The Obdurate Avidity

Chapter 10

 

By TurtleBoy

 

 


            After he left, I decided I needed the washroom.  Well, I didn’t decide, it was more of a demand to run for the toilet.  So I scampered off to the washroom hidden in the corner of the room.  While administering to my business, my attention was drawn to the mirror.  I was looking at myself, yet didn’t recognize who was there.  I seemed different.  My hair seemed longer, and my eyes brighter.  I could even swear to god, my hair was a slightly different color.  My skin was solid and smooth looking.  It didn’t seem right.  A scar that used to be on my forearm since I was 5 seemed to have disappeared.  A birthmark on my neck which I knew was there!  Was gone!  But the tone of my skin seemed healthier than it had ever looked.  And my hair, in desperate need of washing, was definitely a few shades lighter than it once was.  But the most confusing was my eyes.  I could swear, the blue/green now had a third color, which bordered my pupil.  Almost a deep red, which subtly branched off and blended with the green and than the blue.  It was so faint it was barely noticeable.  Just a thin outline, but I was sure it was there.  I was then distracted by the sound of the room door opening, so I flushed the toilet and went to see who it was.
 

“What did the Doc say?”  I heard the voice of James, from in behind the opened door as I came into view.


“Not much.  I’m stuck here till Friday…  Ummm what day is it today?”  Realizing I had no idea how far away Friday was.


“It’s Tuesday, July 24th”  James told me.


“Wha!  I lost half my summer! What the FUCK!”  My mind sped a hundred miles a second, only to be Squashed on its exit to reality.


“Sorry, they told me not to say anything until they had a chance to speak with you.  But I didn’t see the point.  If I was in your shoes I’d want to know… well everything.”


“Wow.  That’s messed up.  I missed the end of the school year, I missed most of summer break, I lost my clothes, and worst of all!  I’m still bloody hungry!”  I stated in a fluster, with a hint of sarcasm.


“Yea the Doc said we can take you to the café for some sorta real food.  The burgers are pretty good.”


“Mmmm sounds yummy.”


“Oops, sorry you’re not supposed to eat anything to heavy yet.  It’s been a while since you ate solid foods, the Doc said it will hurt your stomach.”


“Psh!  Try and stop me!  I know what my tummy can take!”  I giggled


“Well… I did my part I guess, let’s go.”


            We walked in a giddy silence, smiling at each others presence.  We entered the elevator, and James pressed the b1 button.  Several seconds later the door closed, and James wrapped his arms around me.  He looked deep into my eyes, as I wrapped my arms around him; returning the loving  gaze into his soulful glare.  Our eyes than closed, as our embrace tightened pulling our bodies closer.  His warmth was absorbed into my body, as our lips met.  The softness of his tongue entered my parted lips, breathing deeply, my lungs filled with not too fruity and not too perfumey.  I could feel my stomach knot, and my heart lift to my throat.  His smooth skin slide across my face, as he slid his cheek across my own, teasing my lips and playfully tormenting my mind.  His right hand escaped from his sling, in order to get a better hold on me, while his left hand travelled firmly down my back.   Circling my nose against his cheek, I caught his lips once more, embracing our tongues in one last taste before those doors opened revealing our secret to the world.  With a shy squeeze of my right buttock, James reluctantly detached himself from my hold.  Returning his arm to the sling around his shoulder, he smiled and stepped back.  Seconds later, the elevator door opened.  Destined to eat some yummy food, we made our way to the cafeteria where my mom and dad were meeting us.


            We entered the cafeteria, scattered conversation filled my ears.  Some laughter, and some depressed cries.  The smells of grease and sugar filled my lungs.  The room was painted in abstract colors of reds blues greens whites and yellows.  Squared and some malformed obscurities.  Love to meet the person who came up with this.  The room was bright and lively; A place to escape the depression of hospital woes.  There on the other side of the large room, sat my parents.  My dad was reading a paper, and my mom was pacing in her chair.  James than waved and grabbed my hand guiding my through the scattered tables and people.


            My Dad, dropped his paper, and a look crossed his face that I had never seen before.  He stood up, and grabbed a hold of me.  Nearly lifting me from the ground; his grip was so tight it almost made me gasp for air; instead I wrapped my arms around him, and took in the moment.  My father wasn’t the hugging type, not usually.  I don’t think he had hugged me since I was eight.  I heard a faint sniffle as he planted his face in the top of my head.  At this point all I could try to do was keep my hospital gown from revealing my back end to the world.  GAH!  How could I not have noticed that sooner!  I’m not wearing underwear!  FACK!  The realization that I had been running around the hospital exposing my butt to everyone in behind me humiliated me.  I felt my face grow to a beat red.  My dad let go with a crazy grin on his face, when he realized what I was trying to do.


“Sorry bud, I forgot about your gown.”  He giggled as he wiped some stray tears from his flushed cheeks.


“GEEZE! So did I!  It just clicked when a draft caught me off guard.”


“Don’t worry Adrian, I don’t think anyone saw, I was right behind you.”  James assured.


“Did you see?”  I asked, grinning back at him.


“Ummm, only a bit.”  He chuckled, as he knew I could tell he was lying.


“Well… Next time we leave my room, I need to find some clothes.”  I stated, sitting down and tucking my gown underneath me as best I could.


