by Mettey, Tim
“Excuse me, excuse me. Who is the doctor in charge?” Cora was not anxious or scared anymore, but now sounded like her normal, determined self.
“I am. I’m Dr. Jeffrey Flemming, head of the ER. Are you Nicholas’ mother?”
“Yes, my name is Cora Keller. I would like for you to wait for our family doctor to get here before you proceed with any tests.”
“My staff is more than qualified to handle this. We are top in the nation for any brain or spinal injuries. We need to run tests now to make sure your son doesn’t have serious injuries. We don’t have time to wait, Ms. Keller; we will get your family doctor up to speed when we are done with our tests.”
“Our family doctor, Dr. Chase Letterby, will be here any minute.”
“Did you say Chase Letterby?”
“Yes, I did. Do you know him?”
“You mean the Dr. Chase Letterby?”
“Is there another?” There was a long pause.
“Ms. Keller, there is no way he will get here in time.”
“Actually, when Nicholas didn’t get up off the field I called him immediately. Luckily, he was on his private jet about to land in Chicago, coming home from England. He should have landed nearby ten minutes ago,” Cora said like she was name-dropping. It was so snobby and rude; I had never heard her be that way before. It was disgusting. She sounded more like that old hag Ester Theasing than Cora.
“Yes, Ms. Keller. We will wait for a little bit, but then we have to start the tests. Even Dr. Letterby would agree that we can’t wait too long.” The doctor was defeated. I guess the way she was name-dropping, making Dr. Chase Letterby sound like a celebrity, was effective. Slimy, but effective.
“Thank you, Dr. Flemming.”
The room cleared out, including Cora. There were still two nurses in the room making sure everything was fully stocked and ready. I closed my eyes when they looked over.
“Can you believe they know Dr. Chase Letterby?” one of them whispered.
“Isn’t he the top doctor in the country, and wasn’t he operating on a member of the Royal Family just last week? That’s why he was in England.”
“He’s the doctor to the stars, you know, and is drop-dead gorgeous. He is tall, dark, and hunky.”
The two nurses continued to gossip about his good looks and what of theirs they wanted him to examine. I tuned them out. I drifted off thinking of Elle. She was the only one moving in my thoughts; everyone else was like still cardboard cut-outs. Then the black swirling clouds blocked my view of her and closed in on me.
“Nicholas, Nicholas.” I opened my eyes. I thought I had died because the silhouette of an angel was over me. My eyes focused. It was Elle. I couldn’t tell if I was asleep or awake until I tried to move and found I was still strapped to the table.
“Are you okay? Do you want me to get a doctor?” she asked, looking very worried. I ignored her question; I was more interested in why she was at the hospital.
“What are you doing here?”
She took my hand. “You got hurt, so I had to come see if you were all right.”
“Why?”
“What kind of question is that? We are friends, aren’t we?” she asked with a smile.
“Yes, of course we are, Elle, and to answer your first question, I feel fine. No need to get a doctor.”
“I’m glad. You had me worried. I couldn’t get much information about how you were at the stadium, so I came here right away to find out for myself. Plus, I had to see you in person.”
There was a lot of commotion out in the hall. I couldn’t turn to see what it was. Elle never looked away from me to see what all the excitement was about. Her eyes were just staring into mine. I wanted to tell her everything because I didn’t want to lie to her. After years of lying to people about pretty much everything, I just wanted to be honest with her. I could hear voices getting louder and louder outside the room. Even with them talking right outside the door, Elle still stared into my eyes. I hoped whoever it was would leave me and Elle alone just for a couple minutes longer. Right then the doors opened.
“Excuse me, miss, you will have to wait outside,” a deep voiced boomed. Elle squeezed my hand and disappeared out of sight.
“Hello, Nicholas, I’m Dr. Letterby.” He was towering over the top of me, blocking out the bright light like an eclipse. He was wearing a black suit with a pink button-up shirt and a matching pink tie. His jet-black hair was messed up, but it looked intentional. His face looked like it was carved out of granite, not a flaw anywhere. His smiled revealed perfectly aligned teeth that sparkled like diamonds.
