Six
Someone was holding my hand. I could feel it. It took a moment, but my eyes finally fluttered open slowly. Rachel was there. She was holding my hand fiercely and she’d been crying. I could tell by the bloodshot eyes and red, chapped face. She looked like a mess.
“Sam!” Her voice was like a wave of relief and fret all rolled into one. She let go of my hand and jumped up. Her arms were around me a second later and I winced in pain as she squeezed me. She jumped back when she realized what she’d done. “I’m so sorry,” she immediately apologized, wiping the fresh tears from her cheeks. “I’m just so happy you’re awake.”
“Rachel,” I said softly. It hurt to talk. My throat was raw; like someone had forced me to swallow glass. “I’m so confused.” I could feel my eyes growing warm from the fear and frustration. “What’s going on?”
The tears fell down my face. She grabbed for a tissue and dabbed them away as she sat on the edge of my hospital bed. There was an IV in my arm and wires on my chest. There was an oxygen tube in my nose and the steady sound of a heart monitor filled the quiet room.
“You fell down the stairs,” she began and I interrupted hastily.
“I know that. The cop told me. What happened though? I don’t remember anything.” I took the tissue from Rachel and wiped at my face, trying to wrangle in my emotions.
“What’s the last thing you remember?” she asked and I could see the concern on her face.
“I…I don’t really know,” I said slowly as I tried to recall. All I could remember though was lying in the stairwell when the officer told me what had happened.
My sister took my hand again, squeezing it tightly as she met my eyes.
“All I know is that you fell down the stairs. The police have been wanting to speak with you. There’s an officer in the waiting room.”
“Why does a cop want to talk to me if I fell down the stairs?”
“I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me much. He’s been coming back to the hospital to check if you’d regained consciousness.”
“How…how long have I been unconscious?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer.
“Twelve hours.”
“Twelve hours!” I exclaimed as loudly as I could through my hoarse voice.
“You lost consciousness again in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. When you got here, you went right to an MRI. You had a brain bleed from the fall.” I could tell by the look on her face how scared she’d been. Her grip on my hand grew tighter as she spoke.
“A brain bleed?” I whispered.
“The fall was bad,” she said softly, wiping her eyes again. “You’re lucky, Sam. You could’ve broken your neck…or your back…you could’ve died.” The tears were pouring from her eyes now and she reached for me again, holding me, but this time gentler, trying not to hurt me.
I wanted to put my arms around her too. I wanted to feel the safety of my big sister’s arms, but when I tried, pain shot up my left side and I winced.
“Be careful,” she said, pulling back. “You broke your collar bone.”
“What else is wrong?” I asked nervously.
“Besides bruises, you only broke your collar bone. It’s amazing that was all you broke.” She shook her head in disbelief. “You have a concussion though and they’re monitoring the bleed.”
“Is it still bleeding?”
“It’s under control. That’s why you’ve been out so long. The doctors sedated you to give your brain a chance to heal.”
“I’m okay now though?” I asked and she smiled at me. It wasn’t a confident smile, but it was a smile nonetheless and I took that as a good sign.
“You’re doing amazingly well considering what could’ve happened.” She didn’t tell me I was okay, but I didn’t mind the vague answer. I wasn’t quite sure I wanted all the gory details right now. I was still just trying to wrap my mind around all of this.
“How long do I have to stay here?”
“At least until tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow?” I exclaimed. “I have class tomorrow and work! I can’t miss…” She cut me off though, placing a finger over my mouth to silence me, the way she’d done when we huddled in the closet while our mom got the crap beat out of her.
“Do not think about school or work right now. Just think about getting better. That’s what’s important.” Her voice cracked as she pushed a piece of my hair behind my ear. “I was so afraid I was going to lose you. I don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to you.” Her eyes pooled with tears again and when she blinked, they fell. I reached up with my right hand and pushed them away with my thumb.
“It’ll take more than some steps to get rid of me,” I said, trying to laugh, but she didn’t smile.
“You have no idea what happened?” she asked softly and I shook my head. “That’s not uncommon with head injuries though.”
“Will I remember, Rache?” I asked anxiously.
“I’m sure you will. The doctor will be able to tell us more,” she said and then picked up my call button. “I should’ve already called them to tell them you were awake. I got a little sidetracked with you waking up and all.” She laughed lightly and I could see a little of the worry leave her face.
