Now. I got it.
“You’re lucky.”
She had no idea how lucky I really was. Hopefully she’d never find out.
4
Ensley
Sickness. It was all around me. Every breath. Every touch. Every surface. Every cough… Everywhere. One not so great perks of my job.
Wearing a mask and vinyl gloves were a must at all times. I didn’t even keep a water bottle at my desk knowing the coughs and sneezes would infect it immediately. When I left every night, I’d scrub myself here in the nurses’ station then take a shower as soon as I walked in the door.
It wasn’t that I was a germaphobe. It was more like a I don’t want my kid to get sick thing. No one came into the hospital because they felt great and were ready to run a triathlon. Being in this place was the most contagious, infectious area of the city, but it was my job, and for the most part, I liked it.
Smiling up at the man in front of me, not that he could tell because of my mask, he proceeded to sneeze repeatedly. My eyes closed with each one, just picturing all the sickness being thrown my way. With practice, I had learned to fight the instinct I had to press back in my chair and get away from the people. They couldn’t give me the proper information to check them in if I couldn’t manage to stay in front of them.
Thank God, he had tissues to control the spreading; not that he caught all of them. The particles in the air wreaked havoc on my mind.
It all made me want to reach for my hand sanitizer, but it wouldn’t do much considering my hands were covered with gloves. At least the janitorial staff stayed on top of their rounds, cleaning and disinfecting.
“Go on over to the waiting area, and you’ll be called when it’s your turn.”
He nodded, his eyes puffy and watering, but he slowly staggered on his heels toward the lobby and took a seat. The place was busy, but it always seemed to be at night. It was usually when people started to let loose a bit and ended up with stupid shit happening.
There was some wicked shit that happened in the ER. Of course, there were the normal sicknesses, occasional stabbings or shootings, but the ones that stuck out to me were the ‘how in the hell did that happen.’
For example, the man who stuck a screwdriver up his dick. It wasn’t a large one, but a smaller one like someone used on their glasses, that got lodged inside. Why he did this was beyond me, and it took surgery to remove. I couldn’t imagine as a man having to come to the emergency department with a tool stuck in my junk. Of course, there were the bizarre things that I swore were a figment of someone’s imagination, until I faced it at work. Like the gerbil incident. That one still makes me cringe. A damn rodent stuck in my asshole. Umm … no thank you. Who the hell in their right mind would even try that?
People seemed to do the strangest things sometimes, and personally I was just happy that my job was at the intake and not in the surgery room having to do extractions. That was putting it nicely.
The night moved fast as usual. It was what I liked about the late shift in the ER. There wasn’t much downtime, so the night began and ended quickly. I didn’t hate my job by any means. I was grateful for it. It gave Remy and I stability and health insurance. Two huge things that were a necessity for us.
Therefore, here was where I worked.
The doors swung open, and my lips tried to form words, but instead, my eyes widened as I sucked in a deep breath.
“Austyn. What happened?” Austyn, a friend of mine, had a woman she was practically carrying in as she was unable to walk much. The woman had long blonde hair and was beat to shit. Black and blue marks covered so many different parts of her body, and blood came from her mouth and nose. Swelling had already begun. Every move seemed to be agonizing for the woman.
“She works at X. Asshole at the club beat her up,” Austyn explained in a rush.
“Is my cousin here with you?” I asked out of habit.
Her head shook as she beamed, talking about her man. “No, Ryker’s not. He’s on a run for the club. My mom’s parking the SUV. She’ll be in here in a sec to handle the paperwork and cover the bill.”
“Let me see what I can do to get her back asap. Sit her in that wheelchair there.” I pointed quickly while gathering the materials necessary to get her checked in. The poor woman groaned as Austyn slowly lowered her to the chair. Surprisingly, she hadn’t passed out yet.
I had seen that once before. A man had an accident with a chainsaw. He managed to make it to my desk before twisting the wrong way and releasing the grip on the towel to get the pen from me and sign the intake paperwork. As the blood-soaked fabric fell, so did his hand that had been held in place after being severed in his accident. The pain hit, he let out a wail, and promptly passed out. I didn’t make it around the desk in time to catch him before he hit the floor with a thud. Needless to say, they rushed him back to the emergency room, and in the end he was lucky they were able to save the hand. I waited with bated breath, wondering if this woman would fall out in front of me. It was obvious she had internal injuries and was in complete agony.
Lifting the receiver, I dialed the on-call nurse in the back and spoke quietly. “Have a woman up here who’s been beaten badly. She’s a friend. Can you get her back?”
“Sure thing. Give me two ticks,” she responded, hanging up the phone.
“She’s coming, but I need all of her information.”
“I’ve got it.” Princess, Austyn’s mom, held up a manila folder as she entered the waiting area. She was a sight, that was for sure. Long black hair with bright red streaks, leather pants and jacket. Austyn told me she never knew her mom not looking exactly like this. Not only that, Princess was a tough cookie. I remember when Ryker first introduced me, I wanted to hide. Intimidation and complete awe encompassed me. I was out of my element being away from home, and here was this powerhouse of a woman. She was so strong, so confident, and completely blunt.
Just then the nurse swung the door open, and I pointed to the blonde woman. She nodded before she leaned down and said some words, then wheeled her into the back.
Grabbing the folder and opening it, I got started on the intake process, so they’d have the woman’s information when she got into a bay.
Princess stood over me, seething. Yes. Seething. I could tell because her nostrils would flair, and she kept making fists. The woman was about to explode with each second that ticked by. It was apparent to everyone in the room that she was struggling to remain in place. Knowing Princess as I did now, I knew she simply wanted to be in the fight with whomever hurt this woman.
“Is Ryker coming here when he’s done on the run?” I asked quietly, still learning about this motorcycle club life my cousin led.
Her features softened just a bit. “He’ll be takin’ care of this”—she angled her head to the beat-up woman—“problem. So, no.”
A sense of pride washed over me. “Good.”
Three hours later, Austyn was wheeling out Sandy, the blonde who was patched up as best as possible. “I’d hug you, but you look like you’re in a hazmat suit.”
To this I chuckled. “Feels like it.”
5