Page 2 of Wolf

Gina:

Anything.

Me:

Switch floors with me tonight. I have a patient I want to stick close to in recovery.

Gina:

You owe me a nice steak dinner, but I got you.

Me:

Thanks. I owe you for real.

Before I headed to be with Wolf, I completed my rounds by checking in with the other patients on the floor. Dr. Cole was one of the best surgical residents in the hospital. If anything was wrong with Wolf, he wouldn’t hesitate to come find me. The recovery floor was calmer than the emergency room. I was grateful for Gina. She was my work bestie. We did our internship together right here at Parkchester Memorial Hospital several years ago. Those were some challenging years that I was glad were behind me. It was nice to have someone I could rely on to cover for me at work. And vice versa I would cover for Gina the same way no questions asked if she ever needed me.

It took a little over an hour to complete my rounds. As I walked into Wolf’s room, he was still asleep, which was to be expected. His body had undergone a traumatic event, and it needed to recover.

“Dr. Cole, how is our patient?”

“Vitals are stable. I told the nurse to come back in an hour to draw some blood. We want to continue to monitor for potential infection.”

“Very good, Dr. Cole. I will sit in with him for now. Why don’t you go down to the emergency room to see if Dr. Mallard needs assistance? I don’t want to bore you all night on this floor.”

“You got it, Dr. Jackson. Page me if you need me.”

I gave him a smile as he headed to the emergency room. Just because my plans for my shift changed didn’t mean he had to be bored. I looked over the bloodwork we drew right after surgery. Wolf’s white blood cell count was higher than I would have liked. I would have to keep an eye on it. If it didn’t improve, I would place him on a round of antibiotics as a preventive measure. Now that I had a moment to breathe, I realized I never called Abel. I pulled my phone out and located his name in my favorites. After I tapped the call button, I waited for the phone to ring.

Just as I was about to disconnect his voice boomed in my ear.

“Hey, sis, you good?”

“Abel, you have to get down to the hospital. Something happened but I don’t want to tell you over the phone.”

“Alexis, you’re scaring me. Are you alright?”

“It’s not me, Abel. It’s Wolf. Please hurry.”

“Fuck! I’m on my way, sis.”

With that he disconnected the call. I felt terrible for not telling him what was going on. The last thing I needed was for him to worry. Part of me needed reassurance that he wouldn’t do anything rash before he got here. Not giving him any details was my way of making that happen. As I took a seat in the chair near Wolf’s bed, I looked at him sleeping peacefully. Gratitude overcame me as I kept a watchful eye. Wolf was such a big part of our lives. Losing him would have been like losing part of myself.

The Awakening

The sounds of machines were all I could hear. I tried hard to open my eyes, but I was drowsy. Little by little I attempted to wake up my sleeping limbs. I wiggled my toes then moved my legs. As my body woke, I tried to move my arms. The left arm came to life, but the right seemed wrapped and unable to move. I tried to piece together where I was and what happened. My mind was a pile of confusion. As my eyes fluttered open, I heard a familiar voice.

“Abel, he’s waking up. Wolf, can you hear me? It’s Alexis. You’re at the hospital. You got shot. Don’t try to speak just yet. Let me get you some water,” Alexis explained in a panicked voice.

My eyes were finally able to focus as I took in the two people that were closest to me. Abel had been my best friend since childhood. His little sister Alexis was my weakness. I’d always had a thing for her. Abel always told me he didn’t want any of his friends to look at his little sister that way. If I was in a hospital that meant she must have treated me. I knew Alexis wouldn’t allow anyone else to touch me so I would be fine. The panic laced in her voice concerning me wasn’t something I ever heard. I must have been in pretty bad shape when I arrived.

Abel looked at me with a worried expression on his face. Alexis came back into the room with a jug filled with water and a cup of ice. She removed the tube that was in my mouth then helped me sit up. The pain in my arm slowed my movements but eventually I was up. Alexis poured some water into a cup of ice. She put a straw in the cup then brought the straw to my lips. The chill of the cold water made it difficult to swallow because my throat was raw. Alexis was patient as she watched me slowly sip. When I finished, she put the cup on the table.

“What happened?” I asked.

“I heard from one of our young boys that you were locking up the shop and somebody shot you. Alexis was in the emergency room when you arrived. She got the bullet out and saved your life,” Abel explained.

“I see the look of guilt on your face. Is it because you know why I was targeted?”

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