“So, Nicholas, I hear that you were hurt winning a football game.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
“Does it still hurt anywhere?”
“Well, kind of,” I said, not really sure what else to say.
Dr. Letterby left my sight, and I felt him starting to examine me.
“Why was this boy left on the ambulance gurney and not transported to a proper bed for examination?” His deep booming voice echoed in the room.
Dr. Fleming answered, “Ms. Keller told us to wait until you got here.”
Dr. Letterby turned back to me so only I could see his face. He gave me a wink and then said again very loudly and seriously, “What kind of operation are you running here? You should at least have moved him. I guess this will have to do for now.”
He turned around to face the crowd. The room had to be filled with every doctor and nurse from the hospital. I was sure Cora was in the room among the sea of people all gathered to see Dr. Chase Letterby.
“Dr. Flemming, you and your staff have done enough for now. I need to run a couple of tests, but before that I need to talk to Ms. Keller and Nicholas alone. Do you mind?”
“Yes, of course,” Dr. Flemming’s voice cracked. “Okay, everyone, let’s give them a minute.” Dr. Flemming and his staff left the room. Dr. Letterby’s request was a question, but from the response, it was taken as a command. The doors closed behind them.
“So, Cora, it’s been some time. Did you miss me?” Dr. Letterby’s large arms engulfed Cora in a bear hug over the top of me.
“It has been a while, Chase,” she said, prying herself out of his large arms.
“Nicholas, you’ve changed a lot. You look like your mom with just a hint of your dad, which is a good thing because not everyone is blessed with good looks like some of us. Speaking of beauty, Cora, you are still as breathtaking as ever.” I couldn’t see Cora’s expression. Was she blushing or was she stone-faced?
“Chase, enough. We need your help cleaning up a mess.”
“Well, of course, that’s why I’m here.”
“Nicholas has drawn some unwanted attention to himself, as you can see, and instead of just quitting like he was supposed to, he faked this injury, which ended up drawing a lot more attention to us.”
“Come on, Cora. Give him a break. You have both been hiding for a long time. A little slip-up is to be expected.”
“We can’t afford slip-ups; it only takes one time to be recognized, and then it’s all over.”
I needed to apologize to Cora, but I was still strapped to the gurney, unable to get up to look at her. “Cora, I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to look like a quitter.”
“Yeah, and he’s got to look good in front of his girl. You know, the one that was in here—”
Cora interrupted, “I know who the girl is, Chase, but we can’t afford luxuries like relationships.” She turned and looked at me. “Even with a cute junior girl.”
Chase hadn’t heard anything Cora had said. He just continued to talk like he was trying to figure out a puzzle. “No, the girl wasn’t it. Maybe he’s trying to play football like his dad, and who could blame him for trying to take after his old man? I’m sure if he were still here, he would have forced him to play ball.”
I tried to break free from the straps holding me down. I wanted to jump up and mess up that pretty face of his for bringing my dad into this. He wa
sn’t like that; he would have never forced me to do anything. I started to yell, but Cora’s face was over mine. She whispered, “Ignore him. It will be okay.”
I fought back my anger.
She lifted her head and spoke in a commanding voice, the same sort of voice Chase used on the doctors and nurses. “Okay, Chase, it’s time. You know what to do?”
“Of course I do. I will run some tests and make sure my medical opinion is that he can’t play football again.”
“Thanks, Chase. I owe you.”
“A date then, maybe?”
“Sorry, Chase, I will never owe you that much.”
Chase leaned over me. I was still angry. I didn’t want to look at him, but I didn’t have a choice.
“Nicholas, do me a favor. Please say that you have some tingling in your arms and legs whenever I ask. Can you do that?”
I nodded, still too angry to speak.
The next several hours consisted of lots of tests and big crowds. Everywhere Chase went, a big crowd followed. He was like a rock star. When different test results came in, he would just say, “Interesting, interesting.” From time to time, he would ask me if anything hurt, and I would say that I felt tingling in my arms and legs.
