THE ART OF FALLING GRACEFULLY by SARAH BETH LEE (novel24 TXT) 📖

flow freely down his face. The voices in his head started again. Chuck had been right about him, maybe he was a wimp. After all here he sat cowering in the bushes crying like a sissy girl.

Rick had been pulled out of his memory by the sound of the front door opening. There she was in the glow of the moonlight so beautiful. He snapped into action and slipped inside the house as Sydney checked her mail. Rick had slipped into the closet and listened for Sydney to go upstairs; once he heard the shower he knew he had at least thirty minutes.

Rick walked through the lower level rooms but found nothing out of the ordinary. He noticed three glasses and three plates drying on the sink; someone else had been here or was still here. He quietly climbed the stairs and began to check the rooms.

The first bedroom was empty and then he passed Sydney’s door. Rick was drawn inside by the sweet floral scent of her perfume lingering in the air. He could see her makeup scattered on the dresser along with several CDs. The room was exactly as he remembered it. As he stood in the doorway an eerie silence filled the room. His eyes fell on the shelf in the corner and it too looked exactly the same. It displayed her most precious memories. Their wedding picture, her white silk wedding flowers and then his gaze settled on the top shelf. He felt his breath catch as a single tear slid down his cheek. He walked into the room and ran his finger along the rim of the delicate crystal wedding flute with the word forever beautifully inscribed on the etched glass. It wasn’t the glass itself but what was inside that brought his emotions bubbling to the surface. A single faded red rose with a soft satin ribbon still intact and covered in six years worth of dust. He could see the photo of a young couple he had once known so well. He had given her that rose on their wedding night. His gaze never left the picture cradled inside; they had looked so happy, so in love what had happened? Rick told himself that she still had feelings for him why else would she still have their wedding pictures out? He could shook the memories away and forced his feet to move, he had to see who was in the last room.

Rick walked slowly down the hall looking at the family photos scattered along the wall. Sydney had been so close to her family and it had driven him crazy with jealousy. He longed to embrace her family as his own but they had never accepted him. He could feel the anger slowly building as he looked at the pictures. When Sydney kicked him out she had taken away the only family he had ever known. He reminded himself that if she refused to take him back she would pay dearly, they all would. He knew it would kill her if anything happened to her precious family. He smiled as a plan began to form in his delusional mind; if she found herself alone, without her brothers or friends she would be forced to come crawling back to him. He could almost see her begging him to let her back in his life.

He realized he was running out of time as he heard the water shut off. He moved quickly down the hall and pushed the door just enough for the hall light to illuminate none other than Marley Timmons. He should have known. He pulled the door closed and made his way down the stairs.

Once down stairs he rummaged around trying to find some paper. He scribbled a short note and folded the paper in half with only her name showing. He tossed the note on top of her discarded mail from earlier. He then unlocked the door and scurried into the humid night. He wasn’t even sure if he had shut the door behind him. Oh well he had other things on his mind as he ran to his car and left. He had taken a chance and was lucky that he hadn’t been caught. His thoughts were going a thousand miles an hour he knew next time he would have to be more careful. He would wait and watch patiently until she was alone and then he would do what had to be done.

As Rick made it to the stop sign he saw the same truck he had seen leaving Sydney’s earlier. He watched in the rearview mirror as it parked in front of Sydney’s apartment. Now what was he doing back? The man was approaching her door with a duffel bag, as if he planned to stay the night. Rick was furious, that would prove to be his first and last mistake. Rick cursed the man as he slowly drove away into the night.


CHAPTER FIVE
STARLESS NIGHT

Marley walked out of the house into the starless night. She didn’t want to be late for her first shift at the hospital; of course it was the graveyard shift. She knew that most of the interns and hospital staff felt she was under qualified and too young to have been given this position. She was sure that her father’s role as chief of staff had played a part in her landing this coveted position; however Marley was sure that she was the most qualified candidate after working the ER at Chicago General for two years. She had already prepared herself for the condescending attitudes of the nurses and residents at Cole County Hospital and she really didn’t expect special treatment. She would do her job and prove that she had been the right person for the job. She would put up with the grueling hours, the tough schedule, long weekends and holiday duty. She would not back down from any of the people pushing for her to fail. She was a good doctor and she deserved this no matter what her last name was and who her father happened to be.

