Chapter 11 - Aftermath
The world was white; the sky, the ground, everything. The only spot of color was a pool of red hair, Polly's red hair, she was lying just as she had been beneath the table after that monster hit her. I ran towards her but she receded from me as quickly as I ran. Sound exploded through the mist. "Son, can you hear me?"
A bright light flickered into my eyes. I was lying on my side, the bed was moving. "What's your name? Tell me your name?"
Pain lanced through my body, it felt like worms burrowing through my back and ribs. "Jack," I rasped desperate to return to the field of white. Wish granted.
* * *
My eyes opened to a blank wall and an empty chair. I was on my side and had neither the desire nor the ability to move. "He's awake." Someone said.
Mom appeared before my eyes kneeling down on the floor next to the bed. "Oh baby, are you there?"
"Mom," I said slurring the word.
Relief flooded her face and Dad soon joined her on the floor. I realized I was lying on my side and strange sheets were gathered around me. Blandly colored paint covered the walls and harsh fluorescent light emanated from the ceiling. The scent of bleach and antiseptic was mixed with the metallic smell of blood. "Do you remember what happened, son?" Dad said.
I struggled to put my mind in order and then a single red rose flashed through my mind carrying a torrent of memories in its wake. My muscles tensed and I tried to move my arms, tubes and wires pulled taut. "Polly, oh my God, Polly. He hit her." I breathed in ragged gasps trying to struggle free of the bed. I had to get up, I had to find Polly.
Dad threw himself onto me. "Jack, don't struggle. You're hurt."
"Polly!" I tried to scream but it came out in a laryngitic whisper. "He hit her."
"Kat," Dad barked in a voice of surprising authority. "Bring Polly in here now!"
With Dad holding me my meager struggles were useless, the powerlessness of the situation broke through my terror and tears flowed from my eyes. "He hit her. Mom, he hit her."
Mom's eyes welled with tears as she spoke. "I know, but Polly is ok."
The door opened and a blurry corona of red appeared beside Mom on the floor next to the bed. I could not wipe the tears away. "Jack, I'm here, I'm ok."
Her voice was like a shot of morphine, my body relaxed and I took two deep breaths. Slowly blinking away the tears I gazed into the most beautiful sight in all the universe; Polly's green eyes. They were bright with tears and a red swelling marred her cheek but she was safe. Her hand gently touched my face and the panic retreated from my body taking all my energy with it. I slumped back into oblivion.
* * *
Drugged sleep is good sleep, at least until you wake up. My eyes opened into a room dark with shadow. The quiet buzz of machines and air flowing through duct work were the only sounds. "Hello?" I whispered.
The empty chair was soon filled by Dad who was shaking sleep from his eyes. "Hey Jack, I'm here."
"Thirsty."
Dad grabbed a white mug and settled the straw against my lips. The cool liquid washed away the sandpaper pasted to the inside of my mouth. Pain throbbed in my back. "Where am I?"
"Hospital." Dad said simply waiting for the information to work its way through my thoughts.
I remembered more easily this time, the memories vivid but without the panic and terror. Pain came from a hundred different places on my body and I tried to assess the damage.
Dad recognized the look on my face. "134 stitches on your back, two cracked ribs, a dislocated shoulder, and minor contusions everywhere else."
"Wow, really?" I said.
"They took enough glass out of your back to make a window." Dad finished.
"Do you remember the fight?" Dad asked
The memories of fury, pain, and blood swirled through my mind. I nodded. "Where's Mom?"
"It's 4 a.m., they are getting some sleep at home. She'll be back early in the morning. This gives us a chance to talk."
"Talk? Am I in trouble."
Dad chuckled. "No, I'm just worried."
"Worried?"
"Jack, you have your Mom's eyes, your Mom's hair, your Mom's facial features, but you got something of mine."
"What's that?"
"When someone you love gets hurt, you kind of lose your mind."
I wrinkled my brow.
"Do you remember seeing Polly getting hit?" Dad asked.
The memory flashed. "Yes." I whispered.
"What did you feel?"
I thought back to the moment silently letting the memory wash over me.
"Why did you decide to attack the man?" Dad asked into the silence of my thoughts.
"I didn't decide really, I just acted, I was angry."
"Just angry?"
"Uh, well more like a fire in my mind, it kind of burned away everything else."
"Bingo," Dad said. "It burned away your sense of self preservation. It worked out for you this time, I doubt you could have survived against that psychopath if you hadn't fully committed, but sometimes you'll need to think things through first."
"How? I don't think I had much control."
