The cops chattered amongst themselves like she was invisible. Were they gossiping about her? She wondered.
Naomi entered the room with a medicinal tablet in hand and a cold stiffness in her posture. She checked April's vitals, then tossed a white envelope onto her lap. "The first one was your probation letter," she said. "You can guess what this one is." Her eyes cut into her.
She turned to the cops. "She is ready. Take her."
The cops finally escorted her out, cuffing both hands this time. Her wrists hurt from the metal biting her skin. She felt people staring, whispering, laughing.
Her stomach did a dip.
This felt illegal. They had no right to do this to her.
At the elevator, she pleaded softly, "Please. I need to see my sister before I leave."
Nick didn't slow down. "If your dad wanted you to see her, he would have told us."
April frowned. "What do you mean? He didn't say I shouldn't see her. He is only mad at me, thanks to you guys."
They paid her deaf ears.
In the lobby, she saw Adrian walking toward them. He had changed into a spotless white Tshirt, black joggers, and a fresh white bandage around his head. His expression was unreadable, but his smirk wasn't.
He stopped directly in front of her.
"You know, Andrea" he whispered into her ears, "I could drop the charges and give you a free pardon. If..." he raised a finger. "you get on your knees and apologize. I will accept a written version tomorrow. Instead of being fired, you will be suspended."
However, April wasn't fazed at his words, but intoxicated with fury.
"Where is Jorge?" she demanded.
He stared at her like she was speaking a foreign language. "Did you hear what I said?"
"Where is Jorge?!" she yelled, at the top of her voice. "You tried to kill us in there, and now you are charging me for harassment, violation, breach of contract, destruction of property, and verbal abuse? Because you are rich and mighty and I'm just..."
"…a nobody," he finished quietly. "Don't talk too much, maniac. I get it."
"You are nothing but a wacko and a nut job," she hissed. "Don't worry l will write you a beautiful statement. Psycho."
His hand flew before she saw it coming. He slapped her.
Her temper ignited.
She swung her leg and kicked him squarely in the groin, sending him to his knees again, this time with a choked gasp.
They were separated before any more damage could be done.
They detained April in a small holding cell. She sat on the cold bench, arms around her knees. She didn't cry. Her brain was too full to let tears fall. Instead, her mind reeled with different thoughts. What if Adrian was only teasing her about the son of the cleaner working in the hospital? What if the son had gotten hold of the bracelet already? What if they knew her beforehand and planned her sister's accident?
Her train of thoughts was cut off when a shadow fell across the bars.
A cop opened the cell. "Someone is here for you."
It was Ned.
His usual bright smile was, sadder, but still there. He pulled her in for a warm hug. "If it's not the best month of the year, then who else?" he murmured.
"How is Maya?" she asked immediately.
He hesitated just before answering, "She is getting better."
April's fixed her gaze on him. "Has she been asking for me?"
Ned shifted uncomfortably. "Jorge is fine too. Your boss dropped the charges. Jorge got a week's suspension. You will be accepted back… if you apologize."
April scoffed. "Too bad I won't." She rolled her eyes.
Ned held her hands gently. "Listen, April. Don't throw this away. You worked too hard. You were top of your class, and now you are at a top hospital. This place could take care of your bills, your family's bills. Competition to get a spot is insane. Just apologize and move on. You can't afford to lose it because of a jerk who has made it already."
She shook her head, tears finally pooling. "I won't, Ned. I barely know him for twenty-four hours, and he has caused me this much pain. Now he wants me to apologize?" Her voice cracked. "He will wait till he grows white beards. I would rather die than apologize."
"It's fine," he whispered. "But… what will you do? Other hospitals aren't taking new interns."
April wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I don't have to stay here. I can go to my aunt's in Nashville."
"What? Really?" he looked startled.
"It's not like anyone would care," she murmured. "My dad hates me now after all… and we are losing our home."
Deep down, she also reasoned that it would be best to stay out of his sight and the hospital premises since he seemed to know about her past.
Ned took her home, and on arrival, she was about to open the door when she noticed a new lock had been added to it.
"What is the problem?" Ned asked with concern, when he saw the lock on the door. "What? Has the house been sold already?"
She looked at him, not knowing what to say.
Ned put a hand to his forehead in frustration. "Look, let's get out of here for the meantime and head over to my place." He advised, pulling her hand gently.
April shook her head, "No, Ned. This has to be a joke. I need to speak with my dad." she reached out to her pant pocket for her phone.
"Ohh… daddy's girl. Is there a need for that?" a new familiar voice jeered.
When April turned around, she was stunned to see Adrian. "You? You are behind this?"
Adrian scoffed. "Yeah, so what? You wanna arrest me?" he edged closer, but Ned's glare warned him to step back. Standing behind Adrian, she could see Frank. She stared at him with hatred. She had a bad feeling all this while that he had only been a fake friend to her dad, and he had just proved her right now. He gave her a sheepish grin.
"Congratulations, April. All your dad's debt has been settled, including your sister's hospital bills, thanks to the house and our developer." Frank announced with glee, gesturing to Adrian.
While April tried to process what he was saying, he continued. "Sorry about the lock. It was a mistake. Please wait a little, while I call the guy in charge to come unlock it. He assumed you guys had moved out already, but I told him you were not moving out yet till two weeks time."
Her dad had said so too.
"Two weeks?!" Adrian exclaimed. "I need this house in three days, man. So I need them to vacate here within three days, okay? This building goes down three days from now. I am out of time already."
April couldn't stand it anymore, she poked at Adrian on his chest with her forefinger to their surprise. "You must really want to prove to me that you are a major psycho. Are you even listening to yourself? My sister is fighting for her life right now as we speak, and this is all you can think of doing. Is this legal at all?" she flared.
Adrian simply smiled, shaking his head. "Legal, my foot. What can you do about it? Tell me. What do you wanna do? File a suit? Arrest me? Just wait patiently as he said for the guy with the key to come, and then start putting things in order, because I am not changing my mind about this." His voice was hard and firm.
"You know what? I think three days is excess. That's a lot of time. How about you just throw us out tonight, huh?" She suggested coldly.
Ned held her as she spoke to calm her down.
"Trust me, you don't wanna say things that would only worsen the situation now, huh? Please be mindful of what you say." Ned whispered to her ears in warning.
"Very well, then. If you say so." Adrian approved. "You heard her, Frank, she says it has to be tonight." Adrian turned to him.