Monsters & Fairytales (42 page)

He rubbed my leg and I jumped.

“Everything okay?”
The doctor asked.

“Yes.” I lied.

It hurt for some reason when Joe touched had my leg. I couldn’t remember why, but I really didn’t want to dig anymore holes.
My concern, right now anyway, was the fact that he hadn’t mention Sebastian.
Why wouldn’t he have mentioned him? Why would he be so worried before but say nothing now?

“Anything she could have hit her head on? Was there drinking?”

Why did everyone keep assuming I had been drinking? I was 18, barely. Did I miss the memo that all 18 year olds were drunks?

“Sorry, I don’t know if this matters, but we found out that someone had been hanging out with me Tuesday and Wednesday morning. Apparently I told Joe that it was my friend from out of town, or my roommate, but I can’t remember him at all. And Joe didn’t know him either. Could this be a factor into it or anything?”

The doctor looked to Joe, and then looked to me. It seemed like he wasn’t sure whether to believe us or not anymore. I watched him take a second judgment on the situation then sit up.

“If he hit your head with a metal baseball bat, yes.
Or if he put something in your drink.
There are not too many options, here. I wouldn’t go as far as to say you have a concussion, but with your symptoms, that seems to be the best diagnosis.”

“How do we make sure?” I asked.

“Well, we can run some tests on you, scan some images of your brain if you’d like.”

“What’s a concussion mean?” I asked with a curious tone to my voice.

Whatever he was doing was working. I didn’t want to take the tests at all. They sounded unnecessary and tiring. If he thought I had a concussion, then I’d let him just think that and treat me for it. It sounded much better than spending all night in the hospital getting tests to confirm a doctor's guess.

“Well, it basically means that there was some form of trauma to your head. Either by jolting or blunt force, we can’t be certain. Even imaging won’t be clear on that, unless there is some huge gash somewhere I’m not seeing.
             

"What I’m most concerned about is the memory loss. That does indicate damage. That’s the only reason I’m suggesting more tests. Don’t worry though; this happens to quite a few people. I understand it can be scary.”

“What’s the treatment?”

“For a concussion?
It’s just rest and rest. Your fiancé should wake you up every few hours the first night.”

“For what?”
I whispered.

I shot a glance at Joe. I had just gotten doctor's orders for him to spend the night with me. It couldn’t get much better; I had to see his reaction. It gave me butterflies when his face was an ear to ear grin. He was purposefully not making eye contact to avoid blushing.

“Not agreeing to the tests leads me to have no clue to the severity of your injuries. I understand that you have no insurance, so the best thing is to be woken up every few hours to make sure you haven’t lost consciousness. In the morning, things should start turning back to normal, memory wise.”

Martin scooted away. He started typing into his computer.

“Okay.” I said.

I looked at Joe again. He was still smiling. All I could think of was my nose bleed earlier. My shirt had blood on it. Hadn’t he noticed? Should I bring that up now? I was afraid.

“Do you have a primary care physician?” Martin asked.

“A what?”

“A regular doctor you see?”

“Oh, no.”

“Okay. I’ll schedule you to come back and see me tomorrow evening. Does that work?” He asked.

“My nose was bleeding earlier. Is that in my paperwork? Did they mention that?” I blurted out.

“No they didn’t. But this does change things. I highly insist upon you getting the tests now, so when you see me tomorrow I can go over the results with you.”

“Doctor, don’t you think we should wait here for the results?” Joe ordered as he stood up, stopping me from speaking.

“No…that’s why I said I’d see her tomorrow.”

“So you think she’s at risk of head trauma, but you’re making her come back tomorrow for the results?”

“Yes. This isn’t a fast process. I can’t guarantee how soon I’ll have the results or if I’ll see anything at all.”

Joe seemed hesitant, still. He was testing him.

“If you want to wait for the unforeseen amount of hours it takes to get the results, then fine.” Martin sighed.

“Honey, he went to school for this. I’m sure he knows what he’s doing.” I said.

This was all overdramatic, not to mention spoiling my actual plan. I didn’t need these tests. Saying we’d see him tomorrow and get the results then as well meant I could just walk out of the hospital now and it wouldn’t matter. He said I was going to get my memory back in the morning regardless, and my headache was gone, things couldn’t be that serious. I shouldn’t have mentioned the nose bleed.

“Fine.”
Joe was reluctant, but he agreed.

“Good. We’re all on board.”

Martin stood up and pulled the curtain back. He led the way down the hall and around a few desks to an elevator. He pressed the button and we stood there waiting for the doors to open up. It was quite awkward.

When the doors finally opened, he leaned in and pressed one of the numbers. Keeping his hand in the opening, he motioned for us to walk in.

“Take a right on the 5th floor and there will be a nurse at the desk. Tell her Dr. Palmer has an order in for you.”

“Thank you.” Joe said.

I started giggling when the doors closed.

“What?” Joe asked, barely looking at me.

“Did you hear his name?” I busted out with more giggles.

“Palmer?”

Joe raised his eyebrow in annoyance. He didn’t think it was funny.

“Martin Palmer?” I laughed again.

“Who’s Martin Palmer?” He asked.

“Wait, no, it’s Arnold. Arnold Palmer is who I’m thinking of.”

“Okay...who’s that?”

“I don’t know, but my Mom always got his drink.”

I shrugged my shoulders. Joe had definitely ruined the joke.

“Whatever. I don’t like that guy.” Joe whispered.

“It was your idea to come here.” I reminded him.

“Yeah, well.”

