Again

Con spins around, hearing Jamie’s voice, but not knowing what she said, just adding to his frustration. He doesn’t have to know what she said though – he can read her face. But he doesn’t want to talk about it here…not with so many other people around.
He takes to the stairs instead of the elevator, and finally hits the outdoors to stop, resting his hands on his hips and string up at the sky. “Why?!” he shouts. “Why me?!”


Mick chuckles as he reflects on the past as well. “Unfortunately, it took me this long to get my head on straight. I just hope it doesn’t take Dylan that long.” He sighs. “I wish there was something I could say or do to…I don’t know…help him get rid of that chip on his shoulder. He’s been here for weeks and I still don’t even know what the source of his problem is.”

He finally lets Rosetta go from his grasp, and slings an arm around her shoulder. “I need to clear my head. Wanna go for a ride?”


Cindy’s eyes widen and she laughs as Wes swings her around, then sets her back down again. “Well somebody is wound up today!” She reaches up to cradle his face, bringing him down to her level in order to plant a kiss on his lips. “Have fun at the lumberyard. Oh…” She reaches into her back pocket to withdraw several letters. “Would you drop these off at the post office for me too?”


“Alright, so we can line up this list of songs to do at the park, but in the meantime, we need to pick a few favorites for that fundraiser.” Phil looks around the table at the fast food restaurant to his brother, Mike and Jason. “Of course, that is, if the hospital will have us.”

“Right,” Mike agrees. “We also need to set up a new practice schedule that Jason can be included in.’

Jason sips his soda pop through his straw and shrugs. “Whatever. Evenings are usually okay. As long as I’m not out on a case, evenings are pretty normal.”

“I didn’t know using your name and ‘normal’ in the same sentence was acceptable,” Kyle teases.

Jason elbows him. “Behave yourself.”

Once all four had gathered, Jason had realized that Kyle got half the day off he hadn’t expected, but since he’d already asked Katie to go to supper, he’d opted to meet with the band over lunch. Phil had already known he’d have the afternoon off, and the music store’s business was going slowly today, so Mike had no problem with taking off for a few hours, only needing to be back at closing time.

Kyle smirks at Jason. “I’ll try.”

“Alright so…” Phil tries to keep them on track. “How about we head on over to Mike’s right now to formulate some of this and have a little jam session?”

Jason nods. “I got time. Other than Con’s case, it was a little slow today, so Reese shouldn’t have a problem. I’ll make up a few hours this evening.”

“Great.” Phil stands up. “Let’s head out then.”

Jason is the last to filter from the restaurant, and just as he’s pushing the door open, he glances to the side and can’t help his double-take. His heart immediately begins to race, a wave of familiar but unwanted fear sweeping over him. He stands with his feet feeling as though they’re frozen to the ground. The man in that booth…logic told Jason that it was not Alex, but the resemblance was there… enough to have played a terrible trick on Jason’s mind.

“Yo, Jason!” Kyle calls from the sidewalk. “You coming?”

Jason blinks and forces himself to move, though reflexes don’t want him to turn his back on this stranger. “Yeah….yeah, I’m coming.” He tries to shove the thoughts to the back of his mind. He couldn’t think about the past…not now…not here…the man in there was just a stranger…everything was fine.

A memory seeps into Jason’s mind, and he shakes it off, reprimanding himself. He heads for his bike and starts up the engine, following the other guys out of town and towards Mike’s. Images from the past continue to bombard his mind, and he persistently shoves them to the side. The man he had seen was not Alex. There was no reason for him to be fighting this now. It was silly.

…Practice is under full swing, taking up a half an hour already, all the guys having a blast, tossing ideas back and forth, and working out a few kinks in their songs. Though Jason is genuinely having a good time, the memories linger at the back of his mind, just waiting to pounce after being triggered by the Alex-look-alike. Starting to feel the pressure, Jason finally excuses himself to use the restroom. Heading down the dim hall, the high basement window cast a dim light inside, the bathroom door standing ajar.

Without warning, Jason sees the door to that dreaded room…the lighting was the same…enough to see where one was going, but dim enough to create an eerie glow.

Jason backs up against the other wall, trying not to lose his grasp on reality, but it’s slowly slipping. He couldn’t let go now…not here…not now… not like this….

Kyle stops his keyboard and looks at Mike and Phil. “Hey…it’s been a while since Jason left. Think he got lost?”

Phil rolls his eyes. “Why don’t you go see?”

Kyle quirks a grin and heads down the hall. “Hey, Jason!” Rounding the corner, his heart skips a beat. Jason was lying on the floor, curled up in a tight ball and shaking. “Jason!” Kyle wastes no time in sliding down next to him. “What’s wrong? What is it?” Not receiving a response, Kyle yells back down the hall. “Phil! Mike! Get down here NOW.”

The darkness is everwhere…Jason is running…running so hard. The enemy is behind him…Alex is yelling at him…. He feels the cold fist hitting the side of his face…he feels his thin body being slammed into the wall, left to sink to the floor until suppertime, if there even was a suppertime that day.
Jason can hear new voices….the past and present begin to mix, forming a foggy idea of what’s really going on around him.

“Is he sick?”

“Is it a seizure? Should we call 911?”

Mike shakes his head, kneeling down to look at Jason more closely. “Remember what he said about flashbacks?” He reaches out to touch Jason’s shoulder. “Jase…”

The feeling of a hand on his arm causes Jason to flinch violently enough to lash out, smacking Mike’s own arm.

“Jason, come on,” Phil urges gently. “We’re here for you.”

Ever so slowly, Jason is able to pry his own eyes open, still lost in a world between reality and images from the past. Noise clutters his mind. He hears Alex’s voice. He feels the beatings and the pain. But there’s something….something he can hang onto….something that can pull him out… it has to….
Barely able to get the words out, he whispers hoarsely. “Katie….get Katie.”

Kyle is on his feet in an instant, sprinting upstairs and to the door.