by Kahlen Aymes
“Come with me, Ryan,” Kari said. “Let’s head into another room so I can get this cleaned and stitched up.”
“I’m fine,” I protested. I’d gotten the least of it.
“Stop being stubborn. There’s nothing more you can do. She’s still alive because of you.”
“It should be me on that table.”
“Hush. You’re being silly. You were amazing. You knew what to do to help her and you did it without hesitation. All that blood is a dangerous situation. Some people wouldn’t have been so selfless, Ryan. If I ever get hurt, I hope you’ll be the one working on me.” Her eyes filled with understanding and compassion. “Come on. We’ll only be in the way and they’ll be transporting her soon.”
“Okay.” I nodded as she helped me up and nodded to the wheelchair she had waiting. “But I don’t need that damn thing.”
I glanced at my watch and sighed, impatient and anxious to get home to Ryan. Even though I’d been annoyed as hell with his insensitivity to Ellie’s broken heart, I couldn’t stay mad at him. He was tired, working his ass off and all he wanted was to see me. How could I hold that against him? It only reminded me how perfect he was and I found myself aching to put my arms around him.
This weekend had been something we’d both been looking forward to, and if I was honest, I was annoyed with my friend, too. Why couldn’t she see how she alienated Harris? Every time she questioned and mistrusted, he closed off more and more, which only fed her suspicions.
I sighed in resignation. I was tired of listening to the same thing over and over when she clearly wasn’t hearing my advice and she wasn’t listening to the man she loved. I reminded myself how I used to feel when Ryan went out on dates; I was devastated, even though we weren’t even dating. Ellie had to be feeling even worse, except it was all in her head. That was the infuriating part and it made it all a huge waste.
Somehow I managed to get on a plane, but it was much later than I’d originally planned. Witnessing the state of Ellie’s relationship with Harris, made me sick at how I’d left things with Ryan. I hated any sort of distance between us, and more than the 3000 miles that had separated us, the emotional chasm, however temporary, left me bereft and itching to fix it.
I called Ellie’s mother, who’d always coddled her daughter as long as I’d known her and was only too happy to come be with her only child. Ellie cringed at her mother’s meddling, sometimes feeling smothered, but in this case, she ran into her arms like a small child. After the older woman arrived, I made a hasty exit, inviting my friend to come to New York as soon as she could manage it. A change of scenery was just what she needed to get her head and heart around her own situation and the New York Fashion District was just the distraction to help.
Despite Ellie’s adamant posturing that Harris was sleeping with a different woman every night, I knew in my heart he wasn’t. Harris’s sorrow had turned to anger after multiple attempts to convince Ellie to the contrary failed. Who could blame the poor guy?
Finally on the tarmac in New York, I pulled my phone out of my purse and checked it for message from Ryan. I frowned at the blank screen. That was weird. He had to be really mad if he hadn’t responded yet. We usually made up within hours.
“Where you going, miss?” the driver asked as he loaded my bags in the trunk of his cab. He had olive skin and a heavy European accent, flashing me a pleasant smile when he held the back door open. I gave him the address to our apartment and climbed into the backseat. As we made our way through town, the radio played as the concrete jungle that was Manhattan, now lit up and glowing, passed by in a mirage of brilliant colors. I leaned my head back on the seat and closed my burning eyes. I was exhausted, even though my internal clock was three hours earlier than the 12:13 my watch showed.
“It’s nice they’re finally playing music. The past hour’s been nothing but that incident at the other end of town. What a shame kids have to go all crazy like that.” The old man readjusted the Yankee’s baseball cap on his head as he shook it. I barely noticed. I was watching a couple nuzzling each other on the corner as we waited at a red light.
“Hmmm?” I smiled and looked at the man’s face in the rearview mirror. “Don’t you have Sirius?”
“In this old hack?” He laughed. “Good thing I don’t, too. Need to know what’s going on around here. I like oldies and talk radio. This thing at St. Vincent’s tonight. Stupid kids,” he huffed gruffly.
