by Terri Marie
Reluctantly, Emma began walking behind her. She knew the nurse was being kind and understanding, but Emma's anxiety was starting to mount again. All she had left of Renee, Brian, and Jacob, were these red stains, and now someone was trying to convince her to rid herself of that connection. She didn't want to let them go; memories would never be enough. Once they reached the bathroom of an empty room, the nurse opened the door, sat the scrubs, washcloth, and towel on the sink, and then handed her a bag. Emma began to shake.
"You can put your soiled clothing in here," she briefly rubbed Emma's back. "Honey, I know you're frightened, but the staff is really competent in this hospital. I promise to come and get you the second Brian arrives. Push this call light if you need anything."
Emma thanked June, stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door. For the first time since before the fire and shooting, she looked at herself in the mirror over the sink. Her face had white streaks of skin showing, where her tears had washed away some of the blood. Emma quickly turned away. She let her clothes drop to the white tile floor and stared at them. Slowly, she picked them up, determined not to throw her belongings away until she knew Renee, Brian, and Jacob, were going to be okay. Emma placed her stiff clothing into the bag, and then turned on the shower.
Stepping under the hot stream, Emma looked down and watched as the water turned red. Robert did this. Robert had robbed her of her security, stolen her freedom, taken control of her life, and painted her with her friends' blood. "No…" she cried, and pumped soap onto her washcloth from a large container. At first, Emma moved the wet cloth gently over her face and arms. When she closed her eyes, she saw her friends lying wounded in the driveway. Her eyes flew open, and she began to vigorously scrub her skin. The black soot and red blood on the white washcloth, made her scrub even harder. Emma had to get the war off of her…get the fire off of her…get Robert off of her.
∞ ∞ ∞ ∞
Renee was brought to the surgical intensive care unit first. The bullet had punctured her right lung and fractured two ribs. She looked around at all the equipment attached to her friend, and she shivered. Emma brought her hand up to her face and covered her mouth, a small gasping sound escaped.
The doctor lifted the bed sheet to check on Renee's dressing and chest tube. He glanced up at the monitors before turning to look at Emma. "The nurse said you're Emma, Renee's friend. I'm Dr. Ortiz, the surgeon who operated on her. Is her family here?"
"That would be me," Emma whispered, without lifting her eyes from Renee.
"I'll explain a few things so you won't be so anxious. Renee has blood around her lung, and we need to drain it out of there. That's what this tube on the side of her chest is for. We'll keep it in place until x-rays show no excess fluid. I know this is very overwhelming, but please, don't be frightened by everything you see," explained Dr. Ortiz. "She'll be treated to prevent infection and may need more blood transfusions until her count is up. The monitors, which make a lot of noise," he laughed softly, "will help us keep an eye on her heart and oxygen levels. If you have any questions, leave a message with the nurses and I'll get back with you. I think she'll make a full recovery, barring any complications." He shook Emma's hand and continued to hold it while he said goodbye. "I have a couple of more patients to see, so I need to be going, but the staff on this unit will take good care of her, plus there's a police officer right outside the door for her protection." He picked up the chart off the nightstand and left the room.
Renee had no color to her cheeks. She had a small amount of dark red at the corners of her lips, where blood had sprayed as she'd struggled to breathe. Parts of her dark hair were matted and tinted red.
Emma leaned over and kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry..."
"She's not feeling any pain," softly replied a nurse, as she walked up behind Emma. She had an IV bag and a syringe full of clear fluid in her hands. "I'm Diana, Renee's nurse. I know she doesn't look very good right now, but she'll start to get stronger in the next day or two."
"Is she in a lot of pain?" Emma closed her eyes and shook her head. She still couldn't get the image of Renee lying in the driveway and gasping for air, out of her mind.
"She's still sedated from the anesthesia, and I'll be giving her pain medications." Diana held out a box of tissues.
"I'm Emma, her friend. When do you think she'll wake up?" She pulled a couple of tissues from the box and dabbed at her eyes. Her skin still felt raw from the shower.
