Page 63 of Undefeated

My eyes began to well with tears.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” I began to cry.

I wiped my eyes and took a breath, “He just. He. We were in my mother’s new house. We started looking at stuff. He just woke up from a nap. He seemed weird. But he stood up, and pulled his dog tags off. And then he collapsed. When the ambulance got here, he was,” I started crying and couldn’t continue.

“It’s okay Shorty. I’m here until they release him. So, what happened when the ambulance came?” Ripp asked as he hugged me lightly.

I thought about what Shane was doing and I began to tremble, “He was just in a ball on the floor. Like he was…”

“Uhhm, like his brain didn’t work anymore. He didn’t blink or talk or anything,” I sobbed.

“Oh. Fuck. What are they saying now?” he asked as he released me and wiped the tears from my face.

“Nothing. She won’t tell me anything,” I said as I pointed to the nurse’s station.

“Stand over there,” he said as he motioned to the other side of the hallway.

Confused, I stepped to the other side of the hallway, leaned on the wall, and watched Ripp. Dressed in his cargo shorts, sneakers, and a tank top, he was rather intimidating to those that didn’t know him. He turned to the nurse’s station, took a breath, and started talking. His voice was very matter-of-fact and direct.

“I’m Mike Dekkar, Shane’s brother. I need to know what his status is. He was brought in by ambulance,” he said to the nurse as he leaned onto the top tier of the station.

The nurse took a breath, sighed, and looked up at Ripp.

“Sir, I told his wife a moment ago – I don’t know. If you’d like to go wait in the waiting room, I’ll have you an answer in a little while. I’ll have someone come see you in a bit,” as she finished speaking she looked back down at her keyboard.

Ripp sharply knocked on the countertop with is knuckles three times to get the nurses attention. As she looked up, annoyed, Ripp started again.

“Listen, I don’t have a little while. I have about this much patience,” he held his hand in the air and snapped his fingers loudly.

“Look at me,” he said as he stepped back away from the raised counter. He pointed at himself from head to toe. His arm, neck, and leg muscles rippled as he pointed his finger up and down his toward his body.

“Do I look like a guy that you want to piss off?” he stepped back toward the counter, leaned against it, and flexed his chest muscles.

“This mother fucker is full of doctors. Find one. Go find one and get him to go find my brother. And then find out what the fucking deal is, or I’m going to start knocking mother fuckers out,” he whispered loudly.

He turned his head from side-to-side, looking down the hallway, and turned back toward the nurse, “Cold.”

She looked up into Ripp’s eyes, “Sir, I will call security,” she said as she put her hand on the phone at the lower desk.

“Call ‘em. Fuck yes,” he rubbed his hands together.

“Call ‘em. I’ll knock them the fuck out too. It’s what I do. I knock motherfuckers out. Cold. Call security, and while you’re at it call the cops. Tell ‘em to send S.W.A.T., because I hate fucking cops,” he was starting to become a little louder and was having a difficult time whispering.

“Your best bet is this – find out what the deal is. In the next ten minutes. We’ll be in the waiting room,” he pushed himself from the countertop and squinted his eyes.

“C’mon, Shorty,” he said as he held out his right hand.

I leaned away from the wall and stepped toward him.

“Why’d you make me stand over there?” I asked as I reached for his hand.

“I didn’t want you to get any debris on you if I started breaking shit,” he said as we walked down the hallway toward the waiting room.

“Ripp?” his hand in mine, I looked up toward his face.

“Yeah, Shorty,” he responded as he angrily stomped his way toward the waiting room.