having trouble keeping your sister in bed. Strange, really. I’ve never had that problem before. Usually I have problems getting her out of it.”
“Oh my god, you did not just say that.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, exhaling sharply. Tonight just keeps getting better. First I’ve totally screwed things up with Zeth, and now my brand-new brother-in-law is spilling about his sex life with my asshole of a sister. Something else is bound to happen, something utterly horrifying—they do say these things happen in threes. I don’t even want to think about what the third thing might be.
“Rebel, I’m not coming. I already told you—”
“Check your email,” he says. And then he hangs up.
“Fucking—fuck you, asshole!” I glare at my phone, grinding my teeth together, wishing just for a moment that the guy was standing in front of me so I could punch him in his face. Unbelievable. And he wants me to check my email? How on earth did he get my freaking email address? I don’t give that to anyone. I only have my work account, and the only people who have that are the hospital and Pippa. Not even my folks have it. But sure enough when I check the mail icon on my cell, there, among the numerous unread notices from St. Peter's, is a message from an address I don't recognize: [email protected] . Fastfuck83? Seriously? That sounds like a spam account from a sex site. The subject line is the only reason why I even open the damn message. It reads: body temp: 102, 140/90, PaCO2 36 mmHG . Only someone wanting to get a doctor's attention would send numbers like that. They’re patient stats...and they’re bad ones.
Inside the email, the message reads:
3412 Freemantle
Ribera, NM
87560
There’s nothing else. I google Ribera, New Mexico, and quickly find that it’s a tiny community not far from Santa Fe. The population is only just over a thousand people. It’s obviously where Rebel’s taken my sister.
Those stats are terrible. They indicate my sister has a seriously bad infection that’s affecting the rest of her body, on the brink of shutting it down. Her blood pressure is dangerously high, and her temperature is through the roof. Plus those CO 2 levels are reduced, too. It all points to sepsis. Either Alexis is in really bad shape, or Rebel’s figured out how to make it look like she is. Regardless, I still just can’t bring myself to hightail it over there. I just can’t. Ever since we left the hospital in San Jacinto, I’ve been trying so hard to let go of the anger that’s been gnawing at me. The anger that Lexi caused when she lied and consciously made a decision to let me, Mom and Dad live through hell the past few years. It was unforgivably selfish. And then to tell this guy that I didn’t care about her, that my work was more important, after everything I did and gave up to try and find her? No. Just no. I hit reply.
Take her to a hospital.
That’s it. That’s all I give him. If he wants to keep things short and sweet, then I am more than happy to return the favor. If he loves her as Lexi claims he does, he won’t risk not getting her the attention she may or may not need. To have even gotten those CO 2 readings in the first place, he would have needed access to a doctor and a lab, so I’m clearly not the only person he can turn to.
Outside, the skyline is lit up in the distance, all oranges, reds and whites. The sight of all those people only serves to make me feel even more alone. I moved out to the sticks to get away from everyone. To hide. And now I desperately don’t want to be hidden away. It’s not safe for starters, but I want to be seen again. I want to feel like I exist . I want to know that someone will actually notice if I go missing. By ten o’clock, Zeth still hasn’t shown up and I’ve had enough. I grab my bag and my jacket and I head out the front door. I lock up behind me, not sure when I’ll ever be going back.
******
A car engine is a beautiful thing.
“Oh my god, you did not just say that.” I pinch the bridge of my nose, exhaling sharply. Tonight just keeps getting better. First I’ve totally screwed things up with Zeth, and now my brand-new brother-in-law is spilling about his sex life with my asshole of a sister. Something else is bound to happen, something utterly horrifying—they do say these things happen in threes. I don’t even want to think about what the third thing might be.
“Rebel, I’m not coming. I already told you—”
“Check your email,” he says. And then he hangs up.
“Fucking—fuck you, asshole!” I glare at my phone, grinding my teeth together, wishing just for a moment that the guy was standing in front of me so I could punch him in his face. Unbelievable. And he wants me to check my email? How on earth did he get my freaking email address? I don’t give that to anyone. I only have my work account, and the only people who have that are the hospital and Pippa. Not even my folks have it. But sure enough when I check the mail icon on my cell, there, among the numerous unread notices from St. Peter's, is a message from an address I don't recognize: [email protected] . Fastfuck83? Seriously? That sounds like a spam account from a sex site. The subject line is the only reason why I even open the damn message. It reads: body temp: 102, 140/90, PaCO2 36 mmHG . Only someone wanting to get a doctor's attention would send numbers like that. They’re patient stats...and they’re bad ones.
Inside the email, the message reads:
3412 Freemantle
Ribera, NM
87560
There’s nothing else. I google Ribera, New Mexico, and quickly find that it’s a tiny community not far from Santa Fe. The population is only just over a thousand people. It’s obviously where Rebel’s taken my sister.
Those stats are terrible. They indicate my sister has a seriously bad infection that’s affecting the rest of her body, on the brink of shutting it down. Her blood pressure is dangerously high, and her temperature is through the roof. Plus those CO 2 levels are reduced, too. It all points to sepsis. Either Alexis is in really bad shape, or Rebel’s figured out how to make it look like she is. Regardless, I still just can’t bring myself to hightail it over there. I just can’t. Ever since we left the hospital in San Jacinto, I’ve been trying so hard to let go of the anger that’s been gnawing at me. The anger that Lexi caused when she lied and consciously made a decision to let me, Mom and Dad live through hell the past few years. It was unforgivably selfish. And then to tell this guy that I didn’t care about her, that my work was more important, after everything I did and gave up to try and find her? No. Just no. I hit reply.
Take her to a hospital.
That’s it. That’s all I give him. If he wants to keep things short and sweet, then I am more than happy to return the favor. If he loves her as Lexi claims he does, he won’t risk not getting her the attention she may or may not need. To have even gotten those CO 2 readings in the first place, he would have needed access to a doctor and a lab, so I’m clearly not the only person he can turn to.
Outside, the skyline is lit up in the distance, all oranges, reds and whites. The sight of all those people only serves to make me feel even more alone. I moved out to the sticks to get away from everyone. To hide. And now I desperately don’t want to be hidden away. It’s not safe for starters, but I want to be seen again. I want to feel like I exist . I want to know that someone will actually notice if I go missing. By ten o’clock, Zeth still hasn’t shown up and I’ve had enough. I grab my bag and my jacket and I head out the front door. I lock up behind me, not sure when I’ll ever be going back.
******
A car engine is a beautiful thing.
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