Chapter Fifteen
Flame…
The police officers spoke with Masters and then questioned all of us separately, taking us one at a time into the bedroom. I couldn’t tell them anything new, only what I’d already told Masters. I still wasn’t buying it that Michelle took any kind of drugs, it just wasn’t her.
Joe arrived as the police were finishing up. “What the hell happened?”
“I wish I fuckin’ knew. I came upstairs with Wrath and this is what I found.
Michelle was asleep or something in the bedroom.
” Looking around the room I still couldn’t believe it.
It looked like something out of a fuckin’ movie.
I knew they were thinking the rock stars probably trashed the room and then tried to find a way to get out of it.
But they’d be fuckin’ wrong. We might make a mess but we sure as hell weren’t destructive.
Nodding, Joe handed his card to the police. “If you have any other questions for them, you can call me. I’m going to take Eric over to the hospital now if that’s okay?”
“Yes, sir. I’m sure someone will be in touch to follow up.”
No shit. I couldn’t believe this fucked up crap. We’d been gone over four months and we’re back one night and all hell breaks loose. It’s like we’d been freakin’ jinxed since we walked into this damned hotel.
Terry Masters pulled Joe over to the side and I wondered what he was saying. I wanted to get to the hospital. I didn’t want Michelle waking up and wondering what the hell happened.
“I’ll be in touch, good night,” Masters said as he left. Finally it was just us.
“What the hell did he say?”
“That he’ll have housekeeping come up and clean as soon as the police were done. He said they’d pull the video to see if they could identify the man you saw.”
“Good. Because he was there, Wrath saw him too.”
Wrath nodded. “I did. It was weird. The guy looked really surprised to see us.”
“What did he look like?”
“I don’t fuckin’ remember really, he was just ordinary. Nothing stood out.”
“Exactly. I’m thinking brown hair maybe? That’s about all I can remember.” It was weird, I wasn’t great with faces but usually I remembered something.
“Okay. Well hopefully they caught him on video. It will make things a lot easier.”
I had an uneasy feeling. “Joe, you believe me don’t you?”
“I do, but I don’t think they do.”
Fuck. “So what happens next?”
“They’ll investigate. We may have to pay for damages to the room if they can’t prove it wasn’t you or Michelle. But for now let’s get you over to the hospital.”
“I want to go too,” Cyn said.
“Me too,” Teresa added.
By this time Rage, Fury, Candy and Sweets showed up and we filled them in. Apparently my room was the only one trashed, and it made no fucking sense at all. It seemed more and more like it was only towards me or Michelle. But who would have it out for us?
“Okay, good thing I have the Navigator. Whoever wants to come let’s get going.”
I was glad everyone went to the hospital.
We were family, not by birth but by love and commitment.
More of a family than a lot of real families.
My hands were clammy, and I had goosebumps on my arms. I couldn’t shake the image of Michelle so pale and still on the gurney as they wheeled her out.
Fucking surreal is what it was. I wanted to see her, touch her, hold her and tell her I loved her.
Unease gripped me, acid churned in my stomach and I couldn’t shake the feeling something horrible happened to her and it was my fault since I’d left her alone. What the fuck was I thinking?
“She’ll be fine.”
We were in the waiting area, she was in the Emergency Room and they wouldn’t let us see her yet. Looking into Cyn’s green eyes I could see the concern. “She has to be.”
“She will. It’s not your fault.”
I was surprised and I must have looked it too.
“It’s all over your face, Flame. Whatever happened it wasn’t your fault. So stop beating yourself up.”
“I should have been with her.”
“Maybe, but it doesn’t mean it wouldn’t have happened to both of you then.”
Fuck. Was she right?
A doctor walked into the waiting area. “Excuse me, who is here for Michelle DeAngelo?”
We all stood.
“All of you?”
“Yes,” Joe said. “What’s going on?”
“Are you family?” the doctor asked.
“Yes, well all the family she has,” Cyn answered. He hesitated for a minute then nodded.
“We’re waiting for the blood tests to come back but she appears to be fine. Her vitals are all good. We gave her a CT scan and it was clean as was the EKG.”
