Page 11 of Made For Me

“Penelope.” I say her name softly to see if she stirs. “Pretty girl.” I look in the other eye, and I see they do respond, so I let out a little sigh of relief.

“We need to get a CT scan,” I start to say when I palpate down on her stomach, and it feels like it’s swelling. “We need to do an ultrasound.” Then I look at her shoulder, seeing that it’s hanging awkwardly, so I know it’s dislocated. “Her collarbone is broken, I think.”

A nurse comes in with the ultrasound machine beside me as Jackie starts her IV. I’m waiting for her to get up and scream bloody murder, but she doesn’t even flinch. I look up at the door and see Julia standing just inside against the wall, out of the way. Her face hasn’t gained any color, and her eyes look like she’s a blank shell. I take the white squirt bottle and squeeze some of the gel onto the girl’s stomach. I grab the top of the handle and press down on her stomach. “Her spleen is ruptured,” I say, moving the machine around. “Everything else looks normal.” I wipe her stomach down. “Take her down to the CT scan and call surgery. I’ll be down in a minute.” Jackie nods her head as she and the other nurse wheel the bed from the room.

I wait until they are out of the room before walking over to Julia. “Are you okay?” I ask softly, and she just shakes her head. “Where is the mother?” I ask, and I can see her eyes gloss over.

“Dead at the scene,” she says, and her lower lip quivers. “What’s wrong with Penelope?” she asks as she wipes away the tear from the corner of her eye, trying not to show emotion. I knew she had a crazy job. I knew it was one she never really talked about, but I knew from experience and dealing with other people her job is the one that never gets the respect it merits.

“From what we can tell, her spleen needs to be removed,” I inform her, and she just stares blankly at me. “She can survive without it. Her leg is broken, her shoulder is dislocated, and her collarbone is cracked.” She closes her eyes and leans her head back against the wall. “I’ll know more after the CT scan and the X-rays.”

“Thank you,” she says, and I just nod at her.

“I’ll keep you in the loop,” I assure her. As I walk from the room, I look over my shoulder to see her head fall forward, the defeat all over her body. I even see her shoulders shake and wonder if leaving her is a good idea. I’m about to turn back when I see Jackie rushing down the hall, so my attention turns to her. “What’s wrong?” I ask as she turns back, and I can hear the wailing of a child.

“She woke up and threw up,” Jackie reports to me. “Probably has a concussion.”

“Most definitely,” I confirm as I walk into the room and see Penelope fighting to get away from Tracy, who is trying to calm her down. She cries out for her mother, and at that moment, my heart breaks for this little girl whose life will be thrown upside down.

“Call Irvine,” I tell Jackie, needing the anesthesiologist. “Tell him to meet me in OR room two.” She nods her head at me as I take my phone out.

I search my contacts for the name and press the phone button, not sure she will answer since she isn’t on call. “Hello?” Christine greets on the second ring.

“Hey, it’s Chase Grant.” She starts to laugh when I say that. We went on a couple of dates, but it was clear we were not ever going to be more.

“The one and only,” she jokes with me, and now it’s my turn to smile. “It must be my lucky night.”

“I don’t know about that.” I look down the hall toward the room where Penelope is. “I need a favor,” I say, looking around to see if I can spot Julia. “A little girl was just brought in.”

“I’m not on call,” she reminds me of something that she knows I already know.

“I’m aware of that, but”—I look down and then look up again—“she needs the best.”

“Oh, come on, you can’t flatter me with words,” she huffs, and I can hear movement from her side.

“She’s two years old,” I say, hearing rustling. “Mother died at the scene.” All of a sudden, all noise from her side stops.

“Fuck you, Chase,” she says, and I know I got her. “You fucking owe me dinner.”

“Now, that would be my honor,” I say softly.

“Oh, it’s going to cost you,” she huffs. “I’m talking lobster. King crab. Caviar.”

“Whatever you want.” I will agree to whatever she demands to get her here.

“I’ll be there in fifteen,” she informs me as I hear her car door slam shut. “What am I looking at?”

“From what we saw”—I put my hand on the back of my neck—“ruptured spleen. Broken collarbone, along with leg and dislocated shoulder. CT scan results should be out soon.”

“See you soon,” she says, and she disconnects as I walk back into the room where Penelope is lying down sleeping again.

“The results from the X-rays just came in,” Jackie says, and I walk over to the wall as she hands me a scan.

I turn the light on, seeing her leg is broken in two spots. “That had to hurt,” I say, looking at the next one that shows the collarbone snapped in half and her shoulder definitely dislocated.

“I think she may have also fractured her wrist,” Jackie shares, and I look at it.

“A cast will help that. It’s the growth plate. I broke that when I was in the fifth grade,” I say. “My brother threw me down the hill, thinking it would be fun.” I shake my head. “It was not to my parents.”

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