CHAPTER 13
“That’s right!” Cassie said with excitement as he turned to get her reaction to his comment.
He hadn’t been sure of the name but it seemed to fit. For some reason he felt a strange connection to him as if he belonged to him. But that was crazy…wasn’t it?
Starsky crept up from behind him slowly and got his attention by taking the bear from his hands…and then he spoke to him.
“If you remember Ollie…then you must remember Terry.” He told him as
he handed the toy to Cassie. “She gave him to you.”
“And you gave him to me.” Cassie added as she took Ollie from Starsky.
“I never let him out of my sight…he’s my favorite.”
By now his head was beginning to ache…flashes of memory were coming to him in waves that brought with them extreme pain as he tried to focus on one particular thing or another. But it was as if his mind were a TV and someone was flipping through the channels…
He leaned his head forward in his hands and staggered a little grabbing hold of the chair in front of her dresser for balance. He had a history of migraines and Starsky could read the signs after dealing with Hutch for so many years…
“Take it easy…” Starsky said as he grabbed him by the shoulder to steady him and pulled the small chair out a little more for him to sit in. “Stay here…I ’ll be right back.”
After what to Hutch seemed like forever…Starsky returned with a glass of water and two little white pills…
“Take these…they’ll help.” He told him as he held them out for him.
Hutch took them eagerly and finished off the water in four large gulps. Upon his final effort he began to cough violently. Starsky patted him on the back to clear his airway and spoke to him…
“Careful Hutch…That’s how you got into this mess remember?” He told him in almost a scolding voice. “You ok?”
Cassie had positioned herself on the floor by his feet and held his hand in hers as Starsky continued. As soon as his spasms subsided he rose to his feet…pulling himself away from them both…and turned to face them.
“Stop it.” He said as he gripped his throat with the words.
His attempt to speak above a whisper had caused the familiar pain to return. Frustrated by his inability to communicate…he walked over to her dresser, picked up the pencil and notebook she had resting there and began to write as they watched. It was obvious that he had something to say to them both…and that he was angry.
He ripped the page from the binder and presented it to Starsky quickly…then he stood back and waited for his words to be understood.
Starsky read it with a serious look on his face as Cassie watched. It was the first time he had given Starsky something to read and Cassie was eager to know what it said…
He glanced up at Hutch and then back at Cassie…then back at Hutch again…without speaking.
“Well…What does it say?” She asked impatiently.
“Hutch needs a break…I’m gonna take him home now…you stay here.” He told her as he kept his eyes on his partner’s face. The look he was giving him reflected the writing on the page.
“That doesn’t answer my question.” She told him a little annoyed at the brush off he was giving her.
“We’ll talk when I get back.” Starsky told her as he followed Hutch out of the room. “Just stay put.”
Starsky crumpled the paper in his hand and without thinking…tossed it into the garbage can in her room as he was leaving. She listened for the door to slam and the Torino engine to start…then without another moment’s hesitation she ran to the garbage pail and retrieved the page from it. She placed it on top of her dresser and brushed her hand over it to remove the creases so she could read what it said…
(I can’t take any more of this…Just get me the hell out of here.)
Cassie was crushed…was he mad at her? Why did he want to leave? Had she pushed him too hard too soon? She loved him and she was only trying to help…so why did he write this? She didn’t understand his mood but now there was one thing she was sure of…
Davey had a reason for not discussing it with her in front of him.
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Chapter 14
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