by Harmon, AJ
Officer Robbins came back to the hospital a few hours later with news that Shelby's grandmother was coming from Wisconsin, but wouldn't arrive in Portland ‘til late tomorrow. Katy promised him she would stay with the girl. She didn't have anything better to do.
The sky darkened outside and Katy sat in the chair next to Shelby's bed. They would be taking her to surgery soon to fix the compound fracture in her arm. The bastard had certainly beaten her with obvious intent to kill. Fortunately the neighbor had heard her scream and called the police or else this would have been a very different outcome. Shelby was heavily medicated and drifted in and out of consciousness. Katy had told her who she was but she didn't think Shelby would remember.
Katy had been in this very same room only a few short months ago. The memories flooded her mind and she closed her eyes as the emotions washed over her, drowning her. She could see him. She could smell him. She felt him hovering over her. She could still feel his hands on her. She could feel him licking her. She remembered his warm breath on her skin. She felt the bile rise in her throat just like it had then. Katy ran to the bathroom, slamming the door behind her and vomited ‘til she thought she'd broken a rib, and then she’d sank to the floor and cried, cried for her and cried for Shelby, cried like she'd never cried before.
Katy hadn’t given herself permission to cry. She’d had to keep it together for Janie. Who wanted a sad pathetic maid of honor at their wedding? No, she wouldn’t ruin Janie’s big day, and she hadn’t. And then with each passing day it just became easier to try and pretend it had never happened. But sitting in Shelby’s room, watching the frightened and battered young girl, had allowed her to cry, a therapeutic cry. Thirty minutes later, she realized how much she had needed it.
When she finally was able to pull herself together and leave the bathroom, Shelby was gone from the ER.
"Where is she?" she panicked.
Ted was also covering in the ER and calmed her.
"She's gone to surgery," he explained. "Why don’t you get something to eat and rest for a bit.”
"Someone needs to be there when she comes out," Katy was adamant. "I’ll change clothes, but then I'll wait for her."
Ted smiled and told her if she needed anything he was working ‘til five the next morning.
Katy thanked him and headed for the locker room where she kept extra scrubs.
*****
She'd only closed her eyes for a minute, or so she thought, when the OR nurse gently tapped Katy on the shoulder.
"She's waking up. Do you want to come and sit with her?"
Katy jumped from the chair and briskly walked into the recovery room. She grabbed a stool and pulled it next to Shelby's bed. She gently took her hand in hers and waited for her eyes to open.
"Katy?" Shelby asked groggily.
"I'm here Shelby."
Shelby's eyes closed and she went back to sleep.
*****
Katy stretched in the recliner in Shelby's room on the fifth floor. It was just starting to get light outside and Shelby was still asleep.
Katy stood and checked her vitals and looked at the chart by the door. It was heartbreaking to read what had happened to this young girl, but she was safe now and her body would eventually heal. Sadly, Katy knew it wasn't the physical scars she had to worry about.
She walked into the hall and saw Ted sitting in a chair. He was on his phone.
"What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Checking on you."
Katy smiled and sat down next to him.
"I'm fine," she assured him.
"I understand her Grandma will be here this afternoon," Ted said nodding at Shelby's room.
"That's what the police said."
"Come to dinner with me tonight, please?"
"Look, Ted..."
"Dinner! That's all I'm asking. You need a night out, don't you? Come on Katy."
She sighed and looked into Ted's pleading eyes. If he was thirty she'd be surprised. She wasn't old enough to be his mother, but it was still weird. But it's just dinner.
"If her grandma gets here, I'll go to dinner with you," she sighed.
Ted grinned and jumped from his chair. “Where shall I pick you up?"
"I'll meet you," she said, willing to risk dinner but not anything more.
"Okay," he compromised. "Seven o'clock at Fuddruckers."
Yeah, probably not even thirty, she grinned.
*****
Shelby slept most of the day, but Katy stayed by her side. The nursing supervisor had been very accommodating by allowing her the time off. She had told Katy it might be very therapeutic for her. So she spent the day in Shelby's room talking to her and comforting her while she was awake and coming to terms with her own memories while she slept. After lunch, Katy paced the room. Shelby was once again asleep, so she called Mark.
"Hey," he said.
"Hi, how are you?"
"Good. Just wrapping up some loose ends so we can leave on Monday."
Katy had forgotten about the trial that began on Tuesday. She'd had more important things on her mind.
"Oh, right," she said.
"You okay?" Mark asked.
She sighed into the phone.
"Katy?"
"A girl was brought into the ER yesterday. It's pretty horrible," she whispered and walked into the hallway. "Her mom's boyfriend beat the shit out of her, Mark." A small sob escaped.
"Is she gonna be okay?"
"Physically, yeah, but she's been raped repeatedly over the past several months and her mom did shit for her." Another sob escaped.
"Are you okay?"
"I don’t know. I think so," she said.
"I'm glad you called me."
"Yeah, me too."
*****
Shelby's grandmother arrived, frantic to see her granddaughter. She hadn't been in contact with her daughter for the past several years and was desperate to see Shelby.
