Authors: Michele G Miller
Six
Jules wakes with a groan and realizes with a start that she’s on a small hospital bed in the middle of a frantic triage center. The curtained wall surrounding her is open at her feet, and she sees a nurse’s station across from her, in the center of the large room.
She lifts her head slowly to survey her condition and assumes it must be good if she isn’t hooked up to any needles or monitoring equipment. Her clothes are covered in dirt and dust. Her legs and arms are covered in scratches, and as she lifts her leg she sees her shin already turning black where the board landed on her. Laying her head back on the pillow propped behind her, she swallows hard. Her head pounds and she feels a little sick, but other than that she looks to be all right.
She tries to recall what happened and how she ended up here. She remembers the tornado and running to the basement with West and her friends. She recalls the building falling on them and then...nothing. Jules glances around nervously as she tries to think and the pounding in her temple intensifies. Tears flood her eyes as her brain plays back the screaming voices her mind can’t remember.
An older gentleman steps into view at the foot of her bed and smiles politely at her. "Ms. Blacklin, I'm glad to see you awake."
She can’t place his face, but he looks familiar. His clothing, same as hers, is covered in dusty debris, and he has a smear of something black across his cheek.
He is a large man with tall, broad shoulders and muscular arms that twitch as he crosses them over his chest.
"I'm West's father, Mr. Rutledge. I helped a crew pull the two of you out of the old Grier house."
"You did?" She'd met Mr. Rutledge years ago, and she tries to remember him to no avail. "I don't remember anything... Where's West, Katie
—
my other friends?" She breaks down then; big, hot, fat tears falling down her cheeks as she whispers, "Are my parents here?"
Mr. Rutledge looks uncomfortable as he watches her breakdown.
"Dad?" She covers her mouth when she hears West's voice and watches as Mr. Rutledge holds his hand up to pull the curtain back slightly so West can see him.
"Over here, son."
"This place is crazy. Did you find..." He comes around the flimsy fabric curtain and stops; relief washing over his features. "...Jules."
"Hi." She sniffs and wipes the tears from her face with her palms.
"How are we doing here?" asks a young nurse, or maybe she’s a Doctor, Jules can’t tell. Her dark brown hair is pulled back in a ponytail and she barely looks old enough to be out of college. "I'm Dr. Metzger. I checked you out when you were brought in. How are you feeling, Jules?"
"I guess all right. Um, my vision’s a little blurry and my head hurts."
"Yes, that's to be expected. You have a concussion, so you're going to have problems with feeling dizzy, as well as spotty vision for a week or so. The good thing is you will heal, and you’ll be okay. You're very lucky. From what I hear, you were buried under a lot of rubble." She smiles and looks between Jules, West and his father.
"Doctor? Um, I can't remember any of it. Is that normal with concussions?"
West’s face falls when she mentions having memory loss. His father's arm rests on his shoulder and he gives West a squeeze.
"Can't remember, huh? Okay, tell me what you recall last?" Dr. Metzger asks and pulls out a pocket light to flash in her eyes.
"The last thing I recall is West," she gives him a small smile and meets his eyes briefly, "pushing me down and dropping on top of me as the house started to fall. It's all a blur from there. I remember my friends and screaming, and I heard a siren and voices yelling, but nothing is clear."
Dr. Metzger picks up the chart from the end of her bed and makes some notes. She looks at West's dad and asks about her parents.
"They're not here, yet. I don't know if they've been contacted. The lines are down."
Jules gasps and covers her mouth. "Where did the tornado hit? What's going on out there?"
"Hey
—
don't do that, Jules. Don't freak out before you know anything." West hurries to her side and starts to reach for her before he decides to stick his hand in his pocket instead. "Don't worry; we'll see if we can get to your parents. Dad?" he asks; his brown eyes pleading with his father.
Dr. Metzger pipes in before West or his dad can say more. "I'd like you to stay for a while longer, Jules. Just to observe you, since you were in and out of consciousness for so long. As for your lack of memory, let's try to stay calm and not worry too much right now. Amnesia is common with concussions…sometimes people forget a few hours, and sometimes you lose a whole day. Usually the memories come back after a few days, at the most." Jules nods and feels less anxious about her condition now. "As for you two, I would suggest you stay off the roads and let the emergency crews do their jobs. We’ll take care of Ms. Blacklin until her family can get here."
A series of beeps sounds and Dr. Metzger checks the pager at her hip. "I'll try to check back with you soon. A nurse will come by, as well. If you start to feel worse, hit the red button. Okay?"
"Yes, Doctor. Thank you."
Dr. Metzger steps out of the small curtained area and stops by the nurse’s desk as she goes. She waves back towards Jules’ bed and makes some comments before hurrying to her next patient. To her surprise, West decides to sit and pulls the wooden chair beside her bed closer.
"How about I grab something hot to drink for us? West, how's your back, son?"
Jules looks at West and wonders what happened as he answers his dad.
"It's fine. They used that liquid glue like they said they would. Coffee would be great right now. Jules?" he says and looks at her.
"Hmmm?" She was staring at his profile, trying to see his back, and has no idea why he said her name.
"My dad is going to get some coffee, do you want some?"
Her nose crinkles at the suggestion but nods her head to be polite. The only coffee she typically drank came from Starbucks and had chocolate chips and whipped cream, but she
is
chilly, and maybe something warm will help calm her.
"I'll be back." He nods and Jules watches as he leaves and pulls the curtain closed to give them privacy.
"What's wrong with your back? Did you get hurt?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I guess something took a nice slice out of it, but they glued me back up and I'll be fine. They
did
have to give me a mammoth tetanus shot, though. I swear that hurt like a mother." He holds his hands up to demonstrate the size of the needle, and she shivers thinking about it.