I quickly tuned in to what he was saying. “What?” I asked anxiously. “What about St. Vincent’s?”
I dug the phone out of my purse and pushed Ryan’s speed dial, holding the phone to my ear at the same time waiting for the driver’s answer.
“Some gang thing. A shooting, and then a fight in the Emergency Room. Several people were injured, I think a few died, and several others injured, from what I hear. I hope they get those bastards.”
My breath left my body. “Oh, my God!” I blinked as my eyes started to sting. “When? When was it?” Panic seized my chest. Ryan was working tonight and maybe that was why he wasn’t answering his phone!
“Just tonight.”
“Oh, my God! Please take me there! I have to get down there! Now!”
“It might not be safe, or the cops might not let anyone in. According to the news, they’ve been deflecting emergencies to other hospitals.”
“Please! I have to get down there!” I reached up and urgently grabbed the back of his seat. “Please! My husband is a first year resident and he was working tonight! I have to go!” Two tears plopped onto my cheeks and I hastily brushed them away and returned the unanswered phone to my purse. “Please!”
I was shaking so badly that when I tried to find Gabriel and Elyse’s number, it fell completely from my hands and landed with a thud on the floorboards. All I could think about was getting in touch with someone that knew something. Since Ryan wasn’t answering his phone, maybe his parents knew something. I scrambled to pick it up as the driver made a U-turn at a light and headed toward St. Vincent’s.
“The hospital was unaffected. It was only the ER.”
“Ryan works in the ER! Please!”
“Okay. But, I doubt they’ll let us in.”
It seemed like years until Elyse picked up the phone and the time it took the cab driver to navigate through the Manhattan traffic was excruciating.
“Hello?”
“Oh, thank God! Elyse, have you heard from Ryan tonight?”
“I haven’t spoken with him since Wednesday. Why? What’s wrong, Julia?”
“I don’t know. Maybe nothing. Have you watched the news? Maybe it’s not national news.” I was rambling and my voice trembled. “There was some sort of gang warfare at the hospital. I don’t know the details, I just got in from L.A. I’d hoped you’d know if Ryan was safe.”
I could hear Ryan’s mother audibly gasp on the other end of the phone. “Oh, no! Gabe! Turn on the news! We’ve been out to dinner with friends all evening, so I haven’t heard anything! What do you know?”
“Not much. I’m on my way to the hospital, now.”
“Julia, is that wise? If it’s dangerous, Ryan wouldn’t want you to go down there.”
“I have to!” I almost screamed. “I’m sorry,” my voice was softer now. “I just… I have to make sure he’s okay. He’s not answering his phone!”
“Ryan never answers his phone at the hospital, honey.”
“I know, but he should be home now. I tried his pager, too. I’m…” my voice cracked and I brushed a stray tear from my cheek. “Oh, God, I’m so scared!”
“Julia, no news is good news.” Elyse tried to calm me down, but I could hear that her fear echoed my own. “I won’t believe anything has happened to my son. Just calm down.”
I almost told her two people had been killed but decided to wait until I knew more. “I’ll call you back when I know more. I’m just getting to the hospital.”
There were flashing lights from half a dozen police cars and four news vans at the
Emergency entrance. The parking lot wasn’t blocked off, though, and the lane for ambulances delivering patients was clear. “I gotta go, Elyse. I love you.”
“You, too, sweetheart. Call us as soon as you know something.”
“I will.” I hung up the phone and dug out thirty dollars to give to the cabbie. “Thank you,” I said as I rushed from the car.
“Miss! What about your bags?”
“I can’t worry about that now!”
“But…” he called after me as I rushed up to the police officers standing at the entrance.
“Ma’am, are you in need of medical attention?”
“No.” I was breathless, my chest tight as I tried to move around the officers. One of them put his hand up and the other grabbed my arm. “Please, I have to get in there.”
“This is a crime scene. We’re only letting critical emergency patients through.”
“Please!” I knew the panic showed on my face as I looked up into the officer’s face. “My husband works here! I just need to know he’s safe!”