Joe rolled his eyes. Somehow, right in that moment, I thought he was adorable. The annoying, pestering superiority made me smile. I reached down his arm and wound my fingers around his. Everything was better in the world. His cheeks slowly dimpled up and his tough guy attitude broke, he was smiling again. I loved it.
             

The elevator dinged and then the doors opened up. I walked out, hand in hand with Joe, and went to the right. It was nicer on this level. It didn’t feel infected or covered in a mob of sanitizer. I saw the nurses’ station, but there was no one around. There might be a bell somewhere. Joe walked around and hit a button I'd had no clue was even there. It chimed behind two doors to the right. I looked at him curiously and he made a face like, 'who knew'. When the doors opened completely, a nurse slowly walked out. For a second I thought she was a child. She couldn’t have been taller than four feet.

“Yes? Can I help you?” She huffed and puffed.

She climbed up into the chair and was still barely eye level.

“Um, yes.
Dr. Palmer sent me up here. He said there is an order put in.” I said.

“Very well.
Your name?”
The nurse asked.

“Mirabelle Frances.”

“No, I don’t think so. I don’t see anything in the system.” She said with a complete look of exhaustion.

“Are you sure? I just left him. He sent us up the elevator.”

“I’ll check again, maybe it hasn’t gone through, yet.”

She didn’t seem to hit any buttons, in spite of her attention being locked to the computer screen. I just smiled. I didn’t want to make her day any harder than she already seemed to be having.

“It’s not here.” She said as soon as Joe and I stepped back to give her space.

I walked back up and looked over the desk. She was resting on her arm staring at the screen.

“What does that mean?” Joe interrupted before I could speak.

“It means that he didn’t put the order in. So you can go find him and see what’s going on, or you can wait and see if it shows up.” She was speaking in disgust now. Had I offended her?

“Can you give us just a second?”

Joe held up his finger and pulled me back. She
nodded,
half paying attention.

“Do you really want to wait around?” Joe asked.

I raised my eyebrow to him. He had just made the doctor promise my results today, and now he’s trying to see if I needed to get the tests done at all? I knew I didn’t want them, but for him to throw that kind of fit over nothing was just pathetic.

“Well, if Dr. Palmer ordered them, then there was a reason.” I played him.

“I know, I know. But let’s think about this from another perspective. They all said that you just needed rest and you’d be fine.”

“Joe, seriously?
That was my defense in the very beginning, but you wouldn’t accept that.
Just like you wouldn’t accept the doctor telling us to come back tomorrow for results.
Are you really, honestly telling me to just cancel it because the order isn’t in the system right now?”

He shifted his weight around. What was making him so uncomfortable? It was as if he had a full bladder or something. Actually, he seemed more uneasy and afraid of something. I went to question his nerves, but he turned and walked back to her. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a black figure dart from behind those doors the nurse had come out of. Who was she hiding back there? Was she…could she have a man back there? That would make complete sense. Well, hello nurse! I wasn’t about to ruin her night. Joe was still talking to her. I tried to yank him away, but he brushed my hands aside.

“Can you just cancel the appointments when they get in?” He asked. “We were thinking about it, and since rest is the most important thing she needs right now, getting her home as soon as possible seems like the best idea. Would that be okay?”

I tried to talk again and tell him we just needed to walk away, but again, he pushed me back. I couldn’t believe he felt that his charm and demeanor would ease her down. She wanted us gone, that’s it. To my surprise though, a smile formed on her face. Her cheeks actually turned pink. It was working? He was trying to persuade her and it worked? I was disgusted.

“Are you sure you want to leave? You can wait here. I won’t mind.”

She smiled back at him and batted her eyes. I wanted to vomit. How could Joe treat someone that way and trick them? It was rude.

“Thank you, but we won’t keep you.” I finally blurted out.

It was as if a spell was lifted. She leaned up off her elbow and looked around the room. She was confused. I grabbed Joe and took off to the elevator.

“You okay?” Joe asked me. He had to jog to catch up.

“I wouldn’t know, considering you just canceled my appointments.” I mumbled.

I was in the elevator waiting on him with my arms crossed.

“Whoa, hey.
What’s getting to you?” He asked
,
squeezing in before the door closed.

“Nothing.
I just want to get home and go to sleep.”

It wasn’t completely a lie; I was exhausted all of a sudden. And now the nurse was alone with her secret man. She didn’t want Joe. He thought he was something real special. I don’t know why that got to me so badly, but it did.

“Okay. Do you want to pick up anything to eat on the way?” He asked.

He seemed completely oblivious to what had happened. With every light that went off signaling that we'd passed another floor, my anger went up. When the elevator finally stopped and the doors opened, it was all I could do but to rush out without another word. I needed to breathe.
             

I hurried towards the exit doors and stopped in the dark night. My entire evening was wasted at the hospital, for nothing. There was a breeze and a funny smell. I had smelled that scent before. Where? I heard my name on the wind. Looking around, there was a faint shadow across the street. It was the same shadow I had seen behind those doors. I took a step towards it, but Joe touched my arm. He snapped me out of my tranquil bliss.

“Mira?”
He whispered.

“Hey.” I said.

I looked back to that spot, there was nothing there anymore. Was I delusional? 

“What’s up?”

“Nothing.”
I said.

“You ran away from me for nothing?”

He stood in front of me. He was serious. I thought he just looked pathetic. Then I remembered what I had been angry about.

“How could you treat that nurse like that? You treated the doctor like crap for not getting me these tests and then you decide I don’t need them because a nurse says she didn’t see any orders in the system? Not to mention, if you hadn’t kept pushing me away, you would have realized she had some guy in the back room. Her boyfriend or something was there and she just wanted us gone so she could be illegal with him.”