The Serial Killer Survivor Club

Chapter 31

After the lectures to end all lectures from his mom and getting interviewed by the police, Jamie finally got some rest. He ended up staying with Noah in his room while he recovered. 

Noah grabbed a piece of paper, crumbled it up, and threw it at Jamie's head. "Hey!"

Noah looked at him with a confused and innocent look, "What?"

"What do you mean what? Why'd you do that?" 

Noah shrugged. "Bored. Sorry, that was mean. I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Jamie thought for a moment. "I want a new car."

"Done," Noah smiled.

Jamie's eyes widened. "I was joking."

"I'm not." Noah turned on the tv, and a newscaster stared back. It didn't take them long to recognize where the newscaster was. Noah looked over to Jamie. "I can turn it to something else."

"No, I...need to hear this," Jamie said as Noah turned the volume up.

"A night of terror for some local kids. Two young boys and one girl were held hostage by one of their friends last night. What was supposed to be a night of fun turned into a night of horror. The young man who caused such horror has been taken into custody and charged with three counts of kidnapping, three counts of assault, and other charges, including murder. We'll have more information as the story unfolds."

"It feels surreal hearing all that out loud," Noah said. "Serves him right."

Jamie just stared at the tv. It didn't feel real. He felt like he was in a nightmare, and he'd wake up back in Nigel's basement. "I wonder if they'll charge him as an adult. God, why do I care?"

"He was your friend. It's natural you still kind of care about him. I mean, I hate the guy, but that's just me. I didn't know him like you did. Fucker cut my fingers off after all."

"I guess you're right. He was the only one there for me back then. I don't know if he was playing with me or what, but he gave me some comfort. I'd be lying if I said I didn't want him to get the help he needs."

"Fair enough," Noah said as the nurse came in. "Hi."

"How are you feeling, Noah?" She asked, sitting down a tray of food. "Hungry?"

"Starving, thanks. I'm alright. Can't complain too much."

"You should if you need to. This is one place you should," The nurse said, looking over at Jamie. "How about you?"

"I'm getting better," Jamie said.

"Good," She said as a knock hit the door. The nurse walked over and opened it. Sarah waved at them. "Looks like you two have a visitor. Call if you need me, Mr. Carr."

"Will do," Noah said as she left. "Sup, Sarah."

"Hey, guys," She said, walking in and sitting next to Jamie. Jamie looked down and saw her hand bandaged and tired to ignore it. "How are you doing?"

"Could be better, could be worse," Noah shrugged. "Hope I can leave soon. I know Niko is missing me."

"Who's been taking care of him?" Jamie asked.

"My neighbor," Noah said, flipping through channels. "Why isn't there ever anything good on?"

"I'm okay," Jamie said. "How's Lance?"

"Good, he's back to his annoying self. Turns out getting shot and saving us gave him a massive boost to his ego," Sarah laughed. "We've been talking a lot more too."

"That's great," Jamie smiled. "I should go see him."

"You should. He wanted me to ask you to come by. If you want to tag out, I'll babysit Noah for a bit."

Noah scoffed. "Babysit? Me? Please."

Jamie laughed as he made his way to Lance's room. He knocked before entering. Lance was on the phone with someone when Jamie entered.

"I told you I'm fine. No, don't get off of work. Stay there, and...what do you mean you're already on your way? Ugh..." Lance looked over at Jamie and smiled. "Hey, look who's here?" His attention went back to his phone. "No, it's not my secret lover. Why are you like this? It's Jamie. Hold on." Lance held the phone away from his face. "Rodger said hi and to not steal me away from him." He disconnected the phone before Rodger could say anything else. "He'll be alright."

Jamie walked over and sat next to the bed. "How are you?"

"If one more person asks me that, I'm going to go crazy," Lance said.

"You do know you're in a hospital, right? They have to ask you that every five minutes," Jamie laughed.

"I'm alright. The drugs help." Lance looked down at his wound. "It still stings a bit, but nothing I can't handle."

"I never thanked you for-" 

Jamie was interrupted by Lance letting out a long annoyed groan. "Stop, alright. I did what I did because you guys needed help. You don't have to thank me. Plus, Sarah told me what you did. I should be thanking you. I still have a sister because of you." Lance laughed. "Kind of makes the whole "Me wanting to punch you when we met" thing feel even weirder now."

"Yeah," Jamie said.  "Thanks for not doing that."

The door swung open, and Rodger ran inside. "The hell, Lance?! I tried to call you like ten times on the way here!" He ran over and hugged him.

"And you wonder why I don't answer," Lance chuckled as Rodger kissed him. "I'm okay."

Rodger wiped the tears from his face and looked at Jamie. "Hey, Jai. You doing okay?"

"Did you mean for that to rhyme?" Lance laughed, then stopped when Rodger flicked him in the head. "Ow, I'm calling the nurse."

"Yeah, I'm alright."

"Good, your mom was losing it out there. I managed to calm her down. She left to get some stuff. She also said if you leave without her, she'll lock you in your room until you're 30," Rodger said. 

"Sounds about right." Jamie stood up with a yawn. "I'll give you guys some room. Catch you later, Lance."

"I'll be here," Lance said. 

Jamie walked back to Noah's room. When he entered, Noah and Sarah were deep in conversation.

Noah saw him enter and asked, "Paris or Bahamas?"

Jamie blinked. "Huh?"

"Paris or Bahamas?" Noah repeated.

"Pick Paris," Sarah whispered.

"Don't tell him what to pick!" Noah shouted.

"I guess Paris. I've always wanted to try the food," Jamie said.

"Dammit," Noah said under his breath. "Fine, I'll look up flights."

"Excuse me?" Jamie asked.

Sarah grinned. "Noah says we deserve something nice, so he wanted to go on a vacation. He's paying if that wasn't obvious. You can bring your mom too. I guess I should invite Lance and Rodger."

"How's the end of next month? I should be able to find an Airbnb for a good rate. Or if you guys want a hotel, I could look at those too. Don't worry about anything. I'll handle the planning," Noah asked, scrolling through his phone. 

"Uh, I don't have a passport, and that's insanely nice," Jamie said.

"I just don't want to go by myself. It's not like I like you guys or anything," Noah said, smiling behind his phone.

"I'd never think that," Sarah laughed. "I'm...glad I met you guys. I know we've been through hell together, but I'm glad we're still somewhat sane."

"Same here," Jamie said. "I'm glad I went to the support group. So much has happened since then, and I don't want to think about where I'd be if I hadn't gone."

"Well, good thing you don't have to. Like it or not, You're stuck with us, Jammie."

Jamie laughed. For once in his life, he was happy to have so many people that cared about him. Not for ulterior motives or anything. He was glad he had real friends. "Wouldn't have it any other way."