At one point, he leaned down and pretended to examine my neck. “I just want you to know that your lady friend has been here the whole time,” he whispered, “but Cora sent her home a little while ago. I tried to get Cora to let her stay, but I lost that battle.”
I was still angry, but the fact that he tried to get Cora to let Elle stay helped me to see past his stupid comment about my dad. It was close to midnight when I was finally wheeled into a room on the third floor, room 322. There was a police officer stationed by my door. He stared at me hard like he knew who I was. He just nodded.
Cora was already sitting in the room. Dr. Flemming and Chase followed me into the room with a smaller entourage than usual.
“Dr. Flemming, I would like to stay to observe him overnight. I will need an office so I can go over the test results. Do you have any?”
“Of course, Dr. Letterby, you can use my office.” Just like before, his question was taken as a command.
“We need to let Mr. Keller get some sleep,” Chase said.
“Dr. Letterby, before we do that, can his visitors see him?” a nurse standing at the door said, blushing and looking down at the floor. Her actions didn’t faze Chase. I guess he was used to women acting that way around him.
“Well, that’s up to Ms. Keller.”
“That will be fine, but not too long.”
“Nurse Jones, tell Officer Weaver to let the visitors in and then he can go,” Dr. Flemming said.
I heard a sound like a stampede coming down the hall. All of the JV team and most of varsity entered my small room. Coach Miller was standing at the foot of my bed, holding a football.
“On behalf of the team, we want to give you the game ball. Without your plays in the last two games, we would not have won. Your hard work and determination are an inspiration to all of us.” Coach Miller set the ball, which was filled with signatures, at the end of my bed. “Get better, son.”
Then one by one, each player walked up and touched my bed. Some said, “Get better,” or “Get well.” The last two players were Eric and Chad.
“Nicholas, I just wanted to say thanks.”
“For what?” I asked Chad.
“Well, for putting up with all the crap we gave you. We will make sure to play as hard as you did while you’re out. We won’t let you down.” Then Chad also patted the bed and walked out.
As soon as Chad left, Eric turned to me and said, “I can’t believe Chad Reiger was just in your room telling you he wouldn’t let you down. You are the luckiest guy alive.” He looked at me in the bed and said, “Well you know what I mean by lucky.”
“Don’t worry, Eric, I know what you meant.”
“I heard that Elle was here to check on you. You are so luck—”
Cora spoke up, “Eric, I’m sorry, Nicholas needs his sleep. You can see him later.”
“Okay. Sorry, Ms. Keller.” He leaned in close to me so only I could hear. “Tonight a legend was born.” He turned and bounced out of the room.
VANDERBILT
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Cora, go home. I’ll be fine. You have to be tired,” I said. She was awkwardly trying to sleep in one of those horrible hospital chairs.
“I can take care of Nicholas. Cora, go ahead. I promise to watch over him. Remember, he’s not really hurt,” Chase whispered with his hands around his mouth like he was playing a game of telephone.
Cora got up from the chair and sat down next to me, patting me on my head. “Nicholas, sleep well, and next time, make sure I’m in on the plan.”
No sooner had she left than I fell asleep listening to the sounds of my hospital room. I drifted into unconsciousness, and I was immediately surrounded by the familiar darkness. Off in the distance I heard Elle screaming for help, but I couldn’t move. The black swirling darkness was holding me still, paralyzing me. My muscles started to push against it, but Elle’s screaming broke my concentration. The darkness seeped into my lungs; I tried to breathe, but I couldn’t. I began to choke, just like before. Elle’s screams were horrifying. I had to fight to get to her. She needed me. The fire inside erupted and then I pushed back the putrid darkness with all of my might.
I awoke suddenly to find Chase standing over the top of me with a look of concern and intrigue twisted into his face.
“Nicholas, you okay? You were shaking pretty hard.”
“I just feel sick,” I whispered.
“You feel sick? How?” he asked.
“Before we talk, could I get some Tic Tacs? They make the sickness not as bad.”
Chase pressed the call button on my bed. Two nurses answered at the same time and in unison, “Can I help you, Dr. Letterby?”
