Bite Marks

Bare Skin

Before I even opened my eyes I knew I was in the hospital. Having made quite a few visits during my four year marriage I was very familiar with the smell. All hospitals smelled the same. Disinfectant trying to mask the smell of the dead and dying, it made my nostrils burn.

I tried to remember what Jason had banged up this time. From the pain it felt like maybe a kidney. Those hurt the worst and were the hardest to explain away. Uhm, yes nurse I fell on (insert object here), yep, landed right on my back, hurt like a bitch.

I don't know why I even lied, they all knew the truth, but what could they do besides check for internal bleeding and send me home with pain meds Jason immediately started popping like they were candy. At least they mellowed him out.

I blinked, opened my eyes, and tried to sit up. My breath hissed out through clenched teeth.

This pain was a little sharper than the usual dull throb and I wondered if something was permanently damaged this time. I eased back down and looked around, I wasn't sure which hospital I was at since they all looked relatively the same as well.

My eyes felt crusty and I slowly raised an arm to rub them. I felt like absolute shit. I needed something to drink, but I didn't have the energy to reach over to the glass of water on the side table. My tongue stuck to the roof of my mouth, but every time I moved it sent a sharp pain through my back. Sleep or water? Sleep.

I had just closed my eyes again, I should get some more rest before Jason came back from hitting on one of the nurses and started bitching about when we could leave, when it all flooded back to me. I was in Montana. I had been stabbed by some random asshole. My heart monitor started beeping in time with my increasing heart rate. Within moments a nurse had rushed into the room.

"Easy honey, are you okay. I'm sure you're in a lot of pain," she went over to the IV and adjusted what I assumed was a morphine drip. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Uhm," my mouth was dry and I swallowed, "there was a man, he stabbed me, and there were big... dogs...?"

I sounded like an idiot, but the event was still a little blurry courtesy of the morphine, and probably some left over shock.

"Well, you have seven stitches in your back, you're very lucky though, the knife missed all your internal organs," the nurse told me. I scoffed yeah, lucky.

"An officer will be here soon to take your statement, don't let him hassle you though. Between you and me the crime rate has risen quite a bit recently, and the police are a little on edge. We aren't used to that kind of thing around here."

I realized how ironic it was that the place I had chosen to live in, because of its peaceful nature, had recently experienced a rise in crime. This shit must follow me around. I felt bad for these people my bad luck seemed to be a fog, descending on the poor individuals unlucky enough to be around me. True to her word, about five minutes later a young officer knocked and walked into my room.

"Hi miss, I'm Officer Shale, I was hoping you could tell me what happened."

As I retold my story, a little more coherently this time, I looked over Officer Shale. He was handsome. With sandy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a natural tan he looked more like he belonged on a beach than in this hospital room taking my statement. He smiled at me to continue when I got to the part about the dogs, and I realized he had a crooked tooth. It helped lessen the surfer dude look, and I liked him better for it. I finished up my story, and he nodded and closed his little notebook.

"So you're not sure what breed these dogs were?" he asked me.

I shook my head, for all I knew I had hallucinated them in my panic.

"Nobody has really told me how I ended up in the hospital Officer. How did I get here?"

When I closed my eyes I had been sure I wasn't waking back up again.

"Well from what the night nurses tell me they heard honking outside and found you lying on the bench in the waiting area. They don't know who dropped you off, but whoever it was saved your life. Your wounds had been bound up with what we assume was your shirt. I'd like to say that we have a video of the person bringing you in, but this is not a large town and the security cameras are focused on the main medical hallways."

"Wait, wounds? Like plural? Please tell me he didn't stab me again or try to carve me up or something?"

I was suddenly sick to my stomach thinking about curling scars running over my back and sides.

At least Jason had never permanently marked me, well, not physically anyways.

"Oh, no ma'am just what looks to be a messy dog bite on the back of your calf. It must have happened after you passed out."

That was probably why no one had question the dog part of my story, I had the marks to prove it.

"Please call me Cassie," I told Officer Shale.

"Aidan," he said tipping his head at me. "Can I ask what you were doing out so late?"

After I explained working the night shift with no car he frowned.

"This guy is still out there Cassie, all we have is your description of him. Please whenever you work late, or if you ever feel unsafe, give me a call. I'll give you a ride," he said scribbling his number down on the back of a card. "Here is my cell."

"I couldn't possibly, that's way too much trouble!"

"I'm a part of the police force, it's kind of my job to help out the citizens of this little town. And I'll feel better knowing you're safe," he flashed his crooked tooth at me, and I took the card from him.

I didn't know if he was flirting with me or if he really was this helpful, but I felt better having his number. He seemed like a genuinely nice guy, though I was clearly a terrible judge of character.

I slept on and off for another day before I finally forced myself out of bed to survey the damage. I wheeled my IV over to the mirror and untied the strings of my gown. The bare skin of my lower back was covered by a white bandage, not as large as I had imagined, but it was the back of my calf that I found curious.

The skin was torn around the edges but didn't have the bloody look of a completely new wound.

The bite mark was scabbed over mostly, but swollen and puffy looking. I hadn't really considered the fact that I might have contracted rabies until now. If I did have rabies there was nothing I could do about it so I laid back down, wondering how I was going to afford this hospital visit and how long it would take before I could be back at work. Rabies would be the least of my worries if I suddenly found myself homeless.

So not a lot really happening in this chapter, but I'm trying not to rush Cassie's story. Comments welcome!! Give me some votes! Let me know if you guys like what I'm writing! :)