Dazzled and Dazed

by Harley McRide

  “This truck is registered to Jackson Tolsen, I already know and, lady, I know him personally. He doesn’t let anyone drive his truck—EVER.” Cooper laughed and shook his head.

  “He is my boyfriend,” I screamed and kicked out when the Officer Tepper began to pull me back.

  “The one who is hurt, right.” Officer Cooper laughed.

  “You are an asshole,” I snapped, and he grinned.

  “And you are under arrest.”

  Officer Tepper dragged me back to the police car that stopped me, and then opened the back door, put a hand on my head and pushed me in. The whole time I was cussing, Jet needed me. What the fuck was I gonna do? I didn’t have time for this. I needed to get to the hospital. I needed a plan fast. What would get the cops to take me to the hospital and not the jail? I moaned. The officer went to shut the door and I grabbed my stomach and yelled.

  “I’m gonna be sick! Oh my God, I think I hurt something when you were putting me in the car. I’m gonna sue your ass now. And the O’Malleys will be pissed the fuck off if I am hurt. I mean pissed. Sean, Fin, Falon? Oh yeah, they will be upset.”

  Officer Cooper was just getting into the car, and he turned around and said, “If you are faking it, I will so write you up on more charges. I will take you to the hospital because I’m required to. Do not throw up in my car either, I just had it cleaned after the last asshole threw up in here. And since I know you are faking it, do not stick your finger down your throat.”

  I gagged a little, and then moaned. “I am serious. Oh, OWIE! My stomach, sharp pains. What have you done to me?”

  Officer Tepper leaned down. “You know you need to take her in now?”

  Officer Cooper sighed, “Yeah, follow me in, and call for back up just in case she is fucking with me.”

  Tepper chuckled and said, “You will never live this down.”

  “Fuck off,” Cooper said, and I moaned louder.

  “I’m going to throw up. I can taste it at the back of my throat,” then I made a bunch of gagging noises.

  “Shit, follow me,” Cooper said, and he backed up and yelled out the window. “And have the truck towed.”

  I closed my eyes. Fuck, Jet was gonna kill me, but whatever. I needed to think about what I was gonna do when I got to the hospital. I needed a plan. I needed to figure out what was going on with Jet. I bent my head so the officer couldn’t see the smile on my face. Maybe they would put me in the room next to Jet, and then Sean would see me, and tell this dipshit to uncuff me. Everything would be good. I just needed to get there.

  Copper picked up that little mic thingy cops had and said he was taking me to the Bronx Medical Center, the dispatcher said, “While you are there, go to the third floor and meet with Detective Marshall, he has asked for protection for a room there. You and Tepper have been assigned to the detail for now.”

  “Ten-four,” Cooper said, and I frowned, Jet was already on the third floor? That was the ICU. He was really hurt and in the Intensive Care. Shit, I needed to get there, going to the ER wasn’t going to work. I needed to get out of this situation and into the hospital.

  “That is who I need to see,” I said to Cooper who snorted.

  “Who?”

  “The man in the ICU. I told you it was my boyfriend.”

  “And I told you, I have a list a mile long of charges I am going to file against you. Sit back and shut up. When we get there, I will turn you over to another officer. Until then, sit back and shut up,” Cooper said.

  “Seriously? You are such a fucking dick!” I screamed, and then leaned back and kicked the mesh separating me from the front. I felt the tears of frustration flowing already. I needed to get to Jet and Sean. I was hormonal dammit, why didn’t he get that? I mean, I could ask him to pull over for a candy bar, chocolate would calm me down. I knew it would.

  The car pulled into the ER parking lot, and when Cooper got out and opened the door, I just bolted. “Hey!” I heard Cooper say and ignored him as I ran between two cars and ducked. I was in trouble, and I didn’t give a shit. I was gonna get my answers before they took me to the jail. Fuck them.

  “Get back here!” I heard Tepper yell and I peeked so I could see them, and then ran down the aisle between two different cars. When I got there, I thought about the magician I saw on television who escaped being cuffed by getting his hands in front of him. All I had to do was bring my arms down under my butt, and then slide my legs through one by one, easy.

  “Ms. Williams, come on, don’t make it worse for yourself,” Cooper called.