Dad shrugged. "You know now, and knowing is half the battle."
I looked at him and smirked. "G.I. Joe, seriously?"
"Hey it works." Dad smiled. "See if you can sleep, Doc says you'll recover."
"How long?"
"Didn't say."
"One more thing."
Dad turned. "Yeah?"
"Polly's Dad?"
"Don't let Polly hear you call him that." Dad shook his head darkly. "Let's see," He ticked off a list on his fingers, "Lacerations, crushed larynx, concussion, under 24 hour police guard in a different hospital, and heading to jail for a long time."
I let out a breath I never realized I was holding and promptly fell asleep.
* * *
If you want to get rest, the hospital is the worst place to do it. The sun was barely up and the nurses were changing bandages (that hurt), checking my vitals, and helping me find the toilet. With a bit of effort we managed to angle the bed high enough to keep the majority of my weight off my back, this at least allowed me to face forward.
Mom and Kat came in during my breakfast wearing almost identical outfits consisting of sweatshirt's and jeans. Dad kissed his wife with a tired sigh. "Hang in there Jack, I'm going to catch a few Z's."
I waved to him with a mouth full of fruit salad.
"You look better," Mom said giving me a peck on the cheek.
I looked at the I.V. in my arm. "Good drugs maybe."
Kat sat down on the bed and handed my cell phone over. "I can't be your agent or publicist anymore, I was up half the night taking calls and texts. Rumors are spreading like brush fires."
"Heh." I laughed. "I can imagine the stories."
"No you can't," Kat shook her head. "You really can't."
"Don't stress him out, Kat. He still needs rest." Mom chided.
"Ugh, maybe I can just call an assembly at school and tell everyone once instead of a thousand separate times." Kat said.
"Seriously? There's not that many people that give a crap about this."
Kat threw up her hands. "After Drake and Caster you were already the talk of the halls, and this is like pumping gasoline on the flames. Half the kids think you killed Drake, the other half think Drake put you in the hospital."
Mom looked perplexed. "What is this about Drake and Caster?"
Kat explained while I finished breakfast. She had the details almost exactly correct except for my extreme terror.
Mom turned her attention to me with an eyebrow raised and said nothing.
"Do you think Polly will visit?" I asked between sips of water.
Kat tossed me a look of extreme incredulity. "Uh, yeah. She's skipping school today to be here."
"She's here?" I said trying to look around Mom's shoulder.
"It's 6 o'clock in the morning I doubt she will be here this early. And don't expect her to stay all day, the hospital may not allow it." Mom responded
The doctor entered a few minutes later and Kat and Mom waited near the single window while he looked over my injuries. "I'm going to recommend you stay the night. You are young and healthy but infection is nothing to mess around with. If everything looks as it does now in the morning, I will discharge you." He left with a nod towards my Mom.
"Thank you doctor." Mom said as he left.
I dozed while Mom and Kat texted and made phone calls. Family members had to be notified and Kat showed me a few of the crazier queries people were asking from school. "Mom called your math teacher, Mrs. Bates, and gave her the truth so maybe some of this will calm down once she is able to tell the real story."
Mom's phone rang and she stepped into the hallway. Kat turned to me. "I'm sorry about just leaving you there last night, I noticed that car but didn't think anything of it."
I furrowed my brow at her. "Seriously? You did nothing requiring an apology, though I am tempted to get a recording for Ripley's Believe It or Not."
Kat turned away not laughing at my clumsy attempt at levity. "When the call from the police came, Mom nearly broke down. Dad wasn't home yet, and..." Her shoulders shook. "They didn't tell us anything on the phone, except that you were badly hurt." Kat was crying, actually crying. The fiercest, strongest, toughest girl I knew was crying.
"I'm sorry Kat."
"You did nothing wrong." She wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. "It's been a stressful few hours, feels like days."
I remained silent while Kat pulled herself together.
"You better get used to the water works when Polly gets here. She is on the edge. Her Mom isn't much better off. She heard you call her name last night after you woke up, she was clawing at the door when I opened it. After you passed out after seeing her, well, she lost it; went completely nuts, screaming and crying. Dad carried her from the room and they found her a bed for her to lay down on. She just curled into a little sobbing ball."
I thought about the terror they must have felt before I even arrived at their home. The terror they must have felt seeing me attack a man who should have swatted me down like a fly. My heart lurched at the thought of Polly in so much fear. "She was brave. She hit him once."
Kat nodded. "Polly and her Mom are safe now. They spent the night with us because of the mess at their house." Kat leaned down and whispered. "Polly slept in your bed."
