"I swear I won't leave this room."
Mrs. Ryan picked up her purse, paused by the bed long enough to kiss Hadley's cheek, and then she quietly left the room. Robert came back in and claimed the seat Mrs. Ryan had just vacated.
"Why didn't you tell me Hadley's dad was a cop?"
"I didn't think about it. Mrs. Ryan was about to call him. They're going to search their home for the gift basket and see if anything in it contains Hemlock. But even if there isn't any evidence, I'm convinced Alicia was behind this. Where the hell else would Hadley have gotten Hemlock?"
"Maybe you should be asking where Alicia got it."
"Probably from her aunt. She runs one of those spiritualist shops and has all kinds of herbs and stuff in there. If anyone knows how to get Hemlock and hide it in food, it would be her Aunt Esther."
Robert leaned forward, bracing his arms on his knees. "So Hadley is going to be okay?"
"As long as they got it all out of her system. I guess they've given her something to counteract it, like antivenin when someone is bitten by a snake. I wish she'd open her eyes though. I'd feel so much better if she'd talk to me."
"Want me to stay with you a while? I can call my parents and tell them what's going on. I should probably hang out until Mr. Ryan gets here. I need to give a statement, even though I told him over the phone what I'd overheard. Of course, he said it's my word against hers, but at least they have a direction to go now."
"Why didn't you say something sooner?" I asked. "If I'd known before practice that Alicia left something for Hadley, I could have warned her."
"I just thought it was a harmless prank. I'm really damn sorry. I can't tell you how sick I feel knowing Hadley could have died because I didn't say anything sooner."
I could tell he was tormented and let the matter drop. There would be plenty of time for finger pointing later, and really, the only person to blame was Alicia. I didn't know what I was going to do about her. Maybe Mr. Ryan would be able to pin the poisoning on her, and she'd be punished. Although, I had a feeling she'd face jail time since she nearly killed Hadley. It sickened me to think my ex was capable of such a thing. Just what kind of people had I been hanging out with? Did that make me as bad a person as Alicia?
Robert eventually left and I remained with Hadley, holding her hand and talking to her softly. I told her about practice, told her how beautiful she was, even in a hospital gown, and just rambled about nonsense so she could hear the sound of my voice. It was quite a while later before a man stepped into the room, wearing a worn gray tee and jeans.
"You must be Tyler," he said, as he approached the bed. "I've heard a lot about you, mostly from my wife since my daughter doesn't talk to her old man about things like boys."
I smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Ryan. I just wish it was under better circumstances."
"Me too." He sighed. "You were right. There was a gift basket in Hadley's room, along with the remains of some chocolate muffins. I had the lab pick it up, and they tested the leftovers for Hemlock. It came back positive. They were able to lift some prints off the handle of the basket."
"Are they going to pick up Alicia and fingerprint her?" I asked.
He nodded. "Units were on their way to her house right as I was pulling into the hospital parking lot. I appreciate the call your friend, Robert, made. I understand it was your idea. Without that call, we may have never known how Hadley was poisoned, and the girl who tried to murder her would have gone free."
"So you're pretty positive those prints are going to match?"
"Hadley's mom called her friend, Amber, and they had a chat about the basket. Amber was with her when she picked it up off the porch today, but thinking the basket was from you, Amber didn't touch anything in it. Thank God!"
"Robert said he'd heard Alicia mention the basket during school today. If he'd said something sooner, I could have warned Hadley, and she never would have taken a bite of the muffins."
Mr. Ryan placed his hand on my shoulder. "Son, I'm just thankful he came forward now. Yes, it would have been better if he'd said something sooner, but with his statement, at least we'll be able put Alicia in jail. He was kind enough to stop by the station on his way home since I wasn't able to get here sooner. My partner took his statement."
"I know Alicia is possessive and a little crazy, but I'd have never thought she was capable of something like this. I mean, I've dated other girls before and she's done things like egg their cars, TP their houses, and stuff like that. But I never would have thought she'd try to kill someone."
Mr. Ryan smiled. "Maybe she's seen the way you look at my daughter, and she knows you've found your soulmate."
"You believe in soulmates?"
His smile broadened. "Of course. I married mine. Question is, what do you plan to do about yours? I've heard Hadley talking to her friends when she thinks no one is listening. Did you really apply to the same colleges she did?"
"Yes, sir."
"And if you're both accepted to the same schools?"
"Then I'll go wherever Hadley goes. I asked her the other day if she saw herself renting an apartment with a boyfriend in college, but she never gave me a direct answer. I don't think she believes I'm serious about following her to college, and she thinks our relationship has an expiration date on it."
"I know you're young, and even if you do go off to college with Hadley, there's a chance you might not stay together. But I have to ask … when you look at my daughter, what do you see?"
"An angel." I answered honestly. "She's beautiful, smart, talented … and way too good for someone like me. I'll be honest. I don't have the best reputation around school. I'm kind of known for chasing one girl after another, and not keeping any of them for very long. But I can assure you things are different with Hadley. I noticed her the first day I walked into pre-K, and I've noticed her every day since. It wasn't until she kissed me in the hall the other day that I thought I might have a chance to actually make her mine, and now that I have her, I don't want to let her go."
Mr. Ryan patted my shoulder. "Good answer."
Hadley moaned softly and her lashes fluttered as her eyes slowly opened. "Where am I?"
"You're still in the hospital," I said.
I watched as she looked from me to her dad and back to me. "Are the two of you guarding me from something?"
"I'm on night duty while your mom gets some rest," Mr. Ryan said. "And I think your young man here is protecting you from the girl who put you in the hospital."
Her brow wrinkled. "I don't understand."
I squeezed her hand, knowing that by admitting my ex had tried to kill her I might lose her forever. "Alicia sent the gift basket. She poisoned the muffins inside. At least, that's what we believe. Your dad is waiting on conclusive evidence and an arrest. It seems we have more in common than we thought … exes in jail."
Her eyes went wide. "She tried to kill me?"
"I'll understand if you don't want me here, Hadley. In a way, it's my fault you're lying in this bed. I knew Alicia wasn't quite right in the head, but you have to believe me when I say I never thought her capable of killing someone."
"Your ex put me here?" Her eyes welled with tears. "I almost died, Tyler. If Mom hadn't come home when she did, I wouldn't be lying here now. I'd be downstairs in the morgue."
"I know, Hadley, and if there was any way to undo the last few hours, I would."
"Don't be too hard on him, Hads," Mr. Ryan said. "He's been here since he found out what happened, and I'm guessing he hasn't left that chair the entire time."
She looked from me to her dad and back again. "Tyler, I appreciate that you came here, but I think I need to be alone right now."
My heart constricted. She was kicking me out? Was she just shutting me out of her hospital room or out of her life? I wasn't sure I would survive without her.
"Hadley, please don't do this. I know I seriously screwed up. If I hadn't strung Alicia along for the last three years, then none of this would have happened. The only thing I can figure is that she thought we'd end up together … then she saw you and me together and knew it would never happen."
Tears trickled down her cheeks. "And why wouldn't it ever happen? You don't really want me, Tyler. Remember, I'm just a means to an end. I'm sure your mom will back off on the military school thing. You don't need to pretend to be interested in me anymore."
"Don't you get it, Hadley? I was never pretending."