Behind Your Walls

31 | story of my past

I don't like hospitals. The color of the walls makes me feel grey, the smell of medicines makes my stomach hurt and the view of people being carried on stretchers gives me a headache. Hospitals are dull places, full of gloomy air and an empty feeling. The only times when you can indeed be happy in a hospital is during the birth of a newborn but on rare occasions, even that moment turns out to be dark.

I see Carter striding toward me from the corner of my eye as I sit on a chair in front of the ICU where my Mom is lying in a white bed with an oxygen mask over her face. I begged to be let in but the doctors wouldn't allow me. They said she is still critical and needs to be looked after. The reason they called me specifically was that they needed Mom's health insurance report before they could go ahead with her treatment.

"Here, have some water," Carter says, offering me a bottle of water.

I lift my head from my palms and look at him. My cheeks are sticky with tears and I smell of vomit but that didn't make Carter stay away from me. He carried me to the car after I threw up and Melody helped me clean up. I don't know what I did to deserve them in my life but they make me feel so less alone.

"Will she be okay?" I ask in a feeble voice while taking the bottle from his hand.

"Don't worry. The doctor said the bullet escaped her crucial organs by inches. She just needs rest,"

He reaches for my hand and brushes his thumb over my knuckles. I take a sip of the water and let it soothe my agitated nerves.

Panther's face roams in my head. His wicked grin, his bad touch, his excuses, his brainwashing Mom into worshipping him. According to the hospital staff, Mom herself called 9-1-1 after Panther escaped, leaving her on the floor with a bullet wound in the stomach.

She was unconscious when they found her but the dispatcher kept talking to her while they were on their way. The cops said that Panther didn't intend to shoot Mom. It was an accident but they also said that he was going to shoot someone else. I wonder who might have been Panther's target. I am yet to meet the officer in charge of the investigation.

I lay my head on Carter's shoulder while he sits with his elbows on his knees. It has been hours but we are still dressed in funeral clothes. Melody came with us too and she took care of the necessary paperwork which needed my signature before she left to take care of her impending work.

The sounds of footsteps coming to a stop near us make us look up to find a man in a thick waistcoat and sharp facial features looking down at us. He is tall, about Carter's height, and his face carries a stern look that makes me gulp.

"Amaya Sommers?" the man asks, his voice deep and authoritative.

"Yes?" I reply, lifting my head from Carter's shoulder and looking up at the man.

"I'm Shaun Thomas from the FBI. I need to speak to you privately about the incident with your mother." He reaches for the inner pocket of his waistcoat and brings out an identity card to show to me.

I have a look at it and then throw a glance at Carter. He looks just as perplexed as me and shrugs. I look at the man who has his jaw set in a no-nonsense look. I hand him his ID back and stand up.

"Sure, Mr. Thomas," I say nervously.

I don't know what information he expects to find from me but his presence here means Mom and I are finally protected by law.

"Come with me." He turns around as he signs me to follow him. "You can call me Shaun."

Carter squeezes my hand as he stays seated and I give him a nod before following Shaun. We walk for a while before he stops at the coffee machine at the far end of the corridor. The nurses nearby give me a look of sympathy and whisper among themselves. Mom's situation must have reached their ears.