Iniquity: Book One

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

“Miss Black.. Amber.. Are you okay?”

Voices.

Disjointed.

“Ma`am..?”

Who was calling me?

Then the darkness and I parted ways. Light started peeking through eyes that felt like they had been glued shut. I had not felt like this since a pretty bad hangover I had from one of Tony’s parties. My eyelids felt like they had five pound weights attached to them. They were that hard to open. Open they did though, and I managed to get them open to uncomfortable slits as I tried not to stare at the piercing white light. Waking up like this was like diving into a frozen lake. The smell of antiseptic flowed into my nose and burned as much as the light. Where was I?

A voice again. “I think she may have a concussion after all that.”

All what??

My lips opened an I struggled to speak, but speak I did. “Where.. Am.. I?”

The voice, I recognized as female, answered. “We are taking you to the hospital, Amber.”

Hospital? “What happened?” The blurry visage all around me was becoming steadily clearer by the second. I could make out the red scrubs. The blond hair. “How?”

She smiled warmly. “The store roof collapsed. There was a storm. You are lucky to be alive,” she said with concern. “We got you now. Can you tell me your birth date?”

“April.. April twenty first..”

“What year, Amber?”

My head waz fuzzy like it was stuffed with cotton. “Two.. Two thousand five..” It took a lot to remember that. I started to become aware of how very much my head was hurting.

“My head.. It hurts.”

“We are taking you to the hospital,” the girl said. I could see another girl with her toward the back of the ambulance I was riding in. “Just need to get your blood pressure.” She cuffed my arm and started taking my pressure. “Looks good, but slightly elevated. It’s no wonder with what you just went through.” She started wiping blood from my face with a little pad. There was a lot. Head wounds bleed like a b***h.

What exactly did I just go through? The girl said something about a collapse in the store. The roof. My short term memory was screwed right now, but I did remember it starting to rain before I went into Safeway, before..” That’s when it all came back to me at one hundred miles an hour.

I bolted upright. “I have to get out of here.” My chest rose and fell with hurried breaths. “Help.. me.

The blonde grabbed me and gently pushed me back down while her brunette cohort looked on with a frown. I was obviously being very difficult, but I was scared. I didn’t want that thing to get me. I just wanted to go home. I needed Tony. I needed my friend.

“Amber,” she began, then adding in a compassionate voice, “You are very shaken up and you have scratches all over. You also hit your head when you fell. I need you to keep still please.”

She was right though. I wasn’t making it easier, and honestly I was in good hands. “I’m sorry,” I apologized. Tony. “Can.. Can I call Tony?”

“Tony?” she asked. “Is he your husband or boyfriend?”

I shook my head. “He’s a friend.. Please, I need him.”

She nodded. “Yes. Here’s your phone.” She reached into my clutch which was next to her in a cubby hole. “I have your clutch here for you when we arrive at the hospital.”

Tony was going to flip the f**k out. I started dialing his number as fast as my fingers would allow me to. Suddenly, before I could hit dial with my finger, I started to feel pretty dizzy and weak. The emt could tell so she took my phone from me and ordered me to lay still.

“I can dial him for you,” she said in an assuring voice. “It looks like it’s ready to send.”

“Call him, please,” I pleaded.

She pressed dial and waited patiently. “It’s ringing.” Then, thankfully, he did answer and I listened to her to tell my friend what had happened at the store. She hung up and put the phone back in my clutch. “He’s coming to the hospital,” she said, then added quickly, “He is very concerned. You have a great friend.”

I managed a weak smile. “He’s my best friend.”

“Should I call anyone else?”

I shook my head. “No, he’s the only one.”

“You have any parents or siblings?”

“I don’t want to worry my mom.” She was probably getting laid or something and I didn’t feel like ruining her parade.

My eyelids started feeling a bit heavy and the other nurse, an older brunette, noticed. “Stay awake dear,” she said. “Can’t have you falling asleep now.”

The blonde suddenly looked at her with irritation. “That’s a myth, Carla.” She looked at me and said, “You can nap if you want but we are almost there.”

Carla, obviously second in command just agreed. “You’re the boss, Diane,” she said.

