Chapter 1

Alice was working at her new desk at LA magazine doing twenty things at the same time, while typing on her laptop and barking at a co worker.   She looked at her cell phone ringing for the 3^rd time in twenty minutes.  She looked at the number and again, not recognizing it, picked up the phone to turn it off, but at the last second, flipped the phone open and barked.

“Hello”

A faint voice came over the line.

“Alice?”

“Oh shit….Tina?  Tina…?  Is that you?

Alice could hear crying on the line and then she heard a faint voice.

“Yeah Al… it’s me.”

“Oh My God Tina!  Tina, what’s wrong?  Where are you?”

“Al I’m…I’ve been hurt…Al I’m sorry…I really need your help…Al, I’m so sorry.”

Tears started falling down Alice’s face as she heard the pain in her friend’s voice and panic set in.

“Tina!  Tina… where are?  What happened?  Are you in trouble…Tina…”

Through sobs the faint voice spoke.

“Alice…I’m so sorry…I’m in a hospital…just outside of Phoenix…they’re discharging me in the morning Alice…I…don’t have anywhere to go…Alice…I…”

Alice frantically grabbed a pen and paper and tried to think of all the questions she needed to ask.

“Tina, okay what’s the name of the hospital?”

“Banner Good Samaritan.”

“Okay, okay Tina…um…give me the number you are calling from.”

There was silence and then Alice faintly heard the numbers.

“Okay, TK…I’ll be there as soon as I can.  Call my cell if you need anything but Tina do not leave that hospital until I get there…please Tina…it’s going to be okay, I promise.”

“Alice…Thank you…I’m so sorry…”

Alice could hear her friend sobbing.  She tried to calm herself enough to reassure her. 

“TK…you have nothing to apologize to me for….Nothing….I’m your friend…family…I love you…I’ll be there as soon as I can…Okay….?

All Alice could hear was her friend’s sobs and then she heard her gasp for air and the faint voice returned. 

“Alice…..Please don’t tell her…Please…”

“Don’t worry Tina…Don’t worry…I’ll be there as soon as I can.  I love you.”

“I love you too.”

The phone went dead and Alice sat stunned.  She looked at her hands and saw them trembling.  She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself and then she dropped her head in her hands and sobbed.  After a moment she sat up straight and grabbed her phone while clicking away on her laptop.

“Shane….Shane….”

“Alice, what’s wrong….”

“Shane…Tina just called…she’s in a…a hospital in Phoenix…and Shane…she, she needs help…Shane…she…sounded so bad…so sad…”

Alice was trying to speak clearly through her tears while booking the next flight to Phoenix.

“Al…you are fucking shittin’ me…What happened to her Al?”

“Shane, I don’t know…she sounded so weak…I just wanted to find out where she was.  Shane, she said she didn’t have anywhere to go and she was sorry she needed help…”

“Do you want me to come with you?”

Alice paused. 

“No, not yet…let me go and see what’s going on but if I need help I will call you…She asked me not to tell Bette, and I promised I wouldn’t.  Please Shane, don’t say anything… at least not yet…Okay?

“I understand Al, but shit…what if it’s bad?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” 

“Did you get a flight?”

“Yeah, it leaves in just a little less than 3 hours.  I better go.  I’ll have just enough time to swing by my apartment and get to the airport in time to check in.  Keep this between us for now, okay?”

“Don’t worry about me.  Just call me and let me know how it’s going…and Al…please tell her that I love her and miss her.”

“Yeah, I will…wish me luck finding her and just pray that she’s not half as bad as she sounds”

“Shit Alice I hope so…please call me.”

“I will.”

Shane stood stunned in the middle of her new Salon.  She lifted the back of her hand over her eyes and strode quickly to the back office and closed the door.