by Diana Hunter
“Nice to see you awake and alert this time. How are we doing?” A rather short, plump woman in a bright purple print shirt hovered into view.
“I’m thirsty.”
The words surprised Sarah on two counts. First, until she spoke the words, she hadn’t realized how parched she was. And second, her voice didn’t sound like hers at all. Wispy and gravelly at the same time. She tried to clear her throat but found she was too dry.
The nurse checked a clipboard she’d gotten from somewhere. “You can have a few ice chips. That’ll help. Be right back.”
Just a minute later, the nurse returned. “By the way, my name is Jody. I’m your night nurse. Here. Let’s get one of these into you and then I’ll need some information.” Using a spoon, she fished a small ice chunk out of the plastic glass she held. Waiting until Sarah opened her lips, she set it carefully so that Sarah could pull it into her mouth and suck on it.
The ice chip was so tiny, it melted quickly. Sarah opened her mouth for another and Jody complied. But then she set the glass on the long table by the side of the bed and picked up the clipboard again.
“Do you know today’s date?”
Sarah shook her head and immediately decided not to do that again. “Monday. I know it was Monday but I can’t remember the date.”
“Can you remember the month?”
“November.”
“Good.” Jody made a notation on her clipboard. “And your name is?”
“Sarah Marie Simpson–Parker.”
“What do you remember about your accident, Sarah?”
She closed her eyes and sighed. “Nothing,” she finally admitted.
“What’s the last thing you do remember?”
Phillip’s cane. His hugs afterward. Snuggling into his arms in bed. Nothing of the morning at all. Nothing of getting up, showering, dressing—all things she supposed she did simply because she did them every morning. Her last memory was of lying safe in Phillip’s arms.
“I remember going to bed but not getting up this morning” was all she answered. “Was I in an accident?”
Jody nodded and Sarah wished she would sit down. It was hard to look up at her at this angle. She closed her eyes.
“Just a few more questions, Sarah, then I’m going to give you something for the pain and you can go to sleep again.”
Forcing her eyes open, Sarah nodded slowly, keeping her movements gentle.
“Do you know a William and Jillean Danton?”
Sarah nodded. “Yes.” Her voice was sounding raspy again.
Jody fished out another ice chip for Sarah as she asked her last question. “Do you give permission for them to visit you and to know your condition?”
“Yes.” Opening her mouth, Sarah gratefully accepted the ice, letting its coolness ease away some of her discomfort.
“There you go. You’re allowed a pain reliever in your IV drip. Would you like it now?”
She nodded. The throbbing in her shoulder was taking over her thoughts.
“Be right back, then.”
Again Jody disappeared around the green curtain and again she was back sooner than Sarah expected her. She carried a small bottle in her hand, from which she withdrew a clear liquid into a hypodermic needle. Flipping open a cap on part of the IV tube and slowly depressing the plunger, Jody let the painkiller mix with whatever else they were feeding into her arm. She really didn’t care what they were giving her as long as it made the pain go away.
Jody turned to smile at her but once again, Sarah was finding it too much effort to smile back. She sighed, turned her head and fell asleep.
“C’mon, sleepyhead, time to wake up. C’mon, Sarah. Up and at ‘em.”
Sarah opened one eye and stared balefully at Beth, who poked her good arm, prodding her into wakefulness. “I’m awake, I’m awake.” Her bed still lay flat and Beth bent over and waved at her like she was a two-year-old. “What’re y’doin’?”
“Just making sure you’re really awake. You gotta wake up, Sarah. There’re important doings going on and you’re sleeping right through ‘em.”
Taking a deep breath to clear her mind, Sarah blinked several times, using her good hand to rub away the last of her sleep. Then she grinned. Her head was a lot clearer this time than the last time she’d been awake. And her shoulder, while achy, didn’t throb. Her stomach growled. Loudly.
“I’m starved.”
“It’s about time. Let’s get some food into you and put you on the road to recovery, girl.”
