Link to previous Chapter 7c
Content Warning - effect of physical abuse
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Chapter 7d - 2,004 words
Thursday am
Allison winced as she pressed the screen of her phone, pain radiated up her finger, hand, arm. It throbbed in her head, chest, and abdomen. Shonda’s number came up and Allison pressed call.
‘Shonda (surname),’ Shonda answered sounding the serious researcher she was in her job.
‘Shonda, I need help.’ Allison coughed and groaned at the pain. Talking was sore.
‘Ally, what happened, you sound ill.’
‘I think I need to go to the emergency room.’
‘I’ll be there as soon as traffic allows.’
The call disconnected and Allison lay her head back on her pillow, taking care to do so as gently as possible. Every part of her throbbed with pain but she was worried about her fingers and the cheek bone on the left side of her face, they felt broken.
Earl had been tense, keyed up, when he got in after a delayed flight landed him just in time to get an Uber in the middle of rush hour. He’d seemed to calm a bit on seeing the packages tucked neatly at the bottom of his closet. On finishing the beer she’d handed him on walking through the door he even pulled her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head. When he patted her ass and said, ‘Let me take a shower, and we should get takeaway,’ worries were leaching away, and the prospect of a warm evening was growing.
She’d gone to get him a fresh beer for after his shower. Coming back into the bedroom his phone on the bedside table flashed with a message arriving. Lucy wanted to know when he was coming back, she missed him already. At that moment Earl came out of the bathroom. Allison was still staring at his phone, though Earl’s view of what she was looking at was blocked by her.
He took the beer from her hand and leaned round her, seeing what was on his phone screen.
‘Who’s Lucy, and why does she miss you?’ Allison asked.
‘Don’t snoop into things that don’t concern you,’ Earl said. He’d snatched the phone up and turned it off.
‘Who is Lucy? Are you having an affair?’
‘An affair? Am I having an affair?’ And that’s when he hit her the first time. She fought back, finally at breaking point. His face flushed where her open hand crashed into his cheek. It was the only blow she landed.
The door opened and Shonda called, ‘Ally?’ She went into the lounge. Allison tried to call, but her face hurt too much. Shonda came into the bedroom. She stopped short when she saw Allison, then rushed to her side and knelt beside the bed.
‘What the hell happened, Ally? He didn’t really do this, did he? Corrina said-’
‘Can you help me up. I need to see a doctor.’
‘Sure, here, give me your hand.’
‘Watch my fingers, I think they might be broken.’
It took fifteen minutes to get down to the car, and then thirty minutes to drive to Cedar-Sinai. Shonda parked and collected a wheelchair to take Allison into the emergency room.
In a city the size of LA even a Thursday morning is busy in ER, but Allison was ushered straight to a bed in a room. The orderly looked worriedly and said there’d be someone along as soon as possible.
Allison rested her head back, closed her eyes, and wished the lights weren’t so bright. But she appreciated the warmth of Shonda’s hand on her arm. It was a small salve that spread well beyond the patch of skin touched.
‘Allison (name), I’m (doctor name). The orderly says you’ve received quite a beating and need seen now.’ He looked at Shonda and said, ‘Are you the friend who brought her in?’ Shonda nodded. ‘Do you know how the injuries happened?’
Shonda said, ‘Her partner.’
‘Hmm.’ He started pressing against Allisons arms and chest. He held her hand and looked at her fingers, using a pointer to gently press the joints, immediately backing off as Allison groaned. He said, ‘We have notes of you being here previously, Allison. I don’t like the progression in visible damage. I’m going to send you for x-rays and an MRI. I’m also going to have the protection officer on duty come see you. You should be heading to x-ray in the next ten or fifteen-minutes.’ He turned to go.
Shonda said, ‘Doctor, can she get any pain-relief? You must be able to see the damage to her face and hands.’
He turned back. ‘Are you in pain?’ Allison nodded. ‘Hmm, well, we don’t want you getting reliant, so get the nurse to give you some Tylenol.’ Without waiting for a response he left.
‘What a jerk,’ Shonda said. She looked at Allison. ‘Hey, you okay? I reckon when they see your injuries someone will let you have proper pain relief.’
Allison nodded gently.
Shonda said, ‘And what about the police. You going to report him this time?’
Allison nodded again.
‘Good,’ Shonda said.
They sat silently for a while, the sound of the ER beyond the doors filtering in. Gurneys were wheeled past. People in scrubs rushed back and forth. The intercom called for people by name, or by code. Allison’s phone rang. Shonda fished it out of Allison’s pocket and held it so Allison could see the screen. It was Earl. Allison shook her head. Shonda held the button on the side of the phone so the volume turned down. Eventually the call attempt ended. A few moments later a message flashed up. Earl asking where Allison was. Shonda held it so Allison could read it. Allison shook her head again.
‘No more,’ she croaked.
A police officer came into the room, their LAPD was uniform crisp and looking new. ‘Hi, I’m Officer Lothan, I’ve been asked to come take a statement about an assault.’
Allison looked at him, recognising the sandy hair and brown eyes, but unable to work out where she’d seen him before.
‘Thanks, officer,’ Shonda said. ‘My friend was assaulted by their partner and-’
An orderly came into the room looking at a chart and said, ‘I’m here for Allison (name).’ He looked up, saw the police officer, and stopped moving. ‘There’s nothing here about it being an arrestee.’
