by Wendy Wang
This particular painting always left Charlie feeling lonely. Maybe that's how Ruthanne had felt. Something dropped to the floor behind her, drawing her attention. Charlie approached the blue glass marble with caution.
"Ruthanne?" Charlie whispered. A milky green glass marble hopped out of a shallow bowl on one of the shelves and rolled to the edge and stopped. Charlie picked it up from the shelf and held it in the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes for a second and the screams started. Far off at first, the sound reverberated through her head. Then beneath the screams she heard the words my angel, my angel. Born of pain. Be my angel.
A warm, heavy hand touched her shoulder and Charlie screamed. Her eyes flew open and she rounded on the hand's owner with a gasp.
Cameron stood beside her, a concerned look on his face. "Are you all right?"
Charlie shook him off and took a step back. "I'm fine. Why did you do that? I was just starting to make contact."
"I'm sorry. I was passing by on my way to the bathroom and you were making a strange noise and your eyes rolled back in your head. I thought maybe you were having some sort of seizure or something," he said.
Liar. She'd had her eyes closed. Charlie silently counted to ten to contain the anger she felt bubbling close to the surface. She took a deep breath and blew it out before speaking. "Listen. I know you don't like me."
"I never said . . ." he started.
Charlie held up her hand and cut him off. "You never had to. I can feel your doubt rolling off of you in waves. I get it. It's normal. But don't ever touch me again while I'm working. Do you understand me?"
Cameron held his hands up in surrender. "Sorry, I really did think that you needed help."
"Believe me, if I need help I will ask for it." Charlie folded her arms across her chest. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to continue working. Alone."
"Sure. No problem. I'm sorry I upset you," he said but somehow Charlie didn't believe him.
She waited until he left the room and then closed the door behind him. The glass marble pressed into her palm, cool and hard. She opened her fingers and stared down at it.
What are you trying to tell me Ruthanne?
A pink, floral-themed quilt covered the full-sized mattress. It looked as if it had been hand quilted. Charlie ran her hand over the top of it and her eyelids grew heavy. She distinctly got the feeling she should lie down and rest her eyes for just a minute. It had been such a long day. The mattress squeaked when she stretched out on top of it. Her fingers tightened around the marble again and she held it close to her heart. Her eyes drifted closed and a whisper echoed through her mind.
My angel, my angel, my angel. I will make you into my angel.
When Charlie opened her eyes she was no longer in Ruthanne's bedroom. She was lying on her back, and her arms and legs wouldn’t move. She jerked against the restraints holding her down. Cold seeped through the back of her clothes, chilling her. The table must be metal. Panic squeezed her chest making it hard to breathe. Her heart clamored into her throat, beating so loudly it almost drowned out the sound of him talking.
You’re safe Charlie. He can’t hurt you. She’s trying to tell you something. Just listen.
Charlie tried to turn her head but found it locked in place. Panic threatened to choke the breath from her again and she closed her eyes. He had thought of everything.
She looked as far left as she could and saw rusty metal walls. She fought the urge to shiver when all of a sudden she heard the scrape and rattle of a metal door. And she looked as best she could toward that sound. His heavy boots echoed on the floor, reminding her of a childhood memory. An abandoned boxcar that had been left in a field near the train tracks behind Bunny's house. Charlie and Lisa and Jen had explored it one Saturday afternoon when they were ten and eleven.
"Good morning, Selene," he said. Charlie tried to memorize the sound of his voice. It struck her as odd that it had a pleasing tenor and not a trace of creepiness or anything scary about it. Maybe how normal he sounded should have scared her more. "Hopefully you were able to rest. We have a big day today."
His boots scraped against the metal floor as if one of his legs was dragging a little. Like he had a limp. A heavy hand wrapped around her ankle. She tried to tip her chin down so she could get a better look at him, but he was just a silhouette and it made her eyes ache after a minute. He ran his hand from her ankle across the top of her foot and moved to the end of the table so that the bottom of her foot was perpendicular to him. He ran his thumb along the center of her arch until he got to the heel.
