Having A Great Time With Sage

Chapter 7: Ezekiel

The rain continued to fall outside as I stepped back into the hospital. I rubbed my wrists as I looked around for a nurse's station. A vaguely familiar nurse escorted me upstairs and pointed me towards Josh's room. I rehearsed how I would explain myself to him the whole way up. Just a few steps from the door, I collided with none other than Ashley, who was walking briskly out of the room.

"Oh dang, Ash, I'm sorry." I quickly moved to help her up, a bit of deja vu hanging in the air.

She looked at me for a moment, bewildered, before shouting, "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I-I, uh," I didn't know where to start, my mind went completely blank.

"How long has it been since you lied to me and left me here, huh? Three, four hours?"

I grabbed her by the shoulders, "Listen, they were interrogating me, they wanted to try me for murder!" My voice was far more hushed than hers. I realized that everyone in the area was casting glances our way. "Let's talk about this outside."

Ashley begrudgingly went with me, we stood outside under the awning, the rain falling steadily around us. As soon as she was sure nobody else was around, she turned and slapped me across the face as hard as she could. "I spilled my heart out in front of you and you didn't have the guts to tell me that you did this to him?!"

I was still recovering from the hit, Ashley was a lot stronger than she looked. "I tried, but I couldn't ever find the words."

"Were you about to just let me go on in the dark, blind to everything you did?!" She hadn't expected my gentle reaction. There was a flash of an expression like she was dissatisfied with her word choice, but she hardened her glare.

"I take it that Josh is awake now. What all did he tell you?" There was a sadness that sank into my words, weighing them down.

"That you held Sage back so he couldn't get away or fight back. You're a coward for running off. Did you even try to stop Chase?"

With a sigh, I backed up and slid down the rough exterior of the building until I was situated on the ground. I mussed up my hair as I tried to think of the right words to say. "I'm so sorry, Ash."

"I never wanted to hurt him. We were friends, I used to sit next to him in our classes. Chase said that there was a guy who we needed to teach a lesson 'cos he kept hanging around his girlfriend. I didn't want to believe it was Sage, I knew what a good dude he was.

"Then I thought Chase was just going to rough him up some, like most of the guys he would beat up, but when Josh didn't leave, I knew it wasn't going to be good. Dude's like a psycho. They started fighting and Chase bashed his head into the lockers. I thought he killed him on the spot. I couldn't move, I wanted to get Sage outta there, but I was frozen."

I could see the fiery rage Ashley had in her eyes dwindle the longer I spoke to her. She sat down next to me. I paused for a moment and shakily reached into my jacket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. I got one out, lit it, and took a long drag. I tipped the carton in her direction, but she shook her head, "I didn't know you smoked, how'd you get those?"

"I only do when I get really on edge, and this pack is my dad's, he's got plenty to spare."

She was quiet for a moment, then, "You said they interrogated you?"

"Yeah, that's why it took me so long to get back."

"How'd you get out?" Ashley was curious.

"I told them everything about what happened. I told them all they could ever ask for, and probably more. They matched up what I said happened to what Tony said happened and agreed that the information I gave them on the case and where Chase could be was enough to get me off the hook."