Point of Retreat(64)

"I've got to find her," I say. I start to walk out of the room and Gavin pulls me back. "Just give it a minute, Will. If they try to find you, you won't be here. Just give it a minute."

I begin to pace again. Every now and then I lean down and hug Kel, who's still crying. He hasn’t said anything. Not a single word.

She has to be okay. She has to.

I glance across the hall and see a restroom. I go inside and as soon as I shut the door behind me, I immediately get sick. I lean over the toilet as I vomit. When I think I'm finished, I wash my hands in the sink and rinse my mouth out. I grip the edges of the sink and take a deep breath, trying to calm down. I need to calm down for Kel. He doesn't need to see me like this.

When I look in the mirror, I don't even recognize myself. There's dried blood all over the side of my face. The bandage the paramedic placed on top of my eye is already saturated again. I grab a napkin and try to wipe some of the blood off. As I'm wiping, I find myself wishing I had some of Sherry's medicine.

Sherry. "Sherry!" I yell. I throw open the bathroom door. "Gavin! We have to call Sherry! Where's your phone?"

Gavin pats his pockets. "I think it's in my jacket," he says. "I need to call Joel."

I reach into his jacket and pull out his phone. "Shit! I don't know her number, it's in my phone."

"I know her number. Hand it to me, I'll dial it," Kel says. He wipes his eyes and reaches out for the phone, so I hand it to him. When he punches in the numbers and hands me the phone back, I suddenly feel sick again.

Sherry picks up on the second ring. "Hello?"

I can't speak. What am I supposed to say?

"Hello?" she says again.

"Sherry," I say. My voice cracks.

"Will?" she says. "Will? What's wrong?"

"Sherry," I say again. "We’re at the hospital…they…"

"Will! Is she okay? Is Kiersten okay?"

I can’t respond. I’m sick again. Gavin takes the phone from my hand and I run back to the bathroom.

***

There's a knock on the bathroom door a few minutes later. I'm sitting in the floor against the wall with my eyes closed. I don't respond to the knock. When the door opens, I look up. It's the paramedic.

"We've still got to get you stitched up," he says. "You've got a pretty bad cut." He reaches down and offers his hand. I take it and he pulls me up. I follow him down the hall and into an exam room where he instructs me to lie back on the table. "Your friend said you've had some nausea. You more than likely have a concussion. Stay here, the nurse will be here in a minute."

***

After I’m stitched up and given instructions on how to care for the apparent concussion I have, I'm told to go to the nurse’s station to fill out paperwork. When I get to the nurse's station, the nurse grabs a clipboard and hands it to me. "Which patient is your wife?" she asks. I just stare at her.

"My wife?" Then it dawns on me that Gavin told her we were related to them. I guess it's better if they think that. I'll get more information that way. "Layken Cohen…Cooper. Layken Cooper."

"Fill out these forms and bring them back to me. And if you don't mind, take these forms to the other gentleman with you. What about the little girl? Is she related to you?"

I shake my head. "She's my neighbor. Her mother’s on her way."

I grab the paperwork and head back to the waiting room.

"Any news?" I ask, handing Gavin his clipboard. Gavin just shakes his head.

“We’ve been here almost an hour! Where is everybody?” I throw my clipboard in the chair and sit down. Just as I land in the chair, a man in a white lab coat rounds the corner and walks toward us, followed by a frantic Sherry. I jump back up.

"Will!" she yells. She's crying. "Where is she? Where's Kiersten? Is she hurt?"

I walk to Sherry and put my arms around her, then look at the doctor for answers since I don't have any. He looks at Sherry. "Is the little girl who you're looking for?" he asks. Sherry nods. "She'll be okay. She's got a broken arm, but other than that she just got hit on the head pretty hard. We’re still waiting on a few test results but you're welcome to go see her. I've just put her in room 212. If you'll head to the nurses’ station she can direct you."