“I’m sorry. No can do. You have to leave, ma’ am. We have to keep this area clear while the investigators do their job.”
I stood there ringing my hands, unable or unwilling to do as he asked. I looked away, trying to stem the panic and thickening in my throat, but my eyes welled. When I looked back, his burly face was a watery blur. “Please.” I reached out and grabbed his arm frantically, my voice shaking. “Are you married? Wouldn’t you want to know if your wife was safe?”
“I’d want her safe, and I’m sure your husband wouldn’t want you in the middle of this. We can’t let you in. We’re just flat feet. We don’t get to make these decisions. I’m very sorry. You’ll have to leave.”
I could see behind him through the glass doors. The waiting room was filled with more police milling around, and one woman was screaming hysterically. Sobbing and falling to her knees as one of the officers caught her. I closed my eyes. Please, God.
“You let that woman in! Please! I have to make sure he’s okay!” I was openly crying, clutching at his arm. “I’m begging you.”
“She was already in there when it all went down, ma’am.” The officer put his arm around me and physically pulled me back toward the cab. The driver, leaning down and over to look anxiously up through the window watched it all in silence. The policeman opened the rear passenger door and pushed me inside. “Take her home. This is no place for her.”
I felt helpless and angry, frustration threatened to explode in my chest. “This is bullshit! Tell me he’s okay and I’ll leave!” I screamed at the man as he closed the door behind me. The cab driver rolled the electric window down and regret crossed the features of the two officers. “Can’t you at least do that?”
The one who wasn’t saying much finally stepped forward. He was shorter with gray hair and gentle features, sympathy written all over his face.
“What’s his name?” the second policeman asked.
“Ryan Matthews. He’s a resident.” I put my hand to cover my mouth as a sob rose up in my chest. My nose was running. I was a snotty mess and I wiped at the tip of my nose with the back of my hand and blinked up at him.
“Okay, I’ll go in and find out. We can’t let you in, but I’ll have someone call you, okay?”
I nodded and dug in my purse for my business card to quickly hand to the man. “Thank you. My cell number is on my card.”
“Now, get out of here,” he said with a soft smile and then turned and walked past the other officer. The glass doors parted and he disappeared inside. The other officer waved to the driver and the car started to move away from the entrance.
I closed my eyes, and wiped at my wet cheeks. “Can you pull around to the front of the hospital, please?”
I watched through the back window as the cab pulled out of the driveway.
“He said to take you home. Aren’t you going?”
“No. I can’t leave until I know. Just take me around to the front and drop me off, please. I’ll pay you. Can you take my bags to my apartment?” I gave him the address and a hundred dollar bill as I got out of the car and ran into the front entrance as fast as my feet would carry me. I knew my way around the hospital and hurried through the halls toward the back of the hospital where the Emergency Room was located. As I got closer, there were policemen, more staff and several men in suits were wandering around. The doors were off the hinges and leaning up against the wall, plaster and debris littered the floor. Two armed guards put up their hands to stop me. One was a huge black man, and the other a younger and much smaller white man, both in hospital security uniforms. I inhaled, ready to fight my way in.
“Sorry.” The big officer crossed his arms in front of him and shook his head. “No one gets in.”
My head fell back and I gasped as I looked at the ceiling. My eyes felt swollen and I knew my face was red and pinched. “I have get in there. Please.” Determination laced my voice.
He shook his head again and his partner spoke up. “You got someone in there?” he asked.
“Yes. My husband is a resident. He was working tonight. I just need to know he’s okay.”
Dark eyes scanned my face and he frowned.
“Please?”
“What’s his name?”
“Ryan Matthews.”
“Oh, Ryan. He’s a good dude. Julia, right?” I nodded quickly, a tiny ray of hope beginning to flicker. “He’s not one of the casualties, but he was injured. We’ll take you in.”
