Free Tangled Web by S.A. Ozment

Chapter 1
     
     
    Four months earlier—May 8th
     
    AFTER SLAMMING the front door of my small one-bedroom apartment, I leaned back against the hard wood and closed my eyes in hopes of settling my nerves. What a horrible day it had been. There was a shooting at a local fast-food restaurant, and the victim had been a little girl. The EMS had brought her into the emergency room where I work, and I had been assigned to her case. Normally I could handle almost anything that comes through the front doors, but today was different. This little girl really got under my skin, and it was all I could do to keep my wits about me while I assisted the ER doctor during the initial treatment. After the doctor stabilized her, she was taken to surgery to remove the bullet. I’d made a point to check on her before I left work, and fortunately she had made it through surgery and should make a full recovery.
    Breathing normally for the first time in hours, I opened my eyes and headed straight for the kitchen. I walked over to the sink, maneuvering around the breakfast bar, which separated me from what I was aiming for. I reached down into the brown cabinet below, moved aside my huge Crock-Pot, grabbed one of the bottles of chardonnay I had been saving for a special occasion, and placed it on top of the counter. I searched in the top drawer for my corkscrew, located a nice big wine glass, and stalked out of the kitchen as I headed straight for the living room and my laptop without missing a beat. On most nights I would’ve stopped to change into comfortable clothes but not tonight. I wanted nothing more than to drink and forget it all. And most of all, I was badly in need of a nice chat with my online friends at my hangout of choice—my Facebook page for my favorite actor, Sebastian Gray.
    While waiting on my computer to boot up, I quickly drank my first glass of wine. I told myself to slow down, but my hand didn’t get the message as I filled my glass again. Why was I so keyed up? I had worked on children before, but there was something about this sweet little girl with the long blonde hair that had tugged at my heartstrings. Maybe it was because she reminded me of my little sister when she had been that age. Regardless, I would never be able to understand how anyone could hurt a child because they were angry with the mother. And what kind of idiot takes a gun to a fast-food restaurant looking for the woman? What in the hell was going on with people these days? Well, all of these philosophical questions would have to be answered at a later date because I was online now, and my friend Patricia was waiting on me.
    Ashley: Hello Pat! Thank goodness you’re around tonight , I typed into the instant messenger.
    Patricia: Hey, baby! You sound upset. Did you have a bad day at work?
    Ashley: Yeah, it was pretty horrible, but nothing a few glasses of wine won’t help.
    As I typed I felt the first little buzz zipping through my brain. I knew I should slow down, as I didn’t drink very often. A few glasses in, I’m ashamed to say, I’d probably be pretty tipsy. But I lifted the glass to my lips unconsciously.
    Patricia: I’m here, baby, if you need to talk.
    Smiling, I thought about how much I loved talking to Patricia. She was such a nice person and always willing to listen to me, especially when I went on a ramble about how much I adored my celebrity crush, Sebastian Gray.
    Sebastian was a semifamous actor. I say semi because he was just now becoming well-known. I discovered him a few years ago on a short-lived television show and was immediately smitten. He was your typical Hollywood type but better-looking than most. I’d read online that he was around six feet tall—perfect height for me. His hair was blond with streaks of gold from the sun. He wore it like most of the guys these days, short on the sides and slightly longer on top. His California tan contrasted nicely against the color of his hair while his eyes… well they were to die