She pushed the button and a few moments later the nurse came in. I’d been brought to Mass General, the same hospital my sister worked at. She worked in Labor and Delivery though. Still, I felt better having Rachel here. She knew this place, even if she didn’t know all the staff. Rachel filled the nurse in and she checked me over before leaving again to get the doctor. He came in a few minutes later, looking me over as well. He was nice enough, but I hated feeling like a specimen being examined. I was relieved when he told me the amnesia was probably only temporary. My memory should come back soon. He explained it could be in pieces or all at once when something triggered it. I hoped for the latter because I hated not being able to account for what happened. It was like being a stranger in my own body and it terrified me.
“I know the police are anxious to talk to you. Are you up to it?” the doctor asked when he was done talking to us.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I said.
The doctor nodded and then left. Rachel was barely able to say two words to me before the door to my room started opening. My sister and I both turned our heads to see a police officer peeking in. He looked right at me and I instantly recognized his dark eyes as the ones that I’d awoken to…the ones that had made me feel so safe. I felt a slight smile form on my lips. I’d been nervous to speak to the police, but knowing it was him made me feel a little less nervous.
“Is it okay if I speak with you for a few minutes, Samantha?” he asked. His deep voice was gentle and it put me at ease.
“Yes. That’s fine,” I told him as best I could with my horse voice.
He stepped all the way inside, straightening his black uniform as he came closer.
“How are you feeling?” he asked as he stopped a few feet from my bed and my eyes went straight to his shiny, gold name tag. TORRES. The name immediately struck me and even though I was suffering from amnesia from the night before, an image of me racing up the hill, an expired parking meter and a sympathetic officer, flashed in my mind.
“I’m okay,” I said, wondering if he remembered me too.
“You look better than when I saw you last,” he said and I nodded.
“I’m feeling better.”
“I won’t keep you long. I just need to ask you a few questions and then you can rest.”
“Why do you want to talk to my sister?” Rachel jumped in and she took my hand, standing at the side of my bed as she looked at Officer Torres. “I didn’t think a stair fall was police business.”
His eyes moved to Rachel and I could sense she was anxious. She hadn’t appeared as nervous as she felt until just now.
“When we arrived on the scene, your sister was at the bottom of the stairs, unconscious. Some of your neighbors had gathered around. They had called 911 after hearing a disturbance,” he said gently and his eyes moved to me. “But when they stepped into the hallway, they only saw you, but one woman was certain she heard another voice. A man’s voice. Can you tell me what happened, Samantha?”
His words surprised me. I hadn’t expected this and his revelation scared me a little. I closed my eyes, praying I’d remember something, but I couldn’t. The last thing I remembered was going to work, but then I remembered Tyler had been waiting for me. There were flowers and apologies, but there was also anger and I’d left. I didn’t remember anything after that.
I felt Rachel’s grip on my hand tighten and I looked up at her. I knew what she was thinking by the way her jaw clenched.
“I’m sorry. I don’t remember anything.”
“Do you really not remember?” Rachel’s voice was harsher than I liked. I knew exactly what she was insinuating.
“No, Rachel. I don’t remember,” I said, meeting my sister’s eyes and speaking as forcefully as I could. I could see that she didn’t believe me. She thought Tyler had done this and I was trying to protect him.
Rachel looked away and right to Officer Torres.
“I think you need to speak to Tyler Reeves,” she said and when I looked at the cop, I could see her words had intrigued him.
“Who’s Tyler Reeves?”
“Sam’s boyfriend,” Rachel said quickly and I took her hand again.
“Rachel,” I said softly. “I can speak for myself.”
“Then tell him, Sam. Tell him about Tyler,” she urged me. My eyes locked with my sister’s and I sighed, turning back to the officer.
“He’s my ex-boyfriend,” I said, wanting to stress the ex. It may have only been a couple of days, but I wanted it clear that I was no longer with him.
“Were you with him last night?” Officer Torres asked.
“I don’t remember,” I said, shaking my head and closing my eyes for a moment, trying to force myself to remember.
“Do you remember the last time you saw him?” he asked.
“When I left for work, he was waiting outside our building.”
“What did he want?”
