Free Fugue State by M.C. Adams Page A

sarcasm.
    “It’s not like that —”
    “You shouldn’t have come.” There. Done. No more lectures.
    The silence that followed fractured the roots that bound them. Endless blocks passed before either spoke. Saltwater pools formed in Tess’ eyes. “It’s cruel the way you shut me out. My daughter would never shut me out like that,” she whimpered.
    Okay. Maybe I went too far, but her words cut deeper than Jamar’s knife. Alexa refused to back down. “I am your daughter!” she half-shouted with an exaggerated eye-roll.
    Tess sighed. “My daughter wanted to help people, not hurt them.” Their conversation slowed, each remark separated by awkward pauses.
    “Mom, let it go. So what if he’s dead? I’m alive. Your daughter is alive.”
    Tess frowned. “Of course I’m glad you’re alive. Don’t act like I don’t care about you, Alexa. You’re my blood, and I’ll always love you. I just never thought you were capable of such hate, such violence.” She shuddered. “You wanted to help people; it’s why you became a doctor.”
    “Not anymore. I quit, Mom.”
    Tess turned her head from her daughter to look out the window.
    “I see. What will you do ?”
    What a condescending tone!
    “I don’t know. I need to figure things out. It’s complicated.”
    “You can come home.”
    Alexa searched for real sentiment in the offer. Hmm. Sounds a little cold.
    “No. That won’t work. Besides, the media isn’t ready to let this die down. I need to get away from here.”
    The car stopped. Alexa recognized her parent’s massive English Tudor home, and her inner child yearned to retreat to her safe place — curled in a blanket, sitting in her grandmother’s rocking chair in her bedroom. A news crew perched on the front lawn where she used to play.
    Alexa looked at her mother. She had nothing more to say. Tess reached over to hug her daughter. Numb after the day’s events, the embrace seemed lifeless.
    “Why does this feel like goodbye?” Tess pleaded.
    Alexa shrugged.
    “Give me some time, Mom. I’ll let you know.”
    Tess nodded and turned away quickly, wiping away a tear as she exited the car.

CHAPTER 11
    A ppleby sent Alexa to the Four Seasons that night, knowing her residence would be swarmed with media. She checked in under a fake name and had her food sent to her via room service. Although not guilty, she hid from the world like a criminal. Her mind toiled while she sat there alone for over an hour. I should feel relieved , she told herself, trying to unwind. Her fidgeting fingers reached for the phone, and she called Smokey Joe. The sun had set, and she wasn’t sure he would still be at the range. She waited three rings before the familiar gruff voice answered.
    “Otter Creek Shooting Range and Gun Club.”
    “Joe!” she declared, ecstatic.
    “Ma’am?”
    “Joe, it’s Alexa.”
    “Shoot, girl. I thought I’d lost you.”
    “Yeah, me too.” Her voice turned shaky.
    “You’re lookin’ for some target practice tonight, I reckon?”
    “Yes, Joe. If you’re up for it, that is. It’s late, I know.”
    “All right. I figure you deserve it after the day you’ve been through.”
    He’s alluding to the trial. Damn. Why must everyone watch the news? She had assumed as much.
    “I’ll be there in twenty minutes,” Alexa stated, making mental notes of everything she would need to do to get there that quickly.
    “Not this time. I’ve got a better idea for tonight.”
    Alexa jotted down directions to somewhere just outside of town. She hung up and called for a cab. She grabbed comfortable hospital scrubs and tennis shoes and tucked her hair under a ball cap pulled low over her face. She glanced at the silly disguise in the mirror and hoped it was enough to keep the attention away from her. What a perfectly unattractive ensemble!
    She had the cab driver stop at a liquor store to get a gift for Joe. She bought him a bottle of Tennessee White Whiskey. It was one of his favorites.
    The address