Chapter Six #2
I stare at him like he’s insane as I try to wrap my mind around why he would want to take me to the hospital. “I’m fine,” I say. I just want everything to go away so my head stops hurting.
“You’re acting confused, and you’re bleeding everywhere, Felix. Come on.”
I try to jerk away from him, but his grip tightens. “I am fine ,” I snap.
“Either you can go with me, or I’ll drag you there.”
“But I’m fine. There’s no sense in going to the hospital when I’m not seriously hurt anywhere.”
He ignores me and continues to pull me after him into the foyer where Lane is still standing.
“Can I change out of these clothes? They’re all dirty, I’ll get your car dirty,” I say as I suddenly realize just how dirty I am.
“No, come on,” he says as he grabs my shoes and kneels. He steadies me with one hand as he pushes my shoe on and ties it before helping me into my other shoe.
“How badly is he hurt?” Lane asks.
“He probably has a concussion. We’ll see what the doctors say.”
“This is why I told you I didn’t want anyone here. I told you not to bring anyone here and now he’s hurt because of me. He wasn’t fucking answering and there was nothing I could do but fucking sit here!”
“Lane, we’ll deal with this later. They won’t come here with the security cameras,” James says. “You okay here? Can you contact Walsh for me?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be back when we’re done at the hospital and take you to a hotel.”
“Okay,” Lane says, and James pushes me out the door. He opens the car door for me and helps me inside. Pain touches me as I cradle my hand to my chest while my head throbs mercilessly. I lean to the side as I hold my stomach.
James gets into the driver’s seat and looks over at me. “You okay?” he asks as he takes a wash rag he must have grabbed and holds it against the side of my head. “Can you hold that there?”
I nod and take it from him.
He begins to drive, and I slowly lean back. “Can you tell me who it was? Did he give you a name?”
“Red…something.”
“Victor?”
I nod before instantly regretting the movement.
“Where were you at?”
“I was…heading home from the store.”
“Did he just come up and confront you or did he take you somewhere?”
I’m silent for a moment as I try to think about what he is asking. “He pulled me into an alley. Why’s this matter?”
“Because I want to know what happened, and you’re being very stubborn. So then did he talk to you?”
“Yeah.” I just want him to shut up, so I can close my eyes and sink into the nothingness.
“Did he say anything other than what you’d already told me?”
“No…just to stay away from him.”
“What’d his men hit you with? It looks like a blunt object. Was it a pipe or a baseball bat?”
“Bat.”
“Anything else?”
I shake my head and it makes my vision swim, so I stop. “I want to go home. I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine, Felix, you’re hurt.”
“It’s not like it hasn’t happened to me before. I’m fine,” I snap and instantly regret my choice of words.
“What do you mean, ‘happened to you before’?”
“Nothing, forget I said anything. Just take me back home, you’re pissing me off.”
“Someone has beaten you around before?” he asks quietly.
“No, and I’m fine, so take me home.”
When we arrive at the hospital, I grudgingly follow James inside. The nurse smiles at me kindly as she leads us to a small room.
“The doctor will be right in to get you all cleaned up, okay?” she asks as she takes my blood pressure. I try to ignore her, but she never stops smiling, even when she lays out a gown.
“We’re going to go ahead and put a gown on. Do you need me to help?” she asks.
“Nope,” I say.
“I can help him if he needs it, thanks,” James says softly, and the woman nods before leaving the room. He walks over to where I’m sitting on the bed and begins to unbutton my shirt. He has it nearly off before I realize what he’s doing.
“I can get it,” I say as I take the last button from him. I look up at him. “James, I’m fine, really. It’s not a big deal. My head just hurts so I want to lie down and sleep it off.”
“Okay,” he says with a nod as he pulls up the gown and helps me into it before pushing my pants down.
I kick them off my feet just as the doctor comes in.
The man walks up to me and smiles. “Hi there, I’m Dr. Troy Keppler. Let’s get you cleaned up, alright?”
“Yeah.”
“Anything really painful?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“You’re favoring your left hand. Can I see it?” he asks as he reaches for me.
“No, I’m fine,” I say.
“I think he has a concussion. He’s being very obstinate,” James says.
“Alright, we’ll prepare for a scan,” he says as he gently takes my hand. It hurts, and I immediately want to pull it back. “We’ll also get an x-ray of your hand, alright?”
“Can I go home?” I ask as I stand up and head for the door. The doctor blocks me before I get too far, and I stare at him as he smiles at me.
“As soon as we are done, alright?” he asks as he urges me back to the table. “Have you thrown up at all?”