Diane shook her head. “It’s okay, you’re new. But, A person can go to sleep following a concussion if he or she is awake and able to hold a conversation. No other symptoms, such as dilated pupils or trouble walking, should be present before sleeping, and Amber isn’t exhibiting any of those, well except the trouble waking. You are not feeling sick are you, Amber?”

I shook my head. “I feel fine except for the headache.”

“Good.” Diane smiled warmly. “Look at that, we are here.” Just as she had said that I could see the hospital sign flash into view in the back windows.

At least I was alive.

Tony arrived just as we did. He must have driven like a bat out of hell, but I couldn’t help but smile when I saw my friend emerge from his Jeep. On face was the most concerned look I had ever seen on him. He wasn’t his usually jovial self, that was for sure. He rushed over to my side as they were wheeling me through the sliding double doors.

“I came as fast as I could,” he said. Sweat soaked the armpits of the plain white tee he was wearing.

I managed a grin. “That’s what she said,” responded back with a smirk that melted his seriousness.

He let out a heavy sigh and grabbed my hand. “I am so glad you are okay. You know, that s**t is all over the news.”

“What s**t?”

“The store’s roof collapsing. I guess a bunch of teenage girls died..”

I remembered seeing them there. It made me sick to my stomach. I had seen them. I had walked right by them. I had seen them so full of life, stoned and searching for their late night munchies. Now they were gone. I tried to remember how many there were. My mind was having trouble figuring out a number, but I think there were at least four of them.

“Oh Tony..”

“All that matters is that you are okay.” He had to back away for a moment while the emt’s did the handoff to the emergency room staff.

The Doctor and emt’s helped me settle into a wheelchair. I thought I was going to be dizzy when I got up, but my balance was fine. My head still hurt bad though.

“Alright Amber, we got you now,” a woman with dark skin and black hair in a white coat said. “I am Doctor Gardener. We are going to put you in bay one to monitor you. The nurses will see you then I will be in shortly.”

“Can he come?” I nodded toward Tony. “He’s my best friend.”

She smiled. “I don’t mind. There are chairs in there.”

“Thank you so much.” I was so grateful. I needed him right now.

Tony leaned over and kissed me on the cheek. “You are going to be alright.”

When he pulled away I noticed some dirt and what looked like dried blood on his cheek. Just a little bit, but enough for me to be aware of. What exactly was he doing tonight?

“Are you okay?” I asked. I pointed to his cheek. “Dirt.. and blood..”

He laughed uneasily. “Oh,” he said casually while wiping his face with his hand. “I was just working on the Jeep before this.”

“Oh. Well I am glad you are here.”

“Me too,” he said.

Just then the hospital nurse who I guess was assigned to me, a young guy with sandy brown hair and light blue scrubs, started pushing my wheelchair in the direction of my bay.

“I am Mark,” he said with a friendly look. “Let’s get you situated.”

Mark was decidedly cute but I didn’t usually go for anyone in the medical profession. Plus, there was the Steven factor. I was still very much crushing on him. s**t. That reminded me I had his shoot on Friday. I had to get out of this hospital as soon as possible.

“Thanks,” I said to Mark after he gave me a warm and comfy blanket. Hospitals are cold as hell and this one was no different.

He waved as he left, leaving Tony and I alone together. I was scared to open up to Tony again. This was all so crazy and I know I was coming off batshit crazy.

“Tony it all happened so fast,” I said. I didn’t know yet if I wanted to mention the wolf, the soda, and being chased. “I barely remember any of it.”

He was leaning forward, facing me with his head held in his hands. “You are so lucky to be alive.”

“That’s what they keep telling me,” I replied. I didn’t mean to come off as sarcastic.

“There is going to be a big lawsuit,” Tony said while shaking his head. “The family of those girls.”

“I imagine.. With that roof collapsing and all. I remember them. That is so horrible. I can remember seeing them, walking past them.. They were.. They were giggling and so happy.”

“Now they’re gone,” he said in a whisper.

“Gone.” Then a thought entered my mind. “Tony, I could sue the store?” I really didn’t care about the money but I knew hospital bills, and I knew that this was going to be super expensive.

