Page 37 of Loving Callie
Jake grabbed the pen and paper she handed him, trying to figure out what to say to the woman he loved. He needed to say more than just ‘call me’, but there was not enough space to fit all his feelings onto a small piece of paper. He quickly wrote something down, hoping Callie understood what he was trying to say. He needed to talk to her, and soon.
Then he folded the note and gave it to Sandy, then watched as she crossed the police line with a flash of her ID badge and headed inside the hospital to hopefully find Callie.
Barely aware of his surroundings, Jake slowly walked back down the street to where he had left his truck parked haphazardly across the curb. When he opened the door, he saw his cell phone on the front seat, where it must have fallen out in his rush to try and find Callie. Jake picked it up and saw he had missed several messages from Ryan and his mom, expressing their concerns for Callie.
Ryan: Dude tell me you found her. And try not to punch a cop or anything okay? I’m not bailing you out of jail.
Ryan: I’m glued to the news bro; I just saw her run out. Are you with her? I seriously hope you’re not answering me because you’re holding your woman tight.
Mom: Honey, please know we are praying for Callie. We know how special she is to you. We love you. Text us when she’s safe.
Breathing deeply, his heart calm for the first time since seeing the news on the TV at the bar, Jake typed out a short reply to everyone.
Jake: She’s safe.
* * *
Sitting in a chair in one of the hospital’s conference rooms, Callie blew softly across the top of the Styrofoam cup of peppermint tea someone had given her, took a small sip and looked back at the police detective who sat across from her expectantly. She was exhausted and just wanted to go home. She tried to stave off the post-adrenaline crash, knowing she had to get through her statement of the events of that night before she would be allowed to leave.
Clearing his throat, the officer who had introduced himself as Detective Turner shifted in his seat before he said, “Alright, Doctor Scott, I know you’re tired and you’ve had a long and terrifying day. All I need is your statement about what happened in the ER tonight. Can you please tell me everything you remember, in as much detail as possible, then we can let you go home.”
Callie knew she wasn’t likely to forget what she had been through that night any time soon. She remembered all too vividly the feel of a gun pressed against her side. Taking a deep breath, she let herself go back in time a few hours, to when the horrific events started to unfold.
“SOMEONE GET OVER HERE AND SAVE MY BROTHER”
The loud voice demanded the attention of everyone in the ER. Thankfully it was a quiet night, no major traumas and only a few patients sitting in the waiting area. Callie looked up from the nurses station where she was writing notes in a patient’s chart and saw two young men come staggering through the doors, both covered in blood. One of them appeared to be holding up the other, who was slumped down, his feet dragging on the floor. She glanced at the nurse beside her and mouthed the word ‘security’, as a horrible feeling of dread sank into her gut.
She and Melanie rushed over to the two men, followed by several nurses. Callie and Melanie quickly assessed the scene.
“Looks like major trauma to the abdomen, he’s losing consciousness. I’ve got him.” Melanie and two nurses took charge of the man who was bleeding profusely from his abdomen. They loaded him onto a stretcher and wheeled him into the trauma bay, leaving Callie to face the other man alone.
Callie’s heart was pounding as the young man looked wildly around the ER. Terrified, she took a deep breath. She had a job to do. “Okay, my colleague is helping your brother. Now can you hold still and let me look at your shoulder? You’re bleeding.” He didn’t answer, his eyes still roamed the ER. Callie instinctively knew things were about to get even scarier. Her worst fears came true when he pulled a gun out from his waistband and dragged her into his side.
Time slowed to a standstill when she felt the cold barrel of the gun pressed hard against her ribs, even though she knew it had been mere moments since this nightmare began.
“Listen up. Everybody stay back. You docs better fucking fix my brother, then let us outta here or shit’s gonna get real. You hear me?”
The panic, the pain, and the anger in his voice could be heard clearly over the screams and cries of the ER staff and patients as they realized what was happening. Callie stood frozen, terrified to move a single muscle.
She couldn’t see Melanie any longer, but prayed that she, and everyone else would remain safe. A fleeting hope filled her when she saw security guards approaching cautiously, but that hope was dashed at the next words yelled by the gunman.
“Didn’t you hear me? Back off assholes, or I’ll start shooting. Me and the lady doc here are gonna wait ‘til my brother is fixed up, then we’re getting the fuck outta here. Anything else happens and the lady doc aint gonna be leaving alive. You get me?”
Trying to control her breathing so that her fear wouldn’t be so evident in her voice, Callie spoke as slowly and as calmly as she could. “Hey, listen, we can’t treat you or your brother if you shoot us. Why don’t we go over to a treatment bay, and you let me at least put a bandage on your wound okay? My colleague will continue to try and save your brother, I promise. But maybe you could let the other people in here go?”
With a jerky nod, the gunman pulled Callie over to a stretcher and said, “Fine. Everyone out, except you and the other doc helping my brother. Got it?”
Callie nodded, and watched in relief as her team worked quickly to evacuate the other patients from the immediate area. She spared a glance in Mel’s direction and hoped her friend would be okay. Then she turned her focus back to the man in front of her, trying hard not to look at the gun in his hand.
She grabbed the supplies she would need, pulled on gloves, and set to work cleaning and bandaging his wound, which thankfully was superficial.
“I think I can just glue this shut, no need for stitches.”
“Whatever lady. Take me to see my brother. Now.”
Callie hesitated. She strongly suspected that the man’s brother might not have survived, and she didn’t want to think about his reaction to that news. However, she was not about to say no to a man holding a gun.
“Okay, I’ll take you over there. But you have to stay out of their way and let them work.”