My eyes widened at the thought. "Wow." And then thought again, "I hope you changed the sheets."
"Of course," Kat said.
I smiled at the thought of Polly in my bed, a look Kat noticed.
"Cool your jets, no way would it have happened if you weren't hospitalized."
"Still though, my bed?"
* * *
Pain is unique, when it is bad enough you can think about nothing else, but when you have nothing to do even minor pain can become really awful. When Polly arrived a couple hours later the pain was really starting to get to me.
There was a soft knock on the door and a redhead peaked around the corner. Polly's green eyes looked worried and relieved as she saw me sitting up in bed. The door opened further and she approached slowly as to not shake the floor lest I feel some discomfort. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail and she wore the apparent outfit of the day: a sweatshirt and jeans. Her face was marred now by a purpling bruise over her left eye pinched nearly closed by the swollen flesh.
A surge of anger swelled within me at the sight of the injury. It was apparently visible on my face because she raised a hand to her cheek. "It doesn't hurt. It just looks bad."
I steadied my breath. "You are ok then?" I patted the bed next to me.
She gingerly sat down and nodded. "Thanks to you."
Lisa had followed her daughter into the room also wearing a sweatshirt but choose simple black leggings instead. She stood on the opposite side of the bed. Kat and Mom left the room, closing the door behind. Lisa (I guess I can finally call her that now) pulled a chair close and placed her elbows on the bed. She had a small butterfly bandage near her lip where she had been struck. "Jack, I want to..." Her voice caught.
I waited looking at her not sure what to say.
"I can never really thank you." She managed to get out and a tear flowed from the corner of one eye. "He was drunk." She took a deep breath. "He was always a monster but a vicious monster when he drank."
"Uh...I" I looked toward Polly. "When he hit Polly...I kind of snapped."
Lisa smiled. "I am sorry you got hurt."
I thought for a moment. "I'm not sorry. Not really."
Lisa paused and nodded. "Better you than Polly?"
I nodded. "I'm not trying to be noble, that's just the way it is."
Lisa smirked. "I'd wager the most noble people in the world have never once tried to be noble."
Polly found my bandaged hand. Her touch was soft and gentle. I returned the grip fiercely and promptly forgot that Lisa existed. I gazed into Polly's eyes and was silent, losing myself in the vibrant green pools. I don't know how long we stayed that way but a knock on the door interrupted us and Lisa had settled back into her chair.
A policewoman entered carrying a small notebook. Lisa nodded to her, "Officer."
"Hello, I need to talk to Jack and get his statement."
"Can we stay?" Polly asked.
"That's fine, but please don't interject anything, I need it from Jack alone."
The officer had me tell her what happened from start to finish and said nothing, quietly scratching on her notepad with a pen. After I was finished she asked a few questions and had me repeat several parts while starting from a different point. It seemed to be some kind of formula, likely intended to test the veracity of my memory. After about thirty minutes she thanked me.
"Is there any chance he will be released?" Lisa asked.
"Not anytime in the near future, he is a public threat, at least the evidence suggests that he is, I am not the judge. Thank you for your help."
The officer left.
The remainder of the day was much the same, a few friends stopped by for brief visits, mostly Polly's friends but Ollie came as well. Jokes covered any uncomfortable silences and the nurses kept people from lingering too long.
The oddest experience happened in the evening when Mom and Dad entered. "Hey champ there is a news lady outside and she wants an interview. Are you feeling up to it?" Dad asked.
I squinted in disbelief. "What do they want to talk to me for?"
Dad shrugged. "Slow news day maybe."
"Ok, where's Polly?"
"Here." Polly said squeezing between my parents. She played with her hair and glanced into the mirror over the sink in the bathroom, the swelling on her face had gone down a lot during the day. She sat down next to me on the bed and grabbed my hand.
A woman wearing a bright red dress entered. A string of pearls decorated her neck and matching pearls clung to her ears. Bright red lips parted in a smile. "I'm Janice from KATM news."
Another man entered holding a large camera to his face and knelt down in the corner pointing the large lens toward us.
"You must be Jack and Polly." She held out her hand kneeling down at the left obviously conscious of the camera's position.
Polly and I both nodded and took her offered hand.
Janice faced the camera and began a brief exposition about the events that had transpired. The words sounded like they were pulled from a police report. She then turned to Polly. "It must be awful to be attacked by your father like that." She held the microphone towards Polly.
Polly's hand gripped mine harder and a small stab of pain spiked from the increased pressure. "He's not my father."
