Fear and self loathing

Madison came immediately to retrieve the information I had and to make a game plan for what to do next. 

"Madison I want to go into this cautiously. Either this is Tessa being curious or suspicious of my behavior, which, as you know from personal experience, is a possibility, or she has known about me since well before we ever started working on the AI together, in which case she has been deceiving me this whole time, and on top of that, she is incredibly intelligent. So be careful and tell the other girls to be that way as well until we know which she is." I finished. 

"Of course, Matt, I needed to tell you too. I am going to be extremely busy the next few days because of a few cases and court appointments. They cannot be moved, so we might have to sit on them for a few days." She said. 

"That's alright. In the mean time, I loaded a discreet keylogger onto her laptop, so I should start receiving whatever she is typing. If I find something, I will make sure and let you know." I assured her. 

"Master, how about a quick blowjob for the road?" She said it with a wink. 

"Well, I am not an idiot, of course!" I mock-cheered, throwing my hands up. Earning me a punch in the arm and a chuckle from Madison. 

Well, if I wasn't going to be getting into the meat and potatoes of Tessa's issue, I decided to do the thing I have been dreading since I woke up here. I am going to see the lady responsible for my current predicament and see how she is doing. 

After breakfast, I decided it was time for me to meet the woman who had wronged me. I dressed in some casual clothes, combed the 1/4-1/2" hair I had grown back, and looked at myself in the mirror. My burns had improved considerably. They looked more like a bad sunburn with some abnormal skin texture. But that was starting to fade into normal skin texture as well. Looking as prepared as I thought I could be, I went to a different part of the hospital to confront the driver of the other car. 

I finally got to her room. The chart on the outside said Mckenzie Sangbans. I knew her name already from the police report, and the information Jasmine had slipped me about her status and progress. 

I knocked on the door. I heard a young woman's voice say "come in," so I opened the door to see her lying in bed with a cast on her right leg, an IV, and monitors hooked up to her. 

She looked at me and said, "No. Thank you I already have my lawyer,  I don't need another one." She said dismissively. 

"Well, that's good to know, Ms. Sangbans," I said. "I wouldn't want you to be without legal representation." I said.

She narrowed her eyes a bit and said, "Well, I don't need Jesus in my life either." She said she was taking a shot at guessing who I was. 
"Good guess, but no, the good lord did not send me here today." I said, letting a little chuckle out. 

"Well, you have stumped me; did I forget to do my taxes or something?" She sighed. 

"My name is Matt Cole," I said. I was waiting for some recognition in her eyes. I didn't see any and started to speak again...

"Okay, so do you want a prize or something? Do I owe you money or  something?" She said she was getting annoyed. 

"No, I came by to see how you were doing...." I started

"Jesus! Why can't everyone just leave me alone? I am trying to recover and get back to my life. I don't need people I have never met before acting like they care about me." She was getting upset. 

"Mckenzie, would you shut up for a second?" I said heated. "I am Matt Cole, the guy who you hit head on, and I almost died trying to save your **** out ass!" I spat at her. I surprised myself with the emotion in my voice. 

Wide-eyed and mouth open she froze, staring at me. I could see her start to really look at me—the hair, the burns that were not quite healed yet. Then I started to see her break. The brash exterior, the stiff back, and the defiant glare all started to slip.

Then a single tear went down her face, then another, and another, and pretty soon she was sobbing in bed with her head in her hands. I got closer to perhaps comfort her and thought I heard her say something softly. As I got even closer, she was saying under her breath, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, I'm so sorry." 

I reached out to touch her shoulder, and she recoiled at my touch. Eyes wide as saucers, "No! Don't get any closer!" She yelled. I pulled back, not sure why she responded so negatively. 

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to help." I said

"Help? Are you crazy? I almost killed you! Then you almost got yourself killed trying to save me! And now you're coming to see how I'm doing? What is wrong with you?" She half-yelled. "I am a piece of shit! I didn't deserve to be saved, let alone deserve pity." She spat. 

Sensing an opening, I continued. What I had been saying, "I don't see it like that," I shrugged. "I saw someone in trouble and did what I have always done: tried to help." I said. 

Mckenzie's eyes and mouth relaxed a bit. 

"Everyone here has been telling me what a good job I did and that I'm a hero," I said. "I don't get it; there was an accident, someone was hurt, and I tried to help; that isn't heroic; I was just lucky that I could help." I said. 

"Lucky, lucky! My high ass almost kills you coming home from work, and your 'lucky' to have almost finished the job by trying to save me!" She finished losing a lot of her steam but got that dangerous glint in her eye: "Wait a second, they showed me a picture of you the day we were in the accident; you looked absolutely terrible, almost unrecognizable. How are you doing this well after only a week? Is this some kind of trick? Was this to try and get a confession or something?" She yelled.

"No, Mckenzie, it is me, and I have a team of good doctors, and I am a resilient person with a little luck on my side." I said it sternly.

Mckenzie seemed to shrink even more. "You have no idea what kind of horrible person I am; the things I have done and the people I have hurt, you should haveLet me die!"

"The fact that you are this upset with having to live with those things tells me you are not a bad person. I know you're upset right now, and I am not going to try and pretend like we are fast friends. But I would like to come back and see you each morning and hopefully get to know each other. It would mean a lot to me." I said. 

"I guess I owe you that much, but don't think you're going to change me; everyone, including myself, has tried, and I am just a broken mess." She said. 

"We will see. I'll talk to you tomorrow, Mckenzie." I said, and I turned and left after that, convinced that I could help this woman...