"I'm sorry that I have to do this but I can't have you running away again, Selene."
The thin sound of metal clinking sent an electric shock through her body. She struggled against the strap holding her head in place trying to find that sound. A flash of silver drew her attention and she saw the long thin sharp rod he held. "Don't you want to be an angel?"
"No," she said and found her words garbled as if behind tape. Adrenaline coursed through her body and she fought against the restraints holding her.
Just a dream Charlie. Calm down.
Her heart didn't listen. It beat harder and her breath felt short and rushed. "No, no, no."
"It will hurt less if you don't fight it, Selene."
Tears seeped from the corners of her eyes, burning a path along the side of her face to her ears. He grabbed her right foot and jerked it hard. Sharp white-hot pain drilled into the bottom of her heel.
Charlie flew up from the bed, choking on a scream. In less than a minute Jason was in the room. Charlie blinked away the tears and the pale yellow walls of Ruthanne's room appeared. Jason reached for her and she stepped back. A searing pain in her heel made her scream again. Jason took a step forward and she held her hand up to stop him. "No. Not yet."
She hobbled over to the edge of the bed and sat down. She slipped off her tennis shoe and the white footie sock she wore was soaked in blood.
"What the hell?" Jason muttered he knelt beside her. "What happened?"
Charlie peeled the sock off. A small wound in the center of her heel dripped with blood. She pressed the sock against it applying as much pressure she could stand.
"Holy crap, we've got to get you to the hospital."
"It'll stop in just a minute, Jason. I'm sure."
"Charlie that looks deep," Jason said.
"How are you going to explain it? To the doctor?" She looked at him with confusion blurring her eyes.
"I don't know. We’ll tell them you stepped on a nail or something. But you're going to the hospital, no arguments."
"Oh my Lord." Ms. Coker's voice came from the doorway. All the blood had drained out of her face making her look tired and a little dead.
"I'm so sorry, Ms. Coker."
"What happened?" she asked.
"I …" Charlie traded looks with Jason. "I think I must've stepped on a nail or something."
"A nail?" Ms. Coker walked in and looked around at her impeccably clean floor. "Where?"
"I'm not sure."
"It doesn't matter. I'm taking her to the hospital."
Ms. Coker wrapped her arms around her waist. "Yes. That's a good idea."
"I'll be in touch Ms. Coker, okay?" Jason said. "If I have any new information."
"Thank you, Lieutenant. I appreciate that."
"Do you think you can walk?" Jason asked Charlie.
"I don't know. Y'all may need to help me," Charlie said.
"Let me get my first-aid kit. I will wrap that up so that you can get her out of here without too much bloodshed," Ms. Coker said, then disappeared down the hallway.
Charlie glanced up at the door and saw Cameron standing in the middle of the hallway watching this scene unfold wearing a critical expression on his face. She didn't have the energy to deal with his negativity. Ms. Coker reappeared with a white plastic box with the Red Cross logo on the top. She popped it open and took two large gauze pads and ripped open their paper wrapping. Gently she pressed one against
the bottom of Charlie's heel.
"Lieutenant, there’s some tape in the box there." Ms. Coker tilted her head towards the first-aid kit.
"Of course," Jason said. He rummaged through it until he found a roll of tape and a small pair of blunt-ended scissors. He popped the tape out of the metal ring that protected it and pulled several inches from the roll. Ms. Coker wrapped the tape around Charlie's foot. Then she took the scissors out of Jason's hands and cut it. She peeled another long piece and wrapped the other side of the gauze around Charlie's ankle, taping it as well so that it would stay in place.
"Now do you think you can walk?" Jason asked. Charlie grabbed her shoe and stuffed the bloody sock inside. "Take my elbow and help me up."
She put most of her weight on her uninjured leg and with Jason's help was able to get to her feet. Charlie limped forward on the ball of her foot. Jason kept one hand wrapped around her upper arm for balance.
