walk to the waiting area. From behind us, the nurse calls out, “Excuse me?” and rushes over to us. She touches Vito, and he flinches. I move behind him too. His back has severe burn marks scattered all across it. His shirt has more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese.
“Holy shit!” Antonio says.
“You need to come with me,” the nurse tells Vito, matter-of-factly. He complies and follows her.
I hear her say “Name please.” Vito responds with “Jimmy Smith.” The nurse shakes her head, and leads Vito away.
A few minutes later, the nurse comes over with another set of forms. “Here you go. These are for Jimmy,” she says.
Antonio takes them.
“How are they?” I ask.
“Are you family?” the nurse asks. Now what difference does that make, we’re the ones that brought her in here.
“Yes, I’m Erin’s sister,” I say.
“And, are you Jimmy’s sister too?” she asks skeptically.
“Yes.” I don’t even hesitate.
“Yeah, I can see the resemblance,” her voice is light with sarcasm.
“Ma’am,” Antonio breaks in. “How are they? Can we see them?”
“Erin is stabilized. We are giving her some fluids, and we gave her something to help her sleep. The doctor is dressing Jimmy’s burn wounds.”
“Can we see them?” Antonio asks again.
“In a little while,” the nurse says and walks back to her desk.
“I gotta call Pop,” Antonio tells me.
Antonio paces in front of me as he relays the events of the past hour to his dad. I am itching to call mine too. I want to tell him everything that has happened, but I don’t call. I let Antonio handle it. His father will certainly tell mine.
“Pop, she’s not right. This shit is messing with her mind. She is not handling things well at all.” Antonio’s conversation halts my own thoughts. “I think we’re going to have to send her somewhere.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, interrupting him.
“Hold on Pop,” Antonio says. “Megan...when this is over, I think you are going to have to send her away.”
“What?!” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Are you saying you think we should have her committed?”
The nurse calls out, “You can go in now.”
“Pop, I gotta go. I will call you after. We can discuss things then.”
We follow the nurse, and she takes us to Vito. I push Antonio’s words to the back of my mind. Vito is lying on his stomach on a hospital bed. He butt is covered with a thin sheet. His back is totally exposed. The burn marks glisten with medication. A few of them are covered in gauze and tape. The doctor is leaning over him examining his work.
“So,” the doctor speaks continuing to tape up Vito’s back. “Is anyone going to tell me what happened? I’m not getting anything from this guy.”
“Fireworks,” Antonio says.
“Fireworks?” the doctor repeats, digesting it.
I spot Vito’s clothes on a chair in the corner, and think about the gun he is carrying. Will they call the police if they find it? I fold the clothes and tuck the gun in tightly, hiding it.
Vito grunts as the doctor puts more salve on his back. Antonio walks over to him to survey the damage him himself. “Is he gonna be okay?” Antonio asks the doctor.
“Yes. Definitely. He is going to be in a lot of pain though. Burns are a nasty thing. They’ll be some scarring. If he follows the treatment routine, they shouldn’t be too bad. It looks like he’s fortunate though. Facing the other way, he would have been burned all down his face and chest.”
What the doctor doesn’t know is that, if Vito stayed with the car and didn’t come over to help my sister, he would be dead. Or,if Antonio was the one to get the Cayenne, it could be him lying there or worse. The thoughts of what could have been, make my stomach heave.
I summon my inner strength, and put the putrid thoughts away in a compartment in my brain . We are all okay. We need to stay smart. Trust no one. Solve one issue at a time. This mantra gets going and
“Holy shit!” Antonio says.
“You need to come with me,” the nurse tells Vito, matter-of-factly. He complies and follows her.
I hear her say “Name please.” Vito responds with “Jimmy Smith.” The nurse shakes her head, and leads Vito away.
A few minutes later, the nurse comes over with another set of forms. “Here you go. These are for Jimmy,” she says.
Antonio takes them.
“How are they?” I ask.
“Are you family?” the nurse asks. Now what difference does that make, we’re the ones that brought her in here.
“Yes, I’m Erin’s sister,” I say.
“And, are you Jimmy’s sister too?” she asks skeptically.
“Yes.” I don’t even hesitate.
“Yeah, I can see the resemblance,” her voice is light with sarcasm.
“Ma’am,” Antonio breaks in. “How are they? Can we see them?”
“Erin is stabilized. We are giving her some fluids, and we gave her something to help her sleep. The doctor is dressing Jimmy’s burn wounds.”
“Can we see them?” Antonio asks again.
“In a little while,” the nurse says and walks back to her desk.
“I gotta call Pop,” Antonio tells me.
Antonio paces in front of me as he relays the events of the past hour to his dad. I am itching to call mine too. I want to tell him everything that has happened, but I don’t call. I let Antonio handle it. His father will certainly tell mine.
“Pop, she’s not right. This shit is messing with her mind. She is not handling things well at all.” Antonio’s conversation halts my own thoughts. “I think we’re going to have to send her somewhere.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, interrupting him.
“Hold on Pop,” Antonio says. “Megan...when this is over, I think you are going to have to send her away.”
“What?!” I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Are you saying you think we should have her committed?”
The nurse calls out, “You can go in now.”
“Pop, I gotta go. I will call you after. We can discuss things then.”
We follow the nurse, and she takes us to Vito. I push Antonio’s words to the back of my mind. Vito is lying on his stomach on a hospital bed. He butt is covered with a thin sheet. His back is totally exposed. The burn marks glisten with medication. A few of them are covered in gauze and tape. The doctor is leaning over him examining his work.
“So,” the doctor speaks continuing to tape up Vito’s back. “Is anyone going to tell me what happened? I’m not getting anything from this guy.”
“Fireworks,” Antonio says.
“Fireworks?” the doctor repeats, digesting it.
I spot Vito’s clothes on a chair in the corner, and think about the gun he is carrying. Will they call the police if they find it? I fold the clothes and tuck the gun in tightly, hiding it.
Vito grunts as the doctor puts more salve on his back. Antonio walks over to him to survey the damage him himself. “Is he gonna be okay?” Antonio asks the doctor.
“Yes. Definitely. He is going to be in a lot of pain though. Burns are a nasty thing. They’ll be some scarring. If he follows the treatment routine, they shouldn’t be too bad. It looks like he’s fortunate though. Facing the other way, he would have been burned all down his face and chest.”
What the doctor doesn’t know is that, if Vito stayed with the car and didn’t come over to help my sister, he would be dead. Or,if Antonio was the one to get the Cayenne, it could be him lying there or worse. The thoughts of what could have been, make my stomach heave.
I summon my inner strength, and put the putrid thoughts away in a compartment in my brain . We are all okay. We need to stay smart. Trust no one. Solve one issue at a time. This mantra gets going and
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