Dear Friends,
It’s been 17 days since I was last with Marcy in the hospital. Here is the next installment of The Bet.
*****
Much of the rest of Marcy’s shift was uneventful. As much as she wanted to ‘place another bet,’ she didn’t use her powers. When she checked in on Betsy later during the night, she was sleeping like a baby both times. It dawned on Marcy that Betsy had the perfect name to be part of her new life.
About an hour before she was scheduled to go home, she got a text from her friend, Greg, who worked in the ER. It read:
Can you come down here? You’re not going to believe who is here.
Marcy felt a lump in her throat. She knew exactly who was there. She had opened the door when she placed her bet with Betsy.
She didn’t want to lie to Greg, but she responded:
Sorry. I can’t make it down until after my shift. Who is it?
A few minutes later, the response came back:
That actor you like from that movie you showed up. Aidan Mann. Get down here.
Marcy replied that she would stop by on her way out. She almost said she didn’t have time, but Greg would never believe that she wasn’t going to stop by.
She realized after about five minutes that she had royally fucked up. Greg was going to think it was weird that she didn’t ask what happened or how he was. Maybe he didn’t notice, but given any other circumstance, anyone would have asked ‘what was wrong’ or ‘why he was there.’
When Marcy clocked out, she headed to the ER with a pit in the bottom of her stomach. She saw Greg standing near the back door as she walked in and he waved her over.
“You’re not going to believe this,” he said.
“What happened? I was so busy when you texted and I,” Marcy replied, trying to cover her tracks.
Marcy’s words didn’t even register with Greg as he cut her off.
“It’s Jonathan, Marcy, your neighbor.” He paused when he saw the look on her face. Marcy was turning white.
“Aidan brought him in. He’s so cool, Marcy….I’m sorry. It all happened so fast.”
“What happened to Jonathan?” Tears were forming in her eyes. He didn’t have to say it, but he did.
“He died, Marcy. I’m so sorry.”
Marcy slumped backwards against the ER wall.
Greg continued:
“Apparently, he and Aidan were drinking last night and Aidan fell asleep on Jonathan’s couch. They must’ve really tied one on, too. Jonathan’s BAC was almost a .40. When Aidan woke up this morning, he noticed that Jonathan was still in his chair.”
Marcy blinked through the tears at Greg. “Does Paul know?”
“I wanted to tell you first.”
“Thank you, Greg. Oh Jesus. JESUS, JESUS, JESUS FUCKING CHRIST.”
Greg wrapped his arms around Marcy and tried to give her a hug but she pushed him away.
“Aidan tried to wake up Jonathan and noticed that he wasn’t breathing. He tried to do CPR. Did you know that actors learn a fake way of doing CPR?”
“No. I don’t know. Where is Aidan now?”
“He’s in with the detectives. They came down pretty quickly. It’s been wild.”
“Jesus Fucking Christ,” said Marcy again. She did this, she thought. She knew she did this.
*****
Have a great Friday.
See you tomorrow.
We haven't seen Bailey in a while. I miss her.