Janice recovered. "Of course, but you must have been terrified?"
Polly's face became paler at the memory. "Yes, it was horrible." She looked away from the microphone.
Janice switched to me. "Jack, how does it feel to be a hero?" The microphone appeared before my lips.
"I'm not a hero."
"Oh? I don't know about that." Janice smiled.
"My Dad would have done the same thing." I countered
Janice nodded. "What were you doing at the house last night, that seems incredibly fortuitous?"
I thought for a second. "I was bringing Polly a rose, it was her birthday."
Janice gasped and Polly's mouth opened with tears welling in her eyes. The room became still. Finally Polly managed a whisper. "I didn't know."
"So you two are a couple?" Janice asked.
I looked at Polly and met her eyes. "As long as she'll have me."
Janice smiled so bright her teeth seemed to glow. "I think that says it all, back to you in the studio Fred." She made the cutoff sign by slashing her fingers in the air across her neck. "Thank you, that was great." Janice and the cameraman left the room.
Polly and I watched the interview on the small television hanging in the corner of the hospital room, I had not realized they also interviewed my parents and friends and used our interview as a capstone of a larger story about the attack. "Good grief, they made me look like a superhero."
"That story Kat told about the dog that attacked when you were ten years old was amazing." Polly said.
I held up my arm to show her the smooth scars where the dog had bitten me. "I just got in the way. I did not want Mom or Kat to get hurt."
"You suck at not being a hero." Polly said
I rolled my eyes.
Polly touched my cheek. "You need to come to grips with it."
"Super heroes don't end up in the hospital with 134 stitches."
Polly shrugged. "Ok, just a hero then."
* * *
The doctor released me from the hospital the following morning with a bunch of painkillers and antibiotics. I was supposed to take it easy to keep the stitches from tearing out which meant no school for the week. The news story thankfully tamped down the rumors.
I was plenty stir crazy after just a couple days and there are only so many hours you can spend on computer games. Polly visited every night and we played cards where the loser had to kiss the winner. I enjoyed losing, and winning.
"Mom says we are going to have a private birthday party at my house when you are all healed up." Polly said one evening.
"Good, I can finally give you that rose."
Polly smiled and said nothing. She was hiding something.
"What?"
"Nothing, just heal up and then we'll set a date. Mom says she has gifts for both of us."
"Both of us?" I said surprised.
"She wouldn't tell me anything. Maybe it’s handcuffs." Polly's eyes sparkled. "I've missed having you squirming at my touch."
I flushed red and shifted my position on the bed. "I always squirm at your touch."
Polly laid back on the bed with her head on my chest. The pain was nearly absent.
* * *
I was cleared to attend school on Monday. There were still a few visible cuts and bruises and I walked a bit stiff but otherwise I could handle a full day of chair sitting. Heck I spent most of the previous week sitting in the chair in front of my computer. My back would have stitches for three or four more days but my shirt would cover that.
In the morning I dressed carefully, struggling to keep my shirt from snagging on the bandages and came downstairs to have breakfast. I stopped in surprise. Polly stood at the counter chatting with Mom and Kat. She looked gorgeous. A green halter dress falling from just below her neck to mid thigh was belted with a thin silver ribbon. A similar green ribbon was woven into her hair keeping the loose red locks flowing over her shoulders and away from her face. She laughed at something Kat said an aura of joy and life surrounded her like a cloak. "Polly!" I said unable to keep a smile from my lips.
She stepped over and gently placed her hands around the back of my neck and pulled me toward her lips. I had never before kissed her in front of my parents but when her warm lips touched mine, I did not care. "Ready for your first day."
I looked at Mom whose mouth was quirked into amusem*nt, Kat had resumed eating her cereal. "First day?"
"It's going to feel like it." Polly giggled.
"Why?"
"You'll see." Polly coyly touched my cheek.
Polly drove me to school, for some reason she was adamant that everyone see us together. It's not like she was ashamed of me or anything, but she had always kept her priorities straight. Her interest in boys was second to her education. At least it used to be. We parked and walked into the building hand in hand. Teens and teachers alike were pointing and talking to each other as we passed. I was embarrassed, Polly was positively glowing.
She kissed me at the junction where our lockers forced us to take different routes. She was surrounded by her cadre of friends immediately. I reached my locker before Ollie sidled up next to me and coolly leaned back against an adjacent locker. "Hey man, welcome back."
"Hey Ollie, how's things?"
"Pretty good. It felt a little weird for girls to be talking to me only to ask about you though. Not used to that at all." Ollie shook his head.
