Andrew.
I drive to the hospital and see the streets quiet with very few cars at 4 am. The lights flickering through the streets, the dark buildings, and people just starting their days. I drive in silence as little rain hits the car.
Suddenly someone is calling me. I look at the screen and see the contact name and I instantly ignore it.
I decline it and pull up to the parking lot of the hospital and get checked in and I wait for the elevator.
I look down the halls and I see it empty. Then down the other hall, it was empty again. Hospitals are never empty. It was too quiet.
The elevator arrives and a man already stands inside. I walk in and sigh. Before another second passes by, I press the emergency stop button. The elevator shakes for a moment, the alert rings, and the lights flicker for a moment. Then I say,
"Morning, Martin."
"Good morning to you too, sir." he hands me a a flip phone. "Please, take the phone."
I take the flip phone. No caller ID. Unknown. I answer it, bringing it to my ear.
"It isn't so pleasing to be ignored."
"Well, it isn't pleasing to be bothered, Seth." I say. "Why send a man? I'm sure you're capable of coming on your own with your two feet."
I hear him chuckle on the other line. I run a frustrated hand over my face, annoyed to be stuck in this elevator when I should be up at Jaylin's room. "What do you want?"
"I see you've gotten paid triple by Mr. Pedro last night." He starts. "That isn't a simple negotiation that happens in this industry. Very rare. Especially triple." he says 'rare' irritated.
He doesn't like to be 'behind' in his own work.
After a long pause of him just breathing and listening to him fumbling with something in his hand; he finally says, "How did you get the settlement?"
"I get paid by balance. It's how I work. I'm sure you know, how this thing works." I say. "You taught me it."
"Sure, I did. I practically raised you. But the deposit is late, Andrew. It seems that you have forgotten the monthly debt that you simply need to repay for me teaching you my ways on how to live." I listen to his voice. "See? You're still doing my dirty work and in my dirty way."
"I'll drop it by Tuesday."
"Fair. See you then." The end calls. I hand it back to Martin and release the emergency button.
I look up at the floor going up. "What floor?"
"2nd."
I press the second floor button. "How long have you been working under Seth?" I ask.
"Uh, 8 months, sir."
I hold back a laugh. "Almost hitting the year mark." I place my hands in my pockets, moving to the side of the elevator as I lean back.
"Yes, sir." he says. I watch his stance and his anxious apprehensive eyes, not knowing where to look as I directly stare at him.
There was some sort of guilt hidden behind those eyes.
I ease back, shutting my eyes for a moment. He's going to get himself killed soon.
"If you don't mind but...how long have you worked under Mr. Seth, sir?" We reach the 2nd floor, I hold the door open as he steps out.
"Since I was 7."
"You started eleven years ago?" Martin asks, surprised.
I burst out a small chuckle. A small change that I forget to mention. "I'm 22. I started fifteen years ago, not eleven."
Martin looks taken back a bit. "A-Aren't you 18, sir?"
I let my hand off the door. "There's no good truths in a manufactured system, Martin." I send him a cold smile. "You'll see in couple a months."
He's going to be in hell with that guy. I let myself breathe before I just wait to see Jaylin.
~~~~~
I reach to Jaylin's room.
I see Asher sleeping with his head back against the window, with his mouth wide open. And Theo sitting beside him reading a book.
I ignore both of them for a second and go to the side of Jaylin's bed. I look down at her, glancing at all the machines and monitors that are connected to her, barely keeping her alive at the bare minimum.
I take my hand out of my pocket and I gently bring it to her face, using the back of my hand and softly touching her cheek, gently rubbing the back of my hand on her soft warm cheeks. The edge of my mouth slowly rises, missing her eyes to open. I move her hair out of her face for her, stroking her hair as the sounds of the heart monitor beeps and the oxygen that flows into her mouth.
I brush my hand against her cheek, feeling the warmth that touches my hand. Reminding the coldness that I felt across her body back at Rayne's house.
