Page 15 of The Fix
The local hospital where the ambulance had most likely been headed was less than a thirty-minute walk, and his aunt Carolyn would still be on shift.
He made the journey in twenty-two, walking through the bevy of squad cars out front.What if it was one of the families from Westridge?He knew he had absolutely no reason to be there, nor would he be of any use to anyone should he know them. But that feeling in his gut wouldn’t let up.What if?He didn’t want to wait until he got to school on Monday to look around for the empty chair and the buzz of gossip that would spread quickly down the hallways.
The hospital lobby was a mess of police and a few reporters who’d just shown up and were moving from officer to officer, attempting to obtain a statement. He beelined for the elevators and got off on the ICU floor where his aunt worked and headed for the front desk. But when the door opened, he quickly stepped in that direction. “Carolyn.”
“Rex? Hey, what are you doing here? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. I was just—” They both stepped to the side of the hall when the doors to the unit opened, and a nurse pushing a gurney with an old man on it came through. “I was just wondering if you know anything about the victims from Palisades Park. Half the football team lives up there, and I was worried it might be someone I know.”
Carolyn pressed her lips together and took him by the arm as she turned and began walking. He fell in step with her, and she went out the doors of the ICU, and they began walking down the hall. “I’ve got a fifteen-minute break.”
“Coffee?” he asked.
“No, I’ve had enough caffeine. I need some calories.”
They stepped into a room off the main hall that had a few empty tables and three vending machines on the back wall. “Do you want anything?” Carolyn pulled a credit card from the pocket of her scrubs and swiped it before pressing a few buttons. A second later, the mechanical arm in front of a bag of Cheez-Its rotated aside, and the snack pack fell. Carolyn bent and retrieved it from the bin and turned back to him. She was younger than his mom, but she, too, had golden brown curls and the same pointed chin. But that was where the similarities ended. “You can’t say a word because even the media isn’t releasing names right now. Not until any family members are notified.” She tore open the bag. “It’s a family by the name of Cortlandt.” She shook her head as Rex’s stomach plummeted.Oh God.“One of the worst things I’ve ever heard.”
“Is ... is the whole family dead?”
Carolyn leaned against the vending machine and popped a cracker in her mouth. She took a moment to chew and swallow as Rex slowly died inside.You don’t even know her, not really.So why did he feel this rising tide of panic?
“No. The father was severely beaten. He has some head injuries, but he’ll make it. He’s in surgery now for a couple serious fractures. And the older daughter is alive.”
“The older daughter? Cami? Camille?”
Carolyn’s eyes lingered on him for a moment. “I don’t know her name. Pretty redhead. That dark kind of red. Do you know her?”
He crossed his arms over his ribs. “Yeah, I do know her. Not well. Not well at all, but ... she’s a cheerleader at my school.”
“Shit. I’m sorry.” She shook her head as she chewed another cracker. “She’ll never be the same. She was terribly victimized. But at least she’s alive. The mom and younger daughter didn’t get so lucky.”
She’ll never be the same.
Rex’s head pounded and his guts churned. Cami had been there when her mother and her sister died in a demented act of violence. Thebeautiful seventeen-year-old girl in the pink bathing suit that he’d finally spoken to yesterday after having a crush on her for three years, had lost almost her entire family last night and suffered unthinkable trauma.
“Do you ... do you know what they did to her?” Why had he asked? Maybe he didn’t really want to know.
“I can’t get into the crime, Rex. I shouldn’t have even mentioned her name. But I know you won’t gossip.”
“No, of course not.”
Carolyn gave him a tired smile. “I should get back.” She glanced up at the clock on the wall. “And what are you doing out and about so early on a Saturday?”
He looked at the time too. “I was ... running. Jogging.” He ran a hand through his hair, now dry. “I saw all the cop cars and walked here.”
Carolyn raised a brow at the news that he’d been out exercising but didn’t comment. He accompanied her back down the hall and then gave her a quick hug goodbye before she headed through the door to the ward beyond. Rex turned down the hall that led to the elevators, stopping when he saw another gurney. Only, this time there was a girl with auburn hair sitting in it, staring blankly at the wall, her arms around herself, shoulders drawn up. His heart leaped. The nurse behind her had stopped to exchange words with a doctor who was jotting something on his clipboard, and two officers stood to the side, obviously guarding Cami.
Rex swallowed, his ribs tightening, and then Cami turned her head, their eyes meeting across the distance. And when he saw her, it felt like not only his face, but his whole being cringed. Her skin was mottled with bruises, her right eye red and swollen. And her skin was red and raw on each side of her lips, the shape such that it appeared a piece of tape had been ripped off her mouth. Horror dripped down Rex’s spine, and all he could do was continue to stare.
If she recognized him, she made no sign. Her blank expression didn’t change at all. He felt this intense pull to go to her, to reach out, to saysomething, and though his foot lifted to obey his instincts, he forcedhimself to set it down. Attempting to offer comfort was ridiculous. There was nothing he—a practical stranger, and maybe even someone she vaguely pitied, like everyone else did—could do for her. Her world had just imploded.
The nurse nodded to the doctor, who approached Cami, bent down, took her hand, and said a few words that she didn’t seem to respond to. Then the man stood, and Rex watched as Cami disappeared around the corner with the nurse and the two officers.
The doctor gave Rex a small nod as he passed, his gaze slightly questioning. Shit, he looked like some stalker just standing there in the middle of the hall, staring at the empty space where Cami had been.
As he walked back toward the elevators, he saw Hollis and his family talking to a nurse near the front desk. Hollis looked up, his gaze first registering confusion as though he was trying to place Rex, then recognition, then confusion again. He looked away, back to his mother, who had two fingers over her lips like she was about to vomit. Rex pressed the down button and faced the elevators, not being able to help overhearing the conversation nearby. “We should give her time,” Mrs. Barclay was saying.
“Yeah,” Hollis breathed. It was the first time Rex had seen Hollis looking anything other than confident.Cocky.
