17. In the ER
862 Words
The time she spent in the ER with Cassie seemed to drag on and on.
After Aidan’s call to 911, soon the little bathroom was crowded. Caleb had to elbow his way up until reaching them, Aidan already using part of his short to improvise a bandage for Cassie’s wrists and was providing first aid.
She was unconscious, but had trails of tears down her face, as if she had been crying compulsively when she had sliced her wrist. Some early students were already at the door, whispering among themselves. Neither seemed truly terrified, but they were curious.
“Move on to your classes already!” shouted the principal before the bell rang. Unsurprisingly, no one obeyed.
Alexander had been the first to respond the scene, and his presence was so imposing that the students made way for him to pass, as the Red Sea did to the Jews. Being substantially shorter, principal Caleb Harvell had to elbow his way and wasn’t exactly thrilled with it. When the ambulance arrived, Summer decided to accompany Cassie until someone could get ahold of her mother.
“I’ve already tried to contact her mother, but she isn’t answering.” Said Caleb ruefully.
“Did she have trouble at home?” asked Alexander.
“Not as far as I can tell.”
“She kept to herself.” Said Summer. “I used to encounter her on her way to school every morning, and every time she would come here as soon as she arrived.”
“To this specific bathroom?”
“Yes. It’s not very used unless there were gym classes.”
“With all the snow that fell this winter, the roof has been leaking.” Said Caleb in a dismayed tone. “The students only have classes when the weather is good outside, or at least good enough for them to play. It will take another week until the gym is fully operational.”
“What made you look today?”
The question seemed off even to her. She looked at Alexander, forehead creased. He was looking at her attentively, so she racked her brains to try and answer as truthfully as possible.
“The bag pack.” She answered. “it was blocking the door. It could be an accident, of course, and if she had answered, I probably would have moved forward.”
Now Summer was at the hospital, her mind deep in thought. Nobody had spoken with her yet, so there was no way of knowing if someone had reached Cassie’s mother or if Cassie was out of the blue yet.
Caleb joined her in the waiting room as soon as things were back to a relative normal at school. He seemed old, as if years had finally caught up with him.
“How is she?”
“Still no word. And her mother?”
Caleb sighed.
“Nothing yet. I believe the Sheriff was going to her house next. She didn’t show up for work today.”
“How do you know?”
“The Sheriff told me.”
“How was her relationship with her parents?”
“Truly don’t know much… Her father left a few years ago, and her mother… well it seems she started drinking after that. But Cassie was always well cared, so there wasn’t much I could do beyond trying to get both of them into counselling. But this is Paradise Mountains… it’s not as if we have a shrink ever few meters… and the one that was working in the high school quit and I haven’t found a replacement yet.”
He shrugged helplessly and then hid his face in his hands.
“God, I should have done more…”
Summer put her hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze.
“She’ll be all right… she has to be…”
The doctor chose that moment to appear. He seemed tired but when his eyes met theirs, they were heavy.
“Are you Cassie Winters' parents?”
They jumped to their feet.
“We’re her teachers. I was the one that found her. How is she?”
“I’m sorry, but if you’re not her parents, I cannot…”
“Please!” shouted Summer. “I really need to know! She is my student!”
“I’m the principal.” Said Caleb in a firm voice. “We’re unable of reaching her mother but Sheriff Alexander Anderson is on the case.”
“And I’m the one who found her.”
The doctor sighed; his grey hair spiked due to his restless fingers. He seemed about to say something when the ER doors opened and two of the most gorgeous men walked in. Aidan was a bit shorter than the sheriff but they were still a sight for sore eyes.
Aidan came up to her and hugged her, leaving a soft kiss in her forehead.
“Any news?”
“The doctor won’t say.” She answered bitterly. “We’re not family.”
“Look, I understand that…” started the doctor wearily, but the sheriff interrupted him.
“We have a problem then, doctor. Her mother was found dead this morning in her bed.”
Summer gasped and Caleb seemed taken aback.
“Oh my God… That poor girl…”
“What happened?”
“Apparently she mixed sleeping pills with alcohol. She went to sleep and never woke up.”
“Do you think it was because of her mother? Do you think she found her like… that?”
“Then we have a problem.” Said the doctor, eyeing the sheriff.
“Another one?”
“She was slicing her wrists on a regular basis. She had several marks upon her wrists, in various phases of healing.”
Summer gasped, incredulous.
“What?”
“There’s more. She was rapped last night. We just ran a r**e kit and we’re waiting for the results, but she was bleeding.”
- Writer
