75. Too much

Genre: Paranormal romance, drama

Type: Series

Characters: Dr. Alison O'Hara

Prompt: 54. Too much

Word Count:  740 +

Warning:  none, I think

Rating:  M- (coarse language, adult situations, nudity. N.B-Applies to the whole series)

Summary: Dr. Alison O'Hara opens Pandora's box

54. Too much

________

Bridgeport, present day...

Five hours after the Chief of Staff broke the news of Dr. Jacqueline Steinberg’s gruesome death, her colleague and friend, Dr. Alison O’Hara was still locked away in her office, gazing outside her window, rocking herself back and forth, unable to understand the calamity that had befallen the medical community.

She glanced at the ominous file on her desk, and a deep sense of foreboding settled in her gut. But once again she was tempted to take a peek, find out what secrets it held…

Three months before the birth of her daughter, after one of her many blowout fights with Krisis, Jacqueline had stopped by Alison’s house, distraught and in tears. She’d handed her the file, and asked her to hang on to it. If anything happened to her, if she died suddenly or mysteriously disappeared, Alison should take the file to the Vampire Council headquarters in downtown Bridgeport and hand it over to a William Thornton; he’d know what to do with it.

Alison remembered asking what was in the file, and Jacqueline had cryptically replied, “Pandora’s Box… all the evils of the world are in there. For your peace of mind, don’t look at it.”

Alison had taken the file of course, thinking her friend was just being her usual dramatic, attention seeking self. For months she forgot about it, never thought of it until today, until the chief of staff’s announcement.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she hastily dashed from the window and grabbed the file

“Goodness!” She gasped, and fell hard on her seat. She closed her eyes quickly, along with the file, wishing she could erase the images of Ashleigh Starlington. But she knew the horrid bite marks on the young woman’s neck, arms and breasts, the bruises all over her body would be with her forever.

She knew she was going to be sick, but she was too far from the door. She wouldn’t make it to the ladies’ room in time. Instead, she reached for the trashcan under her desk, and dropped the contents of her lunch inside. For what felt like hours she retched and gagged over the metal container.

“Dr O’ Hara, are you okay?” Staff Nurse Newton called on the other side of the door. “You don’t sound too good.”

“I’m fine.” Alison forced herself to sound cheerful. She didn’t want anyone budging into her office, and witness the mess she was in.

“I’m sorry for your loss. I know you and Dr. Steinberg were very close.” The nurse offered on her end. Alison let out a small smile of relief when she heard the nurse’s footsteps retreat.

She reached for a tissue from the box on her desk and wiped her mouth. She took another one and dabbed at her forehead, and eyes. Her hands shook violently as she reached for the file again. This time she braced herself for the contents, and she wasn’t too shocked when she stared at the images again.

For over an hour, she read Jacqueline’s detailed notes, all the while thinking none of it was real, Leigh’s kidnapping, Krisis killing Vladimir Schlick, and his family cleverly concealing it as arson. It sounded too farfetched, too dramatic; like the stuff movies were made of. Like some big fucking conspiracy theory. If it wasn’t for Leigh’s pictures, she would have thrown the file away, and forced herself to forget about it.

Amidst the detailed notes and gruesome images, there was a hand written letter, addressed to the vampire council...Alison recognized Jacqueline’s penmanship. Her friend fully accepted her role in the death of one of their own, and she’d documented all her spats with Krisis, and every single threat he’d ever made at her was noted too.

It was obvious from Jacqueline’s statement that Krisis Frost should be the number one suspect if anything happened to her. He’d threatened to kill her on more than one occasion. He resented her for falling pregnant, and he thought she was complicating his relationship with his human. He obviously wanted her out of the way so he could be free to raise their daughter with Leigh. Krisis had motive, and the means.

Finally, Alison pushed away the file and the letter, and leant back in her chair, wishing she hadn’t opened Pandora’s Box. Jacqueline was right; she shouldn’t have looked at it. Now she knew more than she wanted, more than she was supposed to…