I look down her arm, to her hand, and see it facing palm up. My hand traces down her arm, past the needle in her arm, to her wrist, and to her hand.
I grasp it with my hand and feel the impeccable of her hand fitting into my hand. I look at it like its the most beautiful thing to see.
Then suddenly I hear a snore. I look up and see that idiot, sleeping with his mouth fucking open. "Motherfucker..."
I see gloves on the wall. I put on one and I walk over to Asher, watching him enjoy his sleep when he's supposed to be watching her. Theo moves all the way over to the other side and continues to read his book
"Time to wake up, motherfucker."
I stick my hand into his mouth, to his throat. He gags and jumps up, gasping for air and his hands launch out, reaching for something like he entered a new universe. His eyes spring up with water until he makes eye contact with me.
He fixes his posture as I scowl at him. "Sorry, I thought you were a patient since you seemed to sleep so peacefully," I take off the glove and throw at his face.
"Sorry." he pulls down the glove off his face, wiping his drool off his mouth.
I move to sit down, he moves over close to the wall as I sit and lean back. "You couldn't have waked me?!" he whispers ragingly to Theo.
"You seemed to slept too well to be waked with that mouth open of yours." I say, crossing my arms.
"S-Sorry."
"Shithead..." I mutter.
Now the room was filled with the silence of her machines and monitors beeping, over and over. It was filled with her silence as the rest of us just listen to that silence.
"But Andrew..." Asher starts to speak. Always fucking talking.
"What."
"Why'd you stick your hand in my mouth?" I could almost see him blush through my closed eyes, asking me that.
"Why?" I open my eyes, glancing at him. "Want me to do it again? Did you like-"
"No! NO! W-Why would I like that?! Where did you even get that shitty idea?!" he practically screams his words, standing up
I smack the back of his head. "Shut it. Jaylin's right there." I sharp out the words.
"Sorry."
Now, we have wait to see if she can breathe on her own and live or if she can't breathe on her own and die.
[2 weeks later]
Rayne woke up.
I was the last one to arrive to her hospital room. I grab a chair and sit at the end of her hospital bed. "Where's Theo?" I ask, still looking at Rayne.
"He's watching Jaylin." Leith answers.
"J-Jaylin?" Rayne's face focuses to Jaylin's name. "How is-"
"She's fine." I somewhat answer for her.
We were here because the investigation of her father was going well but we needed answers before the police do. Answers she could lie or hide to them again but we didn't need a lie, we needed the truth that her father is afraid to speak out on.
"How are you feeling, Rayne?" I ask.
"Where is she?" she looks worn out. She looks around the room like she would find anything that leads her to Jaylin.
"If only, you answer my question, I'll answer yours." I reply. "So how are you feeling?"
She looks around, especially at the guys. I watch her hands start picking at her scars on her wrist and arms.
"Everyone leave the room." and they leave right out the door.
"It's just you and me." I say, leaning more back into the chair. Wanting to smoke. I put an unlighted cigarette between my lips.
"You can't smoke in here." Rayne says.
"I'm not and who cares." I put my hands in my pockets. I skip all the 'easy' questions and become straightforward with her. "Why and when do you think your father started hitting you?"
She darts her eyes to me, her heart monitor beeps faster and picks up. We both glance at it.
I grown. "Let's start with a more easy one." I bring my elbows to my knees, clasping my hands together. "Why was Jaylin there?"
Her heart monitor slows down.
"I don't know. I don't even know why or how she got-" Her eyes lower, her face is filled with thoughts and realization. She scratched the back of her head. "I put my address in her contact and I think that's how she came. But," she says. "But...I don't how she got there at that time."
I look at her through her eyes until I see the truth and genuineness in her eyes. "Now, you ask." I say.
"What?"
"I said if I ask a question, I'll answer yours," I nod towards her. "Or don't. I can keep just asking my ques-"
"Where is she?" she cuts me off. "Is she...okay?"
