Chapter 35: The Will Of Strongest Person

BLISSFUL EUPHORIA

The next day, Pat gathered all his gangster buddies and started figuring out how to help Tim and outsmart Kendrick and his crew. Suddenly, Jay called, and a confused Pat answered, asking, "Hey Jay, how's everything going there?"

Jay, sounding excited, replied, "He's here, I'm meeting him."

Pat was shocked and inquired, "Who's there, meeting who?"

Jay responded, "It's Tim. He asked me to meet him alone, so I'll call you back."

Jay then hung up, leaving Pat anxious. He tried calling Jay again, but there was no response. Fearing that something might be wrong, Pat called Cathy to find out what was really going on. To their surprise, Cathy and Aria learned about Tim only after Pat's call. At that point, they started to worry that it might be a setup, and Jay might be walking into a trap.

What actually happened was, a couple of hours earlier, Tim made a call to Jay from a random telephone booth out in the middle of nowhere. He mentioned the area but was kind of vague about his exact location. Jay managed to spot the telephone booth and started searching around. But to his shock, he found Tim inside, and he was in pretty bad shape with stab wounds and bleeding.Jay was anxious and said, "Oh my God, what happened? Let's get you to the hospital."

Tim cracked a smile and said, "Hospitals aren't the best place for someone like me."

Jay quickly called his family doctor and explained the situation. They had known each other for years, so the doctor trusted Jay's judgment and agreed to treat Tim without asking too many questions.

In the meantime, Aria and Pat had left several missed calls for Jay. Jay called Pat first and explained everything, and then he updated Aria about the situation.

three people in silhouettes walking in the fog

Tim rang Jay from this out-of-the-way spot using a phone booth. He mentioned roughly where he was but wasn't too clear about it. Jay eventually found the booth and started hunting around. There, to his total shock, he discovered Tim inside, all cut up and bleeding.

Jay freaked out, saying, "Oh my God, what happened? We gotta get you to the hospital, like, now!"

But Tim just grinned and said, "Taking someone like me to a hospital ain't the move."

Jay understood why Tim said that and immediately remembered his friend, who happened to be a family doctor. So, he called up the doctor he knew for ages. When Jay got to the clinic, he asked the doctor to take care of Tim without asking too many questions. The doctor trusted Jay and started treating Tim.

Meanwhile, Aria and Pat had tried to reach Jay several times, so Jay called Pat first and explained the whole situation. After that, he filled in Aria on what was happening. Pat, clueless about what was going down in that area, decided to disguise himself and suggested Aria and Cathy do the same. They followed Jay's directions and headed over to the clinic.

Everyone gathered around Tim's bedside, anxiously awaiting his recovery. After five hours of deep sleep, Tim gradually opened his eyes. Upon waking up and seeing his daughters in their amusing disguises, he chuckled, though the pain was evident. The doctor advised Tim to remain in bed for a few more hours, cautioning against excessive movement to prevent the stitches from coming undone. Tim thanked the doctor with a smile.

He glanced at Pat and remarked, "This time, I won."