When they got to the top of the steps Jason scooped her up as if she weighed nothing. Charlie yelped and started to protest.
"I don't want to hear it," he said cutting her off. He slowly took the steps and Charlie wrapped her arms around his neck. She glanced at Cameron coming down behind them. He stared at her with his hard brown eyes as if she were some sort of traitor. She could feel his dislike for her growing with every step they took. Jason carried Charlie out of the house and down to his Dodge Charger. He managed to fish his keys out of his pocket without dropping her and unlocked the doors with his thumb. "Cam, can you open the door for me?"
Cameron didn't say a word but did as he was asked. Jason eased Charlie to her feet and helped her slide into the bucket seat.
"What about my car?" Charlie tucked her purse in the floorboard behind her calf so it would help elevate her heel off the carpet.
"Cameron will drive it to my apartment and park it. Once the doctor fixes you up I'll have him follow me to your house and we’ll drop off your car. Okay?"
"Fine," Charlie said in a sulky voice. She fished her keys out of her purse and handed them to Jason.
"Good. Now watch your hands. " Jason said, closing the door on her.
Jason gave the keys to Cameron and the two of them exchanged a few more words that Charlie couldn't hear. The look on Cameron's face told her he was not happy about the situation.
Charlie pulled her phone from her purse and quickly jotted off a text.
I had an accident. I'm not ready to cancel our picnic yet. Heading to the ER now. I am okay. Jason is being overly cautious.
Tom responded to her text almost immediately.
What happened?"
Not sure exactly. Weird encounter.
What kind of encounter?
I had a vision. It got kind of physical.
You sure you're okay?"
Yes.
Which hospital?
You don't have to come.
Yes I do. Which hospital?
Charlie smiled. And for a brief second her heart felt like it might burst. She would never admit it to his face but she was glad that Tom worried about her and that he wanted to be there with her.
St. Frances in West Ashley.
I'll be waiting for you when you get there.
Charlie stared at the screen, grinning.
Jason climbed into the driver side and buckled up. "Did you text Jen and Lisa?"
"Not yet," Charlie said, letting out a sigh and buckling her seatbelt. "I'll do that now."
Jason turned his car around and sped down the long driveway, heading back towards West Ashley.
Chapter 5
"What is he doing here?" Jason grumbled as he carried Charlie toward the automatic doors of the ER.
"I texted him. You be nice," Charlie scolded as they approached the building.
"I've already talked to the nurse inside. She's expecting you. There's about a thirty-minute wait unless you're having a heart attack or are bleeding so profusely that it could endanger your life. Are you bleeding that badly?" Tom asked.
"No," Charlie said.
"Do you need some help, Lieutenant?" Tom asked.
Jason narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on Charlie, hiking her legs a little higher in the crook of his arms and swinging her away from Tom as he hurried along. "I got her. Thanks."
"Wonderful." Tom offered up a confidant smile, and it only seemed to irritate Jason more. Charlie bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing as the three of them walked through the ER doors. The nurse behind the reception counter looked up, her gaze shifting to Charlie's bloody foot. She directed a nearby orderly and he met them with a wheelchair. Jason set her down gently and Charlie shifted in the seat until she found a comfortable spot.
"So, what happened here?" the nurse behind the counter asked.
"I had an encounter with something sharp. I’m not sure exactly what but it went pretty deep," Charlie said. She dug through her purse until she found her wallet then pulled her insurance card and driver's license from the see through ID slot and handed them to the nurse.
“A nail?” The nurse glanced at the cards and attached them to a clipboard with a form and gave it back to Charlie.
“I don’t …” Charlie started.
“Yeah, it was probably a nail,” the nurse muttered. Her pinched expression didn’t change. It was as if she’d seen this sort of thing a thousand times today. “Fill this out.”
“Elaine, she’s bleeding,” the round-faced orderly said, pointing to the drops of blood pooling beneath Charlie’s foot and dripping onto the floor. He seemed as unruffled as the nurse.
