Deja
She groaned and opened her eyes, but everything was a blur. A heavy drumbeat in her forehead made it impossible to think. Her hand snagged on the way to her face, and she couldn’t free it after trying several times.
Someone called her name, and she managed to pry her eyelids apart. This time, the low ceiling and fluorescent lights came into focus. She scanned the room, trying to find the source of the sound.
“Who is it?” Her voice sounded rusty to her ears. “Where am I?”
Deja searched her brain, wondering what had happened, because she had no memory of this place. She squinted while trying to jog her memory. She remembered being in the car with Tyler. Then the blue lights racing toward her. Bashing her head on the glass. After that, it was lights out until now.
She repeated her question, but this time the squeak of rubber-soled shoes hinted at someone coming closer. A woman she identified as a nurse stood over her, smiling. “I’m Nurse Walcott. You’re finally awake.”
“How long have I been here?” Her throat was dry, like she’d been hiking through a desert for days without water.
“A week.” The nurse hurried back to the door. “I need to get a doctor in here, but can you tell me your name?”
“It’s Deja. Deja Johnson.”
“Good. Be right back.” The petite woman disappeared, then returned after a short while.
Deja searched her memory and moved her hand again, but it wouldn’t cooperate. A silver bracelet held her to the railing of the bed.
The moment the nurse reappeared, Deja raised her left hand. “What does this mean?”
“We’ll explain later,” she said. “Right now, we need to do a full examination. The doctor will be along in a couple of minutes. Here, have a sip of water.”
Deja swallowed as instructed, then wet her lips. “Before you came in, someone called my name. Who was it?”
“That would be your friend.” Nurse Walcott smiled, showing a row of braces. “He’s checked on you every day since you’ve been here.”
The lights hurt Deja’s eyes, making her squint. “Which friend?”
“It’s me, Deja.”
Tyler stood in the doorway as if he didn’t know whether to step inside.
She raised her head, but the room spun. Eyes closed, she rested against the pillow and rolled her head toward him. “What’s the matter?”
The worry in Tyler’s eyes bothered her. He had bad news written all over him. But wait, it was connected to her. He looked back at her hand. She did, too, and opened her mouth to ask him a question, but he shook his head. She took it to mean that she was to wait until they were alone.
The nurse looked at her chart, then left the room. “I’ll just be a moment. Tyler, you’ll have to leave when I come back.”
“What’s happening, Tyler?” Deja rattled the handcuff. “And what is this about?”
He glanced behind him and moved in closer. “I’m glad you woke up, but I think you’re in serious trouble.”
“For what?” She shot another glance at the handcuff, and her heart tripped harder. She hated the pleading note in her voice, but couldn’t help it. “Please tell me what’s going on.”
“The police think—”
A uniformed officer stepped inside, but the doctor who entered behind him shooed the police outside. “As soon as I clear the patient, you may ask your questions.”
When she was alone with the doctor and nurse, Deja wanted to slap away their hands but she understood they were only doing their job.
She nibbled her nail while the tall, East-Indian doctor spoke with the friendly nurse. When they stood by the side of the bed, the doctor said she’d be fine, but didn’t know when she could leave the hospital. They would confirm that in another day or so.
“Can I see my friend, please?”
“That will be after you talk to the police. They’ve been waiting to speak with you all week.”
The same officer appeared, as if he’d been standing on the other side of the door. With him was a tall man with thin brown hair. The nurse stood against the wall, watching them.
“Deja Johnson?” the policeman asked.
When she nodded, he said, “I’m Officer Harrison with the Coral Gables Police Department, and I’d like to ask you a few questions.”
“I just woke up.” When the words left her mouth, she realized how stupid they sounded, but it was all she had.
His thin lips curved into a fake smile. “I understand that, but you have critical information that we need.”
“I guess it was important since I’m chained to this bed.” Her fingers went to the bandage on her forehead. “What’s the reason for that?”
“As I said,” he smiled again, acting friendly. “We need to find out a few things.”
She winced as a stabbing pain attacked her forehead. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The smile dropped from his face. “Are you acquainted with Christian Skyers?”
“Yes, we attend to the same university.”
“Outside of that, what is your relationship to him?”
Deja paid closer attention. She didn’t like how this man was looking at her. Any minute now, he’d accuse her of something. “We’re not friends, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Are you aware of what happened to Mr. Skyers?”
Her scalp tingled, and her gaze darted between the two men.
“N-no.” She suddenly wanted to throw up. “Is he okay?”
“I’m afraid he isn’t.” Officer Harrison didn’t look away from her as he spoke. “One week ago, on Thanksgiving Day to be exact, Mr. Skyers was killed.”
A heavy weight settled across the back of her neck. She massaged it with her free hand and let out a nervous chuckle. “You’re kidding, right?”
He scowled as he tapped the screen of a smart phone he pulled from his pocket.
“Miss Johnson, we’re the police, so this is not a joking matter.”
“But—”
He went ballistic from that point, shooting questions at Deja until her head felt as though it was stuffed with cotton candy.
Finally, the nurse stopped him. “That’s enough.”
When he insisted he only had a few more questions, she reminded him that it wouldn’t do him any good if Deja was not in a condition to give rational answers. Glancing her way, the nurse said, “If you continue, it will be at risk to her health. Come back tomorrow.” Deja assumed she smiled to take the edge off her order as she continued, “Since you have an officer outside the door, I’m sure she won’t be going anywhere.”