  I peeked again and saw more cop cars blocking the exits, and I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t going anywhere, geez, you would think I killed someone. I was gonna make sure the big guys in the department knew they shouldn’t be wasting taxpayers’ money on innocent citizens. This was off the hook stupid. I leaned back, rolled on my back and got one leg out, and I grinned. I tried the other leg, and I couldn’t get it through. I heard footsteps, and I swore under my breath, and then rolled and stood. My hands were cuffed between my legs, and I was bent over running. Dammit all to hell, this was uncomfortable.

  I popped my head up to see where everyone was, and Cooper was standing there shaking his head. “You know we can see you, right?”

  “Fuck,” I swore and ducked back down and moved again, every time I got somewhere I tried to get my other leg through. Cooper followed and when he got too close I had to run. This was just pissing me off, and until finally, I was close to the main entrance and I was going to make a run for it. Once I got inside, there was a bathroom right there. I could run in and get the cuffs sorted. Surely, I could pick the lock on them. Then I could find Sean and Jet. That was my plan, and I was going to succeed. I took a deep breath, and then ran. Hands cuffed between my legs and bent over, my hair flying everywhere, I had hit a new low, I knew it.

  I made it ten steps, ten lousy steps and an arm wrapped around my middle and yanked me in the air like I was a fucking twelve pack of beer. I looked over my shoulder to see Cooper’s laughing face.

  “Dammit!” I yelled, which made him laugh harder.

  “Lady, you are seriously going to be a legend in the morning meetings. I swear no one can top this shit. I’m gonna be Officer of the Week! Now, obviously I think you are faking it, but to CYA I’m taking you to the ER and letting them check you out. Possibly give you a mental eval, and then I will take you to jail.”

  I went limp in his arms and sighed and shook my head. I knew I looked a sight, my hands still cuffed between my legs and being carried to the ER. “Please, please, please, while we are here can you please check on Jackson Tolsen? Please, I swear I will stop trying to escape.”

  Cooper chuckled and said, “Yeah, I can give you that.”

  Thank God, I thought as the doors to the ER opened, and the officer carried me through. I searched the ER on the off-chance Jet was still there, but no one looked familiar. Cooper walked to the desk where several nurses and a doctor stood.

  “I need to get her evaluated. She said she had a pain in her stomach.”

  The nurse frowned and looked at the way Cooper was holding me. “Officer, I’m not sure carrying her like that is a good thing if she is having pain in her stomach.”

  I rolled my eyes, seriously, the nurse was going with that? I lifted my head. “My name is Brit Williams, and my insurance should be in the system. My doctor is Jeremy Mansfield.”

  “Take her to room one, and I will send the next doctor.”

  The doctor who was standing there lifted his head. He had dark hair, and dark skin, he looked like he was from India maybe, and he said, “Dr. Mansfield? He is going to be joining my medical group. I will see her.”

  I nodded, and then looked at his name tag and choked. “Um...yep, Dr. Vāgēna?”

  He shook his head, “No it is pronounced Vay-geena, Dr. Richard Vay-geena, a long a and e.”

  I cleared my throat and nodded trying not to laugh. “Oh, okay, um...can you please tell me if my boyfriend, Jackson Tolsen, is
okay?”

  The doctor frowned and shook his head. “No, I cannot discuss other patients. He’s your boyfriend you say? So you know the O’Malley, Roark, and Macaroy families?”

  Relief coursed through me, finally. “YES!”

  The doctor shook his head and sighed. “I should have known.”

  “What does that mean??” I asked as Cooper chuckled and carried me to the room. Once I was in there, he uncuffed me, waited for the nurse to help me into a gown, and then he cuffed me to the bed, TO THE FUCKING BED!

  “What if I have to pee in a cup?” I snapped, and he grinned.

  “Well, we will have to see. Should be even more entertaining.”

  The nurse bustled around and took my vitals and asked questions. I was a woman on the edge, and all I could think about was Jet lying in bed, not knowing how much I loved him. Sean, standing by his side, wanting me there to help him through this. And where was I? Handcuffed to the fucking bed. I felt the tears gather and I looked up at the nurse when she asked me what my symptoms were.