The reunion was sweet and Katy smiled knowing that Shelby had someone who would take care of her from now on. She had given Shelby her phone number and email and told her she could call anytime. In fact, Katy asked if they could stay friends. Shelby smiled and said she'd like that and Katy walked out of her hospital room feeling hope; hope for Shelby and hope for herself.
*****
Katy wore a leather skirt and knee high boots with a form-fitting pale pink sweater. She was over-dressed for Fuddruckers but her few days in New York with Janie had her appreciating dressing for a dinner out. Her emotions had been all over the place in the last twenty-four hours. She had considered canceling the date but knew Ted would just keep asking until she said yes. And perhaps it would be good to get out and not have to think about anything for a while. Shelby had her Grandma by her side and Katy would just be sitting at home alone.
Ted was waiting for her in the parking lot and gave her a whistle of appreciation.
Definitely not thirty yet, Katy shook her head and smiled.
As they stood in line waiting to order, Katy couldn’t help but compare him to Mark. Ted was a nice guy. He was nice to look at. He met her minimum height requirement of 5'10" and obviously worked out. He had a tattoo on his bicep which Katy approved of. And Mark was all of those things too, minus the tattoo, but he also had something else. And whatever it was, Ted didn't have it. But dinner was enjoyable. Who wouldn't like a killer burger and as many french fries as you could eat?
They mainly talked about Ted and his motorcycle, his roommate, who would rival Hugh Grant's roommate in Notting Hill, and about his student loans. Katy wryly wondered if he'd wished she'd offered to pay for dinner. A slight smile escaped her lips.
When they'd finished eating, Ted suggested they go play miniature golf.
"Really?" she asked
"Yeah, it's awesome!"
"Okay," she laughed.
Katy followed him down the freeway a couple of exits and pulled into the parking lot.
"This would have been so much easier if you'd jus
t let me pick you up," Ted said. "Come on." He grabbed her hand and dragged her to the front door.
Katy offered to pay and Ted thought that was a brilliant idea. Katy smiled and produced a credit card and in return the cashier gave them two putters and two balls.
She had to admit that she actually enjoyed herself. She couldn't remember the last time she had played and it was a welcomed light ending to an emotionally overwhelming couple of days.
Ted beat her by several strokes, but he said that he brought every date here so he had a lot of practice. Katy chuckled and knew that there was certainly no future for her and Ted. But he made a good friend at work and she appreciated him asking her out anyway.
"Milkshakes?" Ted asked.
"Why not?" Katy laughed.
It was just after eleven o'clock when Katy turned into her driveway, only to find a big SUV parked in her spot.
"Who the hell parked in my driveway?" she muttered, opening her door and stomping down the concrete.
Mark jumped from the car and all but ran to her.
"You okay?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, totally confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, you called earlier and I didn't know if...you sounded like...I was worried."
"So you dropped everything and jumped on a plane? Are you fucking crazy?"
Mark looked at her trying to see her eyes in the dark.
"I called the hospital and they said you weren't working today so where have you been?" The worry in his voice was obvious.
"I was on a date," she said and turned and walked to the front door.
"What?"
"A date! You know when two people go out and have dinner?" Katy mocked him.
"Oh."
Katy had the front door open and was entering the alarm code into the panel on the wall just inside the house.
"Are you coming in?"
Mark looked at her. A date?
*****
Mark had sat in his office for about five minutes after he had hung up with Katy. Her sobs had broken his heart and all he wanted to do was be there for her. He'd told Jill to get him on the first flight out going anywhere near Portland. On the way to the airport he'd quickly packed a bag and made it to his flight with about seven minutes to spare. Having money had its perks and not having to be concerned with last minute ticket prices was one of them.
He was restless most of the flight and when he'd arrived at her house and she was gone, he about freaked. Trying to remain calm, he called the hospital, assuming, hoping, she was still there with the girl. And when he was told she wasn't there, all manner of disasters crossed his mind. But he'd only had to wait a few minutes for her car to pull in behind him. But in a million years he wouldn't have guessed she had been on a date!
And she was so nonchalant about it too. In fact, she almost seemed irritated at his sudden appearance.
He followed her into the house and paced back and forth while she went into her bedroom. He was relieved she was fine, but also something else, something he couldn't put his finger on.
Katy appeared in the living room, minus the knee-high boots, her stockinged feet padding across the carpet. She sat on the sofa and pulled her knees up and tucked her ankles under her.
"I'm sorry you flew all the way here for nothing."
"It wasn't for nothing," Mark said sitting on the other end of the couch. "I was worried about you. Obviously this girl has, has, well, made you think about some stuff."
"Yeah," Katy looked at her hands in her lap.
"So she's okay?"
"Her grandma arrived this afternoon and as soon as Shelby is well enough, she'll go back to Wisconsin with her. Apparently she has an aunt and uncle and some cousins there too, so I think with some help, she'll be okay."
"That's good. I'm glad she has someone in her life to take care of her."
Katy smiled. "Beer?"
"No, I'm driving."
"Oh, you're not staying here?" Katy was surprised.
Mark's eyes grew wide. "Well, I hadn't planned on it."
