by Jax Burrows
Lexi feared for the other patients’ safety. Security were there instantly, as if they had been waiting for it to happen.
Lexi just stood and stared, helpless in the face of so many injured. Raj stood next to her with his arms folded and a disdainful look on his face.
‘Here we go,’ he said, ‘the fun has started. This is the second act in the Night of the Walking Dead. Brace yourself.’
Lexi, amazed at his nonchalance, stared at him. ‘But there’s so many injured and an ambulance is bringing in more. How are we going to cope?’
‘Umm… look more closely, Lexi, at our patients. See anything strange about them?’
‘Apart from the fact that most of them are covered in blood, and …’ She looked more closely. Really looked. She realized then that they were dressed in Halloween costumes. There was a zombie carrying an artificial hand, a nurse in a blood-stained uniform with a huge red syringe, a surgeon in scrubs splashed with streaks of blood, waving what looked like fake internal organs, as well as the usual vampires, witches and ghouls.
She noticed that some of the patients had made themselves comfortable on chairs in the waiting area, opened cans of beer and appeared to be carrying on the party they had obviously just left. Very few of them were hurt at all. Just anxious to keep drinking.
Lexi felt stupid at her mistake but, in her defence, seeing a crowd of people covered in blood, even though she now knew it was fake or stage blood, had caused her caring instinct to kick in and she had just wanted to help them.
Now she realized the truth, she was relieved that they were just a bunch of irresponsible young people and she was grateful the children had all gone home. She also felt sorry for the real patients, many of whom had already left, obviously deciding that their emergency, whatever it had been, could wait until the morning.
‘Come on, let’s go and get ready for the real emergency,’ Raj said, leading his team back to the relative peace and normality of Resus.
Chapter Eighteen
As they waited for the ambulance to arrive with their real emergency, a young police constable joined them and gave them an update on events. A student party had been gate-crashed by a group of known “druggies” and fights and general mayhem had broken out. There were few serious injuries, mainly cuts and bruises, which were being dealt with in Minors, but the young woman who was being brought in by ambulance, had been badly beaten up.
‘With all the people that must have been at the party and are now in the waiting area,’ Lexi said to Raj, ‘why pick on a young woman?’
Raj shrugged but looked worried.
When the paramedics delivered their patient, they had their answer. It was Shelley.
Lexi was at her side straight away to assess her condition. Her face was a mess. Her top lip was swollen, one eye was completely closed, and she had livid red marks on the left side of her face.
‘Hi – it’s Shelley, isn’t it?’ she asked gently.
‘Yeah,’ Shelley replied, ‘bad penny, that’s me.’ She passed out.
As the Resus team worked on their patient, checking vital signs, getting a line in for fluids, intubating her and calling out a list of injuries to the other members of the team as they worked, Raj had stepped away and was on the phone. When he returned to Shelley’s side, he spoke quietly to Lexi.
‘I’ve told Casey she’s here.’
‘But Casey’s off duty, we can manage, can’t we?’
‘Of course we can, but those are his instructions. He wants to be informed whenever Shelley is admitted. He must have a special interest in the girl for some reason.’ He looked at Lexi and she thought of the story he had told her about the patient who had died whilst in his care.
‘He’s just concerned. He suspects there’s more going on with Shelley than she’s telling us.’
‘I agree. Domestic abuse victim, I’d say.’
‘Do you think so?’
‘Oh yes, no doubt about it.’
When Shelley was stabilized and had regained consciousness, she was taken to scanning for a CT of her head. Fortunately, her injuries were superficial, so she was taken back to Resus for observation. Lexi made her comfortable, then prepared to leave the cubicle.
‘Wait.’
‘Yes, Shelley, what can I do for you?’
‘I heard what you said.’
‘I haven’t said anything.’
‘About being bullied, you told that doctor.’
Lexi remembered the night she had sat by Shelley’s bedside with Casey. The girl had been out for the count. Or so they had thought.
