Lost in the mix Chapter 2

Acelynn looked around, feeling the blood running down her forehead. Was it her blood, she wondered? Where was she? Why couldn’t she remember where she was at, she asked herself with some aggravation. She watched people hustle around her in what seemed to be slow motion. The sirens became more and grew in numbers. They became louder. Why was it she couldn’t move? She felt frozen with fear.

“Hey, you okay, Blondie?” The guy she had been checking out asked, scooping her up in her arms. She nodded, not sure she could speak. He wiped the blood off of her forehead with his sleeve, his eyes still locked with hers.

“Come on, Man, we gotta get outta here.” One of the guy’s crew members tugged at the man’s jersey.

“Go ahead. I need to make sure she’s okay.” The guy nodded towards the door.

“I’m..I’m fine.” She stuttered, not sure why they had to go but she sure didn’t want to be responsible for anything else happening to him or his friends.

“Yeah, I am sure you are. Listen, you want to catch a ride wit us?” He asked, ignoring his friend’s irritated look.

“The heat is comin, let’s go, Ice.” His friend yelled, seeing paramedics come in with a stretcher.

“Go, I’ll be fine.” Acelynn nodded, seeing his tormented look. It was as if he was deciding whether to go or to stay.
“We need to go NOW.”His friend pointed to the door, seeing the police making their way in.

“I’m sorry, I gotta jet.” The guy identified as Ice said, laying her down gently and sprinting out the back of the emergency exit just in time to evade the police.

“Miss, are you okay?” The EMT kneeled down by Acelynn, putting a hand on her wrist to take her pulse.
“I’m fine. Can I just go home please?” She asked, trying to get up. She couldn’t figure out how to maneuver her legs to allow her the freedom of leaving. She felt the room go black and then light again, and she squinted to keep the room in focus. She tried to speak but suddenly she felt so tired that even blinking was hard to accomplish. She began to doze off when she heard the EMT’s voice one last time.

“We’re losing her, let’s get an IV started and alert the hospital to be on standby.” The EMT looked up at her partner, her hands already working without the EMT even having to think.

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“Come in.” The doctor looked up from his desk. 28 year old Tripp Milan opened up the door, hating how formal this office looked. It looked to be about eighteenth century and the way the door creaked didn’t make it seem any younger. All the antiques in the doctor’s office seemed more ancient than the doctor looked and he had grey hair and a long beard.

“Are you Acelynn’s dad?” The older doctor was taken aback, this young gentleman not who he had requested.

“No, I’m her brother and her guardian.” Tripp said, running a hand through his hair.

“What happened to your parents?” The doctor asked, making Tripp want to flinch at his candidness. He showed no shock, no empathy, no consideration, he just asked what happened to them.

“They died a few years back, Sir.” Tripp took off his beanie and played with it uncomfortably. “How is my sister?” He asked.

“Well, she’s one lucky young lady, that’s for sure. She possibly has a concussion from the force of hitting one of the seats and she’s paralyzed, although right now, we think it may just be temporary.” The doctor said, making Tripp take a step back. He wished he hadn’t come in here at all. He wished he had gone straight to her room, like he had planned to do in the first place. Then he could look at her and make his own assessment.

“I really should go see her.” Tripp put his hands in his pockets, not wanting to continue this conversation. He had been in one of these conversations before and he had been lied to once before, about his parents, so he didn’t believe doctors could be trusted. This guy wanted to build up his hopes as to not lose his sister and the doctor seemed to be saying one thing but looking like another.

“Walking out of here won’t change the situation, young man.” The doctor said in a condescending tone.

“I realize that, thank you. I am not as dumb as you are taking me for. I realize that I am not your typical person that you talk to, but I am the closest thing to a parent she has and I will not stand here while you talk down to me.” Tripp turned around, suddenly breathing hard. His anger was overtaking him. He hated people that went by looks and who judged. Who was this guy and what right did he have to do this? His PHD certainly didn’t give him the authority to decide character or who he could talk down to.

“Easy, easy. I realize you are anxious to see your sister, but we do need to talk before you see her. I am concerned for her. According to the police report, your sister was at the movies with some known gangbangers in the area. Are you aware of that?” The doctor pushed his wire rimmed glasses up his nose.