"Oh," she said as she left for the kitchen.
He watched her leave the room and he knew what the strange emotion was. It was one he hadn't felt before. He was jealous. He was mad that she’d gone on a date with someone else, someone who wasn't him. He didn’t want another man putting their hands on her. He didn't want another man even looking at her. He was in love with her. Heart skipping, head over heels in love.
*****
Katy didn’t want a beer. She had done very well breaking her short-lived drunken sleep routine and wasn’t going to start again now. But she had to get out of the living room. She had to get away from Mark. She stood in the kitchen trying to breathe normally, trying to slow her heart rate.
Why did he come? she wondered. It was a stark comparison having him here just after she’d gone out with Ted. Actually, there was no comparison. Mark was everything she had wanted in a man and Ted was really still just a boy. He was fun and all, but certainly not what she was looking for long-term.
Am I looking for long-term? The thought surprised her and immediately saddened her. Mark was not her long-term. She pulled two bottles of water from the fridge and walked back to the living room. Mark was standing as she entered the room.
“I should go,” he said. “I’m sorry if I intruded.”
“You don’t need to apologize,” she smiled. “It was incredibly sweet of you to get on a plane because you were worried.”
Mark stepped to her and placed his hand on her cheek. She looked up at him, eyes questioning. He lowered his head and kissed her other cheek; a soft, gentle, lingering kiss. When he pulled away Katy’s eyes were closed and he stepped back.
“Goodnight Katy.”
She leaned on the back of the door as she closed it behind him, her heart racing, her skin tingling where his lips had been. NO! she thought. I can’t feel like this.
The thought had barely entered her mind when the knock on the door made her jump. She opened it to find Mark standing there with a smile on his face.
“You parked behind me in the driveway. I can’t get out.”
Katy laughed and turned to get her keys. Mark stepped inside and waited.
“I’ll move it,” he said.
“Yeah you will! You shouldn’t have taken my spot in the first place,” she laughed.
Mark took the keys and Katy stood in the doorway watching him rearrange the cars.
“Sorry,” he grinned as he returned her keys to her hand. “Do you still run in the mornings?”
Katy nodded.
“Tomorrow?” he asked.
She nodded again.
“What time?”
“How about eight?”
“I’ll be here at eight,” he said, a big smile on his face.
Closing the door again, Katy couldn’t stop the giant smile forming on her face. If only. It can’t hurt to daydream, can it?
9.
Danny Salvo’s trial was set for Tuesday morning at nine o’clock. Katy had an appointment with Dr. LaVaughn on Monday at ten o’clock.
“I’ve been through this before. I was all prepared, well, as prepared as I was gonna be, to go into the courtroom and see him. You know, this time, I just don’t want to do it. I don’t know that I can do it. “
“Of course you can,” Dr. LaVaughn said. “He does not control your emotions. Don’t give him that much power. He can only hurt you now if you let him. Just don’t let him.”
“You make it sound so simple,” Katy frowned.
“Oh, it’s not simple. But you can do it. You have made massive strides in the past few months. I am incredibly proud of you, and I have faith in you.”
“Shelby is going home with her grandmother today.”
“Yes, I know.”
“I think I’d like to stay in touch with her.”
“I know she would like that. She called you her angel.”
“I didn’t think you were allowed to talk about your other
patients,” Katy smiled.
“Special circumstances, indeed,” Dr. LaVaughn said as she stood and walked to the window and stood next to Katy. “Are you agitated just because of tomorrow? Or is there something else?”
Katy sighed. Her doctor was able to read every expression in her face and every move her body made.
“Mark showed up on Friday night.”
“Showed up?”
“Yeah. I had called him after lunch when Shelby was asleep. I guess I was having a moment and needed to hear a kind voice.”
“You didn’t call Janie.”
Katy squirmed a little. “That’s a bad sign huh?”
“Why do you think that?”
“Well Janie has been the person I have turned to since, well, since forever. And she wasn’t who I called. I called Mark, the man who can never be anything more to me than just a friend. I’ve picked somebody who’s totally unavailable.”
“So you talked to him on the phone and then he arrived?”
“Yeah. Well, ten hours later.”
“He got on a plane in New York and flew to Portland because you had a ‘moment’ on the phone?” Dr. LaVaughn was stunned.
“Yeah.”
“And you think he’s unavailable?”
“Well at Christmas he was dating this tall blonde.”
“And is he still dating her?”
“I don’t think so.”
“So why do you say he’s unavailable?”
“Because!” Katy said a little louder than she had intended to. She stomped back to the chair and sat. “He looks at me like I’m some wounded animal that he has taken pity on. He doesn’t think of me as anything more than a charity case.”
“And you can tell all of that from the way he looks at you?”
“Yes!”
Dr. LaVaughn turned to Katy. “I think you look at yourself as a wounded animal. I think you can’t imagine anybody wanting you after what you’ve been through. I think you feel like you don’t deserve somebody to care for you. I think you need to reexamine the way you think of yourself.”
“Hmph!” Katy preferred it when she did the talking and Dr. LaVaughn said nothing.
*****
