Worth the Effort Ch. 07

"What? I can't even ask a question?" The guy feigned indignation.

Shane wanted to grab the guy and force him out, but he had a feeling the guy wanted that. Then he could call the cops and claim assault by Shane, and he wouldn't be entirely wrong.

"For the last time, please go," said Morgan, who'd taken the microphone back from Casey.

"Fine, I'll go." The guy stood up, strode towards Morgan and shoved her aside, then kicked over the table stacked with books.

That was enough for Shane. He grabbed the guy's arm and twisted it behind his back, something he'd learned from more than one encounter with drunk guys while at college. "Come on, asshole, let's go," Shane said.

As Shane got to the door, the man offering little resistance now that he'd had his tantrum, he heard a yelp from Sharon, then glass breaking followed by shouts. He shoved the guy out the door and turned back to see what was going on. More glass broke, there was more shouting. He saw Sharon crouch behind the counter, and a few people ran out of the game room. A couple started towards the front door, realized it wasn't safe, and backed up.

Evan and Brianna came running from the breakroom.

"What's going on?" asked Evan. "What was that noise?"

"Sounds like someone broke a window," Shane said grimly. "I'm going to look."

"Oh, my god." Brianna's eyes widened. "Is anyone hurt?"

"I don't know yet. Sharon, you okay?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I'm calling the police." She was pale and wide-eyed but her voice was firm.

"Good." Shane moved into the game room with Evan and Brianna behind him. He hoped the security cameras would prove useful.

"Morgan? Casey?" he called as he went in. He spied Vincent. "Vincent, are you okay? What happened?"

"I'm fine," said Vincent, his face pale like Sharon's. "They threw bricks at the window again. I think it was coordinated, maybe with that asshole that harassed Morgan."

"Harassed? What do you mean?" asked Brianna.

"Wait, where's Morgan?" Shane asked.

"You fucking assholes!" Casey's voice carried over everyone else's, and Shane searched for her. She sounded angry and upset at the same time.

"Casey!" Shane called as he made his way over to her, trying to push past people and avoid the chairs which were now strewn around the room. "Casey, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." She turned to him, her lips pressed into a thin line. "Morgan got hit, though, and Astrid."

"Christ." He turned to look for Morgan, found her huddled with Jenna against the wall. He signaled to Evan and Brianna where she was, then turned back to Casey. "Are you really all right?"

"I—I—"

"It's all right, Casey. Focus, okay?" he said, putting his hands on her shoulders. Despite her spiky hair and ears full of piercings, she looked scared instead of tough. "I think it's over now. Go see Astrid and let's see if we need to call anyone. Hold on." He took one of her arms and saw spots of blood. "You need some help."

"I'm fine. I'm fine." She waved it away. "Did anyone call the cops?"

"Sharon did."

"Okay, okay. Good." Casey blinked a few times, holding back tears, and nodded. "I'll see about Astrid. You go to Morgan."

Shane turned and found Morgan, who sat, dazed, next to Jenna. Jenna's face was ashen and wet with tears. In a move he had not expected, Brianna had an arm around Jenna's shoulders. Evan was going around the room with Vincent, seeing if anyone needed help.

"Morgan, are you all right?" Shane wanted to pull her to him, but if she was hurt, he didn't want to make it worse.

"Shane?" Morgan seemed to take a minute to focus, which made him worry.

"Yeah, it's me," he said. Gingerly, he touched her shoulder; she flinched. "Are you all right?"

"I don't think so," she said, sounding puzzled about it. "My head hurts, and my shoulder. I figure I might be in shock. Seems like a possibility."

"Can you move so I can see?" he asked. "Jenna, can you help her?"

Jenna nodded and held Morgan as she leaned forward away from the wall, wincing as she did. Her shirt was torn over her shoulder blade and he saw blood, but couldn't gauge how bad it was. He checked her head and was relieved to find no blood there, but he saw shards of glass all over the place. Everyone in the room should get checked, he thought.

"One of the rocks or whatever hit her in the shoulder. She hit her head when someone pushed her," said Jenna in a hoarse voice. "She fell and hit a chair and maybe the floor too. I'm not sure. It all happened so fast and—" Jenna buried her face against Brianna's shoulder.

"I can't believe this happened again," said Morgan, still sounding more distant than Shane liked. "You'd think they'd find something new."

"Again?" Brianna looked at Shane. "This happened before?"

"Yeah." He told her about the previous incident.