“What? Are you nuts? My sister? Gangbanging? Ha, that’s a funny one.” Tripp yelled, pacing now. He didn’t have the best temper, he realized that. That was why he played hockey, he thought to himself, trying desperately to keep his temper in check right now.

“How often do you see your sister? Child protective services will have to be called on this matter and I wanted you to be prepared. I realize you have taken her on as a responsibility but the truth of the matter is when kids start to have more freedom, especially a child who has lost their parents, they tend to reach out to other ways to get attention.” The doctor folded his arms and leaned on his desk.

“OH, you are so way off, you have no idea! Dude, you just get her better and let me worry about what she is out there doing. YOU are sorely mistaken, my sister holds a part time job, she makes straight A’s and I can promise you, she is NOT hanging around with gang members. You may think you have my family figured out but you really have no idea.” Tripp’s voice was now a growl.

“You know, for now, I think leaving this discussion on the table would be a good idea. I will see that you are escorted to her room in ICU, okay?” The doctor asked, sighing. He knew this was going nowhere.

“Good idea, the best you’ve had yet.” Tripp muttered, grabbing his jacket in a huff and storming out. He walked down the long corridor of glass windows to the hospital side of the hospital. He made a promise to himself that he was done going to the medical offices side. Outside, it was beginning to snow. The snow was falling thick and quick, something Acelynn would have loved. She loved to go outside and make snow angels with her arms, even at her age now. She was still pretty much a kid, Tripp steamed, walking faster and faster with the more thoughts that invaded his head. His cell rang and he grabbed it out of jacket, as though he was taking his anger out on it. He flipped it open and gave a gruff “hello.”

“Hey, are you okay? One of the guys called me from practice and told me what happened.” Danica Rominov asked on the other end of the line, sounding out of breath. It was the voice he had needed to hear and at the same time, it was her voice he didn’t want to hear. The two had broken up over six months ago and his wounds were still deep from their breakup. In fact, he hadn’t built that bridge and couldn’t quite bring himself to let her go. He needed her right now more than he could even try to express. She was the only one who knew him better than he knew himself.

“I’m not sure just yet, Danni.” He said, his voice cracking just a bit. He was silent for a minute, trying to regain his composure.

“Well, I’m on my way up there right now. I’m getting off work as we speak and catching the next flight in.” She said, grabbing her stuff from her locker. She looked at her watch. She had exactly ten minutes to make it to the flight that would get her into Oklahoma City.

“You don’t have to do that. I am on my way to her room right now. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Tripp said, turning the corner and seeing the ICU door up ahead.

“Boy, don’t you know by now, I run them. I just let them think they boss me around.” She joked lightly, knowing he was needing someone. She hated that she was in Texas at the moment, she wished she could just magically orb there but that magic hadn’t evolved in technology yet. She threw on her jacket as she entered the plane’s boarding area.

“Do you need me to send someone to come and get you?” Tripp asked, rubbing his eyes. How he wished she was here. He took a deep breath and shook his shoulders, trying to psych himself up to go see his sister.

“No, I can take a taxi. I still have the card from my company and they told me to just use what little was left. No big. I’ll be there in the next few hours.” She said, changing out of her heels into a pair of tennis shoes. She didn’t care if they didn’t match her outfit, she needed her feet to sprint fast, not look pretty at the moment.

“Okay. Thanks.” He said, not wanting to hang up from her voice. Just hearing her was a comfort. Hanging up meant he had to go inside that black hole of medical equipment. He felt ill to his stomach.

“You gonna be okay?” Danica asked, her voice going soft and sounding full of concern.

“Yeah, babe, I’m gonna be fine.” He said, scolding himself for calling her babe. Those days of calling her his pet names were done and over. He felt like an idiot but it didn’t seem to be fazing her.

“Okay, I’ll see you soon. Tell Ace I love her.” Danica hung up the phone and prayed for the flight to get on the runway and fast. Time was ticking. She had been there the fateful night that Tripp had been given the news of his parents, she remembered as she leaned her head on the cool glass window of the plane. She watched passengers board, her mind flashing back to having to help Tripp tell Acelynn. She flinched and her throat became swollen. Her eyes teared up. Poor Acelynn, she had already been through so much. She had also been there when her best friend had been died, and getting over that and her parent’s death had nearly done the poor girl in. Tripp and her weren’t sure she would ever be okay again. She sighed and tried to close her eyes to get some rest. She knew she would be needing it for the next few days.