Page 41 of Saved By the Pitcher

Remorse was setting in as night fell.—James was sitting on his sofa, thinking about nothing and thinking about everything. He knew he should call Billy to apologize, but he didn’t want to resume a conversation about Mike. And calling Mike was out of the question. He didn’t want to give the man false hope. James had heard Mike whisper that he was falling for him before they fell asleep the night before, and he had chosen to pretend he was already in dreamland, unable to respond. He didn’t do relationships—not even with Mike Cooper. James had started falling for Mike too, and he didn’t want him to experience the inevitable eventual hurt.

The cell phone ringing jarred James from his worrying. He thought it might be Billy or Mike, but when he glanced at the screen, the display showed the call was coming from Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital. James thought about ignoring it, thinking it might be a solicitation for money. Troubled it could be something urgent, though, James picked up.

“Hello?”

“Is this James Vicksburg?” the voice on the other end inquired.

Still unsure if it was a money-grab call, James replied with skepticism, “Yes.”

“Mr. Vicksburg, I’m calling from Mount Sinai. You’re listed as the emergency contact for William Vicksburg?”

James panicked, shooting upright on the sofa. “Yes. I’m his brother. Is he okay?”

“He will be. William is in the emergency room and he will be discharged shortly. He informed us he couldn’t call his girlfriend to take him home because she’s working. William has been medicated, and the hospital would rather he not leave without accompaniment. Would you be able to take him?”

“Oh my God,” James blurted. “Yes. What happened?”

“There was an incident. I’m not familiar with the details, Mr. Vicksburg. I work the desk and I wasn’t given notes from the physician who treated him. I’m sure your brother can fill you in. He’s a little banged up and, as I said, he’s been given medication to lessen the discomfort, but it’s made him a bit woozy. It’s the hospital’s policy not to let someone in his condition go unaccompanied, even by cab or Uber. We’d prefer a family member or friend take him. I should tell you that he fought us calling you, but he gave in when we refused to discharge him.”

James silently cursed himself, knowing Billy didn’t want James contacted because of their earlier argument. He felt sick. “He’s stubborn and might try to leave on his own anyway. Please keep him there. I’m coming over now. I won’t wait for a subway or a cab. I’ll run and be there in about fifteen or twenty minutes.”

Once the woman on the other end promised to help detain Billy, James grabbed his keys and jogged through the neighborhood for his destination. Tears welled up as he thought about how it was his fault that Billy was in the hospital. Whatever happened could have been prevented if he had stayed with him. The hospital employee had said Billy was a little banged up. James wondered what that meant, but hoped that it wasn’t too serious if Billy didn’t have to be admitted to the hospital for an overnight stay.

When James reached the emergency room, he scanned it quickly to find the admission counter and, in doing so, saw his brother sitting in the waiting room with his head bandaged.

“Billy!”

Billy looked over, revealing that he also had a small bandage over a swollen eye, his upper lip was cut and there was bruising pretty much everywhere. Billy’s arm was in a sling. He looked away from James, making James wonder if he did so because of embarrassment, sadness, lingering anger or all those emotions.

“You didn’t have to come,” Billy mumbled without making eye contact when his brother neared him. “I told them I would rest and leave on my own. I’m fine.”

James rushed to sit next to him, encircling him with his arm. “You call this fine? What happened?”

Billy huffed a pained breath. “I got mugged. They took the ring.”

“Oh, Billy,” James gasped, then side-hugged his brother, causing him to wince with pain. James let go like his hand was scalding Billy’s skin. “I’m sorry. What are your injuries?”

“Nothing permanent,” Billy replied. “Had to have stitches above my eye. My arm has a mild sprain from the way they grabbed it. Everything else is just a bunch of cuts and bruises.”

James kissed the side of Billy’s head. “It’s my fault. I never should have left you. God, I’m such a shit. I’m sorry, Billy.”

Billy shook his head. “What were you going to do, escort me to my apartment door? They attacked me near my place. I would have been alone by that point anyway.”

“And they got the rest of your money? Your credit and debit cards? I can help you get them canceled,” James offered, desperate to be helpful.

Billy shook his head once more. “It’s like I told the cop that came here, the strange part is, they only took the ring. I still have my wallet. There’s still over two hundred dollars in it, thanks to the good deal you got on the ring.” He looked down at his feet. “Not that the discount helps me now.”

“Wait, they only took the ring? How did they even know you had that on you? Do you think they followed you from the pawn shop?”

“I don’t know.” Billy sighed. “If they did, they got on the same subway near the pawn shop, then they followed me for several blocks from the subway stop I left from. It seems like a lot for a ring they don’t even know the value of.”

“People who are connected to the pawn shop owner, maybe?” James wondered. “Perhaps it’s worth more than we thought, and he wanted his ring back while pocketing your cash at the same time? I can go back there to see if it reappears in his showcase.”

Billy shrugged. “I didn’t think of that. I still don’t get why they wouldn’t take my wallet, too. And why did they have to beat me? I wasn’t resisting. I’m not stupid enough to fight two guys that are way bigger than me.”

“What did the cop say about that?”

Billy smirked. “He was a tool. I told him that it was two white guys, each six feet tall or more, and they both had husky builds. I told him that one of them sounded like he had an Italian accent. The cop told me there was a witness who said the assailants were black. I told him that the witness was wrong and he shrugged. He told me that because of the discrepancy, I shouldn’t get my hopes up that they’ll find these guys because they had no idea who they should be looking for.”