Focus

3. Focus on familiarity

"Words! Mere words! How terrible they were! How clear, and vivid, and cruel!
One could not escape from them. And yet what a subtle magic there was in them! They seemed to be able to give a plastic form to formless things, and to have a music of their own as sweet as that of viol or of lute. Mere words! Was there anything so real as words?"
— Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
                                         •••

A day had gone by since her brother left and she was still at Viceroy, surrounded by the ever growing number of fragrant flowers and gifts from fans. The woman was exhausted from being trapped in a cage with little food for two weeks to jumping off a high viaduct to attempting of fight off the nurse and escaping as far as she could.

The sedative that they had given her was also making her woozy. The sound of soft footsteps and hushed whispers echoed around the room as doctors and nurses came in and out, checking on her. The sensation of the crisp, cool sheets under her skin was a stark contrast to the hot, panicked feeling in her chest. The taste of the bland hospital food lingered in her mouth, only adding to the feeling of discomfort. April was so tired that most of the day was spent drifting in and out of sleep, her senses constantly on high alert.

The doctors didn't know it, because April was too out of it to speak clearly, but she felt uncomfortable with the new hoard of people coming in to spectate her like an animal in a zoo, like how Joe kept her in a cage to watch her and murmur praises and compliments.

She was sleeping, biding away the time, when she heard a familiar voice utter her name.

"Ramee?"
"No, I'm Conan Clarkson, Game Warden of the San Andreas State Park Rangers." The man spoke with a sigh, as if he was used to being mistaken for The CG member.

"Oh." She locked her fingers together and fiddled with them, eyes cast downward as she tried to smooth her face from the disappointment she felt. Visiting hours were open but nobody had yet to see her since her brother had left. It hurt more than she would have ever expected it to.

"Don't sound too excited. Jesus."
"Ignore him." Tessa Lamb, who came along said as she nudged him. His relaxed body language a sign that they were familiar with each other and comfortable enough to ignore their ranks.

"Alright Ms Fooze. You probably already know why we're here. We just want a statement from you and we'll be out of your hair."
"Statement?" She wasn't dumb. She knew what he meant but she didn't know if she was prepared to talk about it.

"Yeah. You...wait a second." He drifted off as he patted himself, looking for something before sighing and turning to his Lieutenant.

"Tessa do you have a pen?"
"You didn't bring a pen?" Tessa asked, surprise coating her voice.

"Who the fuck carries around a pen?"
Tessa sighed as if she was accustomed to this behavior from Clarkson. She then turned to face April as she sat down on the chair at her bedside.

"You can talk if you're ready to. We'll remember and write it down later."
"Oh..."
"He took me. He... he..."
Tessa gently gave her arm a comforting pat, allowing her to stop trying to force the words out.

"We're going to tell you what we've heard from other statements and then you can agree or disagree if it happened that way or not okay? You don't need to answer this right away, we can come back when you're ready." Tessa said, voice calm and controlled.

"You actually don't have that much time-"
"Conan!"
"What? I'm just saying. We can't arrest that fucker until she speaks."

"Where is he?" April immediately asked, face stone as she turned her gaze to Clarkson.
"Your boys shot him. Tessa was watching from afar because Cleo and Bryce warned her so she had paramedics on standby. He's still in the icu."
The park ranger overheard a few gossiping doctors say that April and Joe wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for the instant response from EMS. Clarkson wasn't there to witness this shit show but he was proud of how Tessa was able to handle the matter seamlessly.