Chapter 37 Human Blood
For two weeks the only person who knew what I had been doing was Amy. I made excuse after excuse not to see Eric or Kyle outside of school.
Crow kept trying to teach me how to protect myself and I kept getting bruises. I didn't try any of the moves I learned in the beginning video. First of all, I wasn't good enough to have an effect against him. Second, I didn't want him to know what I was doing.
Eric kept offering to teach me but I told him I had reconsidered. I just didn't tell him the part I had reconsidered was him teaching me. I left home every night, ran, and practiced in the abandoned cleaners.
I figured out there were places I could run out of the city too. I just never really had time for them.
One of my favorite places was the river. I loved the way the full moon shown on waters surface. Sometimes I would just sit on the river bank and let my mind wonder. It was like drifting on the wind. My mind could float on the air around me. I barely felt connected to my body. I hated
It was Friday night so I was sore from Crows lessons. I had already got ten phone calls that I ignored. Three from Amy, three from my mom, one from Kyle and two from Eric.
I had cut up the video and set each lesson on a loop of ten minutes. On the second lesson I got the first call. By the third lesson I was irritated with the interruptions.
I answered the eleventh call. "What do you want?"
Amy spoke calmly as if I hadn't snapped at her. "Steph, where are you?"
"Practicing. Or I would be if people would stop calling."
"You need to tell me where you are. Kyle and I will come get you."
I almost snapped at her again but there was something in her voice that sped up my heart. "Kyle? Why are you with Kyle?"
"Stephanie, where are you?"
"Amy tell me what is going on?" I started heading to the door. "I'm heading home now. What happened?"
I heard her release an uneasy breath. "There was a wreck. Your dad - your dad's in the hospital."
I ran. I didn't care if someone saw me. I had ignored so many calls. I could have been there at the hospital with my mom. I ran so fast I couldn't hear Amy on the phone. Nothing felt real. I didn't understand how my dad could be in the hospital. I barely said goodbye to him this morning before school.
I don't know how long it took me to get to the emergency department. I looked around, desperate. I was desperate to see someone I knew and desperate not to. If no one was here that meant there was a mistake.
My mom sat in a chair, her body bent over, hands covering her face and she was surrounded by people. Most I did know. "Mom." I screamed.
I made my way, sobbing, to her side. "I'm so sorry. Sorry, I didn't answer." I dropped down to my knees, my fingers wrapping around hers. "Where is he? What happened?"
She shook her head. Her eyes were wide and mascara streaked her face. "They won't tell us anything. We've asked but they say they'll let us know as soon as they can." She gripped my fingers. "Oh, god."
"Steph, I asked just before you got here. They said there are too many injured and they don't have them all processed yet." Corina said. She worked with my mom at the reality office.
I didn't bother to stand. I just held on to my mom. "What happened?"
"From what we could gathered a moving truck lost control and caused the accident. There were sixteen vehicles in all. We don't know more than that."
I shook my head. I laid my head on my mom's lap. She bent over me. Her hand stroked my back.
"Steph!" Mom and I both lifted up at the sound of Amy's voice. Amy and Kyle were rushing across the waiting room.
I stood up and met her. We hugged lightly. "Have you heard anything? Why didn't you just tell me where you were. I would have picked you up." Her arms tightened. "How's Mr. Stone?" She released me and turned to my mom. "Mrs. Stone, I'm so sorry I wasn't here sooner."
For the next hour we waited with no news. Unable to sit still I paced the floor. From the conversations around us we weren't the only family here because of the wreck. They didn't know anymore then we did.
"I want mummy, Daddy." A girl about four whined tugging at her father's pant leg. He scooped her up and snuggled her.
"I know, Kay. I want Mommy, too."
I tried to stay calm. It wasn't possible. If they would at least let us know something, I just wanted to know he was alive, then at least we would have something to concentrate on.
Pressure built up in my chest. But I couldn't sit down. I needed to move. They hadn't sent anyone out to talk to us, any of us.
I shook my head. I can't do this. I have to ask. I have to talk to someone. I stalked over to the desk. The nurse sat typing. Her pink scrubs covered by yellow cartoon characters. She didn't look up when I stopped in front of the desk.
"Excuse me, I need some information about a patient . Last name Stone. He was brought in with other accident victims."
"Are you family?" I told her I was his daughter. She tapped at the keyboard a moment and looked up. "I'm sorry miss. He hasn't been put in the system, yet. As soon as he's entered I'll let your family know." She looked back at her computer screen, dismissing me.
I slapped my hands on the desk. She jerked her head up. "I want answers. Who's in charge here?"
"The head nurse, Mary James, is in charge. But she's gone to the cafeteria. She'll tell you the same thing as I have!" Her voice rang across the waiting room. I had already turned and headed to the main building. The cafeteria wasn't hard to find. Apparently, neither was I.
"Steph, where are you going? What if they have news about your dad?" She slowed down to keep pace with me.
"The emergency head nurse is in the cafeteria. I'm going to talk to her."
"Oh."
We had to ask a few people before we found Mary James. She was finally point out to us by a heavyset black female in a dark blue suit. We made our way over to her table. She had only eaten half her dinner.
"Nurse James?" I slipped into the seat across from her. She hastily wiped her lips with a paper napkin. Amy slipped into the seat beside me.
"Yes, can I help you?" She sat the napkin beside her styrofoam container.