Good news right? I was going to believe that until I heard otherwise. None of this made sense though.
“Is she awake? Can we see her?”
“She’s groggy, but has been able to respond to some questions.
She fades in and out of sleep. We’re going to keep her here until we get the blood work back.
Then we’ll decide if we need to admit her.
Two of you can go in at a time to see her.
But keep I mind she’s more asleep than awake.
As soon as a room is ready we’ll admit her. ”
That’s what I’d been waiting to hear and I was off as soon as the words were out of his mouth, and Cyn was with me. Joe nodded at me and moved closer to the doctor. I wondered what they were talking about but at that point I just wanted to see Michelle to make sure she was okay.
Emergency Rooms changed a lot from how they were when I was young.
I’d spent a lot of time in them with my dad.
I remember asking my dad if we lived there when I was really little, were had to be there every other day—or at least that’s how it seemed to the young me.
My mother the druggie. I didn’t have a stable family life until she OD’d and my father took off.
I went to Jack and Sally’s and it was the best thing that could have happened.
I hated hospitals, and for a moment I felt like I was eight again.
Waiting with my dad to find out if mom could go home yet.
The nurses knew me and would give me lollypops and coloring books.
They’d even bring me extra blankets and pillows so I could sleep in a chair in mom’s room.
Yeah it was a real home away from home, and not an experience I wanted to repeat.
Michelle…
Something wasn’t right. I hadn’t opened my eyes yet but I could tell. I wasn’t even sure what woke me up but as the light seeped through my lids I felt like Dorothy, and I wasn’t in Kansas anymore. What the hell?
It took a moment for my eyes to focus. I must have been sleeping a long time for them to be like that. There was a tug as I raised my hand to rub my eyes, and that’s when I realized where I was—hospital. But why?
“Shit.”
“Hello, sleepy head. Nice of you to come back to the living.”
Eric? His voice sounded so far away or like I was under water. What did he mean back to the living? I felt like a broken record in my own head as once again the words ‘what the hell’ skidded to a stop on my tongue just before I said them.
The blurriness cleared and I turned my head toward his voice.
He looked like shit. Big black circles under his eyes and he must have been running his hands through his hair.
He could have passed for a scarecrow the way it was standing up in every direction imaginable.
If I wasn’t so out of it I would have laughed.
“Hi.” It was all I could get out my throat was so dry.
A straw appeared in front of my face and I took a sip. The cool water slid over my tongue and down my parched throat washing away the feeling of sawdust.
“Better, babe?”
“Yes. Thanks.”
The cup slid from my vision and the bed dipped as Flame sat on the edge and slid his fingers over my hand. “You scared the fuckin’ shit out of me.”
“I’m sorry. But I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
He looked puzzled, and I smiled as his hand instantly went through this hair and made it even worse. “You know if you keep doing that it’s going to fall out.”
“What? Oh. You’re probably right. I think I’ve been freakin’ pulling on it since last night. Are you okay?”
“I think so. Why am I in the hospital?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Damn a question with a question. That’s never a good sign you know.”
“You haven’t lost your snark I see. Seriously babe, what do you remember?”
What did I remember? My brain was stuffed with an old blanket and trying to think was like trying to look at old pictures that were faded and out of focus. “I remember being in the piano bar and you playing piano while you were all singing.”
“That’s it? It’s important. Are you sure you can’t remember anything else?”
I couldn’t. Weird. “I don’t think so. Okay, what the hell is going on? You need to tell me. You’re scaring the shit out of me.”
“Good you’re awake. How are you feeling?” I’d been so focused on Flame I didn’t even hear or see the nurse come in. How I missed the bright pink scrubs, God only knows.
“I’m okay. I think. I don’t know why I’m here.”
“You were unresponsive when the ambulance brought you in. We couldn’t get you to wake up.”
I wanted to say I was clueless but not stupid. I knew what unresponsive was and I was getting pissed, although not at the nurse. Taking a deep breath I tried to unload some of the tension building. It wouldn’t do any good to get pissed off.
“I don’t remember.”
“It’s not surprising. Your blood work came back showing Flunitrazepam.”
“What’s that?”
“Rohypnol.”
