Nikki shrugged. “Must be, and maybe from Mom.”
“When can we go?” Amy asked.
“She’s in a private room, so we can go whenever you like.”
“How about this morning, then?”
“Great!” Nikki beamed.
She might as well have been gliding to the hospital with Amy. Her heart was full to bursting, and the only missing factor was an awakened Trish. She needed to see her daughter, but for the moment, Nikki was just glad that Amy had agreed to go see her.
A somber mood greeted them as they walked into the room, and Nikki heard Amy gasp. She understood well what she must be feeling because similar emotions had overwhelmed her when she saw how Trish was strung up and seemed on the verge of death.
Amy walked gingerly over to her, and every few steps or so, she turned to look back at Nikki, who came up alongside her.
“Hey, Trish,” Nikki spoke first. “I have someone I’d like you to meet,” she said and paused before she looked at Amy. “Go ahead.”
Amy visibly shook as she took Trish’s pale and frail hand in hers. “She’s so thin,” she commented.
“I know,” Nikki replied. “A shadow of the vibrant woman I know.”
Nikki pulled up two chairs, and they both sat. Amy didn’t release Trish’s hand, and eventually, she covered it with her other hand.
“I’m Amy, your daughter,” she began. “I didn’t know about you until a few weeks ago, but I wish I had known you sooner. Life, huh? Just as soon as you start looking for me, life said no, and here we are.” She sighed. “It’s kind of messed up, isn’t it? But I’m still hoping you wake up, and I get to see you and talk with you. If you’re anything like Nikki, I know you’re awesome,” she continued.
Nikki tensed as she listened to Amy’s heartfelt words to her mother and placed her arm around her for support. “I’m going outside for some water.”
Amy nodded as Nikki left the two of them alone so she could have some privacy. She was in the waiting area, flipping through old magazines, when Amy emerged.
“I thought you were going to come back,” she said.
“I felt you needed some time alone, especially on your first visit,” Nikki said. “Are you done with the visit?”
“For now.” Amy smiled. “I’ll be back.”
They both walked out of the hospital, and Amy turned to Nikki as the car pulled into traffic. “Is it weird that I feel like she heard me?”
“Nope,” Nikki said. “That’s the same way I feel all the time I’m with her, and I refuse to believe it’s just wishful thinking. But when she wakes up, we can ask her for sure.”
Amy smiled. “Maybe it will be like a dream that fades when you wake up, so she won’t be able to tell anyway.”
“Maybe,” Nikki agreed.
The two grew closer as the days rolled by, and with Jake locked up, Amy resumed her job at Lot 28 as a server.
But that wasn’t enough for Nikki. One day when she got home, she confronted Amy. “I know you had an issue with this the last time, but what do you think about pressing charges against Jake once and for all and getting that restraining order?”
Amy sighed. “That didn’t do anything the last time with that other girl.”
“That time, he was a new offender. He got away with a warning. He’s now back with the same thing. He won’t get off so easily this time, and if they try, I will put them on blast for it.”
Amy laughed at her aunt using modern lingo. “I bet you would, but I think it’s what’s best. I’ve already given them a report of the incident. Now, I need to make it formal. I hate police stations,” she admitted. “There’s something so sinister about them to me.”
“They’re meant to serve and to protect,” Nikki told her.
“I know, but the ones I met neither served nor protected,” Amy declared.
“That’s not all of them,” Nikki reminded her. “Some of them care deeply about their jobs.”