"There are a lot of people in the emergency waiting room needing information on family. My family has been here over an hour. We need information."
"I understand your upset but we are working as fast as we can with the staff we have. It's a Friday night and we've had two major auto collisions in the past six hours, numerous walk-ins, one teenage who broke three bones walking a bridge railing, a couple with food poison, six non-auto related ambulance deliveries, and a nurse trainee that fainted at her first puncture wound."
"You can quote that to me, by heart, but don't know who is in your department at this moment. You're job is helping people in the emergency department. The families in the waiting room have father's, mother's, sons, and daughters, they trust in your care. The least you can give these families is a little information on the people's care." My chest felt so heavy it ached. I wanted to grab the women and shake her.
"We feel useless. Our stomachs ache in worry. We have no one to turn to that can prepare us for what is happening. Some of them aren't sure what's going on. Some of those in the waiting room don't even know if their family member is still here, been released, transferred or was in the middle of the accident at all. They don't know if they should plan on going home or to the morgue. They have no idea if they should be calling family here or waiting alone. You should give them answers. If you have too then call in employees to help update patient files until everyone is accounted for. Appoint someone as a go between to keep the waiting families in the loop. I assume you didn't become a nurse for the money, so why did you?" It felt like a bubble busted in my chest.
Nurse James nodded. "You're right. We are responsible for the families who trust us with their loved ones." She pushed her chair back from the table. "I should call critical care and see if they have anyone they can send down to help." She stood pulling her cell phone from her pocket. She pressed buttons while walking away. "Christen, this is Mary from ED. - No actually I have a situation in Emergency. We've been overwhelmed with patients in two different vehicle collisions. I don't want any one to lose there job but..." Eventually her voice faded away. I couldn't stop staring in the direction she just came from.
"That's not... What just happened?" I shook my head. "She didn't argue or anything. She just," I lifted my hand making a sweeping gesture, "took my suggestion and ran with it. I..." I turned to Amy. Her mouth hung open. She looked astonished. I thought she must feel the same as I did. "Do you think it will really work? You think they'll send help down?"
Amy's mouth closed. She licked her lips and swallowed. "I hope so. You were right, you know, about the people over there." She got out of the seat. I followed.
I looked away from her. "I know. I've heard them. I tried not to but it's harder to control when my emotions are so in tune with theirs. It's so loud. Even when they whisper I hear them. My heart breaks knowing they feel just as helpless as I do."
She reached out and took my hand. She squeezed. I squeezed back. My fear didn't go away but it eased a little. I wished I could follow Mary James around. I wanted to know what was happening.
I snuggled up to my mom as soon as we got back to the Emergency Department. There had been no news while we were gone. Ten minutes passed, then twenty. Three nurses entered the waiting room. One of them was Mary James. All three held stacks of clipboards. Mary held up her hand to silence the instant flood of questions.
"We would like to thank you for your patience. We realize that you all have worries and fears. In an effort to expedite the identity of all the patients we ask that each of you fill out these forms. We have some patients that are unable to speak and any identifying information you can provide would help all of us all." Marys voice carried around the room.
The male nurse handed mom a clipboard.
"I do apologise for the delay. We have tried to deal with the worse injured first and foremost. I do however have the names of the least injured. I need the following families to gather at the reception desk. Rogers, Ortez, and Quin."
I had hoped to hear my father's name. I looked down at my mom. She had sat down and started to work on the paperwork.
"Mom. I can do that if you'd like to go get a cup of coffee or something." I knelt down by her.
She didn't look up. "No, honey. No, I need to do this." The pen moved quickly over the paper.
Ten minutes later they gathers the papers. Nurse Mary James caught my eye as she took the papers from my mom. She gave me a small nod.
I sat, then I paced. I sat again. I heard a phone ring. Kyle jumped to his feet. "Hello?" He started walking to the door. "Not yet. — Not good. Thought I can't blame her.—" I didn't hear anything else. The automatic doors closed behind him.
Amy hugged me. "They're going to figure it out. I'm sure you're dad's fine. I hope he's fine."
The emergency department door opened and and a nurse with a clipboard came out. She cleared her throat. Everyone turned to her anxiously.
"I need you all to keep in mind we are working as quickly as possible. I've been sent to let you know the emergency department has requested that anyone who is willing and able to donate blood can do so on the second floor. We appreciate all blood types but are in real need of AB negative and O negative. I have a sign up sheet that will allow us to find you should information on your love one become available while you are in the hematology lab."
I turned to walk over to her. Amy grabbed my arm. "No." She leaned closer. "You're blood isn't human, Steph." She whispered.
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Hello Kings and Queens,
I hate not having home internet! HATE IT!
Vote. Comment. Share. Follow. Message me. Write on my profile.
What is the temperature there? Here is 45°F.
What's the weather like? I personally can't wait til spring. I wish I was in Australia right now. Here it is foggy, chilly, cloudy, and wet.
On the plus side I've had a late brunch at the café in the grocery store with Tyler. He's giving me a hard time. He noticed a man that looked Santa he whispered "He looks like santa." and I looked up and said "Hey, Santa." Tyler blamed it all on me. It's not my fault, I was distracted. It's all Tyler's fault. I (insert sarcastic font here) was writing to you my wonderful Kings And Queens. LOL.
Love you all and I really appreciate your help and support.
Happy holidays my lovelies.
You get two chapters because I missed last week. So it's make up time...
Thank you,
Asha
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