by t. h. snyder
“Ouch,” I say, holding my hands to my chest. “That kinda stung a bit,” I continue with a laugh.
A smile spreads across her face. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.
“I could use your help with something, though.”
My head perks up; I’ll do just about anything for her.
“Of course, anything I can do to help.”
“When I was brought into the emergency room, there were two other ambulances that came from the same incident. I’d feel a lot better knowing if they’re okay. Is there any way for you to find out?”
I watch intently as she speaks every word, staying silent for a moment to see exactly what it is that she wants me to do.
“Please,” she says in a begging tone.
Moving from the seat toward the end of the bed, I turn to face her.
“I don’t know how much information I can get for you, I’m just an orderly. It’s not like I have access to stuff like the nurses and doctors. What’s your friend’s name? I’ll see what I can find out for you.”
A look of hope flashes across her face while she tries to sit up in the bed.
“Actually, there are two. One of them is a guy, Lincoln Minzotto, and the other is a female, her name is Jo.”
“Just Jo?”
“I don’t know her last name, but we were all brought in from the same place.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.” Turning away from her, I open the curtain and walk out into the hallway.
Shit, if I leave her she might fall asleep. I have to tell her to stay up. Turning back toward the curtain, I poke my head back into the room.
“Wait, don’t you fall asleep on me while I’m gone. Keep those pretty green eyes open ‘til I come back.”
A small smile spreads across her lips as I leave the room.
I don’t know how the hell I’m going to find anything out for her. There’s no way I’m able to access that kind of information with my credentials. It’s times like this I wish I had made friends at the hospital; anything would help me right about now.
Looking around, I try to find the nurse that worked with us earlier. Maybe she’ll be able to shed some light on the care of Gretchen’s friends.
It’s worth a shot.
For the next ten minutes, I search and scour the entire emergency room, trying to find an answer to help put Gretchen at ease, but I come up empty. The one person I tried to get information from just told me that I didn’t have authorization to the information, but they would let Gretchen know any news as it’s brought to her attention.
Feeling deflated and worthless, an emotion I know all too well, I walk my way back into Gretchen’s room. As I pull the curtain to the side, I can tell she’s just about to fall asleep. I rush to her side, my heart now pounding.
“Damn it, Gretchen, I shouldn’t have left you.”
Leaning down toward her, I pull her hair away from her face. As she turns to face me, she looks deeply into my eyes and I become lost in her.
“I’m so sorry,” she cries.
Tears begin to flow down her cheeks while uncontrollable sobs take over her body.
Chapter 5
Holding her in my arms is the best feeling in the world. She makes my mind clear, my soul seem complete, and my heart happy. Although we are complete strangers, I refuse to deny the pull she has on me. Right now, in this moment, I’m her rock—the only one that can help her grieve and deal with the pain she’s been dealt. There are so many questions I want to ask, so many thoughts rushing through my mind, but I know she needs time.
The sound of the curtain sliding against the metal rod grabs my attention and I move from the bed. Turning, I see an officer walking through the small space and toward Gretchen.
“Hello, Miss Powers. I’m the officer that was brought to the crime scene last night. I have some questions I’d like to ask you if you’re up to it.”
Wiping away her tears with the back of her hand, she nods in the officer’s direction.
“Good, thank you. There are two gentlemen that are also here with me. Do you mind if they come in while we talk?”
I watch her expression change from sadness to confusion, but still, she nods her head. Together, we watch as he moves back toward the curtain and signals for someone to come in.
Two men walk into the room, one followed by the other. I take a double take at them both; they’re the guys from the diner…the ones that were giving Gretchen a hard time. My protective barrier goes into hyper drive and I take a step closer to my blue-haired goddess.
I have no idea who they are or how they’re associated to her, but I’ll be damned if I let them anywhere near her. The tension is so thick that it feels like the air is being sucked out of the room. I look down to see that Gretchen has her eyes closed and turn my glare back to the three men. Looking at each one, I can feel the intensity in my eyes burning a hole in each of them.
The officer moves in closer to the side of Gretchen’s bed and extends his hand to me.
“I’m Officer Donovan,” the cop says, pulling his arm back to his side.
“I’m Christian. I’m the orderly that took Gretchen for her CT scan. She may have a concussion, so I’ve chosen to sit with her and make sure she’s awake for the next few hours.”
My eyes once again scan the room, my stare landing on one of the guys. I don’t like the way he’s been looking at Gretchen. His stare is full of regret and anger, yet his body language shows that he’s anxious to be in this room.
“Well, wasn’t that kind of you?” he mumbles under his breath.
I look to the other guys and then back to the asshole. Who the fuck does he think he is? He has no clue what this poor girl has been through tonight. Had it not been for me, she’d have been all alone all this time.
“Yeah, well she doesn’t have any friends to be by her side. Right now she needs anyone that’s willing to stay with her and keep her company.”
The quiet, bald-headed guy moves in closer to the bed, standing tall as if he’s ready to attack me.
