Monday, May 13th Pt. 9
He finally breaks down, releasing his fears in the form of tears. He yelps several times when a knock on the door signifies the nurse coming back.
“What happened? He seemed to be doing fine when I left.”
Carol walks in with a large clear plastic cup filled with ice and several bottles of cranberry juice, protein drinks and water.
“No! Don’t do it again! I can go on my own!” He shouts as he fights.
How has he gotten himself this wound up? I again pin him gently to the bed, fighting to help him gain control of a very broken mind and soul.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t realize doing the cath would create so much fear. There’s no reason to do another unless you find yourself unable to go on your own.” She chimes in.
Gratefully, it helps him to hear those words as she puts what she’s carrying on the bedside table.
“Would you like me to fix him a drink?”
“No ma’am. He needs to do it. Thank you for the offer.”
“You're welcome. You have a little over half an hour left on the feed. I’m going to get started on the discharge paperwork as I know it takes a while to get done.”
“Yes ma’am. Thank you.” I start relaxing my hold on him as I hear the shuffle of feet exit the room.
“Are you okay?” I ask as I sit back up.
My hands held out to the sides ready to catch him if he panics again.
“Yes sir.” He responds after a long moment of silence.
“Okay. I’m going to sit on the bed with you while I call Arianna. Do you want me to open a drink for you?”
“Please.”
“Deven told me of the difficulties you had last night when he tried to fix you one. I need your guidance on what you’re comfortable with.”
“What’s in the cup?” He asks suspiciously.
He startles slightly when I leave the bed but I leave it unaddressed in the hope that ignoring some of his behaviors will help him cope better. I walk to the other side to the table, wheeling it over so it’s closer to him.
“She brought you a regular cranberry which is on the tart side and two mixes; one with apple juice the other with grape. I like all three. Is this what you’re asking about?”
I pick the cup of ice up and hand it to him. He takes it and starts spinning it in his hand.
“There’s liquid in the bottom.” He observes.
“Yes sir. I imagine the ice has started melting. I didn't ask for it but it was a nice gesture for her to bring up. It will keep the juice chilled and water it down a little. May I see it?” I ask for it back.
The way he’s looking at it I have a suspicion of what’s going through his mind but he would never ask me to do. He hands it to me slowly, holding his hand out for me to receive it. I only take a few seconds to pop the plastic top off and tip the cup back allowing the water in the bottom to slide into my mouth, several ice cubes following behind them. I steal a few cubes before putting the top back on and handing it back to him.
“Sorry, I’m an ice chewer and they have the perfect chewy ice here.” I smile as he cocks his head, remaining silent as I refuse to make a big deal out of what he refused to tell.
“Which would you like first?”
“I’m not certain about cranberry so maybe starting with the apple one will make it easier.”
I nod as I pull out my phone and finally dial Ari’s number. It takes a few rings but she does answer.
“Hello?”
“Did I wake you?”
I ask even though she doesn’t sound sleepy. I place the phone on speaker so I can still help Cole.
“No you didn’t wake me. I’m sitting at the bar in the kitchen helping your mom with tonight’s lasagna.”
“One of my favorites.” I sigh as it’s a rarity to get such a complex meal.
“Colton, I’m serious when I say I need your guidance. I don’t think you can open it yet but you can at least verify that it’s sealed.” I hand him the bottle of cran-apple.
“Why does he need to verify it’s sealed?” Ari asks.
“I don’t know. I just can’t drink it unless it’s sealed.” I’m surprised when he responds.
“Is that him?”
“Yes ma, that is Colton. At least that’s his understanding of who he is.”
“What does that mean? How does he not know who he is?”
“Dissociative amnesia is rare and tends to be more complicated in werewolves than in humans. I guess that’s because there’s only been a dozen or so known cases in werewolves. It’s not the reason for my call. I’m in a bit of a jam right now.”
“What do you need?” My mom is quick to jump on the phone.
“Colton is terrified of the hospital. Come to think of it, Deven needed my help getting him into the clinic. Instinctively I knew this morning would be rough for Cole and I rode to the hospital with Deven instead of separately. Unfortunately, Cody had an accident at school and Deven had to attend to a mild emergency.”
“Is Cody okay?” I wait patiently as Colton tries several times to open the bottle.
“Colton, I didn’t hand it to you to open. I wanted you to be comfortable with it not being open before I opened it. Unless you're uncomfortable with me opening it in front of you.”
I interrupt the conversation briefly. I simply nod as he finally gives up and hands me the bottle. I remove the lid from the cup of ice before opening the juice and immediately pouring it in.
“Deven is in the emergency room at Shadowland Children’s hospital on the other side of the territory. Cody got hit in the head while playing softball in gym and it knocked him out. Even though he’s a doctor the council discourages anyone from treating their own family members as it’s easy to lose perspective. That and it’s better for a child to have their parents support them through anything that might cause pain. Everyone knows how painful an exam can be after an accident. Always pushing on what’s injured.”
I smile as Cole opens the straw and places it in the cup. Sitting back against the bed he takes a slow sip. I stifle a small laugh as his facial expression changes making it obvious he hasn’t had cranberry juice much.
“Do you need a ride?”
“Yes ma’am.” I respond immediately as I had briefly lost track of the conversation.
“The antibiotic that’s on a slow feed has half an hour left then I’m hoping to get him out of here.”
“It takes about that long to get over there so we will wrap up and transfer what we’re working on to another and head over.”
“Thank you. I appreciate that.”
“Anytime.”
We hang up at the same time. I look over to find Cole has put the drink down on the table and has slipped back to sleep. I grab the flannel sheet covering him and pull it up so it covers his chest. I return to the chair that’s in the room and open my laptop. It’s time to wrap my mind around what kind of help I can offer this young lad.
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