A Distant Rose Among Thorns

22- Alienable

In the city of Chicago, an unexpected person had been watching Candice's whereabouts on a daily basis. He knew that she had worked at St. Joan's Hospital, and then at the clinic with Dr. Martin. He knew that she had been living with a patient from the hospital who was released due to the claims of being a spy. He also knew that the man Candice took in to live with her had lost his memory. This informant was hired in order to find Candice since her disappearance from the Ardlay family. The main person behind the investigation of Candice's whereabouts was on a mission to disclose all of her activities.

It had been nearly a year since Candice and Neil had run into each other. Candice had managed to defend Neil against a couple of street criminals that had stopped him on an alley near Candice and Albert's place. She overheard yelling and cursing coming from the alley as she was heading home from work. The guys were beating Neil to a pulp in order to take the keys of his automobile, but Neil and his sharp tongue made matters worse for himself. Candice approached the fellows and shouted at them. "Let him be!" As the guys looked up, while Neil lay on the ground, Candice began to run towards them. The fellows continued to kick Neil as he was down on his knees. Candice then jumped right in swinging punches and hitting the guys.

As soon as things escalated a policeman appeared on horseback and then with his high pitched whistle scared the guys away. Neil's face was terribly bloody; it was difficult for him to breathe and his ribs were tender to the touch. Suddenly Neil started to vomit and choke on his own blood.

"Neil, I am afraid we need to rush you to the hospital. Get into the automobile right now!" Candice ordered.

She managed to help Neil into the vehicle and then began to drive. Thanks to Stear, Candice had learned to drive an automobile. She drove the vehicle without fear and arrived at the hospital safely.

"Mr. Leagan you have a broken nose and some fractured ribs. You will be kept here until a family member can come for you in the morning. You should thank Miss White for her help and for bringing you in." The doctor on duty stated.

"Thank you doctor, I will make sure his family is notified as soon as possible." Candice replied.

As soon as the doctor left the room Neil began to speak.

"I do not know how to begin to thank you Candy. But I am very grateful for your help. I do not know what I would have done if you were not there." Neil said as he lay on the hospital bed.

"Do not mention it. I am glad I was able to get you the right help at the right time." Candice replied.

"It has been quite a while since we have seen each other and this is some way to reunite. Before I go on, let me say that I had been such a rotten person to you in the past. I guess what I am really trying to say is...I am sorry...please forgive me for having caused you such terrible times when we were children. I did not want to be a sissy so I had to be a tough guy at all times. I do feel remorse. There is not one day that goes by without the thought of the mean tricks Eliza and I had played on you." Neil said apologetically.

As a few seconds passed Candice began to speak up.

"Well, because of the way you both had treated me in the past it had influenced how I developed. I learned to hate and despise you both. Later, I was determined to raise myself above the self inflicting damage hating was going to cause my spirit. With time, I learned to forgive you both for your wrong doing. So there, it is a clean slate." Candice replied as she patted Neil on his shoulder.

"You should rest now. I will alert Archie so they can make arrangements to come pick you up in the morning. You will be in good hands here. But I must go home now; my roommate must be worried about me as I am usually home by now." Candice stated as she reached for the door.