Sarah’s best friend bustled around the room, calling for the nurse, adjusting the blankets over Sarah, opening the curtains and letting light into the room as she talked. “You’ve been sleeping long enough. Now you need to get up and get moving, get some life back into you. Paul’s been by to see you and a couple of friends I guess you know from Phillip, everybody was real worried there for a while.”
Sarah detected a faint note of disapproval when Beth mentioned Phillip’s friends but lying as she was, she found it hard to get a word in edgewise. The nurse entered and Sarah thought she’d seen her before—a short, plump woman with dark hair and a friendly smile.
“The doctor was in to see you about an hour ago and took you off the pain meds you’ve been on. Said when you woke up, you should try sitting up.”
Sarah nodded. In her brief lucid moments over the past several hours, the white ceiling and glimpses of the walls had been all she could see. With Beth assisting by holding down the button and the nurse supporting Sarah’s back and injured arm, the head of the bed rose, allowing her to get a better view of the room that was her current world. Cool green walls, their color meant to be soothing, were broken only by a window on her right, a corkboard at the foot of her bed, another at the foot of the bed next to her and then the door on her left. The other bed in the room remained empty and Sarah sent up a thank you to whoever was watching over her for that small favor.
The small corkboard had several unopened cards pinned to it. One side of the board, separated by a thick black line, held a photocopied sheet with squiggles all over it Sarah couldn’t read from her bed. The nurse gave a final check to her IV tube once she was sitting and went over to add to the arcane marks on the page.
“I’m hungry.”
“Good,” the nurse called over her shoulder. “I’ll get something sent up for you, since you missed breakfast. We’ll start you out on liquids this morning, then, if those stay down, we’ll move up the food chain. Keep everything in its place and you’ll be on real food by the end of the day.”
She left and Sarah wondered if she carried the same purposeful bustle with her wherever she went. Taking a deep breath and finding it didn’t hurt her shoulder, she took another, then gave Beth a wry smile.
“So you want to tell me what happened and how come I’m here in the hospital?”
“You were in a car accident.”
“Yeah, I know that. The nurse told me that…” She frowned. “I don’t remember it.” She gestured toward the door. “She said I missed breakfast but I distinctly remember those curtains…” She paused to gesture with her good hand to the window now streaming sunlight across her lap. “Those curtains were pulled and it was dark. How long was I out?”
Beth pulled a large chair from the corner of the room up to the bed and made herself comfortable. “Just a day. A guy ran a red light and hit you on the way to work yesterday morning. He’s fine but you broke your collarbone and smashed up your shoulder…and you have a concussion, they think from hitting your head on the door window. Doctors did a CAT scan to make sure you didn’t have any problems in your head but didn’t find anything.”
Sarah grinned. “You tellin’ me my head is empty?”
Beth laughed. “Yep. Nothing there to damage.”
Sarah didn’t want to ask the question that really was on her mind, almost afraid to know the answer. But she had to know. Unconsciously picking at the blanket that covered her lower body, she tried to remain casual as she asked, “Wh
ere’s Phillip?”
Beth’s face darkened. “Where he belongs.” She leaned forward, taking Sarah’s hand. “Why didn’t you tell me? I’m your best friend. I would have stopped him. You don’t need to put up with that bullshit.”
“What are you talking about? Tell you what?” Even as she pretended ignorance, Sarah’s heart pounded harder. The machine at her side gave her away as her pulse rate quickened. She looked away, suddenly afraid Beth knew all about her kinky side.
“Sarah, that bastard’s been abusing you—physically abusing you—and you didn’t tell anyone!” Beth’s tone accused Sarah right along with Phillip.
“No, he wasn’t!” Sarah’s voice rose, along with her blood pressure. The machines beside her started beeping. “He wasn’t abusing me. It’s not like that at all.”
