He gave me the greatest gift of all, he saved me, but this was my battle now.
I glance at the flashing lights illuminating the building across the street. “I have to open the gate; I have to let them in.”
“Okay, Claire, help is there now. Do you see them?”
“Yes.”
“I’m going to disconnect the call now, Claire. Do you understand?”
“Yes.” I hang up and fumble with the latch, opening the gate and waving toward the approaching ambulance. “Over here.”
A man jumps out of the passenger seat, and a woman opens up the back hatch and climbs down. Together, they rush over.
“What happened?” The guy asks me.
“He fell, down the stairs.”
He spots Griffin from across the way and turns to the woman. “Grab a c-collar and backboard. I’ll get on his vitals.”
I glance at his badge:PhillipsK.
“What’s your name?”
“Claire,” I spit out. How many more times am I going to be asked this tonight?
“Claire, is this your friend?”
“Um, he’s my ex.”
He nods. “Okay. I’m going to take over now.” Phillips pokes around and verifies that Griffin is still alive. He opens this little toolbox thing of his and puts a device on Griffin’s finger.
The woman approaches with the stuff Phillips requested.
“We’ve got to get him on a backboard,” he tells her.
I stand there, in a complete daze while they do their job. The moments fade into each other, and I start to think I might be dreaming.
“Did you see her arms?” the guy whispers to the woman. “We’re going to have to call this in. We can’t leave her here.”
It’s not until the lady stands in front of me and waves her hand that I realize Phillips and another guy are carting Griffin away on the stiff board.
“Miss. Come with us. We can transport you to the hospital.”
I go with her but take a final glance upstairs on our way out, noticing the few neighbors that decided to crack their doors and see what was happening. I’ve only been here for a few weeks and I’ve already caused a dramatic scene.
* * *
My gaze falls on my arms, and my hands do their best to cover up the marks. The automatic door opening and shutting with each frantic person entering the emergency room keeps me on edge. With every new body, the impending doom of when I will have to talk to someone rapidly approaches. I have no clue what I will say, and given the very fresh imprints on my skin, I can’t exactly pretend I wasn’t involved at all.
The one thing I’m certain of is I need to keep Johnny’s name out of it.
I owe him that much, especially now.
A woman in scrubs comes into the sitting area. “Claire Cooper.” Her tired eyes scan the room.
I stand from the stiff chair and walk over. “That’s me.”
“Right this way.” She leads me to a room just feet from the receptionist desk. She motions for me to enter. “My name is Georgia. You can have a seat.” She closes the door and shuts us in.