She gets nervous, her hands picking at each other. Her eyes shifting between mine as I don't answer. "She's okay."
Relief spreads through her body.
"But she hasn't woken up yet."
The relief vanishes from her.
"What do you mean 'she hasn't woken up yet'?" she asks me. "Andrew, what do you mean?"
"She got a big hit. It wasn't a nice one either." I say, taking the cigarette out of my mouth and throwing in the trash. "We have to wait. She can't breathe on her own right now."
Tears start flowing up her eyes. Guilty. She's guilty.
I rub my forehead, not knowing how to comfort someone. "She's going to be fine. She's strong. We just have to wait for her to choose." I say, heading towards the window. "Choose if she wants to fight and stay or leave."
We both stay silent for a bit before the door opens. I turn around and see Asher randomly breathing heavily, his eyes shoot wide. And only one word made me run out of that room.
"Jaylin."
I run out of the room, my hand pushing aside Asher, zooming past nurses. Taking the next right, barely losing my balance as I see nurses and doctors already running in front of me to her room.
I hear nurses at the desk yelling some thing about Jaylin's room and needing medical attention.
When I get to the door, I see a doctor doing chest compressions on her, doctors yelling she needs to get in the OR.
I was already frozen and blinking at what's happening right in front of me until I open my ears and listen.
Her heart monitor. It was this on-going sound of one pitch. It just kept going and going, the same single pitch ringing. Over and over.
"Page, Dr. Cain!" one doctor yells.
Two doctors move the hospital bed out of the room. I watch her pale face with blood rushing through her bandages out of her head as she passes by me in the hall.
I see other patients and families outside the room looking at us before I walk towards the door ready to slam the door shut in everyone's faces.
But I see one particular person in their hospital gown. They frantically move their eyes around, bringing their hands to the side of their head. Grasping their hair.
Until they make eye contact with me.
My chest slowly normalizes when I see her fall to her knees, her hands on each side of her head, continuing to shake her head back and forth. Muttering the words, "It's my fault. My fault. My fault. My fault."
Then one sound made everyone listen.
A cry.
A cry for help.
The guys peak their heads over my shoulder as every pairs of eyes are on her. I rush towards her, crouching down. "Hey," I shake her. "Hey, listen to me! Rayne!" I lift her head up and see a feared drained, blanked out face. She sobs harder, screaming as everyone steps back at her sob.
I pull her into my chest as the scream gets muffled, her tears seeping through my shirt, her hands gripping to my shirt, stretching it as she digs her nails into the fabric.
A doctor comes around and I see a sharp needle get pulled out. I grasp his wrist as I pull her closer towards me.
"It's a sedative. This will help her." he tells me before I release my hand from his wrist.
He injects it into her neck as I feel the tension from her body slowly disappear. I look down at her before she drops into my arms. I look at her for a second and I realize why she became important to Jaylin.
There was nothing for me to do for Jaylin except beg to her unconscious body that she wakes up. There was simply time that I had to wait for. So at that moment I've decided that until Jaylin wakes up, I'll take care of Rayne for her.
Because I guessed that Rayne was an important person to Jaylin from the very beginning. To a person she trusted, if Jaylin trusted her, it was probably because she saved her once.
I carry her up in my arms before the doctor tries to say something to me. I walk past the doctor and I hear a voice.
"Shouldn't she be in a mental hospital?"
I stop and turn around to that person.
That person looks away from me.
"I don't know. But I know those aren't the most pleasant words to abject to anyone. It's a disgusting and sickening words to say to someone. Especially to someone you don't even know." I glance down her and see a kid behind her.
"Be a good kid. And don't listen to your mom." I say to the kid. "She could be mental ." I whisper to the kid. And the good kid nods and I send him a smile.
I walk away.
(2394 words)
I don't know anything about medical situations so I tried my best. So these might not even be true or realistic. 🥲
Published: December 10, (5:43 pm); 12/10/22
Edited: Unknown