Ryan was alive. I was relieved, but still panicked because I didn’t know how badly he was hurt. I wanted to bolt through the doors, and once we got into the ER, I glanced around quickly, my eyes desperately seeking those of my husband. I recognized some of the nurses and Caleb, whose scrubs and lab coat were covered in blood. He looked up from the clipboard he was holding, acknowledgment filling his expression. He nodded at the guards. “I’ve got this. Julia, come with me.”
The officers remained where they were as I walked beside the other doctor. “Just please tell me he’s okay.”
“He’s okay. He has a pretty nasty slice on his shoulder and he’ll be sore, but he’s going to be fine. They’re stitching him up.”
At that moment, we came to an open doorway and I saw Ryan, shirtless, with an older woman in a white lab coat, sewing up his shoulder. He was hunched over with his back to me. All I could see was the blood. His arm was stained red with it, and his pants were saturated, his scrub shirt and lab coat were sitting on the table next to him, all covered in large bloody splotches. They looked like they’d been used to mop up a murder scene.
“Ryan?” I called softly. His head snapped around instantly and his eyes met mine. Relief flooded through me. I was so grateful for the light in those beautiful blue eyes. He held out his good arm and I rushed to his side, and he wound it tightly around my waist. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and clung to him, trying hard not to let the torrent of tears break free. He smelled like Ryan, but the scent of his cologne and skin was masked by the salty rank of blood.
“What are you doing here? I thought you were still in L.A.”
“Oh, my God!” I said, unable to answer.
“This isn’t all my blood, baby,” he soothed. My hand moved to his face and I kissed his jaw and cheek. “I’m fine. Really, Jules, I’m okay,” Ryan soothed. His eyes softened at the fear in my own. When the nurse asked me to wait in the chair against the wall, Ryan shook his head in refusal, so she continued working as Ryan held me with his good arm. It felt so good to be held closely to him, his warm breath reassuring me he was still alive, rushing over my face and neck. “I’m so glad to see you.” His arm tightened and his lips found my temple. “You’re all I thought about. I was so worried I’d never see you again.”
I clutched around him harder, as the dam burst and I closed my eyes. “Don’t ever say that to me. Ever!”
“I’m okay, babe. You’re stuck with me.”
“Can you go home tonight, o
r will you have to be admitted?”
“Pfft! For this little scratch,” he joked, trying to make me feel better. I knew it was much worse than he was letting on. It looked deep and would leave an angry scar on his perfect skin.
“Let’s go home when you’re done. You can tell me what happened, but I want to get out of here and I need to call your parents.”
He rolled his eyes. “You called my parents?”
“You wouldn’t answer my texts!” I exclaimed, thankful for the amused look on his face.
“I need to check on Jane, before we leave.”
I remembered the pretty blonde nurse. “She was hurt pretty badly. She stepped in front of me when the bastard with the knife came at me. She got the worst of it. I might be dead if it weren’t for her. She’s in surgery, now. I’d like to stay until she’s in recovery. Okay?”
“What happened to her?”
Ryan briefly explained and I nodded. “Okay.” Gratitude was an understatement. Tears blurred his beautiful face before my eyes. He looked so tired. “Can I stay with you? I can’t bear to have you out of my sight.”
His lips quirked in a soft smile. “Yeah. I’d like that.”
“Does it hurt?”
“Yep. Like a son-of-a-bitch. They gave me some Vicodin, but I can’t take it until we get home. It’ll put me to sleep.”
“I remember how that is.” I said softly as he leaned over and placed a soft, open-mouthed kiss on my lips. “I hated taking it.”
It was only a few minutes more and Ryan was bandaged up and we went to the doctor’s lounge so he could change into clean scrubs. He was quiet as he took my hand and walked with me down the hall to the elevators. We found a couch in the waiting room of the surgery floor and he pulled me down onto his lap. I went without protest and curled into him, resting my forehead on his jaw, content to be held by him.
After he called Elyse and promised to call again with more details the following day, Ryan unloaded about the horrible happenings of the evening. I was frightened just hearing about the cold-blooded murder that happened right in front of their eyes and how Jane saved my husband by sacrificing herself. I had no way to show her how grateful I was. She’d saved my life, too.