“Yes, could one of you please bring me some Tic Tacs?”
“Yes, of course, Dr. Letterby, but what kind?” one of the nurses asked. He looked at me.
“White, please,” I said, fighting back the nausea.
“I will need white Tic Tacs, and could one of you dears bring me a cup of tea?” A few minutes passed and a smiling nurse entered the room holding ten different types of Tic Tacs.
“I didn’t know which ones you wanted, so I got one of each.” The nurse was out of breath, and her hair was falling down out of her bun. She looked like she had just run a 40-yard dash.
“Didn’t you hear that I only needed the white ones?” Chase asked. Her cheeks turned a scarlet red that matched her hair.
“Well, as soon as you said you wanted Tic Tacs, I ran down and got them.”
The other nurse came hurrying into the room with white Tic Tacs clenched in her teeth and one cup of tea in each hand, one iced and one hot. Different colored packs of sweeteners were balanced on her arm. She didn’t say anything; she just set the cups of tea down on the little table next to the bed. Both of the nurses just stood there.
“Well, ladies, you two have been incredibly prompt and very thorough. Make sure, before you get off your shift, to both give me your names and contact information because I am always looking for good nurses to assist me.” Before Chase had even finished his sentence, both of them were writing their information on whatever paper they could find in the room.
“Again, prompt. Thank you. That will be all.”
They both grabbed each other’s hands and left the room like two schoolgirls who had just been asked to the prom. I leaned forward, grabbed the white Tic Tacs, and popped them into my mouth.
“So how do you feel now, Nicholas?”
“I feel better. Thanks, Chase.”
“Tell me about your sickness.”
“Well, it feels like morning sickness. At least, that’s what I think it feels like.”
He shifted his weight in his chair and was now leaning closer to me, making sure not to miss anything. “How long has it been th
is way?”
“It all began when I started having these dreams about the darkness.”
He looked perplexed. “Interesting. Have you experienced anything else?”
“Besides my morning sickness and dreams?” I asked.
“Yes, like aching muscles, acid backing up into your throat, stomach feeling like it’s in knots, tightening of muscles?” He looked eager, anticipating my answer.
“No, I don’t have any of those things,” I lied. “Why?”
“Oh.” Disappointment washed over his face, and he sat back in his chair. He took one of the cups of tea and began to sip it. His interest died instantly. “Well, it’s probably low blood sugar. That’s why the Tic Tacs help,” Chase said. “You should really get some sleep now, Nicholas.”
“Before I sleep, could I ask you some questions, Chase?” He looked apprehensive. “I just wanted to know how you became such a successful doctor.”
Chase thought very hard, rubbing his chin. “I guess it couldn’t hurt anything if I told you how I became a great and successful doctor. Well, Nicholas, the whole doctor thing came really easy to me. I graduated early from Vanderbilt Medical School and did my residency at New York General. That’s where I became the doctor I am today.” He stopped talking. He was smiling, staring off into space. He was admiring something from his past, most likely himself. This was going to take all night if he kept stopping.
“But, Chase, how did you become a doctor to the stars?”
His face lit up; he could barely contain his smile. “Well that’s a funny story, Nicholas. It was my final year of residency, and I still didn’t know what I wanted to do. I could do pretty much anything in medicine because I was that good. I felt like I was waiting for something to help me make my decision. I picked up a late shift for a colleague on New Year’s Eve in the ER. It was an extremely cold December 31. It was about ten degrees below zero, and we had gotten four inches of fresh, powdery snow that day.” He stood up and started to act out the story.
“It was a very slow night. There had only been a couple of patients, and most of them had come in earlier before my shift started. I was attending to some paperwork when we received a call that there had been a head-on collision. A woman in her late teens with life threatening injuries was on her way in. As soon as I got up, the doors to the ER flew open. The paramedics were wheeling in the bloodied girl.” Chase was really getting into it now. He was not even looking at me; he was looking at the door. The two nurses who had gotten the Tic Tacs and tea were standing in the doorway, engulfed in Chase’s story. Seeing the nurses motivated him to really play it up now. It reminded me a lot of Eric.