“She has friends right here. There’s no need for you to stay as her watch dog. We’ve got it from here,” he barks at me.
Fucking prick. There’s no way in hell I’m going to take shit from them. Where the hell have they been all night? Sure as fuck not here…but I was.
“You guys could’ve fooled me. Some friends she’s got if no one has been here the whole time I have.”
My stare, now filled with hatred, turns to the prick and then back to the asshole. This is no time for a pissing match; Gretchen needs those closest to her to be there for her. Obviously, these two are clueless how to care for a friend in need.
Looking back down at her, I can see she’s beginning to stir and her eyes open. I watch as she looks at the room, paying close attention to the asshole standing across from us. Tears start to fill her eyes, and all I want to do is kick them out and hold her, letting her know that whatever has happened will be okay.
The asshole turns his body away from the bed and to the officer.
“When can we start to get the details of the others that were brought in here?” he asks.
What the hell is he talking about? What others? Could he be referring to the same people that Gretchen was asking about?
“I need to ask Miss Powers a few questions. Would you two mind stepping out of the room for a few minutes?”
“Hell yes, I mind,” he curses back to the officer.
“You want answers, Mr. Rinnich, and I need to do my job. Now, see yourself out of the room and let me talk to Miss Powers in private.”
The officer scans the room, looking at the prick and then to me. There’s no way in hell I’m leaving her side, not with these clowns causing her more emotional grief.
“That goes for everyone,” the officer says, gesturing for the three of us to exit the room.
The two men leave the room while I continue to keep my feet firmly planted on the floor. Moving to the other sid
e of the room, I plead with the officer to let me stay. She needs support right now, and after seeing the way she was affected by those two, she needs me more than ever.
I turn to face her, her expression filled with so many feelings. Hoping I can make her feel a little better, I shoot a smile in her direction and then turn my gaze back to the officer.
After way too much convincing, Officer Donovan finally agrees to allow me to stay in the room, his only stipulation being I stay quiet and keep her calm.
Done.
His radio goes off and echoes off the walls in the small space. I look toward Gretchen whose eyes are now wide open.
Moving alongside her bed, I pull up a chair and sit down beside her. I have an idea what’s about to happen, but I’ll be damned if I let her go through this alone.
Over the next few moments, my world is turned upside down. The anger, hurt, and rage I feel for what’s happened to her is coursing through my veins.
Apparently, she lives with the asshole and another guy who’s somewhere in the hospital. When the police got to the scene, there were five people…five. How is it that no one was able to help her and keep her safe?
I can sense that this situation is making her extremely uncomfortable. Watching as she tries to sit herself up in the bed, I move from the chair and help her by lifting the bed into an upright position. I want her to be comfortable. Not only does she have to relive the moments from last night, but the pain she must be going through has to be intense.
“You comfortable?” I ask, moving the pillow behind her head and gesturing for her to sit back.
Nodding her head, she gives me a half smile and turns her attention back to the officer. He pushes her to start from the beginning and tell him as much as she can remember.
The intrusion occurred while she was in bed sleeping. Her ex-boyfriend and some other fucker broke into the house and ripped her from her bed. I can’t imagine how scared she must have been. She was alone….why the fuck was she alone?
Why the hell would anyone want to hurt her?
The deeper she gets into her story, the angrier I become. Clenching my fists along my side, I continue to listen to her talk.
After being pulled from her bed, her ex, Rick, pushed her down the stairs. That explains her head trauma. Whoever this motherfucker is will pay. There’s no way anyone should cause harm like this to a woman, especially her. The intensity of the conversation becomes a bit too much to handle as the tears begin to fall from her face and the sobs take over her words. Reaching for the box of tissues, I hand her one to dry the wetness from her face. My heart is aching for her, yet there’s nothing I can do to stop the pain she’s feeling and make her past go away. It’s obvious that she’s been through a lot of torment with this whole ordeal.
“I think she’s had about enough of the inquisition for now, can we call a five minute break?” I ask Officer Donovan.
“That’s fine for now. I’ll go see if there’s any news on the others. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” she and I reply in unison.
Chapter 6
As the officer leaves the room, I move to sit on the side of her bed. With trembling hands, I push the loose hair from her face behind her ear.
“Why?” she asks me, a look of confusion on her face.
“Why what?” I respond with a smile.
With my left hand, I caress the side of her face. Leaning her cheek into my touch, her skin is so soft. She’s so beautiful. The bruises along her face are changing from a light red to a deep crimson color. I can only hope that I’m not hurting her with my gentle touch.
“You don’t know me, yet you’re here helping me, taking care of me.”
Grabbing for her hands, I hold them tightly with my own. I can’t do much for her, but right now, I can show her that I care and I want to be here for her.
“There’s no simple explanation for it, Gretchen. All I know is that I’m supposed to be here for you. Don’t question it, okay?”