‘What did I say, remind me?’
‘About that boy who pushed you in the pool. Little shit.’
So, she had heard and knew everything they’d been talking about. She wracked her brains to remember what else they’d said to each other. Nothing too personal, she hoped, but she couldn’t quite recall.
Hearing was the last sense to go in unconscious patients. Even patients who had been heavily anaesthetized. Shelley was gazing at her, waiting expectantly, her bruised and battered face tense and watchful. Now was the time for complete honesty if she stood any chance of gaining her trust.
‘Yes, I was bullied as a kid. I was brought up in care, you see, Shelley, I didn’t have parents or siblings or anyone else to look out for me.’
‘Same,’ Shelley said. Her mouth must have pained her as she barely opened it when she spoke. ‘I’ve got no one. My Dad threw me out.’
‘So, where are you staying?’ Shelley seemed more interested in her life than in talking about herself.
‘But now, you’re with that doctor, right? The good looking one?’
‘We have history but I’m a single mother. I’m independent, it’s how I like it. I don’t rely on anyone except a close girlfriend. I don’t really trust other people, you see.’ As she said the words, she realized how true they were. She wished she could be different, but she had never learned to trust.
‘Why?’
‘Because people let you down.’ She thought of the times she’d been fostered out to couples she had grown to like and sometimes even love. She had high hopes for adoption from one or two, but something had always happened to stop it. The foster family’s circumstances had changed; once a couple had divorced, one man had become seriously ill, another family had decided to emigrate. And then, occasionally, she thought they must have just got tired of her as she was returned to the home with hardly an explanation. When she was an adult, her ex-boyfriend had dumped her because, in his opinion, she was too needy. No, people couldn’t be trusted.
‘He loves you.’
‘Who? Dr O’Connor? No, he doesn’t.’ She laughed to show how absurd that idea was. ‘We just work together now, that’s all.’
Shelley’s expression darkened. ‘I’m not stupid, I’ve got eyes. You’d be the stupid one if you let him go. He’ll look after you. He’s a good man.’
Lexi was just about to recite her usual mantra about not needing to be looked after, when she thought of Jade and the close relationship her daughter already had with Casey, only after a few months. In her innocence, she accepted everything her father offered her and never questioned any of it.
Whereas she, Lexi, was still suspicious of Casey, never being able to completely relax in his company, wondering what he really thought of her. Why couldn’t she be more like Jade? But Shelley was spot on about Casey.
‘Yes, you’re right,’ she said, ‘Dr O’Connor is a good man, and an excellent doctor, and he’s very concerned about you.’ Did that sound too patronizing? Shelley had looked away from her and seemed to be struggling with some inner demon. Lexi took a leaf out of Casey’s book and stood quietly waiting for her patient to speak. She didn’t want to destroy the fragile trust that was starting to build up by asking too many questions, such as who had given her the bruises and cut lip?
Shelley spoke, quietly and with less confidence than Lexi had ever heard in her voice before. ‘He did it.’
�
��Who, Shelley, your boyfriend?’
She nodded but couldn’t meet her gaze. ‘I want to be like you,’ she said, turning then and looking at her eagerly but with frightened eyes. ‘I don’t want to take no bullshit from anyone. But I’m scared. I’m not as strong as you, I don’t know how to do it.’
Lexi was taken aback. Shelley thought she was a strong person. Not an image she had of herself. Other people didn’t see her like that either. Casey certainly didn’t, he’d told her to stop living in fear. Or words to that effect. She’d been too scared to go swimming, scared to meet his parents, scared of her own shadow. But this poor, battered girl thought she was a strong person. She couldn’t let her down.
‘I’ll help you if you like. You need to get away from him. Is there anywhere you can stay?’
Shelley shook her head and looked sullen again. Lexi knew now, however, that her surly expression hid real fear and it was her way of covering it up. She feigned cheerful confidence, determined to live up to Shelley’s belief in her. No one had ever believed in her before, except Jade and Jess. It was a new experience, one she rather liked.