“All right,” the nurse said. They exchanged a glance and the orderly nodded.
"Y'all come on back,” the orderly said with an easy smile. The only thing that made him look older than twelve was the hint of a five-o’clock shadow. He swiped his badge over a sensor and pushed through the heavy door leading to the emergency exam rooms.
Tom slid behind Charlie’s wheel chair and followed the orderly. He leaned over and whispered into her ear, "I guess it won't be too long of a wait after all."
The orderly hummed to himself and led them down the corridor to room number eleven. Tom pushed her into the small room with a large glass window and equipment lining the walls. He fiddled with the narrow emergency room bed until it reached the lowest height and helped Charlie transfer from the chair.
“This controls the bed. Do you need more pillows?” The orderly handed her a large controller attached to a cord.
“I think I’m good. This isn’t my first rodeo,” Charlie said as she scanned the remote looking for a button to raise the head of the bed to a 45-degree angle. When she found it, she pressed it and the bed whirred to life, moving into the upright position. Tom fluffed a pillow and placed it behind her. Charlie lay back and let out a deep sigh, then started looking over the clipboard.
A tiny, chipper nurse wearing pink scrubs and a friendly smile appeared in the door. "Hi, how are y’all today?” Her long dark hair reached the middle of her back in a neat French braid. She grabbed a pair of latex gloves from a box on a wall and pulled them on. “I’m Jolie and I’ll be your nurse today. So what happened here?”
“She stepped on a nail,” Jason piped up quickly.
Jolie gave him a side-eyed glance. “Are you her husband?”
“Uh, no," he said.
“Okay then, I really need her to answer my questions. Okay?” The smile never left the nurses lips. Jolie the nurse was barely been five feet tall and might have weighed eighty pounds soaking wet, but the firmness in her cordial tone made it very clear she was in charge here. Charlie stifled a laugh.
Jason’s face reddened and he mumbled, “Okay.”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” Charlie waved her off in the most nonchalant way she could muster. “I stepped on something but I’m not sure what. It was sharp though and it felt like my heel was on fire.”
“Sounds painful,” the nurse said. She pulled a disposable, clean under pad from one of the cabin
ets and gently lifted Charlie’s calf and deftly slid it beneath her bleeding foot. “I’m just gonna pull this bandage off so the doctor can get a good look at what’s going on.”
Tom took the chair on the right side of the bed. He slipped his hand over Charlie’s, giving it a supportive squeeze, while the nurse peeled the bandage Ruthanne’s mother had improvised from Charlie’s wound. Jolie frowned and went to the cabinet again, bringing back a large gauze pad. She pressed it against the bottom of Charlie’s foot to stop the bleeding. Charlie jerked her foot and for a moment the world grayed at the edges.
“I’m sorry, hon. I know it hurts,” the nurse said, reapplying pressure to the foot. “But we need to get this bleeding stopped.”
Charlie squeezed Tom’s hand. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye and she swiped it away and took a breath through her nose and blew it out through her mouth.
"So what have we got?" the doctor said as he rounded the corner into the small room. He stopped beside the nurse and his sharp blue eyes surveyed the situation before settling on Charlie. A familiar grin spread across his face. "Charlie? Charlie Carver, is that you?"
Charlie found herself staring into the face of Dr. Matthew Skerrit, her husband’s best friend.
Charlie mustered a smile. “Hey Matt. I was kinda hoping you weren’t working today.”
"Come on Charlie, you know me better than that. I'm always working." His grin widened. He was classically handsome, with short, dark hair, perfectly groomed dark brows to match that framed his large blue eyes.
"Charlie Carver,” he said again, sliding the wheeled stool up to the foot of the bed. He donned a pair of latex gloves from the box on the wall and took a seat.
“It’s Payne now. You know I dropped Scott’s name.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right,” he mused. His smile faded. “So what’s going on? What’s brought you to my ER?”
Charlie bristled. Matt’s way of making the world sound as if it belonged to him had always rubbed her the wrong way. “I stepped on something sharp.”