"That's dumb, I'm taken."
"I think that actually makes you more attractive not less." Ollie answered.
"Jeez, what's a single guy to do?"
Ollie laughed. "Girls, right, them's crazy."
I thought about Polly. "Yup, I love crazy."
Ollie shook his head and stomped off to class.
I received questions from everyone close enough to talk to me. "Was the news true?" "Was (insert crazy conspiracy here) really what happened. I showed my bandages on my back to a few curious kids who were brave enough to ask and lots of older kids gathered around to look. My shoulder actually hurt the most but you could not see anything except a few bruises that were pitiful compared to the mass of bandages taped to my back.
At the end of Mrs. Bates' math class she touched my shoulder. "Can you stay after, I need to speak with you."
I stayed at my desk while everyone else filed out of the room. Mrs. Bates was wearing her normal ensemble of a dark skirt with a jacket covering a silvery blouse. She was attractive in a stern sort of way and even before her timely rescue from Drake and Caster I considered her a favorite teacher.
"We need to talk about your tutoring, but I feel obligated to mention recent events."
I didn't say anything while she sat down on the edge of her desk and crossed her nylon covered legs. "Lisa McGentry is a close friend of mine and what you did for her and her daughter is laudable and I want to thank you personally."
"I...I did not know that you knew them."
She nodded and smiled. "We were classmates and we stayed in town after school so we enjoy each other's company from time to time."
"Small world."
"Small town perhaps, thank you again."
It felt weird saying 'You're welcome', so I wasn't sure what to say. "Uh..." My cheeks started to get red. "I was just in the right place at the right time."
"That, young man, is bull sh*t." Mrs. Bates said.
My mouth fell open and I stared at her in shock. She was constantly telling us to watch our language and then she drops that little bomb. "Harsh language should be used at appropriate times." She explained. "That was a ridiculous statement, I know of only one other guy who would have done what you did, who would have attacked a stronger more experienced opponent to defend two helpless women."
I looked away. "I... I just don't know what to say when somebody thanks me, Mrs. Bates. 'You're welcome' feels wrong."
She nodded with understanding. "I get that. Try saying, 'Just glad I could help.' or 'I am happy they are safe.'"
"Ok, I'll do that."
"Good, now onto business. There are several young women requesting your tutoring services, and I'm not sure what to do."
I laughed. I could not help it. This was just too funny. Mrs. Bates smiled at me and held her hand before her mouth her shoulders gently shaking. "Just pick for me. The one or two you think actually need help."
"Sounds like a plan. Have a good day, Jack."
I was still smiling when I left Mrs. Bates classroom and feeling that maybe, just maybe, I would survive high school when I rounded the corner and came face to face with Drake and Caster. I stopped and looked at them not moving a muscle. They also stopped and stared back.
I took a moment to analyze my thoughts and realized I was not frightened of these guys anymore. My thresholds had been harshly adjusted by the cruel crucible at Polly's house and these apes just did not warrant any kind of reaction. I folded my arms across my chest co*cked an eyebrow at them and waited for them to speak. Whatever scoring system bullies use to pick their victims I must have lost my status because Drake nudged Caster and walked around me down the hallway. Caster looked at me for another heartbeat before following his friend. No words were exchanged but I knew those two were no longer a problem.
In a rare treat I met Polly in the hall moments later. She noticed me first and my brows were still knitted in thought after the silent exchange with Drake and Caster. I brightened up immediately when seeing her but she had already noticed. "What was that look for?"
"Funny thing just happened." I said while letting my gaze travel down her body. The beautiful dress flattered her and I could not help myself.
She began to self consciously pick at the hem beneath noticing my gaze. "Really, what?"
"I just stumbled into Drake and Caster."
Polly's eyebrows raised.
"And nothing happened, they didn't even talk to me. We just kind of stared at each other and then they moved on."
Polly shrugged. "I suppose they realize you're not going back down."
I smiled. "Drake likes you."
Polly's face screwed into a grimace. "I've turned him down three times." She shuddered. "I was looking for you to say that Mom wants you to come over for dinner and a movie tonight. Just the three of us."
"Sounds fun."
"7:00." Polly pecked me on the cheek and tried to move away but I reached my arms around her waist and held her there just breathing in her scent. "I have to go to class, Jack." Polly said without pulling away.
"Sometimes it just hits me," I whispered into her ear. "I'm so glad you're safe."
Polly sagged against me and I was forced to lean against the wall for support. People passed as we sat there just being together. The bell rang and Polly pulled away. "Hold that thought, see you tonight."
