4. Sawyer
“What do you mean,she was attacked?” Gramps yelled through the phone. I pulled it back from my ear and sighed.
“Just that. I don’t really have full details.”
“Did she call you?”
“No, Gramps, I was walking to get something to eat. I was literally just in the right place at the right time. I’m going to stay here, see if I can figure out what happened. Will you be okay for a couple of hours?”
“I’m not a child!”
That tone said more than his words did.
“Noted. I’ll let you know as soon as I know something.”
“Keep her safe.”
“I’ll do my best.”
I ended the call as I walked back into the busy emergency room. I could hear barking from the curtained room to my left and went in. Jersey lay against Denver, whining and licking her face.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?”
“Is she having a seizure?” a nurse asked.
“No,” the ER doctor and I said in unison.
I hurried to Denver’s side, taking her hand in mine. “Hey, beautiful, look at me. You’re okay. You’re safe.”
“Get that portable X-ray down here.”
“Wife?” someone asked; I didn’t take my eyes off of her.
“Girlfriend,” I said automatically.
Was it a lie? Yes.
Did I care? No.
I wasn’t letting them have a reason to push me out of this room.
“Get a full panel…” I let their conversation drift away as I took her in. She laid on the bed, her hair all over the place. Her face was dirty, fingers and arm bloody, and yet, she looked beautiful.
The lead nurse, Shayna, was keeping an eye on Denver, making sure to keep me in the loop as she and the doctor talked over everything that we knew, which truthfully, wasn’t much.
Denver started to shake. She was panicking again.
“Denver, come on, look at me, gorgeous.”
It was taking too long for her to register what was happening. Jersey whined, crawling up her side to rest against her chest.
“Hey,” I pulled her chin toward me, “You’re in the emergency room. It’s okay. No, leave that mask on. You need the oxygen.” I tsked, pushing her hand away from her face. She dropped it onto Jersey’s head. The comfort of her dog seemed to help her see me. “Do you remember what happened to you?”
She nodded, tears pooling in her eyes.
“Her O2 is dropping,” a different nurse, who had changed places with Shanya said. “Let me get this set up, and if you will help hold it, we’ll get a breathing treatment going. Her lungs are a little raspy.”
I nodded. I’d do whatever they needed me to do.
“You’re going to be okay. These ladies are going to get you better.”
“Her heart rate is lowering,” Shanya stated, coming back to stand beside the bed. She was securing a new bag to the IV.
I met the ER doctor’s gaze. “Keep talking to her,” she encouraged. “I’m ordering a chest and hip X-ray. Did she hit her head?”
“Not that I saw. Someone said she was slammed in a car door. I got there after that.”
“Okay. We’ll get her straight. You just keep doing what you’re doing.”
The last hour had been a full-on rollercoaster. Or, I felt that way at least.
I had to watch Denver be poked and prodded as they put in IVs and drew blood. Had to step out of the room while they did X-rays. Jersey too was unhappy about leaving Denver’s side for that. We had to shuffle around for them to examine the marks on her side and back. Then the police, who were still here, had to get pictures of the injuries. Get her statement… It’s been a lot.
Now, I was running my fingers over her cheek as she dozed. Between the pain meds, anxiety meds, and the adrenaline drop—she was spent.
“Let me see her. Get out of my way.”
“Gramps?” I looked up as the curtain opened and sure enough, he strode in like he owned the place. His walking stick thumped on the ground as he came closer.
“How is she?” he asked, his gaze landing on her.
“What are you doing here?” I was stunned. Also, how in the hell did he get here; he didn’t drive anymore.
“Doctor Blake?” Shayna came in, a clipboard in her hand. She saw Gramps and smiled at him. “Mr. Carl, nice to see you.” She nodded to the papers in her hand. “Her tests are all back, everything looks normal. The doctor will be back in to talk to you in a few; he’s looking at her X-rays now.”
“Thanks, Shayna.”
“She’s going to be okay.” She patted my shoulder.
When the room was quiet again, just me and Gramps, I sighed and rested my head on my hand where it still clutched Denver’s.
I wasn’t sure how much time passed before there was a knock on the wall outside of her curtained-off room.
“Knock, knock,” a face I knew all too well walked into the room, “I’m Officer Callahan—oh hey, Doc. I’m following up on Officer Gonzalez’s report. Can I have a few minutes to ask some questions about today’s events?”
“Sure thing. Denver, sweetheart, this is Theo Callahan. You feel up to answering questions?”
She nodded and sat up with a wince. I helped adjust the bed, and Jersey laid across her lap, sighing. I felt that sigh in my soul. I wasn’t sure if I needed to hit someone, yell, or take her home and lock her in a room away from anyone that could ever hurt her again.
Why was I having such a strong reaction? Honestly, it was a lot of things. This woman has the kindest heart. She’d been such a help to Gramps over the last few weeks. She didn’t deserve what happened to her today. No one deserved this shit. To watch her in pain, it hurt.
I was pretty sure somewhere between her waking up on the ground in my backyard and today, I’d fallen for her, and she has no clue.
“It all happened so fast.”
My fingers brushed over the cannula in my nose, and I frowned. I wasn’t going to complain. It was a helluva lot better than that big clunky mask they’d started with.
“Just start at the beginning. I want to get a clear picture of what happened. We have witness statements, and I’m waiting for an email with the surveillance feed from a few of the businesses in that area.”
