31. Cat
31
CAT
I woke up with a terrible headache and a severe case of nausea. A quick glance told me I was in the hospital.
“Oh my God , you’re awake!” my sister shrieked.
Her voice sent shockwaves through my ears, causing my headache to worsen. I slammed my eyes shut again and winced as the pain spread all over my skull.
“Quiet, dammit, She just woke up,” Vince’s voice thundered at my sister, though his wasn’t much quieter.
“Sorry,” Val whispered, and I felt her soft hand grab ahold of mine.
After a few moments I tried opening my eyes again and saw Val right next to me. Ellie was on my other side. Vince was in the far corner near the window. Wade , Archer , and Axel were all by the door, speaking with two officers.
I moved my eyes back to Vince , who was staring back at me, but his eyes were all wrong. He looked angry, defeated, and lost.
A cough broke through my train of thought, and I looked over to see a doctor standing in the doorway. “ Ms . Romano , good to see you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts, and my throat hurts, but otherwise fine, I guess. And please call me Cat ,” I responded groggily.
He nodded, then pulled up a chart and began reading parts of it. “ You have a concussion, so the headache, at least a mild one, will likely stick around for another day or so. The sore throat is likely from inhaling fumes in the chemicals at the warehouse and smoke from the fire. We believe it was some type of chemical cleaning agent like acetone or a toluene solvent. Both of which can cause irritation to eyes, throat, and nasal passages. We’ve got you on a saline drip to help flush the toxins from your body in case you ingested anything. You may also experience some nausea both from the concussion as well as inhaling the chemicals. The small lacerations around your wrists should heal in a few days, though, with no scarring. All things considered, you are very lucky.”
I hadn’t realized I was in such rough shape. I guess the adrenaline from exiting the warehouse and the events afterward kept me from focusing on my own injuries
“When can I go home?”
“I’d like to keep you overnight to monitor you,” he responded, but I didn’t want to stay.
“Can someone else do that for me at home? I’d rather not stay.”
“Do you live with someone?” the doctor asked, and I looked over to Vince and pointed to him.
“She’ll need to be checked on through the night to make sure she is breathing normally,” the doctor explained. “ I’ve got everything in her discharge paperwork, but bring her back immediately if there is vomiting or extreme dizziness.”
Vince didn’t say anything back to the doctor but just nodded. Something was off with him, but I couldn’t pinpoint what it was. The doctor left with the comment that my nurse would be in with my discharge paperwork soon, and then I was free to leave.
“Val,” Vince finally spoke, but his voice was strained. “ Can you stay with her and keep an eye on her through the night? I , uh, won’t be able to.”
What? Why wasn’t he going to be home? I realized his body language was all wrong, and he wasn’t making eye contact with me.
“Uh, yeah, no problem,” Val replied, also looking a little confused.
“Thanks. I gotta go,” he said as he walked out of my room, not saying a word to me.
One of the officers followed him out. Did he have to go talk with the police more? What was I missing? I looked up to see Wade and Archer speaking quietly to Jack , and then they both left as well. Ahh . Maybe they all needed to do something. That must be it. That was why Vince couldn’t watch me.
Even as I told myself that, it didn’t sit right. Something was off with Vince , I just didn’t know what.
“Before you leave, I’d like to ask you a few questions if you don’t mind,” the other officer spoke up.
I knew the drill, so I decided to answer his questions so I could just be done with it and go get some sleep.
* * *
A little over an hour later, I sat on the bed in Val’s apartment, trying to figure out what had happened at the hospital. It was already past midnight, and I should have been sleeping, but my mind was more interested in recapping the last few hours instead.
“You want tea or water or anything?” Val asked from beside me.
She was in full mother mode, taking her task of watching over me very seriously. After Vince left the hospital, Val and I talked, and it made more sense to stay in her apartment over the pub. Axel drove us over to the loft, and we packed up Harry and an overnight bag for me, and then he dropped us off at Val’s apartment.
The first thing I had done was shower. I’d wanted to get that smoke and chemical smell off me, but I’d had to be careful of my head wound. I’d done the best I could, keeping my head away from the water, and was just happy to be a little cleaner and in fresh clothes. Then , we were sitting there together in the queen-sized bed with the TV on in the background, both of us too wired to sleep.
Val and the others had filled me in on Ruthie . Apparently , she had been shot in her right foot but was taken to the hospital right away. According to Archer and Ellie , she was the worst patient ever getting her bright-pink cast and was now making Jack’s life miserable since he volunteered to help take care of her. Except for Val , who had stayed by my side the entire time, everyone else had gone back and forth between my room and Ruthie’s to check on us.
A knock on the door had me sighing and smiling at the same time. It was probably Ellie again. I didn’t know who was worse—her or my sister—when it came to who took care of me. With Ellie across the hall, she felt the need to come over and assist with everything.
My sister walked over to the door and opened it, but I was surprised when she announced who was there.
“Oh! Hey Vince . Come on in,” Val said loudly.
I could hear his voice, but it was too low to understand what he was saying. My head still hurt a little, but I could walk, so I got up from the bed and began to walk over to the door. When I cleared the doorway, I saw him look from Val to me, and he stopped speaking. He looked disheveled and exhausted.
“Cat.” His voice sounded strained.
My sister turned back to face me. “ He asked how you were doing, but refused to come inside. I’ll go back to the bedroom to let you guys talk.”
“Are you headed home now?” I asked as I neared him. “ I can come with you. Let me go grab my stuff.”
I turned to head back to the bedroom, but he grabbed my arm.
“Cat, I’m not going home.” His body was stiff and tense as if he was uncomfortable talking with me. “ But even if I was, I wouldn’t want you coming with me.”
He paused and released my arm. Something wasn’t right. His body language and expressions were all wrong.
“I just… I need some space right now.”
What did he just say?
“I’ll text you tomorrow to see how you’re doing,” he added. “ Unless you don’t want me to. I can text Ellie instead if that’s easier.”
He was going to text Ellie ? What was happening?
My heart started to tighten as it occurred to me that Vince was breaking up with me.
“Get some sleep, Cat . It will help with recovery,” he said and then looked down and turned back down the hallway toward the stairs.
What just happened?
I stood there for a few seconds, trying to understand. I felt tears begin to fill my eyes as my heart squeezed even tighter.
“Do you think if I asked Wade nicely, he would beat him up for me,” Val’s angry voice spoke behind me. “ Ruthie would definitely do it, but her foot is broken, so that may not work right now.”
I finally turned toward her, and I knew she could see the confusion on my face. She walked the rest of the way to me, closed and locked the door, and pushed me back toward the bedroom.
“Come back to bed,” she all but demanded.
“Did he just break up with me?” I asked out loud as I climbed into the bed.
“I… I don’t know Cat ,” Val said, her anger gone, sympathy now filling its place. “ I don’t exactly have experience with that kind of stuff. Maybe he just needs some space. We’ll give him the night. If he still needs space after tomorrow, I’ll help you bury his body.”
She grinned at me, trying to cheer me up, but I wasn’t in the mood. I had dealt with loss before. Both my parents had died. We’d lost other relatives because they had been told that we were dead. But I had never had anyone choose to walk out of my life. This was a different kind of pain.
I wanted to scream and punch the wall, or maybe punch Vince for making me feel this empty. Instead , I cried until exhaustion took over and I fell asleep.