The officer said, ‘I’m just here to take a statement, I can get it after x-rays.’ He turned to Shonda and said, ‘Maybe I can take yours just now.’
‘Okay,’ the orderly said, ‘let’s get you on the gurney, Allison.’
Allison finally remembered where she’d seen the officer before. She asked, ‘Can Shonda come with me to the x-ray?’
The orderly looked at the officer, and Shonda. He said, ‘She can’t go in with you, and you’ll be back in a few minutes.’
‘Please,’ Allison said. Tears welled at the corner of her eyes.
‘Of course I’ll come with you,’ Shonda said. She looked at the officer and said, ‘I’ll give you a statement later, and I’m sure the x-ray department will have a waiting area.
The officer smiled warmly and said, ‘I’ll get you after x-rays. Maybe get the orderly to let the desk know and they’ll get me.’
It took a long walk, an elevator ride, and more walking to get to x-ray. They made the way without chatting, allowing the squeak of footwear on the floor to be the only noise any of them made. In x-ray the orderly was guided by reception to a waiting bay, and he left them there with a cheery, ‘hope you’ll be better soon’.
Shonda stood by the gurney and looked at Allison, who was lying with her eyes closed, her face tense with pain. She asked, ‘Why didn’t you want me to speak to the officer?’
Allison opened her eyes and looked at her friend. ‘I’ve seen him before. He was at a party Earl’s boss threw.’ She winced with pain. ‘He was sat at the table with Harry, Earl’s boss, like he was a close friend or something.’ She had to stop and hold herself still as a wave of pain swept through her torso, tightened her chest, constricted her breath.
Shonda said, ‘Surely that’s a good thing. He knows you.’
Allison gently shook her head. As the pain ebbed she said, ‘Harry is alleged to be some kind of criminal who’s using this new business to whitewash his past. He’s been said to have paid off police officers.’
‘Shit.’
‘So, that’s why I don’t want to report it. It’d be easier if he just went to his tart in Cleveland, or the (location) cannibal took him.’ Allison flinched again as the pain washed through her.
‘You never told me he was screwing around.’
The radiologist arrived, interrupting their talk. She checked Allison’s details, pointed Shonda to the waiting area, and wheeled Allison away for her x-rays. When she was finished with x-rays an orderly was there to take her for an MRI. This orderly was a cheerful woman about five feet tall who spoke proudly about her daughter who was studying medicine, and that she was the first in the family to finish more than high school, and wasn’t everything so expensive these days, and then she was handing them off to the MRI team and wishing them well.
Afterward, instead of being returned to ER, they were taken to a ward and Allison transferred to a bed. ‘Does this mean I’m being kept in?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know, dear,’ the Caribbean orderly said, ‘I just take folks where I’m told to take them. I’m sure the doctor’ll be here soon. You just rest, you look tired.’
Allison did rest, leaning back on the bed, unsure what was happening, and what it would mean, and what to do about Earl because Shonda was right, this couldn’t go on, couldn’t happen again.
‘How you doing?’ Shonda asked.
‘I’m sore. So sore.’
‘Do you feel up to telling me about Earl’s affair?’
Tears rolled down Allison’s cheeks. She said, ‘I saw a message on his phone last night. I asked him if he was having an affair. Then he did this.’
‘Oh, Ally, I’m so sorry.’
‘It’s fine. I’ll get through this. But you’re right about needing to get out. He’ll never repay the loans we took out in my name. I’ll declare bankruptcy and screw my credit file. Maybe it’s time to go live in the desert and paint.’
The doctor who’d seen her in ER came into the room with a nurse. He said, ‘Miss (surname), you are, as little as you may feel it, a very lucky woman. I was supremely worried about what internal injuries may show on your scans but, apart from four of your fingers, there are no breaks. We’re going to keep you in overnight because I’m concerned about the bruising to your head and if any swelling develops I want you to be here, where we can deal with it. The nurse here has some medication which should help with the pain. I’m guessing you don’t have other clothing with you,’ he turned to look at Shonda, ‘I wonder if your friend can fetch some for you?’
Shonda nodded.
‘Good,’ the doctor said. He looked back to Allison. ‘Without prying in your private life you need to understand just how lucky you have been, and how unlikely it is you’d be as fortunate again. Anyway, I’ll leave you with the nurse, and to rest.’
He exited and the nurse, after giving Allison the medication, connecting her to a monitor, and recording her pulse and blood pressure, also departed.
Shonda said, ‘I’ll take your keys and go collect some fresh clothes, and for overnight.’
‘What if Earl’s there?’
‘I’ll call Corrina and meet up with her to go in. An’d I’ll keep my taser in hand. I’ll be back later, will you be okay.’
Allison gently nodded and said, ‘I think I’ll sleep. I’m just worried about you going to the apartment.’
‘I’ll be fine, I promise. I’ll see you in a few hours.’
Chapter Break
I wrote this post about a story where I had a first chapter written. I'm trying to push on and finish a first draft in 2024.
If you'd like to be tagged in for future chapters, let me know.
Thanks
Stuart
Link to collated chapters HERE
Link to the short story which is the seed for this is HERE
Any LA based or knowledgable folks who want to pitch in on local things I get wrong, please do. I've never been and there's only so much I can learn on the internet.
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words by stuartcturnbull pic by igorelick on Pixabay