“Okay. I was supposed to meet the agent—never mind. I was sitting in a booth at Whataburger. Jersey, who is my service animal, under the table. There was a kid, maybe eight, nine, or so, who came and asked if he could pet her. I said no, she’s working. He walked away, and I thought that was that.”
Replaying what happened, just happened. The pain and fear tried to swamp me, but with Jersey giving me her comfort and the fact that Sawyer still held my hand, I made it through the entire interaction.
My eyes closed, blocking the tears I could feel burning then. I let the words pounding at me free, hoping I’d not regret them.
“Being pinned like that, it—there are things…”
“It’s okay, sweetheart, we’re right here with you.” Sawyer’s warm breath washed across my fingers.
With a hiccupped sob, I explained, “It was like my ex had done to me. I was pinned…I think I pushed against the door. I had to fight for myself. I said I’d never be a victim again.”
“My God.” Mr. Blake’s voice was a wash of sound in the now silent room.
I shook my head, my eyes still closed. “I didn’t actually touch her, the car door pushed against her.” My free hand curled into Jersey’s fur as she whined, her tongue bathing my face, washing my tears away. Her warm body pressed against my chest, giving me her warmth and love.
With her here, I could say the rest of it. “She fell all on her own. I didn’t do a damn thing to her. She is the one who needs to be behind bars; in therapy maybe.”
“Well, you heard her!” Mr. Blake called out, his normally calm, cool voice taking on a hard edge now.
My eyes opened, and I looked to where he’d been sitting. He stood by the bedside, his fingers curling into the blanket covering me.
“Okay, thank you. Give me a few minutes, and I’ll be right back, all right?”
I can’t say how long we sat there; the silence thick in the room. The beeping of machines, noises of an emergency room all I could focus on.
My truth was hitting everyone like a bat to the knee. I hadn’t wanted to open up like that, but with what happened, I had to. That darkness cowering inside of me; the shame and guilt that I fought everyday—it took a lot to keep my head up and be a productive member of society again.
“Does he know where you are?”
My gaze moved to Sawyer. He sat in the chair beside the bed, stiffly. The hand holding mine, the tight yet gentle grip, had gone stiff.
I shook my head. But really, he could know. “I don’t know. If not, he could figure it out. I left him behind. I have an order of protection. He’s not allowed within five hundred feet of me.”
“A piece of paper ain’t worth the ink on it if someone intends you harm. It doesn’t stop a fist or a weapon.” Mr. Blake rested his hand on my knee.
“He won’t bother me here. He was happy when I left; he was free to do what he wanted.” I shrugged, wanting to believe what I was saying.
I had to, or I’d never leave my bed.
I was going to love my life.
“Tyrone ran my life for so many years. I was young, impulsive—a little naive. I didn’t see—no, that’s a lie, I knew what was happening; I just didn’t want to believe it in the beginning. I tried to tell myself he would change; he’d go back to being the kind man I’d first met. It was a pipe dream. He made me absolutely miserable; I hated waking up some days. I’ll never go back to that—I can’t.”
“Hey, you don’t have to.” His gaze sharpened. “If he ever shows up, you call me. I don’t care what time of day or night. You call me. Or better yet, you come to the house.”
“He won’t come here; he has no reason to put in that effort. He’s not a small-town kind of guy.”
“Promise me, if he ever shows up, you’ll?—”
“He won’t come here.”
God, please let me be right. Harassing phone calls was one thing; it would be hard to prove it was him unless he called from his actual cell phone. But I wasn’t that lucky. Random numbers, they went straight to voicemail now. For my own sanity, it has to be that way.
He’d not waste his precious time coming all the way here; I couldn’t see that happening. I wasn’t that important in his life. I never really was.
“You know, no matter what, you’re part of the family now.” Mr. Blake squeezed my knee. “It’s not just words. You’ve become a friend, you and Jersey here. If you need help, you have it.” He smiled, and that wall I tried to keep up, to not allow anyone in, cracked a little more.
They’d been chipping away at it since that afternoon in their backyard. I should have known then that life wasn’t ever going to be the same for me.
“I appreciate that, but I’m?—”
“If you plan on finishing that by saying you’re okay, I might feel a need to call you out on your bullshit.” Mr. Blake, the ever-present breath of fresh air and truth turned to take his seat again. “Don’t make me be a dick; it’s not becoming for a gentleman of my age.”
I pursed my lips, torn between grinning and crying. He was not going to let me just sweep any of this under a rug. My therapist would be proud of me. I didn’t want to sweep it under a rug; that was progress. On the same hand, I didn’t want to think about him. Giving Tyrone even the smallest millisecond of thought—I shivered and shook my head.
“That’s not what I was going to say.” I couldn’t hold back my smile. “I’m not giving that bastard another second of my thoughts. He made—I guess it’s just a lot to deal with. I’m here, in the present, and he’s in the past. He’s behind me.”
“You know that no matter the who, what, when, where, or why—if anything happens, you tell me.”
I opened my mouth to reassure him, but the curtains opened. The officer was back, and the look on his face said he’d seen the videos. He knew I was being honest before.
After he left again, the doctor came in and gave me the ‘all clear’ to leave.
I wanted to—I was going to go home, take the world’s hottest shower and then a nap. I’d worry about today’s events tomorrow.
I was spent—my battery was flashing red, ready to go out completely—I just needed time to unwind and reset.