“Here, here, now. What’s all this?” The plump nurse hurried back in, one hand going to Sarah, resting on her forearm where it lay in its sling, the other quickly resetting the monitors. Turning a stern eye on Beth, she scolded both of them. “You cannot be upsetting her that way. And you…” she turned to Sarah. “You cannot be going off like that. I’ll have the doctor put you right back on sedatives and keep you still.” With quick professionalism, she checked Sarah’s bindings. “Almost time to change that bandage anyway.”
With a tone that brooked no discussion, she looked straight at Beth. “Say your goodbyes while I go get what I need to redress that. It won’t take me more than two minutes.”
Turning on her heel, she stalked out of the room. The two friends were left with a heavy silence between them.
“I’m sorry, Sarah. I didn’t mean to upset you.” A stiff formality remained in Beth’s posture and voice.
“He didn’t beat me, Beth. It’s not what you think.”
“Fine. He didn’t beat you. You got those bruises from falling down the stairs. Think up some more good lies, Sarah. I’ve got to go to work.” With a vengeance, Beth pushed the chair back into the corner and gathered up her jacket and purse.
“Beth, don’t be like that.” Sarah watched, feeling helpless. A headache pounded in her skull and she found it difficult to focus. “Beth?”
Halfway to the door, Beth stopped, turned around and came over to her bad side. “Sarah, I don’t know why you’re protecting him, but know I will protect you. You’re my friend and I support you.”
“Thank you, Beth. I appreciate your support. If you give me a chance, I will explain it all…” The entrance of the nurse prevented Sarah from saying more. Telling Beth about her sexual preferences was going to be hard enough, she didn’t need strangers knowing too.
“I’ll be back after work to see how you’re doing.” Beth squeezed her hand and was gone.
Sarah sighed. Why did life have to be so complicated? And where was Phillip?
“Multiple contusions, a broken clavicle, a broken arm and a dislocated shoulder.” The doctor slammed shut the metal clipboard and pulled a penlight out of his pocket, taking aim at Sarah’s eyes. “Don’t turn your head, just follow the light with your eyes,” he instructed.
Sarah did so, feeling irritated for no reason she could fathom. The little hand on the clock opposite her bed crawled toward three o’clock in the afternoon and Phillip still hadn’t come to see her. Of course, they still weren’t letting her look at herself in a mirror, either, so maybe he just didn’t want to see her when she was so ugly and bruised. Although, if they were going to get married, didn’t this fall in the “in sickness and in health” section of the marriage vows? Where was he?
“On a scale from one to ten, ten being the worst pain you’ve ever felt, where would you put your shoulder?”
Sarah set aside her unease about Phillip’s absence and concentrated on the doctor’s abrupt bedside manner. “About a seven, I guess. The headache is really what’s bothering me.”
“And the headache is what’s keeping you here. You have a grade three concussion.” He flipped open his chart and glanced at it. “Although you’ve kept down both clear liquids and some light food today.” He gave her an appraising look. “That’s a good sign.”
“So what does a grade three concussion mean? I’ve been sent back to grammar school?”
Jenny, her afternoon nurse, giggled, quickly stifling it when the doctor didn’t laugh. Sarah looked him over in his staid white coat, the pens protruding from his breast pocket, the stethoscope draped over his shoulders. She guessed his age to be close to her own—somewhere in his mid-thirties, maybe? If he didn’t wear the perpetual grave look, she might have considered him handsome, though she didn’t really go for the brush cut and dark-rimmed glasses. Still, if one had to choose a doctor, she guessed she’d rather have a nerd who graduated top of his class to someone suave and sophisticated and not nearly as smart.
“Your brain rides in a cushion of fluid that protects it from slamming against your skull when you trip or when you turn suddenly.” The doctor pushed his glasses more firmly up onto the bridge of his nose and continued his pedantic tone. “There are three levels to what we call concussions—the first grade occurs with a mild slap, if you will, of the brain against the bone of the skull. Second grade concussions are more of a jar against the skull, in effect bruising it, although lasting damage is rare. With a grade three, the brain has been violently slammed against the skull. The damage again is usually temporary, though the headaches are stronger and often last for quite some time.”