"Jesus. Evan mentioned it, and my Mom I think, but Morgan never said anything."

"Morgan didn't want people to worry," Shane said. "She took care of it, her and Casey."

"Jenna, did you get hurt?" Brianna asked.

"My ankle," Jenna said. "It hurts but I'm not sure what happened."

"Well, come on, let's check." Brianna took Jenna's leg and helped her move it so that it was straight out. Then she pulled down the sock and winced. "Oh, Jen, this is really swollen." Brianna looked at Shane. "We need an ambulance. At least, we need to get them to a hospital. This needs more than ice."

Shane heard sirens, and the harsh sounds were the best thing he'd heard all day.

Brianna looked around the store, taking it in for the first time. "My god. This is terrible."

"Yeah, they're going to need some help here." Shane's heart sank as he looked around. The window damage was worse this time, books were scattered all over and display racks were leaning against walls and laying on the floor. The floor sparkled with pieces of glass. He wondered how much the insurance would cover.

"Well." Brianna cleared her throat. "Well, I can help. Evan and I can stay here a while. Can you go with Morgan and Jenna? And I'll call Mom and Dad. They'll freak a little, but they'll want to know. Christ, I'm so glad they didn't come. They wanted to but my aunt had an emergency today and they went to help her."

"Sure, I can go," Shane said, and put a hand on her arm. "This is really nice of you, Brianna."

"It's out of character, I know," she said with a wan smile. "I've had a lot of eye-opening experiences in the couple of weeks. Things need to change, and I've never been one to put things off."

"All right, then."

The rest of the day was a blur. Shane introduced Brianna to Sharon and the rest of the staff, and they agreed to work on cleaning up the store once the police had gone. Evan said he'd look for plywood to cover the window. Brianna called her parents, who kept their freaking out to a minimum and said they'd meet Morgan and Jenna at the hospital. Casey decided Astrid should go as well, despite Astrid's protests, but she needed to stay at the store to talk to the police. Feeling a bit like a den mother, Shane was about to offer to keep an eye on Astrid too and was relieved when Vincent offered to go with her.

Morgan and Jenna were each loaded into an ambulance, and Shane told Jenna he'd check in with her when they got to the hospital before climbing in with Morgan.

At the hospital, Shane found Morgan's parents, who did their best to keep calm despite their evident worry. He wondered if his parents had ever been so worried about him, or Mark or Chloe.

Morgan's father paced the waiting room, then went outside when he needed more space. Shane went with him at Elaine's request, and John went on at length about the store and how it needed security and how dare those bastards hurt his daughter and her friends. Casey arrived with Evan and Brianna, and Shane was struck by how Morgan's mother acted as though Casey was her own daughter, embracing and comforting her.

Casey's mother arrived, which Casey hadn't been expecting, to judge by her reaction. She half-spoke, half-yelled at Casey in a mix of English and Chinese, then stopped and gave her daughter a bear hug. Vincent, who'd been hanging back out of the way, got his own embrace when Casey's mom found him.

Brianna and Casey's mother took stock. Mrs. Lu insisted that before anything else, Casey had to see someone about her cuts and dragged her daughter over to the desk.

Brianna said she would get food and drinks for anyone who wanted it, and Evan offered to drive. Vincent volunteered to go, and John joined them as well. Shane could tell the man needed to feel useful. For himself, Shane was beat and couldn't wait to get home, but he wasn't leaving without Morgan.

He sat for a while as other people talked to staff and filled out paperwork. The chair was uncomfortable but he was exhausted, and he dozed off.

"Shane?"

He jerked awake when someone touched his arm and he winced at the crick in his neck.

"I'm sorry, Shane. Are you all right? You look like you've had quite the day," said Elaine.

"I'm okay, thanks, Mrs. Blake." He shook his head to clear it. "Didn't realize I was so tired. I was in the other room when it all happened. I'm just worried about Morgan. And Jenna," he added.

Elaine chuckled. "Aren't you sweet. Or smart. Or both." She squeezed his arm. "I'm just grateful you were there. John and I wanted to be, but we couldn't make it. Casey said they would record it to show us." She grew serious. "Do you know who did it?"

"I didn't see," he said. "Casey might. I'm hoping the security cameras caught something."

"The police have the footage," said Casey. She was back, bandaged up, and dropped into a chair next to Elaine. "I bet it was that fu—I mean, that creep who was giving Morgan a hard time."

Shane grinned as Casey cleaned up her language for Morgan's mother.

