Page 32 of Lost King

Christy shakes her head and grins. "Why am I not surprised."

Peering down at my watch, I groan when I see I still have a couple of hours left of my shift. I don't get off until ten o'clock. Quinn called me earlier saying he was working late with one of the boys from the youth center , but he would be here in time to follow me home. "What are you doing here so late anyway?" I ask Christy as I pull my lab coat back on, grab my purse and we make our way out of the bathroom and to the doctor's lounge down the hall.

"I was on my way out when I stopped by the restroom. There is an eighteen-year-old upstairs who I have been counseling that just gave birth." Shoving my purse in my locker, I ask.

"How is she doing?" I couldn't imagine being so young and having to face the kinds of obstacles some of these young people have today.

"She's holding up. Had a healthy baby boy," Christy tells me.

"Does she have any family with her?"

"Yeah, her aunt is with her. The girl's parents kicked her out when she became pregnant. Her boyfriend bailed. She was living at the shelter in town when Lisa called and told me about her. I helped her finish her GED and got her a job at the grocery store. They have a new manager now, and the woman hired Violet on the spot. She even worked out a paid maternity leave," Christy adds.

"That's great. Is she still at the shelter?"

"No, I set Violet up with New Hope House, and Sofia has helped her get into an apartment along with getting her everything she would need for the baby. Sofia is upstairs with her now. They have become good friends, and she has been with Violet every step of the way."

I found out weeks ago that not only did Christy know and work with Quinn, but she works with Lisa, Bennett, and Sofia. Christy is one of a few people who genuinely know how fantastic the club and their family is. Just as I am about to open my mouth to speak again, the door to the lounge burst open and Dr. Collins eyes land on me. "You're needed now Dr. Evans. Male approximately eighteen years of age was just brought in by ambulance. Suspected assault and is currently unconscious," he shouts.

Jumping into action, I slam my locker shut and rush out of the lounge and follow Dr. Collins to curtain two where the EMT's and nurses are transferring the kid from the stretcher over to the bed. The first thing I notice is he's nearly unrecognizable due to the amount of blood and swelling that has taken over his face. I also know by the odd angle of his right arm that it's broken.

After cutting away his shirt, nurse Kim goes about splinting the boy's broken arm while nurse Sarah takes his blood pressure. Dr. Collins starts his assessment of the boy's belly and ribs while shouting out a series of test he wants run on him. After checking the patient's heart, I use my penlight to check his pupils. With the patient's unconscious state and the dilation of his pupils, I suspect he has a concussion.

"I want a CT scan stat!" No sooner do I get those words out of my mouth when the boy proceeds to vomit, and I roll him to his side to prevent him from choking. When I roll him back over, I see he has his left eye open. He can only see out of the one since his right one is completely swollen shut. "Hey, sweetheart," I say in a soothing voice. "Can you tell us your name?"

"Liam."

"That's good, Liam. You're going to be okay. We're going to take you upstairs for a CT scan. That's where we take a picture of your brain."

Releasing the breaks for the bed, I lift the side rail and begin wheeling him out of the room towards the elevator. "I'm going to stay with him," I say to Dr. Collins.

"Okay, I'm going to see about finding his parents," he informs me just as I notice Christy waiting by the nurse's station. "Hey, Christy. Will you help Dr. Collins locate his parents?" I asked gesturing towards my patient.

"Of course," she agrees walking up and suddenly stops when she looks down at the boy lying in bed. "Oh my God, Liam," she gasps.

"You know him?"

"Yes. I know his mom too. I'll call her now. Listen, I'll bring her to you when she arrives." Christy rushes out wasting no time getting on the phone.

With that part taken care of, nurse Kim and I continue to the second floor for the CT scan. An hour and a half later I walk into Liam's hospital room where he will be staying for the next few days. The scan proved my suspicions were correct and that he, in fact, has a concussion and an Orthopedic surgeon has been by to look at his broken arm which will require surgery.

Sitting in a chair on one side of his bed is his mom Beth, along with Christy standing behind her and on the other side is a police officer. Everyone stops talking as I enter the room. My eyes immediately go to my patient who under the circumstances looks a bit better and more alert which is a relief. Next, I meet his mother's gaze, and she returns a tired but polite smile. Then there is Christy. A pinch of guilt fills my stomach because she was supposed to have gone home hours ago, but here she is making sure this young boy and the family she works with are going to be okay. The woman works just as hard if not more than the doctors and nurses in this hospital. Lord knows she spends just as much time here.

"Everything okay in here?" I ask, and Christy is the first to speak.

"Yes. The officer here was just about to take Liam's statement on what happened tonight."

"Well alright, I'll leave you all to it. I just wanted to check on you before heading home."

"If you don't mind, Dr. Evans, I'd like for you to stick around. I need to speak with you after I finish questioning Liam."

"Sure officer," I say taking a seat next to the window on the other side of the room. When I notice it's nearly eleven o'clock, and I haven't heard anything from Quinn, I pull out my phone and fire off a text. He said he would be here by ten o'clock to follow me home. It's not like him to be late or at least contact me if he was going to be. I'm just about to text Austin since he's the one who is on hospital watch today when Liam says something that not only catches my attention, but also sends a cold chill down my spine.

Standing from my seat, I walk over to the edge of the hospital bed as dread seeps into my stomach. "Did you say you were at the youth center tonight when you were assaulted?" I ask interrupting the officers questioning.

"Yes. Quinn and I were working on my bike. He said he was going to stay late and help since it wasn't a school night. He wanted me to get home so I wouldn't miss curfew. It was around nine o'clock when we decided to call it a night. Quinn was getting some parts from my truck while I began gathering up the tools. "

"What happened next?" the officer questions.