Chapter 5:

Bob awoke to the sunlight blaring through the window. Groggy, he sat up and stretched from his position on the couch. Looking around, he was momentarily confused by the sight of the pillow and blanket on the opposite end of the sofa. That was when he remembered, Linda, she was staying there with him. They must have both dozed off during the movie last night.

At first, he wasn't all that worried about her absence. She probably just got up and relocated to the bed. He did begin to grow suspicious though, once he reached the kitchen. There was bread, eggs, sitting out and bowls. Linda had been in here trying to prepare something.

"Linda?" Bob called from the doorway, still scanning the room with confusion.

There was no response. He tried calling out for her once more as he turned and started towards the bedroom. Opening the door, he found exactly what he had expected, nothing. A vacant bed. Now, he was beginning to grow worried.

"I'm okay!" Linda finally yelled from down the hall.

Bob headed down the hall, reaching the bathroom where he knocked on the door. He knew that he should be respecting her privacy, but he wanted to make sure that she was actually okay. He was there when the illness had begun and he really thought that he should be keeping an eye on her just in case.

"Are you sure you're okay?" He questioned.

"Do ya need in here?" Linda responded, sounding weak.

Bob decided to just simply enter the room. It wasn't the best choice to make, but once inside he saw that he was right to just walk in on her. The sight caused him to pause, scared. All he could do was gasp.

Linda sat there on the floor in front of the toilet. One arm draped over her belly as one gripped the side of the tub as if she had attempted to get to her feet. Her face was pale and sweat covered, dark circles consuming her once vibrant eyes.

It had been a long morning for her. This wasn't anything too new, although it seemed to be getting worse. The nausea, the pain, the dull throbbing in her temples. It felt like the worst flu that anyone could ever experience.

"I'm sorry, I just tried to make you breakfast and I guess I wasn't up for it," she explained.

"We're going to the hospital," he stated as he made his way to her side.

Linda shook her head as he helped her to stand, his arm securely wrapped around her. He was allowing her to lean on him as he began to slowly walk her.

"They'll tell you the same thing they've been telling me. It's nothing, go get some rest," she drawled on, growing somewhat loopy from exhaustion and dehydration.

He felt bad, but all he wanted was to make sure that she got whatever help she needed. At the same time, he knew that she was right. As much as he wanted to make sure she was all right, he didn't want to torture her by making her sit in a waiting room for hours like this only to get poked and prodded at for no reason.

"Fine," he sighed. "At least let me get you to bed. If you're not better in a few hours though, I'm taking you to the ER."

"I usually just take a nap and it goes away for the rest of the day," she explained as they turned and entered the room.

The statement caused Bob's heart to break a little. Usually. That meant that this happened a lot. She had to suffer through this a couple times a week, or maybe even more. Worse, Jimmy was down in the restaurant all day. He probably never noticed. Or if he did, he didn't care.

"Just, lay down for a while then," he absently stated as he helped her into bed.

How could one not notice their own wife getting sick like this? He started wondering what other things had been going on, unnoticed. Now he was afraid to ever send her back there. What if she were to have some serious complications? She could just bleed out to death. She could pass out and seriously injure herself. It could be hours before anyone would notice.

Linda laid there, feeling almost like a little kid. She was sick, being tucked into bed and told to take a nap. It was nice though, for a change. When Ginger was pregnant, her husband was constantly doing things for her. He would run to the store for her and give her little back rubs and sit up at night with her when she couldn't sleep. She hadn't gotten any of that. Hell, she couldn't even get a simple "I love you" anymore.

"I'll go get you some water," Bob flatly stated before leaving the room, only stopping to take one last glance at her in the doorway.

"Thank you," Linda softly replied.

She didn't really know or care about what he was saying, all she knew was that he genuinely cared about her and that was enough.

As she began to doze off though, she thought back to the dream that she had the night she supposedly conceived. Just like it were happening all over again, she could feel the claws gliding over her skin, the brush lathering her in paint, covering her in random symbols. Despite the disturbing sensations, she fell asleep before Bob could return.

oooooo

As soon as Bob stepped out the door, making sure to lock it behind him, he saw Jimmy crossing the street to meet up with him. Part of him was hoping that maybe he was making his way there for something else, or maybe he misjudged the direction and only thought he was actually towards him.

"Bob?" He called, his voice laced with a genuine concern that struck him..

Bob sighed, stopping and turning towards the other man. All he could think about was the way that he must have been mistreating Linda, and how long this must have been going on. He knew that there was nothing he could actually do to Jimmy without getting in trouble, but he sure as hell didn't have to stand here and talk to him.

"What is it, Jimmy?" He sharply questioned.

Jimmy stopped before him, making sure to look around and check his surroundings. He was paranoid. Linda was gone and Harold was not happy about that. He had told him that he had better not even think about returning home until he found out what was happening.

"Is Linda staying here? She'd mentioned you a few times and I figured that if she was heading anywhere, she'd be here," he asked, the fear ringing loud and clear in his voice as he apprehensively scratched at the back of his neck.

"I really don't have time for this right now," he responded as he began to turn and leave. "I have a restaurant to open."

"I just want to talk to her," Jimmy demanded.

Looking at him, Bob never would have thought of Jimmy as being dangerous. An asshole, sure, but not dangerous. That was what seemed off to him. Either way, he wasn't about to be his messenger. He had to remind himself that Linda ran away from this man for a reason.

"Look," Bob started in defeat. "If she's willing to talk to you, then you can talk all you want. It's not my say. But until she's ready to talk, I'm not going to tell her that she has to see you."