He nodded. “I believe so. You should definitely contact a law..”

Before he could finish he was cut off by the doctor coming in to see me. It wasn’t Doctor Gardener, the lady that first helped me when I arrived. It was an older man with gray hair and tan skin. He came in with his clipboard and stethoscope around his neck over a long white coat. The first thing I noticed about him was his striking blue eyes. They didn’t seem the warm and friendly type. They seemed icy cold and piercing. I also noticed a strong scent of cologne.. But was it cologne? It wasn’t body odor, at least I didn’t think so, but the smell kind of got into your nostrils in a weird way. Then I saw the scars. I looked at this man’s lean forearms interlaced with veins and saw criss crossing of scars running up and down them.

“Before joining the medical profession, in my youth, I worked as a construction laborer.”

“That explains it,” I responded.

I looked at the doctor who was now looking at Tony and not saying a word. Did they know each other? “Ahem,” I cleared my throat. Maybe the good doctor was gay and his gaydar was going off with my friend here.

The way the doctor spoke to me was peculiar. There was something unique about the way he spoke. There was some kind of accent. Something.. different about his voice. He more than likely noticed my wrinkled brow because he spoke again with the ghost of a smile.

“British,” he said casually while tapping his pencil on his clipboard. “I can see the wheels in your head turning after I spoke last.”

I laughed. “That obvious?”

“It is.” He grinned now, showing off perfectly white teeth. “I get that an awful lot around here.”

“What brings you here, to Seattle.?” I asked. I was trying to break the ice with some small talk.

He shrugged slightly. “Family. I have some.. extended family here.”

“I see,” was all I could say because he had said the word “family” with such finality that it didn’t leave the topic open for further discussion. Maybe he just didn’t like talking about his personal life.

He leveled his gaze at me seriously. “You took quite the tumble at the grocer’s.”

“Grocer’s?”

He laughed easily. “Grocer’s is British slang for your grocery store.”

“Oh.” I didn’t know very many British people. In Seattle the main immigrant population was comprised of Russians and Asians. Meeting someone British was something that didn’t happen too often.

“Well, Ms. Black, I have looked at your vitals and now I am going to run a few tests. The only thing really concerning is your loss of consciousness at the grocer’s. That you experienced a blow to the head significant enough to warrant such a loss is why I want to keep you around for awhile. I want to run some tests to ensure that you are alright.”

“Tests?”

“Just some vision, reflexes, balance, and such. I don’t believe we need any imaging tests because you seem very coherent. I understand things were quite the blur when you awoke.”

“Quite.” I agreed. “It felt like I was hungover.”

“Right, and now you seem to be alright. However, we need to be certain. Also, I want to recommend that you stay the night for observation.”

All I could see were dollar signs. “This is going to be so expensive. I don’t have that kind of insurance.”

The doctor held a hand up. “Don’t worry about a thing. We have been contacted by a representative from the grocer’s.”

“And?”

“And your bill will be taken care of.” He stroked his chin for a moment before continuing. “Now rest is the most appropriate way to recover from a head injury and we just want to make sure that you are one hundred percent alright.”

Tony grinned. “Guess we are kicking it here tonight, Amb.”

“Tony, you don’t have to stay here.” He really didn’t. I would be okay.

“Amber you are my other half. I feel I am required to be here,” he replied matter-of-factly. “I couldn’t sleep if I didn’t know you were okay.

“I’m fine.” I let out a sigh of frustration. “You don’t..”

“I’m staying. That’s all there is to it,” he said firmly.

All I could do was agree. “I am in no condition to fight you right now.”

The doctor laughed. “You’re not.” He walked to the curtain and turned around. “I will be right back to begin the tests.”

Then he left.

Something about the doctor was bothering me. I noticed that he looked at Tony again and his gaze lingered. I watched Tony shuffle in his seat like he was uncomfortable under that gaze. There was definitely something there. Either that or I was imagining it, more than likely like the f*****g wolf from my dreams.

I decided to ask. “Where do you know him from?”

Tony’s usually tanned face turned pale...