“So what does one do for a concussion?”
“Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.” Dr. Johns grinned, obviously enjoying his own joke.
“And what should I call you?” Sarah played along, even though her head was starting to pound just trying to take in all he was telling her.
Dr. Johns looked at her as if she’d grown a third eye. “Beg pardon?”
“You said, ‘call me in the morning’, and I said, ‘what should I call you?’ Get it? It was another joke.”
“Hmm… Yes. I see.” Obviously not seeing at all, the doctor made a note on her chart and Sarah wondered if he thought she had sustained more brain damage than the tests showed.
“Well, I think we’re going to keep you one more day. I want to watch that headache.”
“But I’m keeping my food down.” While being waited on hand and foot certainly had its attractions, Sarah didn’t really want to stay in the hospital any longer than she had to.
“But your headache still isn’t fading. One more day.” He shut the clipboard with finality.
She sighed as the doctor left the room, turning to Jenny once he was out of earshot. “A bit abrupt, isn’t he?”
“Yep. Much as I hate to admit it, though, he’s also one of the best doctors I’ve ever worked with. He’s a nerd even among the other doctors.”
Sarah laughed, then winced when the movement jarred her shoulder. “I guess I’d rather have a smart, nerdy doctor than someone who can charm the pants off me but graduated last in his class.”
Jenny adjusted the covers and helped Sarah sit more comfortably. “You do have another visitor waiting outside if you’re up for more company.”
“Is it..?” Sarah caught herself, not wanting the nurse to see how anxious she was to see Phillip, or how worried she was that he hadn’t come to visit her yet. It just wasn’t what she had expected from him. She kept her voice neutral. “I mean…is it Phillip?”
Jenny clucked her tongue in what Sarah was sure was disapproval. “No, a young woman. She was here last night. Seemed real nice. Jill, she said her name was.”
Relief flooded through her. At last! Someone who could give her real answers. “Oh, yes. Please send her in. I really need to talk to her.”
Jill came in shortly after Jenny left. Sarah thought she looked drawn and tired, a look she covered up quickly with a look of concern for Sarah.
“How’re you doin’, sweetie?” The willowy blonde came right over and gave Sarah a gentle hug.
“I’m going to be fine. The doc just left. Not much on
bedside manner but good on medical advice, I hear. He’s keeping me one more day ‘cause he wants to watch my headache.”
“Another day?” Jill frowned. “I’ll let Detective Hassini know that. He’ll want to talk to you.”
“Who’s Detective Hassini?”
Jill arranged the flowers she’d brought on the windowsill so Sarah could see them. “He’s the one doing the investigation. He’s a little rough but I know his heart’s in the right place. I’m pretty sure he believes us but the hospital staff has already made statements that have him pretty concerned about you.”
“Jill, what are you talking about? Concerned about me for what? It was an accident…I think. Beth told me a little about what happened. The guy didn’t see the light and went straight on through the intersection and plowed into me. He walked away, I’m here in the hospital. What’s to investigate? Don’t they have his license and phone number and stuff?”
Jill shook her head, sitting down on the side of the bed. She picked up Sarah’s good hand and held it a moment before explaining.
“You and Phillip must’ve had one hell of a session Sunday night.”
Sarah blushed. “We did. He used the…” She paused, finding it difficult to share such an intimacy even with a fellow slave. If there was anyone who would understand, it would be Jill. Rolling her eyes at her own foolishness, she blurted it out. “He used the cane. It was the most incredible feeling I’d ever felt. Hurt, yet the orgasm afterward was…”
She had no words to describe it. Jill grinned and squeezed her hand. “I know. You feel helpless and the pain, sharp at the moment of impact, courses through every vein, even out to your fingertips. You can’t breathe and when you do, you gulp in big breaths of air as your body goes haywire. And just as you get control again and the pain eases, the cane descends again and the tension between your legs becomes almost unbearable.”
