore it because she’s such a lovely woman and she’s not harming anyone. “Well, it’s better than living somewhere nasty, and Mrs. Stearman has impeccable taste.”

“Why thank you, Destiny, that’s kind of you to say.” I can see the pleasure my comment has given, and if more people were kind instead of gossipmongers, the world would be a better place.

I quickly make my way around the small store, picking up fresh fruit and vegetables. A chicken and hamburger meat, and a few cans of soda, I think I’ve more than enough to carry back home.

Stopping to check for detergent, I overhear a woman speaking in the next aisle. “You know Maggie disappeared last month. Her family cannot find her anywhere.”

I stop looking at detergents and listen as this sounds serious.

“Maggie Benson, are you talking about?” A second voice asks, neither of which I recognize.

“Yes. She went to work at the hospital and never came home. Her family cannot find her anywhere. It’s like she just disappeared into thin air,” Voice One says.

Voice Two replies, “Did she make it to work?”

“No, she never arrived. Keep your eyes and ears open, and if you hear anything, please tell the Benson family. They are distraught, as you can imagine,” mutters Voice One again.

Making my way to pay for my groceries, my mind is wondering what the heck could have happened to the woman. It’s more than a little worrying, and even though the two women said nothing more than the woman is missing, I have an uneasy feeling.

Walking towards the Fire Department, I’m struggling to carry the bags of groceries. I should have purchased less and visited the store twice instead of trying to do it all in one go. But, now I’m going to have to keep going and decide to go straight home instead of walking to the Department and then home. My arms would be as long as a gorilla, I’m thinking once this day is done.

Hearing a honk, I turn and see an SUV pulling up beside me. The driver's side door opens and Stitch steps out. Walking over to me and taking the heavy bags from my hands.

“What the fuck, Destiny? You shouldn’t be carrying all that. You’ll be in trouble if Rock finds out.” Stitch takes the bags and places them on the back seat of the SUV. I’m standing here thinking what the heck has it got to do with Rock!

“Come on, get in, I’ll take you home.” Stitch opens the passenger side door and when I don’t move, he steps over to me, takes my elbow gently and guides me into the vehicle.

Getting myself past the ‘If Rock finds out,’ comment, I look at Stitch. “Thank you for stopping and giving me a ride. It’s been a long day so far.”

“Something wrong?”

“Not really. I had to take Jessica to the emergency room as her arm was still hurting her. When she had her cast removed, she tripped and fell. It seems she has a hairline fracture which hasn’t healed because it was never stabilized. At the time, I thought the swelling she had was because the cast had come off. Now, I feel bad that she’s had pain in her arm all this time, and I was clueless to what was wrong.”

“It’s not something visible, Dest, so don’t go worrying and if you need me to look at it or put a compression bandage on, I’ll be happy to do that.” Stitch stops outside the house and is quickly out of the driver’s door, taking out the bags and walking around to make sure I get out of the SUV safely.

“Oh, she has a compression bandage on, but I thank you and I’ll certainly ask if I’m worried at all.”

Dropping the bags on the kitchen table, Stitch quickly heads out of the house and I get started on putting everything away. Looking at the clock above the window, I’m going to have to hustle if I’m going to get to Jessica on time.

After we’ve eaten, watched TV, and talked about what Jessica had been doing in school, I sneak out of her room when she has fallen asleep. It’s early even for her, but I know she’s tired with everything that she’s coped with today. The children’s pain medication will have had her dropping too, I’m sure.

Downstairs, I make myself a mint tea, then sit at the kitchen table. I have two things I have to complete for the day, and neither are nice as far as I’m concerned. But they need to be done.

Destiny: Flame, are you busy?

Flame: No, I’m at work, but nothing happening. What’s up?

Destiny: I have to stop working at the department straight away.

My phone rings and I know it’ll be Flame after my last message so quickly say “Hi.”

“Why do you have to stop working here?” Flame asks.

“I’ve been working the Fire Department job as an extra to give the money to my sister. It’s a long story, but I’ve seen my brother-in-law and he told me firmly to stop working the job and only work with my authors.”

“Okay, I understand why he’d say that. But we will miss you and all your cooking. I’ll sort it here, Dest, so don’t worry about it. If you need anything, you contact me. I’m here for you, and everyone here will come if you need them.”

“Thank you. That means a lot to me.” We speak a few more minutes before we end the call, and I sit back and feel sad that I’ll not be going to the department anymore.

Next, and last thing for the day, is leaving a text message for Jerica.

Destiny: Jerica, I’ve stopped the money that I’ve been placing into your day-to-day account. I cannot keep working two jobs and looking after Jessica. I’ve had to pay for a visit to the emergency room for Jessica and it’s taken the last of my savings. I don’t know if you still have health coverage for her or not, but you’ve not been keeping up the monthly contact. I’ve spoken to Garrett, and maybe it’s time you stopped hiding like a little bitch and saw your husband and daughter!

Yeah, I’m more than a little angry and it’s time I stood up to her. We will never be close and I can admit that and live with it. As far as I see it now, it’s her loss and not mine.