Wiping the falling tears with her tissue, she lets a smile stretch across her lips. She’s accepting my compassion and support; that’s all I can really ask of her right now. It fills my heart with hope—for what, I’m not sure—but I’ll take whatever she’ll allow me to give her.
Allowing her some space, I move from the bed back to the chair. Resting my feet up on the bed, I try to relax, waiting for the moment she’ll need me. Closing my eyes for a brief moment, I think back to the times that I wanted so badly to have that one person in my life. Growing up, all I ever found were people that wanted to push me away. No one has ever needed me the way I needed them. The women that served as my foster mothers were cruel, abusive, and only wanted me around when there were household chores. The men that acted as fathers pushed me around, belittled me, and made me feel as though I was worthless. My self esteem as a child and adolescent was slim to none. I can only thank God that I got out and on my own when I did. Now that I’m an adult, and looking back, I want nothing more than to show love and compassion to that one person that will need me more than I could ever need her.
Opening my eyes and looking next to me, I realize that this woman could be that very one.
I peer to the side of the room as the curtain slides to the side and one of the ER doctors walks in. Approaching Gretchen, he extends his hand to her with his introduction. He asks her questions related to her pain, the symptoms she’s experiencing, and evaluates the bruises along her face and on the back of her head. Detailing the results of her scan, he confirms that she does have a severe concussion. The news of the tests builds more rage inside of me and the need to find the fucker who did this to her is intense.
The conversation between the two is detailed and he ensures her that she’ll receive a prescription for the pain. As he’s explaining any additional side effects, Gretchen shows a sense of humor that surprises me. After all that she’s been through, she’s still able to smile, laugh, and look at the positive side of everything that has gone down.
She truly is an inspiration—one that I should be able to follow and learn by. No matter what life throws at us, it’s important to think of the things that we have…right now I have her. She’s the rock that can pull me from my darkness and show me the light through those bright green eyes. There’s no question in my mind, I want her in my life, and she can help me become the man I want and need to be.
As the doctor leaves the room, I move from the chair and stand next to her.
“Are you always this way?” I ask in a curious tone.
Scrunching her brows, she looks up at me with a confused expression.
“What way?”
“You’ve had one hell of a night, Gretchen, yet you’re still acting as though nothing has happened. Your responses are short, carefree, almost as if you don’t have a worry in the world.”
I’m simply in awe with the way she’s handing everything.
“You really don’t know me very well, Christian. I’m a high stress head case. Believe me, it’s best that you stay as far away from me and my shit as possible. You’ve been nothing but nice since I met you a few hours ago, but really, you can go home now. There’s no reason for you to stay here. I’m sure you have a life to get back to or someone that wants you back home.”
Her words feel like a slap across my face and pain radiates down into my limbs. My heart pulls at my chest and a feeling of loss seeps into my pores. How could she possibly think that I don’t want to be here with her right now?
I know I have nowhere else to be but by her side…she doesn’t know this, though.
“As much as I don’t know you, Gretchen, you don’t know me, either. I have a lot of shit on my plate, too, and this place is the only escape I have. Believe me when I say this is the only room I want to be in right now. Didn’t you ever learn not to judge a book by its cover?”
Rolling her eyes in my direction, she shakes her head at me. She’s fucking driving me nuts. As much as I want to be here with her, I can�
�t stand that she’s thinking so negatively of my gestures. All I want to do is help her.
Why is she doing this?
Is she trying to push me away?
“Well, you should. It’s unnerving to sit here and want to help when all you seem to do is push away those that want to be near you.”
She moves to sit up in the bed, a look of pain flitting across her face.
“You have some nerve; you don’t know what I’ve been through tonight, let alone in my lifetime. Don’t you judge me, either.”
What the fuck?
She has a lot of nerve telling me what I should be doing. I’m not the one who is sitting in a bed because of poor judgment. The rage I’ve tried so hard to push back tonight is coming to the surface. Not only have I tried to be here for her, but the prick and the asshole obviously have some connection to her…they have to care about her, even if it’s just a little. I have no choice but to walk away. Turning my back to her, I pause for a moment—I need to get something off of my chest.
“I don’t know if you’re just clueless or intentionally push people away, Gretchen. All I know is that there are two guys somewhere in this place that care about you. They may not show it right now because they’re more focused on your other friends, but maybe one day you’ll learn to follow your heart instead of your brain mashed up in that thick skull of yours.”
With those last words, I again walk away from my mysterious stranger.
Storming through the ER, I rush to the elevator to catch my breath. Once inside, I lean my head into my hands and breathe out a loud burst of air because all I want to do is scream.
How could things between us turn so bad so quickly?
I need to get myself out of here, like now.
Busting through the elevator doors, I move to the employee lounge to grab my things. As I slam my locker door, the sound of metal slapping metal echoes throughout the small space. My head is pounding, my heart’s racing, and my mind is filled with frustration because of her.
As I move through the rest of the hospital toward the parking garage, a million thoughts enter my mind.