Elaine took Casey's hand in hers. "You can cuss in front of me, Casey. It's okay."

"I think if I started cursing now, I'd never stop," said Casey, and pressed the edge of her shirt to her eyes. Elaine put an arm around her.

"It's all right, you know," said Elaine, resting her cheek on Casey's head. "You can be upset. In fact, you can be as fucking upset as you want to be. We don't goddamned mind."

Casey and Shane gaped at Elaine, then they all laughed. It felt good, Shane thought. He needed something to ease the tension, but he wouldn't be able to truly relax until he saw Morgan.

The doctor came out to speak with Mrs. Blake and it was good news. Jenna's ankle was sprained but not broken, and she'd need a boot for a while but could go home. Morgan's injury had required stitches, and she had a concussion but could leave. Elaine thanked the doctor and about fell back into her chair, and this time it was Casey who provided support to her. Mrs. Lu sat on Casey's other side, holding her daughter's hand.

Brianna and the others returned with the food and coffee, and Shane felt a bit better after he'd eaten. He was drained, but awake, and didn't want to leave without at least seeing Morgan. He turned to the old standby, black coffee.

"Hi, everybody." Jenna waved as she was wheeled into the room.

"Jenna." Elaine got up and hurried over to her daughter, Brianna close behind.

Evan came over and sat next to Shane. "Hey, how are you holding up?"

Shane waved his hand in a so-so gesture. "I'm all right, I guess. It's just a lot."

"It is." Evan nodded.

"How are you?" Shane asked. "Did you and Brianna get to talk?"

"We did, and it's good, I think," said Evan. "I didn't mean for what I said to be an ultimatum, you know? I knew I needed to say something, kind of shake things up, and so I did. And I know it hasn't been long, but she's really different now."

"Good, I'm glad. I really am." Shane patted Evan's shoulder. "I'm glad something good happened today."

"What a damn shame," said Evan. "I'd like to find these guys and rip their lungs out."

"Whoa," Shane said. "That's not like you."

"I guess it just hit me, personally, this time. I mean you told me about the last time, and I felt bad for Morgan and all, but this time—I don't know." Evan stared at his hands. "It shouldn't, but it made a difference to see it happen in front of me."

"Hey, Vincent." Shane waved the other man over. "How are you doing?"

"Okay, I think." He shrugged and dropped into a chair. "It just never stops. And all it would take, honest to god, is for these motherfuckers to leave us alone. We weren't taking up anyone else's space or getting in anyone's way." He glanced around and lowered his voice. "But I think there could be more trouble."

"What?" asked Shane, keeping his voice down too.

"I've been checking social media, I know the groups and names of some of the people that harass them online," Vincent said. "Morgan and Casey have been doxxed."

"Shit," said Evan, slumping back in his chair.

Vincent darted a glance at the Blakes, who were still fussing over Jenna. "Yeah. We can call the cops, but I don't know how much they can do. And I don't want to worry anybody, after everything else, but we've got to tell them."

"We will definitely tell the cops," said Shane.

"What's going on? What about cops?" asked Brianna. She put a hand on Evan's shoulder, which he covered with one of his own.

Shane told her.

"Are you fucking kidding?" she asked. "Oh, my god." She sucked in a deep breath, released it. "Okay, okay." She paced for a minute. "All right, we need a plan. We need places for people to stay, and contact numbers. I can get the numbers."

"You're right," agreed Shane. "Morgan can come to my place. In fact, all of you can if you want. It's messy but there's plenty of room if people don't mind sharing space. Vincent, that includes you."

"Thanks." Vincent nodded. "I'm good, though. I've been staying at Josh's place, housesitting."

"I don't know," said Shane. "They could probably pretty easily find anyone else's address, too. Damn, we need to tell Sharon and everyone."

"I'll take care of it," said Vincent, and walked outside to make calls.

"Thanks, Shane, but I don't think we need to take up all your space," said Brianna. "Anyone who wants can come to our place, right, Evan?" She gave him a tentative smile.

He squeezed her hand. "Absolutely."

"Come on," said Brianna. "Let's tell Mom and Dad and see what we can do."

Shane followed her and Evan over, and was relieved when a nurse wheeled Morgan out. Now he felt like he could handle whatever was next.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Almost two weeks later, Morgan slowly got out of bed, pleased that her head didn't hurt. The shades were still drawn, so the light was dim, as it had been since she'd gotten out of the hospital with a concussion.

