Page 65 of High Density

I grind out the words through clenched teeth, burning with rage. For all I know, that lowlife could be right here in the same hospital getting treatment. If he is, it’s probably better I don’t know. I don’t think I can be held accountable for my actions.

“Jesus…”Ma hisses. “Poor girl. Good thing she’s tough. She’ll recover.”

I nod. She’s right, Janey is tough and she’ll recover from her injuries, at least the physical ones. But that kind of violent trauma can mess with a person’s head, and leave far longer-lasting damage than what was done to the body.

“Physically,” I modify her statement.

“And mentally,” Ma insists. “She’s tough. She’s got you, and all of us. She’ll be fine.”

I let that sink in for a bit as my gaze drifts to the window. It’s dark now, which means it’s after ten. Another long, fucked-up day. Hard to believe it’s still only Friday, the past few days have felt like weeks. So much going on, it’s hard to keep up.

My empty stomach rumbles loudly in the quiet room, a reminder of another missed meal.

“You haven’t eaten,” my mother concludes. “I packed up dinner and gave it to Jackson.”

“Never had the chance. It’s probably still in his truck and he’s back at Janey’s place taking care of things.”

“Well, then why don’t I go see if I can find you something?” she offers, but I shake my head.

“It’s okay, Ma.”

The sandwich shop in the hospital is closed, and the only other thing available at this time would be some greasy fast foodI don’t think I’d be able to stomach right now. It’s doubtful Ma will let it go that easily, feeding people is her way of looking after those she cares about.

She proves me right when she persists with, “You need to eat,” only to be interrupted by a nurse who chooses that moment to walk in.

“Janey is back in her room. You can keep her company while we wait for the surgeon.”

“Surgeon?” my mother echoes, alarmed.

It’s news to me as well.

The nurse turns to her and explains, “We generally call the surgeon in to assess gunshot wounds coming in, it doesn’t necessarily mean she has to have surgery. It all depends what the X-rays show as well, and the radiologist is looking at those.”

“Oh, okay,” Ma responds.

“Normally, we limit it to one person in the room, but I’ll make an exception if you want to poke your head in as well. You’ll need to leave when the doctor gets there though,” the nurse adds.

I’m not sure how Janey’s going to feel about Ma showing up at her bedside, but since she gets to her feet before I can, I don’t think there’s any stopping her.

Half of her face is still wrapped in the gauze the EMTs used to keep the dressing on the cut on her cheek in place. The other half looks a little gaunt. A blanket is draped over her with her injured leg exposed, but they repacked that wound before she was wheeled to radiology and I’m happy to see only a little blood has soaked through the bandages since.

I walk straight to the bed and drop a kiss on her lips.

“Hey. How are you doing?”

“Under the circumstances, okay, I guess.”

She tries for a smile when I see her eyes catch on something behind me.Someone, rather.

“Ama…hey.”

“The nurse said I could poke my head in,” Ma explains quickly. “I came as soon as I heard.”

“That’s really sweet of you. You didn’t have to.”

Sweetis not something my mother is often accused of. She’s more of a tough-love type of person, but I can tell from the faint smile on her lips, she doesn’t seem to mind. Of course, she brushes it off with a wave of her hand.

“Did you get something for pain?” Ma gets right down to business.

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