Deja’s stomach shriveled. This was bad.
The nurse cleared the room, then came back and re-checked the equipment next to her.
“Is my friend still here?” Deja whispered.
“Yes, he’s down the hall. I’ll get him for you.”
“Thank you.” She swallowed the knot in her throat and blinked to clear the tears that flooded her eyes.
Tyler walked in and pulled up a chair next to the bed. “This may sound like a stupid question, but how do you feel?”
“Shocked. Confused. Wondering what the hell is going on. What’s up, Tyler?”
He gave her a quick rundown of what had happened since the accident, avoiding her gaze.
Grabbing his hand, she said, “Tell me the truth. What do you think about this whole mess?”
He made a weird sound, but still didn’t look directly at her. Then, he sat up and stared past her head. Tyler’s eyes were full. Wait. Was he about to cry?
“It looks bad.” His voice cracked, but he continued, “I hope the things they’re accusing you of aren’t true.”
“Like what?”
“First of all—”
The door opened and the nurse appeared again. “I’m sorry, visiting time is over for today.”
“But it can’t be,” Deja protested.
“I’m sorry, it is. He can return in the morning.” Nurse Walcott softened her words with a smile. “He sat at your side when you were under. Now that you’re awake, I’m sure he’ll be back.”
Tyler kissed her cheek, and she wanted to hug him badly but didn’t. He’d be back tomorrow. Things had to get better by then. He walked out, looking the same as he always had—jacket, jeans, and kicks. But his shoulders were slumped, and his defeated air made her want to cry, but it wouldn’t help. She had unfinished business she needed to settle.
“Where’s my phone?”
The nurse retrieved it from the drawer of the table next to her. Of course, it was deader than dead. “Do you have a charger I could use?”
She shook her head. “I’ll see if I can borrow one.”
Some minutes later, she came back with one that fit and plugged the phone into it.
While it got some juice, Deja’s mind somersaulted from one thing to another. Did her family know she was here?
She put that aside, since it was the least of her issues. Tyler would have told Curtis. But if he had, why hadn’t any of them been there when she woke? Maybe they were busy and someone would come in the morning.
And what about that business with Christian? The policeman had hinted at what she was supposed to have done, but the thought of it was impossible. Wasn’t it?
Every time she was certain she might be in the middle of a nightmare, the metal bracelet jangled against the side of the bed and brought reality rushing back. Right now, she didn’t regret anything she’d done. She hadn’t murdered anyone, and Christian’s death probably had nothing to do with her.
When the phone had enough charge for her to make a call, she dialed her mother, who picked up after the third ring.
“Deja?” Her voice was cold and questioning at the same time.
“Mom?”
The awkward silence filled her heart with dread. Then her mother said, “I don’t know what you were thinking. Do you know how much grief you’ve caused this family? Not to mention the disgrace?”
“What are you talking about?” She moved her head side to side. She’d been unconscious for a week, and Hyacinth hadn’t expressed one shred of concern for her. Had she even been to see her? Deja didn’t ask because she couldn’t bear to know the answer. “Don’t you care that your brother raped me? Doesn’t that matter?”
“Yuh never hear about not washing yuh dirty linen in public?” Her mother’s use of patois told Deja how upset she was.
“What public?” She said, grinding her teeth. “Everyone there was family.”
“The point is, it happened so many years ago. What purpose did it serve to bring it up now?”
For a second or so, Deja had no words. Her mother had slammed her in the chest with a demolition ball. “I can’t believe you don’t understand why I had to tell.”
“As your grandmother used to say, what gone bad a morning can’t come good a evening.”
She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Hyacinth thought that since the assault was in the past, it couldn’t be fixed, so Deja should have let it stay buried.
Her mother’s insensitive comment was like a lightning bolt to the heart. Deja wanted to yank out the needle that fed clear liquid into the vein on the back of her hand, but she’d only be hurting herself. Her eyes filled as she said, “I get it. I never mattered with you. Even now, I still don’t.”
“All I’m saying is that it wasn’t necessary. Because of what you did, Nigel took his own life. Does it make you feel good to know his daughter is without a father, and Marina is devastated after losing her husband?”
Deja noticed her mother didn’t deny the accusation. Her voice was dull when she said, “I never told him to kill himself.”
“You took that decision from him when you posted his business on the internet.”
“I gave him the choice of doing it himself. He refused to confess and threatened me.” She sucked in a breath that pained her soul. “The world is a better place without him.”
“You’re a fine one to talk after what the police said you did to that boy,” Hyacinth yelled. “I don’t know what happened to you, Deja, but you need help.”
The tears Deja couldn’t hold back rained down her cheeks. She didn’t bother to tell her mother goodbye before jabbing the end call button. What was the point? She’d always been on the outskirts of her mother’s life, and here it was again, proof that she meant less than nothing. A big, fat zero.
She reattached the phone to the charger then switched on the television. The news was on, and she was about to switch the channel when a familiar house filled the screen. A small figure in a hoodie identical to one she owned appeared around the side of the building and approached the electrical panel box.
As her heart missed several beats, Deja fumbled to turn up the sound. The news anchor’s chirpy voice completed the unfolding story.
“...the station received this footage from an anonymous source. Apparently, the explosion that rocked the Skyers home a week ago was not accidental. Christian Skyers, who was accused of rape, died inside the house. At present, Deja Johnson, who was in a vehicular accident on Thanksgiving Day, is being questioned in connection with what the police say is now a case of homicide.”