"I really can't say, but when she does, you can say hi to her. We want Renee to rest though. Can I get you something to drink? Have you eaten?" she asked as she hung the new IV bag and pushed medication through a port.
"I'm really not hungry. Thank you for asking." Emma wiped some soot out of the corner of her eyes. They still slightly burned. "I'm going to make a call real quick. I'll be back in just a minute." She walked out of the room and into the lounge. Just as she was about to call Sean and check on Jacob, June walked up to her.
"Brian is on his way up. Are you sure I can't get you anything?" she asked with a concerned expression.
"I feel a little better since I got cleaned up. Thank you for being so kind. Did they mention whether Brian is awake or not?" Emma hoped she could talk to him. He'd be scared to death in here, if she didn't get the chance to explain what'd happened.
"I won't know until he comes on the unit. I'll find you after we get him settled."
"No, you don't understand. He'll be petrified if he doesn't see someone he knows and trusts. I promise not to get in the way…" Emma was going to be in the room, one way or another. "I need to be with him."
June looked at her with warm eyes. "You can come with me." The nurse turned to head back up the hallway.
Just as they passed the desk, the elevator dinged and Brian was wheeled onto the unit, on a gurney. His body was propped with pillows so he was lying on his right side. He looked pale, like Renee, with some dried blood in his messy blond hair.
Emma watched as June took Brian's chart and got report from the recovery room nurse. She wanted to run to him, but knew the staff had to have space to get Brian into the bed and take care of him. Emma walked to the doorway and watched the nurse and a tech, place him on the same types of monitors as Renee's.
After they were done, Emma stepped inside the room. "Is he going to be alright?" she quietly asked June.
She looked up from Brian's chart and paused. "Emma, it's really important for us to get information on him. We have no medical background…a list of allergies, his correct age…Some allergic reactions can be lethal. Certainly you can see the importance of us talking with his parents. When he wakes up, I'll have to ask him some questions before he drifts back to sleep."
"Let me talk to Brian first." Emma knew he wouldn't answer any of her questions.
June nodded her head, and then walked towards the door. "I have to get these orders taken care of."
"Wait. Will he be able to walk again?" Emma felt her knees get weak.
"The bullet didn't hit his spine. It went through his body, but struck his left kidney, and then exited out of his abdomen. The doctor will explain more when he comes up. He has a catheter in his bladder, so don't be alarmed by the blood you see in this tube. It's to be expected. I'll be right back, though."
Emma walked over and lifted his hand. He coughed a little and swallowed hard.
"Brian?" she whispered. But he didn't open his eyes. She set his hand back down and walked down the hall to check on Renee. She was still asleep as well. Emma went to the lounge and called Sean. Hopefully he wasn't with the detectives.
"I just wanted to let you know that Brian and Renee are on the unit. They look so horrible, Sean. One minute we were all talking, and the next minute—"
"I know, Em. I wish I could come up there. The doctor came out about five minutes ago and said they were taking Jacob to the recovery room."
"How is he?" She was almost afraid to ask. Out of the three, she knew Jacob had been injured the worst.
/> "He was shot through his intestines and the bullet hit a large vein. He's still not out of the woods. Jacob inhaled a lot of smoke, lost a tremendous amount of blood, and they're worried about infection."
"Oh God…" Emma felt her heart sink. "Will he pull through?"
"I don't know. I really don't know. I'm waiting for Tyler and Vinnie, so I can update them. The detectives still have them detained." Sean's voice was quivering. "I keep telling myself how strong Jacob is, you know?"
Emma felt so torn. She wished she could be in two places at one time. Suddenly, the peace on the unit was disrupted by the sounds of people arguing. She easily recognized one of the voices.
"What the hell?!" yelled Brian, followed by a few other people asking him to please calm down.
"I'll call you back, Sean!" Emma took off running down the hallway. When she reached Brian's room, there were three staff members trying to keep him in bed. A police officer had stood up from his chair in the hall and was watching the commotion. June came running past her.
Emma was beside herself, especially when she saw the panic in Brian's eyes. They were frightening him. She ran inside of the room and stopped at the foot of his bed.
