“Name of the girl, please?” she a sked.
“I uh, I don’t know who she is. I found her this way, in an alley,” I answered shakily. “Is she going to live?”
The girl was trying to open her eyes again but couldn’t. They kept rolling to the back of her head like they had when I was carrying her out of the alley. She closed them and started to tremble. Before the nurse had the chance to answer me, the wounded girl started to convulse. The nurse’s focus was redirected, and she turned away from me, pushing the stretcher away down the hospital hallway in a h urry.
I wanted to stay, but I had started to feel anxious. My heart was racing at a speed I didn’t know it could. I suddenly felt ill.
Once the nurse turned the corner and I could no longer see them, I turned towards the hospital emergency doors and ran. I wanted to block out everything I had just seen.
I ran through the emergency doors and out into the night and took a breath, but the air was still humid which made it difficult to breathe. The rain had stopped, but the ground was wet. I felt every inch of the close, wet heat run through my entire body, making me feel sick to my stomach. I looked around for a taxi while I doubled over, gripping my knees with my hands. I couldn’t see the same one the girl and I had arrived in, but I spotted one parked up front, waiting for someone who needed a ride. I walked straight to the taxi, opened the back door, climbed in, and leaned back on the head rest.
The drive was a blur, and when I arrived home everyone was asleep. I went to my room, changed out of my wet, bloody clothes, and threw them on the chair next to my desk. Lying down on my bed, I tried to forget it all but couldn’t. I kept wondering how she was doing. Was she still alive? I wanted to sleep, but it was a long time before I could finally close my eyes, and even when I did drift off, I was restless all night, in and out of nightmares. Maybe they were visions, I’m not exactly sure anymore. The point is I barely slept all n ight.
My parents were quiet the entire time I told my story; they just listened to me go on without interruption. I finally lifted my head up to look in their direction, and they were both sitting at the table, staring at me in awe. My dad was speechless. I thought I could see remorse in his expression. My mom’s eyes were filled with tears, and her hand was clasped tightly over her m outh.
“Elvis, I’m so sorry for what you had to go through last night.
Seeing that couldn’t have been easy on you, sweetheart,” she said.
She stood up from her chair and walked to my end of the table, reaching her arms out in an offer to hug me. I hugged her back this time. I heard the legs of my father’s chair shift backwards against the floor. Although I couldn’t see him while my mom still held on to me, I could hear his footsteps walking closer to us.
My mother finally let me go, and I felt my dad’s big hand on my shou lder.
“That was very brave of you, son.” He spoke in a softer tone this time.
I looked up into his eyes to see that they were full of con cern.
“I’m not sure I would call it bravery, Dad. I was so scared,” I told him.
“Well, Elvis, I can’t think of another way to describe it. You did the right thing by getting the girl to the hospital,” he assure d me.
“Dad, do you think you can find out what happened to her?” I asked in a daze. “If she mad e it?”
“I’m sure she’s all right, sweetheart,” my mother cut in as she exchanged worried looks with my fa ther.
“There are so many patients brought through the emergency department every day. If I’m not on duty at the time, it’s difficult for me to check, son. I only check on my own patients with heart conditions that are admitted to other hospitals in the city, or in cases that require emergency surgery. For me to find out any information on this girl would be questionable,” my dad said apologetic ally.
I looked down at the shining white marble of our kitchen floor. I suddenly saw a flash of the girl’s bloody face, and I shuddered a gain.
“Elvis, that’s terrible.” Allison’s voice brought me out of my thou ghts.
I looked up quickly and saw her standing at the kitchen door, with Adam leaning against the frame next to her. Although they had both run out of the kitchen when my father started his lecture, they had been eavesdropping on us as usual. Even if they didn’t like to stick around for Dad’s tirades, they still found a way to liste n in.
“Are you going to the police with this?” Adam a sked.
“What’s the point, Adam? I have no answers, I don’t know anything about her. I couldn’t give you a description of her even if I tried. I don’t even know her name.” I exhaled the last words in a whisper as I ran my fingers through my hair.
The house phone started to ring, making us all jump. We heard Lizzie answer it from the living room. Lizzie, or Elizabeth Morne, is our housekeeper, a middle -a ged British woman who has been part of our household since Adam was a baby. She’s mid -s ized with a big heart, ashy blonde hair, and green eyes.
“Elvis, it’s for you,” she called out.
“Thanks, Li zzie.”
I walked to where the phone hung on the wall by the kitchen door, opposite to where Adam and Allison were stan ding.
“Hello?” Liam’s panicked voice came through the rece iver.
“Oh, hey, Liam.”
“Elvis! Where have you been? Phil and I have been calling your cell and messaging you all day.”
“Sorry, man, I think I lost my phone during the fight last night,” I said.
“Again? Your dad is not going to let you hear the end of it,” he said with a chuckle of re lief.
“Yeah … I’m not too worried about that right now,” I replied, clearing my th roat.
“You missed a great party last night, El. The girls were disappointed that you left us outnumbered. Naomi seemed pretty down afterwards: she barely danced again for the rest of the night. I really think she likes you. Cindy mentioned that Naomi is still hoping you’ll ask her to prom,” he said. “She still doesn’t have a date.”
“Oh yeah … prom. Um, I’m not sure I want to go to prom, Liam.”
“What? What do you mean? Are you serious, El? Why not? It’s prom!”
“I had a rough night, Liam. I’ll call you l ater.”
“You okay, man? You sound a bit off. Was your dad tough on you?”
“No, not re ally.”
“What is it then, Elvis?” Liam sounded worried a gain.
“I’ll talk to you later,” I said abruptly. I couldn’t talk about prom and girls any more.
“Okay! I’m here for you, El. I’ll call Philip, let him know you’re alive,” Liam said with a l augh.
“Thanks, bye.”
I hung the phone back on the hook. I had another flash of the girl on the ground and rubbed my eyes. My family all watched me with con cern.
“You okay, Elvis?” Allison stood in front of me with a sincere look on her face.
“Yeah. I’m okay, Alli. I just need to be alone for a bit.”
“Sure,” she said.
“You’ve been through a lot, dear. Go get some rest,” my mother suggested ge ntly.
I made my way to the centre of our foyer where the elevator stands. I normally took the stairs, whether I was going up to the loft of the house or down to the basement, but my head felt clouded, and my body felt weak, so I decided to take the elevator. I pressed the button to call it to the main level. With my finger still on the button and my head leaning against the wall, I closed my eyes. I never liked taking the elevator. I never really understood why it was a feature that my parents wanted in our home.