“He wanted to talk. I’d recently broken up with him.”
“I’m going to be blunt here,” he said, the gentleness leaving his face as he looked right at me. “Why would your sister tell me to talk to Tyler?”
I closed my eyes again, taking in a deep breath, preparing myself to say the words out loud for the first time.
“Tyler…he um…he has a temper,” I began nervously. Rachel took my hand and I looked to her for support. She nodded and I turned back to the officer. “He can…he can be physical sometimes.”
I saw the look on Officer Torres’s face. He didn’t look surprised, but he looked sorrowful. I didn’t like the pity on his face. It made me feel weak, like his opinion of me changed in an instant. Even if he didn’t remember, I recalled our interaction that day by the parking meter. It had been fun in a way…just a normal exchange between two people with a little bit of modest flirting. He probably thought of me as a regular college student when really I was hiding a secret…a secret he now knew and I knew his opinion of me would be different. He saw me as a weak woman who was stupid enough to get myself involved with someone like Tyler.
“Did he hurt you last night, Sam?”
His voice was gentle again and his face had softened. He was handsome, there was no denying that. His jet black hair looked as if it’d been styled neatly at the start of the day, but had loosened as the day wore on. It was thick and a few strands fell on his forehead. His skin was a rich tan color and his dark eyes looked tired.
“Miss Everly?” he asked again, forcing me back from my thoughts. “Did Tyler Reeves hurt you last night?”
I looked at him for a moment and I wanted to ask him if he remembered me. I wanted to know that I’d made some kind of impression on him. That I hadn’t been forgettable. I didn’t ask him though because I was afraid to hear the answer.
“I…I don’t think so…I really don’t know,” I said quietly, looking away.
“Did anyone see anything?” Rachel interrupted. “Someone had to have seen something. He couldn’t just disappear down three flights of stairs!” I could hear her voice growing frantic and when I looked at her, there were tears in her eyes again.
“Maybe it was just an accident, Rachel,” I told her, wondering if maybe it had been.
“That’s what I’m going to try and find out,” Officer Torres said and when our eyes met again, there was a comforting smile on his face. “I’m going to turn this information over to our detectives. Can you give me Tyler’s phone number and address, Sam?”
I nodded and proceeded to tell him, all the while my stomach turning in knots. Even if Tyler hadn’t played any role in my accident, I was fearful of what he would do when he found out I’d implicated him at all.
My sister’s phone started to ring and she picked it up with an annoyed sigh.
“I’m sorry, but I have to take this. I’ll be right back,” she said, walking out of the room quickly, leaving me alone with Officer Torres.
“Are you going to be okay?” he asked once Rachel was gone.
“I should be. Hopefully I’ll be out of here tomorrow.”
“For your sake, I hope so too. I hear the food is terrible.” He cracked a smile and I laughed at his joke.
“Um…” I began, nervous to even ask him what was really on my mind. “Um…will Tyler know that I talked to you?”
“Are you afraid he’ll hurt you?”
“No,” I said quickly, but then I shook my head. “I…no…I don’t know,” I stammered.
He reached into his pocket, pulling out a wallet and then handing me a business card.
“If you’re afraid, this is my contact information at the station. Call us if you have any concerns.”
I looked down at it: Gabriel Torres.
“Gabriel. That’s a nice name.”
“I’m named after my grandfather,” he said with a look of pride. “Most people call me Gabe though. Now,” he said with a pause, “you should rest. Someone will be in touch if we have any more questions and if you remember anything more, and I mean anything at all, call right away.”
“Okay,” I nodded.
“It was good to see you again,” he said and then a smirk curled up on his mouth. “You’ve been keeping up with your parking meters I hope.”
A smile spread on my face. It was the first time since I’d woken up at the bottom of the stairwell that I didn’t feel completely overwhelmed and terrified.
“You remember,” I said softly and he smiled.
“Of course. I knew it was you the moment I walked in and saw you lying at the bottom of those stairs.” There was a momentary look of pain in his eyes, but then his caring smile returned.
“Thank you, Officer Torres…” I said, but he interrupted.
“Call me Gabe.”
“Thank you, Gabe…for your help.”
“You’re welcome, Sam. Take care,” he said. He smiled once more. Then he was gone and I suddenly didn’t feel as safe anymore.