"Stop it! Everyone needs to step away so I can calm him down some! All you're doing is scaring him!" Emma pointed towards the door. She was grateful that June escorted the staff out to the hallway.
"I'm here, Brian." Emma pulled up a chair beside his bed and sat down. Her heart was beating a hundred miles a minute, but she tried not to show her anxiety.
"Emma? What happened?" Brian cried out in pain.
She reached for his hand. "Do you remember the fire?" She didn't know what all the kid remembered. Hopefully he didn't recall the pain of being shot.
"Yeah, but—Renee! Where's, Renee!" Brian tried to get up again.
"Sweetie, she's okay." Emma had to stop herself from disclosing too much information.
"Bullshit! I remember being in the front yard with her. I heard gunfire, and then Renee fell to the ground. I tried to shield her…Where is she?!" Brian tried to move his legs to the edge of the bed.
"I'm going to explain, but you have to stay in this bed. If you try getting up, you'll only fall to the floor." Emma gently pushed his shoulders back down.
"Where is she?!" he asked again with a stern voice.
"Renee's a couple of doors down from you. She's sleeping."
"Where was she hit? How injured is she?" Brian's eyes welled up with tears. "Answer my questions, Emma!"
"Her lung was damaged and she has a couple of broken ribs. She's going to be okay, Brian, I spoke with her surgeon." Emma wished she didn't have to have this conversation with him. Renee had become his only safe haven. Now, she had to try and fill those shoes. "Are you in pain?"
"Yeah. My back is killing me." Brian's hand was wrapped tightly around the bedrail. "Who did this to us?" he whispered; his breathing was becoming more rapid.
"Robert was in the driveway shooting at us. The bullet hit your kidney and came out of your abdomen. The doctor will explain more to you when he does his rounds. It didn't strike your spine and you're going to make a full recovery. Everyone is." I hope that wasn't a lie, thought Emma.
"Damn him!" Brian fiercely shook the bedrail.
"I know you want to leave, but you can't. You need a lot of medical attention, Brian. I need to give the staff some information about you, so they can provide you with adequate care. Because you're a minor, the doctors will need to contact your parents." Emma held her breath, waiting for the kid to explode.
"No! They'll make me go back home!" Brian tried to get up again.
"We're not going to let that happen. All of us are here, and we'll protect you." Emma eased him back down on the bed. She hoped they could protect him. So far, they'd done a horrible job. But like Tyler told her, when she'd had to disclose Renee and Brian's whereabouts, it's better to be hated, knowing her friends were safe.
"You don't understand the system like I do, Emma. If I tell the staff who I am, they'll call the cops to find out my parents' phone number." Brian shook his head and stared at the ceiling.
"The doctors have to have more information to safely treat you. You could have a really bad allergic reaction to these drugs! They were able to operate on you because it was an emergency, but I think it's time for you to be upfront with them. We don't even know your last name, Brian, and we've been together for a while now. What is it?" Emma pleaded.
"I really like you guys, Em. I've never had friends before, let alone a family, but I can't risk it. If I go back to my parents, they'll kill me. You'll never see me again, and no one will know what happened."
Emma wished he'd tell her everything, but she knew how fearful he was. The first night she'd met him, he was like a scared cat. After Brian got to know her and the Montclairs, his trust grew, and he was even able to relax around them.
"Brian, your parents can't hurt you here, and you won't be discharged until you're better. That'll give us time to build an abuse case against them. There's a lot of staff running around the halls, and they'll be in and out of your room, so your parents aren't going to have the balls to harm you while you're here. Let us call the police for you, and you can tell them about the abuse. They'll make a report and do an investigation. The cops won't let you go back home to them with those kinds of charges pending." Emma watched Brian's eyes widen again.
"No cops! I'm not talking to the staff, either. When I get better, I'm going to walk right out that front door, and I'm taking Renee with me!" Brian raised his voice.
"Listen, just be honest with the detective when he comes to talk to you." Emma was already kicking herself for saying too much.
"Detective? What?! Get me my clothes. I have to get out of here!" Brian began to shove the covers off of himself.
