Page 35 of Inherited Light
“Sorry, spasm. I can’t think,” she said, her voice tearful and not at all amused. “I’m scared.”
I kissed her cheek and offered her a warm smile. “I know you’re scared, but we’ll get you to the ER and make you feel better.”
“Don’t leave me, please,” she begged.
“I have to leave you in the rig with Jorge and Jacob, but I’ll be right behind you in my truck. They’ll get you there and I’ll be by your side the whole time. Try to relax.”
Jorge pointed at me. “Are you okay to drive? If you’ve been unconscious you shouldn’t be driving.”
“I wasn’t unconscious.” I was lying and we both knew it, but he wasn’t putting me in the rig, so it didn’t matter much.
“Are you able to help us load her? It would be better if we didn’t have to bounce the stretcher across the grass. As soon as we get her to the rig we can get a line started and offer her some pain relief.”
“Yes, let’s do it now,” I said, my gaze drifting to her face, which was pinched. Her eyes were closed and she was trying to take slow breaths, but I could tell she was still in terrible pain.
Jacob and Jorge each grabbed the end by her feet and left me to lift the head of the board. I put my hands in the handholds and on the count of three we lifted her slowly off the ground. The two men hurried through the grass and it hit me how grateful I was Law had mowed it today.
Her eyes opened and she gazed at me. She was terrified and it broke my heart. “You’re doing great, Cat. Just a little bit farther and they’ll make you more comfortable. I’m going to beat you to the hospital, I promise.”
“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered and I shook my head, ignoring the pain it caused.
“You aren’t going to be alone. You know Jorge is going to take excellent care of you in the ambulance. Just relax and tell them what you need. They’re here to help and you’re in good hands.”
A tear slid out of her eye and I couldn’t comfort her. It killed me slowly to watch her cry. “You’re okay, baby,” I mouthed because it was all I could do. We got to the street and they showed me how to put the head of the board on the stretcher so they could lift her into the rig. Once she was in the ambulance the two men flew into action. In the blink of an eye, I stood in the street with my hand in my hair watching them drive away with the woman who trusted me to be her support. The idea alone was enough to spur me forward. I ran back to the house, grabbed her chair and all the items from her purse which had scattered when she tipped. I ripped the wheels off the chair, threw the whole thing in the front of the truck, and took off for the hospital, tires squealing and prayers said long and loud as I pounded the steering wheel.
“Lorenzo?” a voice asked. I raised my head slowly to see a doctor in scrubs coming toward me as I sat in the waiting room.
“Yes,” I answered, standing as he approached. He motioned me to follow him and took me into a small consultation room.
“I’ve finished examining Catalina.”
I held up my hand. “Wait, did she give you permission to speak to me about her condition?”
He checked the paperwork. “You are Lorenzo Dalton, correct?” When I nodded, he turned the piece of paper around for me to see. “She marked you as her only next of kin and gave permission for me to inform you of her results.”
I tried not to let the surprise show on my face. Instead, I asked him the first question to come to mind. “Shouldn’t we be talking with her about this?”
He smiled and sat, motioning for me to do the same in the chair across from him. The room held two chairs the color of a brand-new penny, and a small square table big enough for a few magazines and a box of tissues. I wondered if this room housed the families of those who weren’t as lucky as I am, and their family member died. I wondered how many tears had been shed in this room and how many souls left shattered because of some unforeseen tragedy which suddenly stole their lives.
I shook my head a little bit and sat, rubbing my hands on my jeans. He flipped through some papers and then opened his computer, turning the screen around for me to see.
“I already spoke with Catalina, but she is compromised neurologically due to the injury and the pain medication we’ve given her. She’s also on muscle relaxers for back spasms. Both of those cause fatigue and inability to concentrate. Add her concussion into the picture, and she won’t remember a thing I said tomorrow.”
I rubbed the back of my neck and grimaced at the pain. It had intensified the longer I sat waiting for word about her. The doctor set his computer down and stood, stepping behind me to examine my neck. I dropped my arm and let him. He pushed around the edges and I jumped, the right side too painful to touch.
“You didn’t report your injury? This should be x-rayed,” he said, rather concerned.
“I didn’t want anyone wasting time on me. She had greater needs than I did.”
The doctor groaned and shook his head. He sat and picked up his computer, flipping the screen back toward him to poke at it with a stylus. When he looked up again he had turned the screen back to face me. “I ordered x-rays and a concussion test for you, too. Did you lose consciousness?”
“I don’t believe so. At the time they hit me, I happened to be bending over to pick up my phone, which I’d dropped. When we arrived home the automatic light didn’t come on. I used the light on my phone to get around behind her handicapped ramp to check the bulb. I remember the ground coming toward me and a sharp pain in my neck and then I remember getting up on my hands and knees. I couldn’t have been down more than thirty seconds, I think. Unfortunately, I didn’t see who hit me. Cat doesn’t remember anything about the assailant either.”
“Has this been reported to the police?” he asked, checking his notes.
I pointed out the heavy wooden door. “I did not too long ago. An officer took my statement and they will be in touch tomorrow when they can talk to Cat.”
He nodded. “Good, be careful when you go home, someone may have been in the house and you surprised them.”