‘There are shelters that will take you in. They’re safe havens with people who can protect you and make sure he can never touch you again. You’ll meet women in the same predicament. Make friends.’
She wondered if she was selling the idea to Shelley. The girl had the reputation for disappearing just when the medical professionals thought they were getting through to her. This time it was different. The belligerence had gone, and the arrogance. In its place was a lonely, battered and defeated young woman. Lexi’s heart went out to her. She recognized that look of defeat, she’d seen it in the mirror on so many occasions growing up.
Well, no more. For herself or for Shelley.
When the porters arrived to take her up to the ward, Shelley reached out her hand to Lexi and she took it in both of hers. It was as cold as ice, but her grip was firm.
‘Thanks,’ she said.
‘You’re welcome. I’ll liaise with the social workers to find you a place to stay. And you need to tell the police about all the violence he’s inflicted on you. He shouldn’t be allowed to get away with it.’
Shelley squeezed her hand and nodded. Then she looked her in the eyes and said, ‘Don’t lose that doctor. You’ll never find another like him. Trust me. I know men.’
The porters arrived to wheel her out of the cubicle and towards the lifts, to take her up to the ward. Lexi hoped that this time she wouldn’t discharge herself before she got the help she so badly needed.
Lexi busied herself with tidying up and getting ready for the next patient. She was weary to the bone; it had been a long, exhausting night but her shift was nearly over. Halloween was drawing to a close and A&E was getting back to normal.
Raj, Sarala and Theresa stopped her before she left the department.
‘So, what’s the verdict?’ Raj asked.
‘Yes,’ agreed Sarala, ‘you said you’d tell us after your shift.’
She smiled. ‘It’s a bit of both depending on your perspective.’
‘That’s a cop-out,’ said Theresa.
‘No, not really. Just the realization that nothing in this world is ever black or white, one or the other. Most things are a mixture or a mystery.’
‘You’re weird,’ said Sarala hugging her.
‘Yes, I probably am. Just like Halloween.’
Chapter Nineteen
Murmurs of appreciation spread through the crowd as explosions of purple, green and red erupted into the night sky, and died away in a shower of colourful sparks.
Jade wriggled with excitement in Casey’s arms and Tom and Craig expressed their approval whilst keeping the “cool dude” images that they were both cultivating.
‘Awesome,’ said Craig.
‘Yeah, totes,’ agreed Tom.
The Leytonsfield Community Bonfire Night Extravaganza was in full swing.
It had always been an unmissable event for the O’Connors, and Casey’s parents were there. Dan was well loved in the community and, as an approachable and amiable doctor, knew many of the families who were present in the park that night. Casey felt enormous pride in his father who was his first and lasting role model. His brother, Riordan, was a close second.
He loved these family events, when they all got together to celebrate and acknowledge a milestone in the year of the community. He loved his hometown of Leytonsfield, being greeted by friends and neighbours and, now he had Jade to show off to people, his happiness was complete.
Well, almost.
The only two negatives were the fact that the twins were still overseas, and he missed them terribly. They both loved fireworks and would have enjoyed this event immensely. Though medical professionals, Jay was a paramedic and Josie a midwife, the pair of them had never lost their cheeky, mischievous natures. They lit up a room by their mere presence and Casey couldn’t wait for them to be back with the family at Christmas so he could introduce them to Jade.
The other thing that was bothering him was Lexi. He’d been amazed when she’d agreed to join the family for Bonfire Night. There’d been no arguments or excuses, she’d said yes straight away, and had taken it for granted that Jess and Craig would join in the fun.
They hadn’t spoken about the night she gatecrashed his meal with Catalina. He had forgiven her, of course, realising he had probably over reacted, but she had been distant ever since, holding him at arm’s length. His head was all over the place, one minute he wanted to get closer to Lexi, the next he decided that he should take Riordan’s advice and keep away.
