I swallow thickly but nod. I believe him.
“We'd like to take your personal information first,” the female officer throws in. “Address, phone number,” she counts off.
“As you just heard, he'll be here tomorrow, or even better, at home, where you won't hold up my procedures,” the doctor says, then starts wheeling Olli out.
“Lind?”
“Yeah?” Once again, I'm half-jogging along.
“Tibia. She's all alone at home and—”
My insides squeeze. The kitten! I truly wouldn't have thought about her if he hadn't said it. “I'll look after her.”
“Thanks.” Olli sinks a bit lower into the bed, but raises his hand towards me.
I gently bump my fist against his, then fall back so the nurses and doctors can do their job. They push the bed into the elevator, the doors slide closed, and just like that, Olli has disappeared.
Instantly, I feel untethered, like a helium balloon that was let go. Thankfully, the nurses’ station isn't far. I give my details to the charge nurse, an older, dark-skinned lady with a curly updo. All the while pretending I don’t notice that the cops have followed me.
“Get home safe and take care, hon. I'll have the day shift call you with the updates,” the nurse reassures me before walking off to help her colleagues with the next patient.
“Would you be willing to answer a few questions now? Your friend is taken care of, and it's best to get it out of the way.” The cop tucks away her notebook, pinning me with impersonal gray eyes.
“I already said—”
“Maybe you won't have another chance to tell your side of the story once we've found more witnesses.”
I look around and grasp the first straw I see. “I really need to go to the bathroom. Excuse me.” Only once I lock the door to thestall behind me do I feel like I can breathe again. I sink heavily into the closed toilet. The sudden silence presses against my ears like a too-hard pillow. My head buzzes with all the noise that I've just shut out and all the thoughts I kept locked in for too long.
Trying to shut it off, I take several deep breaths, leaning forward onto my knees. It's only now that I become aware of how damp and clammy my clothes are, the dry patches crusty with sand.
I choke on the next deep breath, deciding to give up. With shaking hands, I pull out my phone. My fingers are so cold that I have to tap the screen again and again until it finally opens up my contacts. The numbers and names blur before my eyes. It's pure muscle memory that allows me to navigate to my contacts.
I sniffle and rub at my face furiously, but new tears well up immediately. The beeping in my ear pierces through the dull, muffled thumping that must be my heart pounding against my ribs like a wild animal against the bars of its cage.
What if he won't pick up? What if he sees who's calling and thinks I should stew in my misery? But I can't bring myself to hang up. Not even when the beeping moves the pounding from my ribcage to my head. I can only clutch my phone, pressing it against my ear as if that would help.
Then, the beeping stops. Something scrapes over the phone, a dull rustling sound until—
“Lind?”
The gruff voice lands on me like a heavy blanket. The strangest need to go home overcomes me, but I know for certain that nowhere I could go is homeenough.My voice breaks as I sniffle into the phone. “Dad.”
“What’s wrong?”
“I…” I hiccup, feeling like I’m not getting enough air.
“Take a breath,” Dad instructs, his calm voice seeping into me like warm water.
I breathe in a shuddering breath, then exhale. When I breathe in another time, my stomach already begins to settle.
“There you go. One more.”
I comply, and by the time I breathe out, I feel almost calm.
“Now. What happened?”
“Olli was—someone beat him up,” I recount, my free hand shaking again, so I bury it in my pocket. “I went to help. There were two guys from some frat. They…they pushed him in the lake.” I have to stop and take a few breaths.
