Strip Tease

Chapter 9

After several beats I felt someone touch my arm.  I turned and Colin was there.  "The police are wanting to take a statement," he said, pulling me into the living room.  One policeman was taking pictures of the damages while the other was seated on the couch with a pad in his hand.  I sat down on the couch.  "I'm going to examine your hand while you tell Officer Petty what happened, okay?" He asked.  I stared at him for several seconds.  "I think she's experiencing mental shock," I heard Colin tell the officer. 

"Can you tell me what transpired here?" The officer asked, loudly.  I looked at him, trying to get my thoughts to make sense.  "He attacked me after I told him to stay away from me,".  He jotted that down in his pad.  His partner came over and took a picture of my face, arm, and hand.  He then walked through the kitchen to get snaps of the bedroom door and the bathroom.  Officer Petty asked for more details.  "I don't know why he was so angry.  He called me a whore and started choking me then I got away and locked myself in the bedroom and then the bathroom.  He was going to kill me," I said this simply.  I felt completely detached.  It felt like a dream.  Like it didn't really happen.

The officer continued jotting in his pad and his partner returned from the bedroom.  "I need to get Angela to the hospital," I heard Colin say.  The officers nodded.  "We've got all the information we need for now and we have people searching the area right now.  Would you like a police escort to the hospital?" Officer Petty asked.  Colin answered in the affirmative and he pulled me up. 

The officers walked us to Colin's car and I was closed in.  I watched Colin walk around and get in beside me.  The police car was parked a few spaces away and Colin started up the car and waited for them to get in.  I hadn't been in this car since the night I had met Colin.  That seemed like so long ago.  Colin took my hand and we started moving.  "Are you feeling okay?" He asked me.  I didn't know how to answer.  "I feel numb," was the only thing I could say. 

I looked out the window while he drove to the hospital. I didn't speak. I glanced at Colin as he drove. He looked worried and upset. I resumed looking outside.

Moments later we arrived at the Hospital. Colin parked in the E.R. parking lot and quickly turned the car off, opened his door, and hopped out. I pulled the lever to open the door and quickly let go. My hand felt like it was on fire. I looked down and it was covered in blood and splinters.

Colin opened the door for me and helped me out. Instead of walking me to the door he picked me up and carried me in to the hospital. Any other time I would feel amazement at the beautiful gesture but my body was starting to come back to me and I was starting to hurt everywhere.

When we walked in I saw the police speaking to nurses and one was coming towards us with a wheelchair. Colin sat me in the wheelchair without even letting my feet touch the floor. I saw him show the nurse his badge and they pushed me back into the triage area.

When we got to my room a curtain was drawn and a nurse was preparing an IV bag for me. "I need eight milligrams of morphine," I heard Colin tell the nurse. Colin helped me to the hospital bed and I laid down.

I watched as Colin reached for a small flash light and he began looking into my eyes with it. "You're not my doctor," I said. He paused with the flashlight and looked at me. "Angela, this is my fault. I just want to help," he replied and continued with the flashlight. "You can't be both my boyfriend and my doctor. I think there are laws against that," my hands were really starting to burn and I was beginning to tremble from all the stress I was feeling.

The nurse hung up the IV bag and began wiping my hand to insert the needle. I looked away as she put the needle in and taped the tube to my hand and wrist and she then put a heart monitor on my middle finger . "Why do I need all this?" I asked and looked down and my hands that were now shaking hard. "We need to get fluids in you to avoid having you go into shock from blood loss. Now, I'm going to giving you some morphine so that I can suture your arm and then pull the splinters out of your hands," Colin answered and began injecting the line with a syringe full of morphine. After several seconds my shaking stopped and I laid my head back on the bed. I'd never had morphine before and felt dizzy and tired. When I looked back at Colin he was suturing my arm. It didn't even hurt which was a nice surprise.

"I don't blame you, Colin," I said sleepily. He looked up and met my eyes. He looked so sad. "I shouldn't have taken you," he said simply and got back to work on my arm. "I don't mind that you did, Colin. If I wanted you to take me back I would have let you when you offered," My words were slurred but I'm sure he could understand me. He nodded his head and continued on with my arm. I laid my head back down and began drifting in and out of consciousness.

Several nurses came in and out asking questions and bringing supplies. A doctor came in to ask questions and filled out some papers at the table next to me. A policeman came in and spoke to Colin. I wasn't sure for how long. I couldn't hold on to reality long enough to grasp what he was even saying. Eventually, I passed out completely.

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