  I sniffed and said, “My stomach is hurting very bad, it feels like there is a huge rock in it. And my heart is hurting because the man I love is somewhere in this hospital and all I was trying to do was get to his side before he possibly dies to make sure he knew I loved him. You see, I was a little stubborn about getting together with him, and well...I feel like I have wasted some time not telling him how I feel. I mean, you always hear about those people who have loved ones die and the only thing they could say, was ‘I wish I could tell them how much I loved them.' I mean, I’m a walking Greek tragedy, and no one cares.” Tears were flowing now, I couldn’t help it, I was seriously freaking out, and no one cared. What must they all think of me? “I just want to see him and know he is okay. I know he is here.”

  The nurse smiled sadly at me. “I am sorry, dear, I can’t give you any information.”

  I began to sob, and the nurse took my vitals while I cried. This sucked ass. I thought if I had just stayed home, I would be with Reilly. The doctor came in and asked me the same thing the nurse had. When I told him my stomach, which now really hurt because I was crying.

  “My life sucks,” I cried when he pushed on my stomach.

  He pushed lower, and then said, “I am going to run some blood tests, and see what comes back. We will go from there.”

  I sniffed and nodded, “Can I get some Kleenex, the box is too far away?”

  The doctor sighed and put the box on the bed next to me and shook his head, then left. My head fell back on the pillow, and I stared at the ceiling trying to think of how to get out of here. I couldn’t be in the same hospital and not know what was going on with Jet. It was impossible. I needed to get there. I moved my arm, and the cuffs clanked on the rail. I looked at it, and then sat up.

  The nurse came in carrying a tub type container, and she sat it on the bed next to me. Then she opened it and pulled out a long rubber tourniquet and held it out. “Right or left?”

  “Left,” I said and moved my arm. “Would be a little hard with handcuffs.”

  “Sorry, I forgot,” she muttered, and then wrapped the rubber around my arm, and then handed me a squeezy ball. “Slowly squeeze the ball a few times.”

  I did as she asked and waited while she found a vein in my arm, then she said, “Small poke,” I leaned back and waited. She filled her vials, and then turned around, I reached in the tub and pulled out a tiny screwdriver, it looked like it was for eyeglasses but just a little bigger. I wondered briefly why it was in there, but honestly, I didn’t give a shit.

  The nurse gathered her stuff up and said, “The results will be back in soon. Just rest. Can I get you anything?”

  “Information about Jackson Tolsen?”

  She shook her head, and then walked out. I waited for a minute, and then looked up. I saw Cooper talking to the security men and another police officer. He had to be leaving soon. I was right, about ten minutes later he left, and the officer grabbed a chair and sat down outside my door. Fuck.

  Slowly I sat up, and then I looked at the metal bar. Then I laid down on my side and used the tool to unscrew the bolts holding it together. I was quiet, and I was as quick as I could be. Once I was done, I pulled the rail off, and then looked at it. I couldn’t get the cuff off, but I did get the rail off. I bit my lip, it was a little obvious but whatever, I needed to get up to the ICU. I needed clothes, but they took them away. Oh well, flashing my silky underwear was a chance I was going to take.

  As luck would have it, suddenly the ER became a crazy mess. I heard someone screaming, and people began running. Then I heard a scuffle and saw the officer who had been sitting outside my door, along with three security officers, holding a huge man. His face was red with blood running down it as he yelled at another man who was being held back by other officers and security with blood coming from his leg.

  I slipped out of the room, carrying the side rail, wearing only the hospital gown and my underwear and socks, then I ran to the door. I looked at the map and found the yellow line on the floor like I was supposed to, and I followed it. Why hospitals suddenly went to this way of directing traffic was beyond me. Follow one wrong color, and suddenly you were in the morgue staring at dead bodies. I grimaced, I needed to stop thinking about that, Zoey and I had nightmares for weeks.

  I turned when I heard voices and a nice elderly couple rounded the corner and stopped and stared at me. Then I heard someone yelling, and I looked down the hallway I had come from and saw the nurse running toward me, yelling my name. Shit, I thought, and I turned and saw the sign for the stairs, and I ran. The elderly couple was still staring at me. Shit, shit, shit, shit, I chanted in my head as I ran up the stairs.