“No,” I lie as I sit back down.
He keeps talking to me and asking me questions as he starts cleaning me up. I become more and more impatient as they run scans, x-rays, and stitch me up.
“I’m back, how are you doing?” James asks.
“You left?” I ask, confused.
“Yes, remember me telling you that I was taking Lane to a hotel?” he asks.
“Hmm…yeah,” I say even though I don’t.
“So, what’s the prognosis?” he asks me since the doctor had left the room.
“Uh…I’m fine.”
“Is that why your hand is wrapped up?”
“It’s not broken. Just really effing achy.”
“And that’s why you have your head and arm stitched up?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you have a concussion?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Yes, you do,” the nurse says as she walks in.
“Hmm…Can I go now?”
“As soon as the doctor gives the okay.”
“Fantastic. He gave the okay, let’s go,” I say as I stand up and head for the door. James blocks me and proceeds to deter me until the doctor actually gives us the okay and allows us to leave.
I follow James over to his car and watch as he pulls the door open. I’m on enough pain medication that not much seems to hurt although I feel like I could just sleep right here in the parking lot. Slowly, I slide into the seat and pull the door closed.
James sits down in the driver’s seat and looks over at me. “I’m going to take you to my house. Is there anything you need at Lane’s house for the night?”
“Where’s Lane?” I ask.
“He’s at a hotel.”
“Why can’t I go there?” I ask.
“We don’t think it’s in your best interest to continue working with Lane. We don’t want anything else to happen to you.”
I stare at him for a moment as I try to wrap my mind around what he’s saying. “You’re firing me?”
“No, not…firing. Just…you could get hurt again if you continue working with Lane.”
“So, you’re firing me,” I say, pissed. They seriously just want to push me away?
“No, I’m not. If you want another job, I can find you another one. Okay?”
“No,” I say stubbornly. “I’m happy with my job. Take me to the hotel.”
“Lane agrees with me, he thinks that you’ll be safer in a different job.”
I stare at him in shock, not wanting to believe that Lane is in on this as well. I am fine, I don’t have to leave. “I think I’m quite happy with what I’m doing.”
“And the next time someone could kill you.”
“I’ll take my chances,” I snap.
“Why are you being so stubborn?”
I shrug, and he sighs.
“I might listen to you a little better if I hear your own reasoning. Why do you want to go back to Lane so badly?”
Why do I want to go back to Lane? It’s not like we’re dating.
It’s not like we’ve confessed our love to each other.
How much do I even like him? Fuck…I don’t know.
I’m not good with this shit. I just…don’t want to be alone.
I never realized how hard it is to walk into a house and have no one there until I moved in with Lane.
And now all that would go away? I mean, that’s fine, right?
I can handle that. I’ve been alone my entire life.
I don’t need someone there. I never have!
But…I still don’t want to go. “I don’t know…
I just…I don’t have anywhere else to go or anyone else. ”
James just watches me for a moment and I feel like he’s studying me. “You understand how unsafe it is?”
“Yes,” I say, and he sighs.
“I’ll take you to the hotel, but I’m only promising you tonight. I’ll decide what to do with you tomorrow, okay?”
I nod and sink back into the seat as he drives. It takes him fifteen minutes to get to the hotel and get parked. I get out and he leads me through the door and up to the elevator.
“Are you doing okay?” he asks as he steps into the elevator.
“I’m fine.”
“Are you still in a lot of pain?”
“I’m fine.”
“Okay,” he says as he presses the number five and the elevator heads up.
I grab onto the wall to steady myself and am glad when the elevator finally stops moving.
He leads me down the hallway and up to room 512.
He swipes the card and waits a moment before the red light on the door turns green.
He slides the door open and heads inside.
The hotel room is small with one queen-sized bed taking up most of the room.
Lane is sitting in a chair by the small table. He looks up at us as I follow James inside.
“Why’s Felix with you?”
“He’s going to stay here tonight.”
“Why? I thought we agreed that he shouldn’t be associated with me again after this,” Lane says.
“I understand, but he’s going to stay here just for tonight. He’s exhausted and it’s still an hour drive to my house. We’ll deal with it tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
James sets a hand on my back and leads me over to the bed. “Now, he has a concussion, so if he starts acting weird or talking funny, let me know.”
“I’m fine,” I say.
“Okay. I’ll check in with both of you tomorrow,” James says.
“You’ll pick him up tomorrow?” Lane says.
“Yes, of course. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to call.”
I watch James go before turning to Lane.
“I don’t know why James brought you here, but you’re going to have to leave,” Lane says as he stands up.