"I hate needles. Be glad you didn't need stitches." She fakes a shiver and West grimaces at the thought.
"Your dad seems nice."
"Yeah. You know he's my dad and all, but he's cool." She sees the look on his face. The look that clearly shows how grateful he is to have his father; to know he’s safe. She can’t imagine how losing a parent, let alone both, would feel. She imagines the thought ran through his mind at least once tonight. It’s all she can think about right now as she wonders if her mom, dad and little brother, Jason are okay.
"Please don't cry." West leans forward in his chair and finally reaches a hand out to touch her arm. "I really hate it."
She lets the few tears in her eyes run down her cheeks and tries to give him a small smile. "Your dad kinda freaked out when I started to cry on him. He must hate it too."
"It's been five years since my mom died. We've been a house full of guys and guy things. So yeah, he's not good with emotions."
"And you?" she asks softly, not able to stop herself. This new facet into West is amazing. He's been so aloof over the past four years. She remembers the funny guy he'd been in middle school when they all went to the same parties and hung out, and then this guy
—
the one she sees right now
—
reminds her just a little of that boy again.
"I just don't want to see you cry," he admits, albeit uncomfortably, and rubs a finger over his brow.
Jules shudders as a chill runs through her body. West's warm hand on her forearm makes her realize how cold she is. Her skin is soon covered in goose bumps.
She moves to bend forward and pull the blanket up from her waist, but West stands and helps her. He pulls the blanket up to her shoulders and waits while she settles herself. She rolls to her side slightly so she can look at him comfortably, and he returns to his seat and places his arms on the bed rail at the side of the bed; clasping his hands together.
"Does that thing move?" she asks and points to the metal rail.
"Uh, I would think so," he mumbles, and then looks around and jiggles the railing. Locating a button on the side, he presses it and the rail slides down out of the way.
"Thank you. Do you know what's going on outside? What condition the town is in?"
"My dad said from what he could tell, the twister went straight through town. Apparently where we were, at the Shack, that might have been its last direct hit. It's still chaos out there, though."
She swallows hard at this, and then hears a lot of chaos right outside her curtained room.
"Oh, I didn't tell you…we were rescued by Rossview EMS and Fire. They were closer to us obviously, so that's why we're here instead of at Memorial."
"I didn't think about it. I've never been to Memorial, either. So they're bringing a lot of injured here?"
"I really don't know. I'm pretty sure they're bringing people wherever is fastest. It's really bad out there."
She nods and looks down at the hand she left outside of the blanket. She picks at the cotton blanket; her nail following the cross pattern of the threads. She turns her face into the pillow for a moment and rubs her tears on the pillowcase, as she breathes in deeply and tries to keep herself calm.
"Hey, West? Do you pray?" she asks softly and lifts her face up, almost embarrassed. "Like, to anyone or anything. I'm not saying it has to be God, but..."
His hand covers hers tightly and she stops speaking.
"I have been tonight."
She flips her hand over and laces her fingers with his, making a tight fist as she angles her head down closer to him and closes her eyes. She prays for the safety of those she loves the most, for her parents, brother and her best friends. For everyone in the path of the storm tonight. She prays for all those hurting.
She doesn’t know whether West prays or not, but he sits next to her silently and when she finally lifts her head with hot tears running down her face, his head is bowed too. She also notices his father standing at the curtain holding three cups with steam rising from them. She forces herself to straighten and her fingers loosen their grip on West's hand, but he doesn’t allow her to let go.
"I brought you hot chocolate, I hope that's good. I saw the face you made when West mentioned coffee." He winks and suddenly she is hit with how similar father and son are. Mr. Rutledge's wink totally reminds her of West and the sly face he gave her earlier at the Shack before the twister hit.
"Thank you so much, Mr. Rutledge."
He nods, places her cup on the dinner tray to the right and hands over a cup to West, as well.
"So here's the deal. They’re bringing in a lot of injured people. I ran into Chris out there and he said they could use help doing search and rescue. Since I have a four-wheel drive truck, I can get over debris." He looks at West as he speaks, his face clearly questioning him.
"Go then, if you can help others. Do you mind if I stay here? I'll…" He looks at Jules and raises his brows. "I mean, do you mind if I stay with you?"
"Of course not," she replies, and his hand twitches in hers.
"I'll stay here. Then you don't have to worry about me."
"I think that's a great idea, son. Try to get a hold of your brothers if you can. They said the lines here are going in and out due to so much traffic right now. Jules, if you'll give me your address I'll see if I can get to your family."
"Oh, Mr. Rutledge! I would be forever grateful if you could. I..." She breaks into tears again and mutters, "I swear I only cry like this at chick movies."
West and Mr. Rutledge both chuckle at her. "Your secret is safe with us."
"She lives in Hickory Ridge, dad," West offers as Jules pulls herself together.
"Hickory Ridge? Well that's good, then."
"It is?"
"Everything south of downtown was spared, according to Chris. They should be safe, assuming they were home. They probably can't get to you or know where you are."
Before leaving, Mr. Rutledge enters her address into his phone as she calls it out. He promises to run by there as soon as possible and leave a note if they aren’t home.
"You know, chances are they’re moving Heaven and Earth to figure out where you are and get to you. The emergency broadcast is telling people to stay in their homes and off the roads if they don't need medical care." He walks over to West, who stands and embraces his dad tightly.
Although she turns her face away to allow them a moment, she catches Mr. Rutledge whisper something in West’s ear and he nods in agreement. His father gives her a soft smile and tells her to take care.