Sam shrugged and stared at the ceiling. That made me more curious, but I approached the subject carefully. “Do they think they can find whoever did this?” I asked the question as if I had no idea who was responsible.
Sam sighed heavily and stammered a few times before she finally spoke. “I was still in a daze when they were talking to me and asking a thousand questions,” she replied flatly. “I’m gonna call her and tell her everything soon. I just…I just needed to believe that it happened first before I could talk to them.”
I understood how she must feel, but I also understood that if the cops weren’t looking for the guy, I should be.
“Sam…I know you’re not ready to give details to the police, but who –”
“It was Antonio,” she blurted without hesitation.
My blood ran cold in my veins. I hadn’t even considered him, mostly because I’d all but forgotten that he was even nearby. I could hardly control my breathing. As if I didn’t have reason enough to want to kill him before…
The doctor came back in and I didn’t even notice at first. My thoughts were stuck on what I’d do to Antonio when I tracked him down. The doctor spoke and I stood from my chair, preparing to step out into the hallway for the sake of Sam’s privacy, only half thinking due to the rage currently pulsating from my chest.
“Where’re you going?” Sam asked nervously.
“Just out there so you can talk to the doctor,” I said, motioning toward the door.
Her eyes looked sad and I realized that she wanted me by her side. Without hesitation, I sat back down in my seat.
“Samantha, if you’re feeling up to it, you can go home first thing in the morning. I’m going to write you a prescription to help ease any discomfort that you experience and the rest of the instructions will be in you discharge papers.” The woman smiled weakly.
“Thank you,” Sam replied softly and then the doctor left the room and Sam let her head sink back into her pillow.
There were no words to express how heated I was. My knee bounced uncontrollably as I sat there imagining my hands around his throat.
“I just can’t……..I don’t know how this happened to me,” Sam said seemingly to herself as she cut into my thoughts. Her eyes were sad and I wished that I could turn back time and return to a place where things were so much simpler.
I eventually decided to let Terrell and Maisha have a chance to see Sam and returned to her room as soon as they were done. I gave Terrell my keys and asked him just to come back for us in the morning. Sam didn’t say anything else to me for the rest of the night, but I could tell that she was more at ease with me there. Neither of us slept, there was too much to think about. When the nurse gave her the okay to leave the next morning, I left the room to let her change into the clothes that Maisha picked up for her and then we were able to leave. She walked slowly to the wheel chair that the orderly brought up for her and I took her to the front entrance where Terrell had already pulled the car around. I helped her inside and then we went to a hotel about ten minutes from the hospital.
Valet parked the car while Terrell and I followed the ladies to their room, carrying the bags Maisha packed for her and Sam. Dee would’ve been there too, but it was up to Sam who to tell and who to leave out of this. For that reason, it was just the four of us for now. The most I could do was call Karl and tell him to make sure Deanna stayed with him for a few days. Sam was concerned about Antonio going to her dorm room looking for her because he had her keys. Karl asked what was going on, but I asked him just to trust me. That seemed to be good enough.