Tracing Echoes

Chapter three

Lynn sat down on one of the many cushioned chairs in the waiting room. The paramedics had just wheeled the stranger into an operating room, leaving the place void of the excitement and adrenaline she had met when she came in.

There were a few others in the stereotypical white, clean room including a large overweight nurse who sat at the counter looking bored, and an older looking teenager who every few seconds bent over to heave into a bucket between his knees. His parents, or who Lynn assumed were his parents, stood behind him arguing over something no one cared about. She tried to tune them out but soon gave up and made her way outside where the air didn't feel so thick.

As she set foot out into the parking lot her phone rang, making her jump. She let out a shaky breath, then pulled out her cell, not bothering to care that she was getting gore all over it. "Hello?"

"Hey. Where are you?"

Lynn felt her chin quiver at the sound of her mother's voice, threatening to send her into another round of hysterics. "I need you to come pick me up."

"What's wrong? You were supposed to watch Haily remember?" Her mom's voice sounded tired and a little agitated but still held an ounce of cheerfulness to it. She was the type of person who would still be smiling in the middle of a concentration camp.

Her personality did have some quirks. One of which included the ever present need to look her best, and look down on others who didn't. So maybe Lynn was wrong. Her mom might have gone into a depression like every one else in the history books, if only because of the lack of wardrobe she would be faced with.

Lynn hiccuped.  "Yeah mom I know. I'll explain later, can you just come pick me up?" She didn't actually want to leave, and she most definitely didn't want to watch her three year old next door neighbor. She wanted to stay and make sure the guy was alright. Asking was just her way of getting her mom to come down without having to outright say ' oh hey I'm in the hospital', which would most definitely send her into a fit.

On the other side of the line Lynn heard her mom getting up to find her purse and the click of the television turning off. "Yeah..." The words were cut off by the high pitch squeal of a little girl in the background. "Haily stop it. Stop. No, no sweetie get that out." There was a slight pause after which her mom got back on. "Sorry. Haily was giving her doll a bath in the bowl of cereal I made her. Did you know the Henderson's have noth..."

"Mom." Lynn interrupted. "Can you come pick me up or not?" She knew she was being rude but her nerves were completely frayed, and she didn't care.

"Yeah. Where are you?"

Lynn braced herself. "St. Guinna's."

"What?" Her mom's voice immediately became frantic.  "What happened are you hurt? Is everything okay? You didn't run over any one did you? Oh wait your dad has the car! What happened?" Her words were washed out by the noise she was making rushing around. Lynn heard Haily squeal again, then a door slam shut. "I'm on my way. Don't go anywhere! Lynn? Lynn?"

"Yeah mom. I'm still here."

"Okay don't move! I'll be right there. Are you going to be okay if I hang up? I have to call a cab."

Lynn hmmed, said bye, then ended the phone call so her mom wouldn't have to. The reaction was expected yet it did nothing to help her nerves. After a while of just standing there doing nothing, she sucked in a breath of fresh air then went back inside.

A tall blond man in a paramedics uniform had taken her chair so she moved to the far side of the wall, the second best place where she wouldn't have to worry about  the stench of the kid's vomit, or the nurse's gaze. When she sat down the paramedic looked up at her. His face startled her enough to make her blush. He was the most handsome guy she had ever seen. He had a chiseled jaw, bright blue eyes, and hair that almost glowed.