She looked at the peaceful apartment and was glad that Trent was with Sydney. She didn’t trust Rick Wells any further than she could throw him; he was crazy as a loon and she feared he was more dangerous than Syd had ever let on. She wondered where he had disappeared to after his little visit. She pulled on to the road and began the short drive to County Hospital. She felt very isolated as she traveled down the empty streets she swerved a little as she met a vehicle with their bright lights on. She
Swore under her breath as she tried to make out the make and model of the offending vehicle. Her thoughts immediately returned to Rick Wells and she wondered yet again what deranged and bizarre ideas might be floating around in his head.

Marley turned into the employee parking lot to see that there were no open spots close to the entrance. Marley circled the lot and parked in the back corner under a tree. She grabbed her things and climbed out of her car. She shivered as she looked around expecting to see someone creeping around in the shrubs. She shook her head as a shiver of paranoia crept into her head. Rick had managed to get under her skin more than she had realized. She tried to ignore the growing sense of dread that was settling around her and ran to the ER door.
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Rick drove around trying to control his anger, but not having much luck. He needed to show Sydney that he would not let her get away without a fight of epic proportions. He passed a silver Eclipse that looked somewhat familiar. He watched in the rearview mirror as the car turned into the hospital parking lot. He realized it was Marley. He watched as her taillights began to fade and he busted a u-turn and followed the direction of Marley’s car.
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After leaving the hospital Rick drove around for what seemed like hours. He could feel his eyes growing heavy as he looked for somewhere to pull over. He saw the flashing sign for an all night diner. He pulled off the highway and onto the gravel parking lot avoiding the many potholes. He stumbled out of the car and walked to the glass door with the welcome sign swinging in the wind. He was oblivious to the twilight zone feel of the room. It was dimly lit, with faded vinyl tablecloths; the floor was old worn wood with miscellaneous throw rugs placed hap hazardously around the crowded tables. He looked at the counter that was covered with at least an inch of dust. The diner was mostly empty with the exception of a few truck drivers having an early breakfast and a couple of guys sleeping off a drunk. Rick sat in a corner booth and ordered a black coffee that seemed safe.

Rick gazed out the window at the flashing neon vacancy sign at the hotel across the street. What he really wanted to do was get sloppy drunk, to drown out the memory of Sydney with that man. He did not want to remember how beautiful and great she had been or how she had once loved him and the last thing he wanted was to remember how much he still loved her.

Rick slowly brought his mind back to the present. He had to figure out a way to remove all the obstacles that stood in between them. He knew Marley would be a problem she had never liked him. He could still remember how she had tried to turn Sydney against him. In the end Sydney had chosen to be with him, with or without her friend’s support.

Marley had managed to turn Alana against him as well. When Alana had arrived home for the wedding Marley had been like her shadow following her around telling her lies and vicious rumors. He could see the way she had began to look at him as if he were the devil incarnate. It had all been lies and he couldn’t let the two lying conniving tweets turn Sydney against him. Alana had believed every word that Marley had said and the two of them together had tried to talk Sydney out of marrying Rick. Alana had went so far as to back out of the wedding and leave Cole County never to return again. Rick found his temperature rising as he remembered the heated words that had been thrown. He mentally added Marley and Alana’s names to his growing list. He wondered what Alana Mitchell was up to these days.
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Twelve past midnight the witching hour and not a single star in the ink black sky; to the human eye it was a clear and peaceful night but for Alana Mitchell it was anything but peaceful. For her every hour, minute, and second of every day was a struggle between her conscience mind and the inner war that was waging deep inside. So many emotions had