She was standing with Jess and his parents, her hands in the pockets of her thick winter coat, her blonde hair loose and flowing down her back, staring up at the night sky and the fireworks that lit the park intermittently, casting strange shadows and illuminating faces in flashes of light. He couldn’t tell if she was enjoying herself or not, but everyone else was, especially his daughter.
‘Daddy, I’m hungry,’ said Jade, her hand grabbing his chin and turning his face to hers. It was one of her more endearing habits. She wanted to ensure that he gave her his full attention, which he was more than willing to do.
‘Okay, let’s go get some food.’ He was rewarded with approval from the boys so, after asking everyone else and being assured that they would all be along in a minute, he led the way to the market stalls where the vendors were selling the usual fare of burgers, hot-dogs, baked potatoes, candy floss, toffee-apples, treacle toffee, fudge and ice-cream.
‘All good healthy stuff,’ said Riordan rubbing his hands together.
‘Baked potatoes are healthy,’ said Casey.
‘Hot-dogs!’ shouted the three children in harmony.
‘Won’t do them any harm for one night,’ Casey said as they stood in line with the children.
‘I’m glad to see you’ve taken my advice,’ said Riordan, ‘I think Catalina has the hots for you.’
‘We’re just friends. We live next door to each other.’
‘She’s a very attractive woman and she speaks highly of you.’
‘When?’
‘I was talking to her in the canteen a few days ago. She’s exactly the kind of woman you should be with.’
‘Spanish?’
‘Professional, intelligent, well-educated and sexy. Yes, and Spanish. A hot blooded señorita.’
‘You don’t like Lexi very much do you?’
Riordan frowned. ‘I don’t know her well enough to pass judgement. I do think she would be high maintenance and I’m not sure that’s what you need at this stage of your life.’
The line for the hot-dogs moved slowly and Jade wriggled to be put down, so she could join the boys.
‘And what stage would that be, Riordan?’
‘Helen?’
Helen had betrayed him. Lexi hadn’t. She would have told him about Jade if she’d been able to find him, wouldn’t she?
‘I have to move on from Helen. She’s firmly in the pa
st. Lexi is the mother of my child, that has to count for something.’
‘Yes, but you don’t need to rush into anything. You know how impatient you are. How often do you see her?’ asked Riordan.
‘We see each other at work, obviously. I spend as much time with Jade as I can. Several nights a week and every weekend.’
‘Maybe that’s the problem. You’re seeing each other too much.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘I think you should back off and give her a bit of space.’
‘Back off? No way. Jade’s my daughter and I’ve already missed out on too much of her life, not to have been there for her baby years, missing out on her first smile, first word, first steps… I should have been there.’
‘Sounds as if you haven’t forgiven Lexi yet. You’re still holding a lot of resentment.’
‘I have forgiven her, just not myself. I should have tried harder to find her.’
‘Daddy, I’m sta-arving,’ whined Jade.
‘Nearly there, chick. Look, there’s only two people in front of us.’
The smell of onions made Casey’s stomach growl. The mix of aromas in the air; the sickly-sweet smell of candy floss and toffee apples, mixed with fried onions, reminded Casey of the fairgrounds of his childhood. A familiar, comforting smell that took him back in time. He wanted Jade to have the same happy childhood that he and his siblings had enjoyed. Two loving parents who adored each other as well as their kids. Could he and Lexi make a go of it? What if Lexi didn’t feel the same way? What then?
‘Are you having Ketchup on your hot-dog, Tom?’ Riordan asked.
‘Yep,’ he said, then followed it up with ‘please,’ when he saw the warning look on his father’s face.
‘Me too. Please,’ said Craig.
‘And me,’ shouted Jade, ‘please, please, please!’
They all laughed.
‘Good girl,’ said Casey. He adored his little daughter and wanted her always to be happy and secure.