Jimmy's shoulders slumped at the response and he looked down towards the ground for a second. He knew that this was all his fault, but what he did, he couldn't take back. And it was for the greater good. Before all of this, they had nothing, now they had money, a name for themselves, and they could have as many kids as they wanted. They needed this.

Sooner or later he figured that she would understand. She was just a little over emotional right now given her current condition. That's what he attributed her little runaway to at least.

"So she is with you?" He inquired, lifting back up his head.

It was weird seeing him like this, so desperate. Bob wanted to tell him yes, assure him that she was okay, but at the same time, he didn't deserve to know. If he really cared all that much, it wouldn't have gotten to the point where she felt the need to escape.

"I gotta go," Bob said going to unlock the door.

Jimmy nodded, taking that as a yes. As long as he knew where Linda was, everything was going to be fine. All he would have to do is go and tell Edith and Harold of her whereabouts and let them know that Bob would be her caretaker now.

oooooo

It was around dinner time and Linda sat up in bed, staring down at her phone. She wasn't sure what she was waiting for honestly. A call maybe? Something from Jimmy asking her where she was?

She had woken up from her nap only a couple of hours ago and since then had been anticipating a message from Jimmy. As much as she didn't want to speak with him, she greatly desired for him to notice her absence. She wanted to know that part of him still cared, that he was worried that she wasn't right there with him.

The longer that she had to wait however, the more hope she lost in the marriage that barely even existed anymore.

Disappointed, she set the phone back onto the nightstand and laid back into the pillows. Maybe it was all for the best. She believed that this man was involved in harming their unborn child, he really shouldn't be getting a second chance. Still, it would have been nice to see him at least try for another chance. If for nothing more, just so she could deny him.

"Oh my God," she said to herself.

She had to stop all of this, the wanting this and that from Jimmy. She had to force herself to stop caring. They were done. He was out of the picture. It would be nice to see him care and it would be nice to see that he missed, but she shouldn't need it so much. Jimmy was like a childhood friend that moved away while you were in elementary school - there were fond memories, but they were gone. You weren't friends anymore. They had no effect on your life anymore and you really shouldn't care about how they feel about you.

Linda got out of bed and headed out to the living room where she opened the curtains and looked down to the restaurant across the street. It was busy, just like it had always been. The line was out the door, there were people eating outside at a few of the tables.

She was mad at herself for wanting to spy on Jimmy right after she had just explained to herself that he didn't matter anymore. Her curiosity was too strong to fight, and it was certain that it would stay that way for a while.

What got her attention was seeing Jimmy step outside. It was something that he did here and there when things got super busy. He would go and mingle with a few of the customers and take a few orders for drinks and what not. Witnessing such an event wasn't what bothered her, what did though was the way he went about it. He appeared genuinely happy. He was actually giving these random people more attention than he's given her in a long time.

This was all the proof that she needed to know that she made the right decision in leaving. As much as the sight angered her, it made her feel better to know that she could justify her feelings towards him.

"Feeling better?" Bob questioned, entering the room. He had just closed up the restaurant.

Linda turned and nodded. "A lot better."

Bob looked her over, seeing that some of her color had returned, and the dark circles under her eyes had disappeared. Along with that, she was out of bed, so that had to be good.

"I cleaned up the kitchen, so I can make us something to eat if you're hungry," he offered.

Linda smiled to him, shaking her head. "I'm actually not hungry, but thanks."

He figured that she probably still wasn't feeling completely well and went ahead and took a seat on the couch. "Let me know when you want something," he told her as he began flipping through the channels.

Linda sighed as she walked around and plopped down onto the chair. "Ya think he even notices I'm gone?" She asked.

Bob froze for a second, wondering if he should mention the incident that occurred earlier. It might have been nice for her to know that he did seem a little worried, but at the same time, he didn't want to freak her out by letting her know that he in fact knew where she was. It wasn't like this was the place for her to really hide considering that it was right across the street and he would see her sooner or later, but she was still so jumpy.

"He actually asked about you today," he answered, trying to be as casual as he could about it.

Linda's demeanor lifted as soon as she heard that he was at least aware of her leaving. Sure, she didn't really want to talk to him anymore, but she wanted to hear that he regretted chasing her away. He messed up and she wanted him to suffer a little for it.

"What did he want?"

Sighing, he set the remote down beside him and gave her his full attention. "He wanted to know if he could talk to you."

She wasn't sure how to take the news. Part of her was glad to learn that Bob told him no. He kept the man from entering the house and didn't give into him. It gave her a stronger sense of security.

On the other hand, she wanted to know what it was that he wanted to discuss with her. Was it an apology? Was it to try and convince her to return? And if he had really wanted to talk to her, why didn't he try calling her or anything?

"Does the schmuck miss me?" She questioned, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She decided that she should just focus on the fact that he wanted to talk to her but couldn't.

"I guess so," he replied, not really knowing what to say.

"Good. Serves him right," she harshly stated.

Bob just smiled before looking back to the television. At least she appeared to be happy, that counted for a lot.

"Now do you wanna eat?" He tried again, seeing if her appetite had been tied to her mood.

"I do actually," she firmly answered.

"Come on, I'll go make us something," he told her, standing to his feet.

Linda followed him, still smiling over the fact that for once, Jimmy might have felt a tiny sliver of what she had been forced to feel by him.

As they were walking though, she looked over to the clock and realized something. "Shouldn't you still be down in the restaurant? It's only six."

"Oh, yeah, I uh, I closed up a little early. I wanted to check on you," he told, trying to play it off as nothing. "Make sure you weren't dying."

"I see," she laughed, actually quite touched that he saw this as more important than staying open.

"Yeah," Bob flatly responded as he began digging through the fridge for something to make.