It sounded familiar but I couldn’t figure it out. The damn fuzziness in my brain was driving me crazy.
“You were roofied, babe. At least that’s what they think,” Flame said, as his hand rearranged his hair again.
“No way. How?”
“That’s what the cops are trying to find out.”
“The police?”
“I’ll be right back to take your vitals, I’ll also let the doctor know you’re awake.” She smiled at me and left Flame and I alone.
“Yeah. Fuck I really hoped you’d remember more. The cops are going to be in to talk to you too now they know you’re awake. Or maybe they’ll make us go to the station so you can give a statement.”
“This doesn’t make sense. I was in the bar with you and now I’m here.”
“You and Blue went upstairs to the rooms. You told Cyn you were tired and had to get up early for work. When I got up there an hour or so later it looked like hell broke loose in our room. Everything was trashed, totally wrecked in the main room, but in the bedroom you were sound asleep with one of the roses.”
I heard him I really did, but I couldn’t remember any of it. If I wasn’t really in the hospital I’d swear he was fucking with me. Unbalanced was a good word for how I felt, and a little scared. Why would someone drug me? “Anything else?”
He looked away from me and stood and looked out the window.
Uh oh. Not good.
“Wrath and I walked in and saw the fucking mess and I thought something happened to you. I was scared shitless. But there you were sleeping like nothing at all was going on.”
I’d have been scared too if it was me walking in on that. I didn’t know what to say, so I just let him keep talking.
“When I turned on the light and saw the rose lying next to you on the bed it really freaked me out. Wrath left to check on Blue. We were worried about her too. I called Security and the front desk called an ambulance. The police and security thought at first you had something to do with the room.”
“And now?”
“Nope. This morning when your bloodwork came back with the drugs in it they changed their mind.”
“Thank God. You know I wouldn’t do anything like that.”
“I do,” he said as he turned towards me. His eyes were clouded with worry and something else.”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
“You were naked in bed. They did a rape kit on you. But I don’t know the results, they wouldn’t tell me anything. But they did ask for a DNA sample.”
“Rape kit? What the fuck.” The room was spinning and my heart raced. A chill covered me at the same time I felt hot. Oh shit. “Give me the garbage can I’m going to puke. Hurry.”
No sooner did he hand it to me when the heaving started.
Not much came up but it was enough and totally disgusting.
Is there anything in the world worse than puking?
My throat was sore and the heat of tears were on my cheeks.
Flame took the can from me and handed me the water cup.
I swished and spit into the can a couple of times, then took a couple of sips.
He sat on the bed and slid his arms around me.
I was shaking so badly. The heat of his body against mine and the security of being in his arms took some of the edge off.
I didn’t say anything at first, just rested my head against his shoulder.
A million thoughts were running through my head but none of them anything I wanted to think about.
Rape? Just the thought made me shiver again.
“Are you cold?”
“No not really.”
The nurse came in wheeling a cart with her. “Are you okay?”
“She just puked in the garbage can.”
“Are you nauseated?”
“Not anymore at least I don’t think so.”
“Okay, but if you start to feel nauseous again let me know. The doctor can give you something for that.”
I nodded. I didn’t really want anything else in my body, apparently I’d had enough already, and I didn’t like it. “What’s in the IV?”
“No meds, it’s just to keep you hydrated. Now you’re awake the doctor will probably write orders to take it out.”
“Good. When can I go home?”
“That’ll be up to the doctor. He should be in sometime this afternoon to talk to you,” she said as she put the blood pressure monitor on me. She was making notes on the computer on the cart and then took my pulse after the blood pressure monitor beeped. Then a thermometer was stuck in my ear.
“Will I live?”
The nurse was typing and turned at my question. From the look on her face I’d surprised her. “Of course. Your blood pressure is fine and you have no fever.”
Flame shook his head, he knew I was teasing but the nurse hadn’t caught on.
I guess it wasn’t fair to tease her, her job was serious shit.
I couldn’t have done it, I was no good with bodily fluids—blood, puke, shit—nope I had enough trouble with the snotty noses of the kids in my class.
I’d be a poor caregiver that’s for sure.