Heywood Equestrian Stables

Jealousy

"We're looking for Georgiana Lambe. Can you tell us where she is?" Sidney asked frantically. The lady at the front desk of the emergency department searched her computer records and instructed us to have a seat and a doctor would be out soon to see us. Sidney was not happy about having to wait. He paced the floor of the mostly empty waiting room while we waited to hear anything.

"I should have been home," he mumbled. "I should have been there."

"Sidney, stop!" I said.

"If I was home this wouldn't have happened," he continued.

I stood up and stopped him from pacing the floors by standing in front of him and placing my hand on his chest. "If that's the case, you're essentially blaming me for what happened because I asked you to stay with me," I reminded.

"No. It's my fault. I shouldn't be so selfish and want something I have no right to have. I shouldn't have been with..." he argued.

"Me," I said, finishing his statement. I was hurt by what he said, but knowing Sidney the way I did, I had to remind myself that this was not what he truly meant. This was his self-loathing and depression talking. "You have to stop doing this. It's not your fault. Nothing you could have done or said would have changed the outcome." He sighed heavily and stared at me as if he was trying to convince himself of what I was saying. "Everything is going to be alright. I know it will." I hugged him around his middle, forcing him to feel something other than regret and responsibility. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around me, loosely at first. Slowly his arms tightened as if he was holding on to a lifeline. If he let go, he might slip away into nothing. I wasn't about to let him go.

"Mr. Parker," someone said, causing Sidney to loosen his arms, but still keep one arm wrapped around me. It was the same Sheriff we saw earlier when the horses were dropped off. "I don't know any of the particulars about Georgiana, but I wanted to let you know this will be handled to the fullest extent."

"What will be handled?" he asked. "What happened?"

He sighed as if he was questioning giving us all the details of the accident. "The car was wrapped around a tree pretty badly. I'm surprised anyone survived." His words only made Sidney's anxiety worse. I could feel his arm tighten around me. His jaw clenched tightly and long drawn out breaths left his lungs. "The kid driving was drunk and clearly not paying attention to what he was doing."

Sidney's attention was instantly piqued. "What do you mean the kid driving? I wasn't told anything about someone else in the car. Was it not Georgiana's car?" he asked hotly.

The sheriff sighed and looked down. "From what we were able to piece together, Miss Lambe got off work around eleven and was picked up by an Otis Molyneux. He had been drinking quite a bit and there was some sort of confrontation that happened in the car right before he hit the tree."

"Was Otis hurt?" I asked, noticing Sidney was now numb after hearing the news.

The sheriff laughed. "Isn't that the ironic part of it all. Georgiana is fighting for her life while Otis got a small scratch on his forehead requiring stitches."

Just as the sheriff was explaining all this to us, another policeman walked out from the back, leading Otis who was in handcuffs. Sidney's eyes focused in on Otis and I could feel his body tense next to me. Otis rose his head and glanced towards Sidney. "I'll kill him!" Sidney shouted, lunging towards him. The sheriff and I had to use all our strength to hold Sidney back.

I wrapped my arms around Sidney, trying my best to calm him. He was shaking so badly from the anger building inside of him. "It's alright. It's alright," I repeated over and over.