She'd been staying with Shane since the book signing, which she didn't remember too clearly yet. She was pissed off about that but if she tried too hard to remember, her head hurt, and it didn't take much for that to happen.

"Hey, how are you feeling?" Shane hurried over. "You shouldn't move too fast. You should wait until I can help you up.

He was cute when he was worried, she thought. "I'm fine," she assured him. "I'm being careful. I got up very slowly and I've only been on my feet about thirty seconds." She gestured at her arm. "Look, I'm even holding onto the chair you put here."

"Okay, okay." He wrapped his arms around her and she wasn't too proud to take advantage of it and lean against him. "Sorry, I just know concussions are rough. Mark had one when we were kids and—"

"I know," Morgan interjected with a smile. "It took him almost a whole year to get over it and he couldn't play sports and his pro baseball career was cut short before it started."

"Said that a few times, did I?"

"Yes, but that's okay. And at least I don't have a baseball career to worry about."

"Do they play baseball in science fiction?" he asked.

"Sometimes," she said. "But not in my stories. Maybe one day."

"Seriously, how are you feeling?" he asked, keeping his arms around her but stepping back slightly to study her eyes.

"I'm okay, I'm better," she said. "In fact, I was thinking I could do something radical like go downstairs." She'd spent most of her time for the last week upstairs in Shane's bedroom, alternating between laying in the bed and sitting up for short periods in a chair he'd brought up.

In the last couple of days, she'd felt better and had sat up more, and even asked Shane to bring her paper and pens and pencils so she could try writing or drawing. He'd been leery at first, but she pointed out she wasn't looking at a screen, and if she felt any headaches or nausea, she'd simply stop.

Morgan appreciated Shane's help, but as she felt better, she got bored. Under orders from the doctor not to watch televisions or use computers or phones, she'd been limited in what she could do. She listened to music and podcasts, but felt the need to do something with her hands and wanted to try drawing.

Perhaps, Morgan thought, she could use her experience in a story. Someone who was conked on the head and ended up in another reality or alternate universe wasn't the most original idea, she knew, but it didn't mean she shouldn't try it. Maybe she could take another track. Instead of transporting her protagonist to a new world, maybe the world would be inside their head, or it would unlock something else.

But later, she decided. She had a feeling writing would take too much concentration at the moment. Jotting down the occasional idea would be okay, she thought, but trying to write a story would be a sure what to get another headache.

"So what do you say?" she asked. "Can I go downstairs, warden?"

Shane gave her a wry look. "I let you stay here and this is the thanks I get."

"I'd flutter my eyelashes at you, but I don't think it's a great idea." Morgan tried puppy dog eyes instead.

"All right, all right," Shane gave in with a laugh. "Fine, you can get out of solitary. But," he said seriously, "I'm going to help you down the stairs. And I want you to ask me for things when you need them. I don't think you should be getting up and down too much, okay?"

"Okay." Morgan nodded.

Shane left to darken things downstairs, then came back to help her down the stairs. They made it down without incident, and Morgan looked around. "I see you've relocated the mess."

"Yeah, it's probably for the best that no one stayed here after the—thing at the store." Shane frowned. "I don't even know what to call it. I'd say the incident, but you've already had one of those."

"An attack," Morgan said, keeping her voice even. "It was an attack. An assault. It was an assault on me, and my friends, and our livelihood." She pressed a hand to her eyes. Her brave front didn't last long.

"Hey." Shane put his arms around her. "It's okay. You can be upset."

"I know." Her voice was quiet as she fought back tears. "I just know it won't help anything."

"If it helps you process things and feel better, then just let it go."

She choked out a laugh. "If I ever need a therapist, at least I know where to go."

"Come on, sit down." He led her to a chair.

The chair was cushioned but had a straight back and the seat wasn't too deep. Morgan sat and considered, decided it was comfortable. Sitting straight up instead of sinking into a seat made her feel better. Shane brought over a portable desk along with her sketchbook and pencils. Morgan was pleased at the prospect of doing some drawing again.

Shane's phone rang and he stepped into the kitchen to answer it.

Morgan took some deep breaths to calm down. The exertion of coming down the steps and the stress of what had happened made her tense. She knew she'd need to think about things, but she wasn't ready, as much as she hated to admit it.

"Hey, I hate to do this, but I have to go to the office," he said. "Will you be okay?"

"Sure." She smiled. "Can't wait to get away from me, hmm?"