"I'm sorry, Kid, but you can't go anywhere," said the officer as he stepped inside the room.
Chapter 4
It took a while for Emma to calm Brian down. The nurse had come in, asked the officer to wait in the hallway, and then injected pain medication into Brian's IV. It didn't take long for him to become sleepy. Emma knew she'd have to make sure to stay right beside him until he was completely out of it, or he'd get riled up again. She leaned back in her chair and held his hand, waiting for him to doze off. She was pretty angry that the cop had spoken to Brian like he was some kind of prisoner. But weren't they all? They wouldn't be free as long as Robert remained on the loose. Emma listened to the steady bleep of the monitor, and soon, her own eyes closed, throwing her into a twisted nightmare.
Emma ran, screaming for everyone to get out of the house, but Tyler, Renee, Jacob, Sean, Vincent, and Brian, shook their heads and lay on the kitchen floor as the fire crawled across their backs, igniting them. The first person she grabbed onto was Tyler. She pulled his arms as hard as she could, but he was stuck to the floor. "Come on, Tyler! Help me! We have to get the others!!" Tyler shook his head again, before lying his face down in a pool of blood. The red liquid reflected the fire, as it flowed from their mouths. "Please!! Get up, everyone!" The smoke and heat were melting her skin. Chunks of flesh fell off of her arms. "Get up!!" Her words were barely audible. "I'll come with you," said Brian, as he grabbed ahold of Renee and lifted her into his arms. "I'll come too," whispered Jacob, as his lower jaw melted off his face. "…If you promise to forgive me." Just as they stood, Robert appeared behind them and started shooting. "No!!" Emma screamed.
"You're having a nightmare, Em, wake up." She felt a touch on her arm as she jumped to her feet and tried to run.
Tyler grabbed her, pulling her into his arms. "Let's step out here, so we don't wake Brian up." He kept one arm around Emma as he escorted her to the lounge and helped her to sit down.
"Oh, Tyler!" she choked. "It was awful. I couldn't…save…anyone."
"It's okay, Emma. We're all going to be fine." Tyler put his hand under her chin and lifted it. He took a tissue out of a box on the end table, and dried her face.
&nb
sp; "Tyler, your clothes—" Emma looked down at his bloody shirt and jeans.
"I know. The nurse brought me some things to clean up with. I tried to call you a couple of times, but you didn't answer, so I got worried and came up to check on you. Are you okay?" Tyler asked, looking into her eyes.
"I was in Brian's room and I fell asleep. I didn't hear my phone ring. Tyler, we have problems. When Brian woke up, he saw the officer, who told him he couldn't leave. The staff started badgering him with questions and made him panic. You have to talk to Brian, and let him know we'll protect him from his parents." Emma was breathing fast as she stood up to pull at Tyler to follow her.
"We'll make sure we're there when he wakes up." Tyler held her hand as they walked towards the unit.
"Is Jacob okay?" Just like she'd felt torn about whose bedside she should be at, she knew that her boss did too.
"He's on this unit now too, but Sean and Vincent are with him. Jacob's holding his own. He's a Montclair." Tyler winked, but his eyes looked distant, as he continued down the hall with Emma.
The first room they passed was Renee's. She was sleeping, but it didn't take long for them to hear Brian's raised voice coming from nearby.
"Come on, Emma, let's go." Tyler picked up his pace.
When they entered the kid's room, June was at his bedside with some water, washcloths, and towels. She was explaining that she just wanted to clean him up some and change his gown.
"I'm just trying to help you, Brian. I'm not the police. I'm in your corner, okay?" June spoke softly as she rubbed her hand over his matted hair.
"Hey, Brian, how're you holding up?" Tyler walked over to the bed, and asked the nurse if he could have a few minutes.
"Tyler, you have to help me get out of here!" Brian grabbed ahold of his wrist and held on tightly.
"You can't run anymore, Brian. After the fire and the shooting, the hospital contacted the police. The detectives will be up to talk to you today. I promise not to leave you alone with them." Tyler sat on the edge of the bed.
