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15
Out of Nowhere
Sage
Inthefewshort weeks we have known each other, I have learned to respond immediately when Ember or Cy calls. It’s a lot like working in the ER. It’s a natural rhythm for me after working in one for over a decade.
They literally saved Kieran and me. When they didn’t have to. They could have fulfilled Arrick’s contract and taken the money, but they didn’t. I am eternally grateful. I owe them a lot, and of course I will help them anytime one of their “friends“ needs help. No matter how questionable the person may be, they still need help. They’re still human. Life has changed a lot, but I do still put my patients’ best interests first, and it’s not my place to question how or why someone gets injured.
This one is different though. It’s like what they say in school: you should never take on a patient who is connected to you. The logic is that things get too personal, and you cannot remain objective in the situation. Well, this is definitely crossing that line.
Everything to do with Arrick is personal.
Leaving him was the best decision I have ever made. He threatened our lives, but I’m still grieving. Not for the loss of the relationship, but more for the idealized man I thought him to be.
Knowing others have suffered at Arrick’s hand weighs on my conscience. So Ember asking for help with the fallout feels like the least I can do. Of course I will drop everything to go and help this woman.
Not that I have much going on these days.
I start going around and picking up the various tools and supplies I need.
Working as I go, I call out to Kieran. “Hey, bud!” I yell. “I need you to pack your backpack, okay? You’re not going to camp today. We are going over to see Cy and Ember.”
As nine-year-old’s are wont to do, Kieran runs out of his room as though his feet are on fire. He looks like a copy of me with his blonde hair, blue eyes, and round face. He’s growing like a weed, and I’m grateful now for the resemblance between us. Looking at my son, he is mine, even though he has his father’s nose and ears. That is one thing that Arrick cannot take from me.
“We’re going to see Cy and Ember?” he asks excitedly. Then he withdraws. “Who’s picking us up?”
”Ash is coming over.” At my words, he lights back up.
I understand his wariness. It is hard to adjust to a new life, and the circumstances that led to us meeting Cy and Ember makes trusting people harder than ever. The awareness of certain dangers I previously lacked was rapidly forced upon us, and, unfortunately, I am not the only one who adopted this new habit.
“Go ahead and pack for overnight, okay? I don’t know how long we will be there.” He starts to run off as I call after him, “And don’t forget to bring your new books. Oh, and the stuff for the project you are working on with Ember. I’m sure they will want to work on it with you.”
I walk around and finish pulling together my supplies, grabbing a few extra changes of clothes. I must drift off into thought at some point because I am startled back to the present by a knock on the door.
I check the camera doorbell to see who it is and sigh in relief. It’s Ash.
“Hey, come in. I will go get Kieran and grab our stuff,” I say.
Ash nods, and I wonder if I will ever get to have a full-blown conversation with her. At first, getting Ash to say anything at all was a struggle, and I genuinely thought she hated me, but we have built a sort of friendship. It’s part of who she is, and I guess it comes with time.
I walk in to find Kieran on his bed, absorbed in his book with headphones on, backpack at his feet. He was tested when he was younger for ADHD, autism, and dyslexia because of some learning difficulties he dealt with early on. His autism diagnosis is a miracle, and once we figured out that audiobooks help him, he’s been constantly reading sci-fi and mystery books. And, since meeting Ember, tinkering with whatever project they are helping him with.
As I enter, his head picks up, and he reaches to pull off the headphones.
“Ready to go, bud?”
Grabbing his bag, he turns to me with a bright smile on his face. It’s so good to see him smile.
“Yup!” he exclaims, popping the p as he hops out of bed.
We make our way to the elevators with Ash and my nerves blossom. I don’t want to ask. I don’t want to know about this girl—Arrick’s victim. Not yet.
As we settle into Ash’s SUV, I turn back to Kieran. “Hey, bud. Why don’t you put your headphones back on and read on our way over, okay?”
Before I even finish speaking, he’s already digging around in his bag for his stuff.
When he is settled in, I turn to Ash. “What am I walking into, Ash?”