  “Ms. Williams!” the nurse called, and I looked down and grimaced.

  “Sorry,” I called and kept running.

  “STOP!” I heard a male voice yell, and I began to take the stairs two at a time, carrying the rail and knowing my ass was flying in the wind because I felt a breeze.

  “I swear I will come back,” I called and kept climbing. How the fuck many stairs did it take to get to the third floor? I was so gonna start doing yoga again, or maybe Zumba, I heard that was awesomely fun. I sucked in a breath and chanced looking over the railing and saw the nurse, the officer, two security guards, and some lady in a business suit running behind me. All yelling something but I couldn’t understand a damn thing. Oh well, I was on a mission dammit, I needed to see Jet and tell him I loved him.

  “Holy shit,” I wheezed, and then saw the sign for the third floor. “Finally.”

  I reached the door and the rail I was carrying felt like a VW bus. I was breathing hard, but I was determined. I opened the door and looked up and down the hallway. Cooper was supposed to be guarding, but I didn’t see him. The floors were set up was in a circular layout. The rooms were on the outer wall, so the windows looked outside, and in the middle was offices, bathrooms, storage, janitor closets, anything and everything the floor would need.

  I could see the nurses station, and I turned and ran the other way. I heard the door behind me opening and the pounding of feet as the nurse and the rest of the train that followed. “Stop!” the nurse yelled, and I groaned and ran faster. I reached the end of the corridor, and then turned and ran down the short hallway and turned and looked down the long hallway. At the very end sat Cooper in a chair, and I began to sprint and yell.

  “SEAN O'MALLEY! JACKSON TOLSEN! I LOVE YOU!” I screamed, and as I hit the middle of the hallway, two ICU nurses stepped out and frowned as I ran by them holding the bed rail with my ass hanging out.

  Officer Cooper stood and shook his head, laughing as I neared the room. I couldn’t stop, and no one came out. Where the hell was Sean and the others? They had to be in the waiting room, where the fuck was it? Officer Cooper stepped out and tried to catch me, but I evaded him and turned the corner. The nurse from the ER, the officer who was guarding me, two security guards, and now two nurses from the ICU were all chasing me. O
fficer Cooper bent over laughing but didn’t join in on the chase.

  “Will you please stop!” the nurse from the ER said breathlessly. “I am not paid enough for this.”

  “SEAN O'MALLEY AND JACKSON TOLSEN, I LOVE YOU!” I screamed again as I turned the corner on the short hallway to the other side where I entered. Finally, I saw Petal step out into the hallway, and she turned and stared at me.

  “What the fuck?” she yelled.

  “Can’t stop, find Sean, the coppers are after me!” I said and ran by while Petal laughed and shook her head.

  “THIS HOSPITAL TOTALLY LOVES US!” Petal called, but I didn’t look back. I made it to the end of the hallway, the rail was getting heavy, and as I turned, I saw they were all still chasing me. Oh my God, I wasn’t fast, it had to be adrenalin, and I was gonna die from overexertion.

  “Goddammit, woman, stop!” I heard the police officer yelling.

  Then over the loudspeaker I heard, “CODE STRONG IN THE ICU, I REPEAT CODE STRONG IN THE ICU.”

  “What the fuck is that?” I yelled back to the nurse.

  “They are calling for reinforcements.”

  “Oh shit,” I said, and then ran faster. Officer Cooper was now in his chair laughing so hard I could see the veins on his forehead as I rounded the corner.

  “JACKSON TOLSEN, SEAN O'MALLEY, I LOVE YOU!” I screamed, and then made it to the opposite side and saw Petal, Oliva, Sonia, Ms. Maddie, Zoey, Brooklyn, Angelique, Maria, Mel, and Mia lined up against the wall cheering for me.

  “You go, girl, the guys are on their way!” Petal yelled, and then I heard a scuffle, and I turned and saw Olivia and Sonia had jumped in front of the nurse and tackled her. They all went down, but not gracefully. The officer jumped over, and the security guard tripped. The other nurses stopped to help, and so it was down to one. But as the officer reached Petal who was last in line, she stuck out her leg and tripped him.