Part 1
Coming home to Orlando had been a relief for him. With the tour over and everyone doing their own thing, his impending marriage had fallen through and his sobriety had been tested. Now he was home, mending the fences with his mother and trying to start fresh. He’d spent the day with Nick and Howie doing an episode for a German TV station and then they’d gone to Howie’s club just to hang out, like they use to. Now it was way after midnight, the club was empty, and his life was about to take a definite turn.
Standing in the doorway of the club, AJ watched flashes of lightning light up the night sky and big drops of rain splatter on the ground. No sense waiting. It was only going to get worse so he decided to make a run for it.
Reaching his car, he fumbled for his keys and dropped them. “Shit,” he mumbled bending to pick them up. A shadow caught his eye and he turned in time to see the shadow disappear down the side street.
Who in their right mind would be out walking on a night like this? He knew they weren’t headed to a car because the lot was empty save his and Howie’s cars. He was curious now so he followed the shadow as it darted in and out of the light.
As the rain got increasingly harder, the shadow reached the park just down the street from ‘Tabu’ and AJ followed, calling out for whomever it was to stop.
The shadow froze, like a deer caught in the headlights, giving AJ a chance to see that it was a girl; long hair but he couldn’t tell what color and petite. The way she moved told him she was scared.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” he called out. “I just wanted to give you a ride.”
As a flash of lightning streaked across the sky, the girl bolted and he took off after her. Something told him this just wasn’t right. He had to make sure she was okay, and to find out what her name was. He caught a break when she seemingly tripped and fell.
Reaching her side, he knelt beside her and in the light, saw that she was unconscious. It appeared she’d been in a wreck or beaten. Her clothes were torn and there were scrapes and bruises covering exposed skin. Quickly, he shed his jacket to wrap around her to offer some kind of warmth and protection. Scared that she was seriously hurt, he scooped her up in his arms and headed back to his car. He had to take her to the hospital to have her checked out.
Howie was just exiting the club as AJ reached his car and was able to give him a hand.
“Who is this?”
“I don’t know. She was hiding in the shadows when I came out to go home and I followed her to the park.”
“Is she
okay?”
“I don’t know. She tripped and when I reached her, she was unconscious. I’m gonna take her to the emergency room to have her checked out.”
“Want me to go along?”
“Nah, I’ll give you a call tomorrow.”
“Later, ‘J’,” called Howie as AJ placed the girl in the front seat of his car.