“We brought some with us, I think they are still in the car.  You’ve been shifted around so much since you came here, we were afraid they would get lost.”  My mom explained.


“So boys, what would you like to eat, Mom’s paying.”  Said my Dad with a smirk on his face as he fished through Moms purse.


“Oh get out of there! You’re making a mess!”  My mom slapped my Dads wrists, as she snatched the bag from his scavenging fingers.


“Sorry Dear, I may have crumpled your…  feminine product…”  He smiled as he backed off.


“You evil man, here! Go get the boys something.”  She handed him some money and placed her bag on the floor next to her away from Dads reach.


“What would you like Adrian?”  He asked.


“Double Cheeseburger and a poutine with a coke!”  I blurted without thought.


“Don’t you think that will be a little hard on your stomach?”  My mom stated in hopes to convince me of something lighter.


“Who cares!  It’ll be worth it.  Besides, my stomach feels fine.”  I replied as a matter of fact.


“Alright, but can’t say as I didn’t warn you!”  She added, “Can you bring me some stir fry and rice?”  She than handed my dad some more money.


“James?  What about you?”  Asked my dad.


“Ummm, I’ll come help, I don’t know what I want.”  He said as he jumped up from beside me.


“Alright, we’ll be right back.”  With that, my dad and James made their way to the line up.


            Me and my Mom just kind of awkwardly stared at each other.  Her mind off in the distance my mind off in the line up.  I found myself entranced by the people in the room.  Everyone so different, I would skim across the room and see if I could point out the patients from the visitors, which was a lot easier than I had thought.  All the patients were wearing I.D. bracelets, which kind of ruined the entire fun of the game.  But I kept staring.  If I looked at someone long enough, I could make out what they were saying, no matter how far they were.  If I did so long enough, I swore to myself I could even here their heartbeat.  It was excitingly odd.  There was this one person, who seemed to have a wheeze; his heart would throw off a double thump very close together every so often.  I could hear his tone of voice become staggered, and a strange hum.  He would thump his chest every now and than, and clear his throat.  But he didn’t seem to have a bracelet on.  As I focused my attention to him, I could almost smell the stress his body was experiencing.  There was than a triple thump, and I saw a ripple seemingly pass his body,  an eerie feeling crept over me, as I felt my gaze deepen.  The smell perspiration filled my lungs, along with the sound of an irregular beat which was originating from this man.


            My eyes were locked on him, there was nothing I could do but stare deeper.  The noise of the thumping increased, and a high pitched humming joined the distressed melody.  His skin seemed to be fading to a transparency, the blue wiry lines began to spread across the mans body, and were joined my the white charges flowing across him.  As the lines increased and consumed his body, I noticed the color changing from blue to red in his chest area.  The red was slowly spreading, and the charges increased across him.  I could sit no longer, I had to do something, this wasn’t right.


“Doctor!!! Someone Call a Doctor!”  I said jumping from my seat and running towards the man.  Just as the man turned to see what the yelling was about, he grabbed his chest and fell to the floor.


            Dashing across the room, around all the obstacle of people and chairs, I slid to my knees and, cradled the mans head in my lap, before it hit the ground.  His eyes rolled to the back of his head, and began to twitch rapidly.  I placed my hand over the mans chest;  watching the red continue to spread and consume the blue.  The surges which travelled across him decreased and the beating stopped completely.  Without thinking,  I grouped my fingers together and drove them hard on the mans chest,  where I could see a faint movement.   Directly after, the beating continued, and the charges resumed.  Seconds later several nurses and doctors surrounded the man and forced me away.  I couldn’t see what was going on, but several moments later, they were getting him on a gurney a speeded him out of the room.


            Without another thought I walked back to my table and sat down.  My mom stared at me, as did James and my dad who were holding our food.  I kind of glared up at them as to why they were staring, and gestured for them to hand me my grub.


“How…. Did you know?”  My mother forced out.


“Umm, I dunno.  He was holding his chest.  I can’t remember the rest.”  So I lied a little, no point freaking them out with something that I didn’t even understand.


“Woah!  That was intense!”  James exclaimed sitting down and placing the tray of food on the table.


“Quick thinking Adrian I’m proud of you.”  Added my dad, as he too sat down, “He gets that from me you know dear.”  Watching a smirk cross my mothers face, directly after he had said that.


“Yea, cause we all know about your impulses.”  She said rolling her eyes and holding back a giggle.


“What’s that supposed to mean?”  He replied, attempting to look hurt.


“Nothing dear…. Now eat your meal before it gets cold.”  She than handed him his plate, and began to eat as well.


            Not too much more was said on what happened, except for James who every now and than would mention how “Intense”  that was, and how lucky he was to be in a hospital when it happened.  I on the other hand, was too entranced in how delicious this burger was.  The beef seemed to absorb right into me with every bite.  It was by far, the best burger I have ever had.  How horrible is that?


            Shortly after, we made our way back to the room, where a woman was sitting in the arm chair next to the bed holding a clip board in her hands, concentrating on its attributes.  When we entered the room she looked toward us and stood with a smile on her face.  She seemed to be caught off guard at our intrusion;  Stumbling for words we were caught in an awkward glare.  Placing down the clip board on the bed, she stepped toward us, and extended her hand in our direction.


“Hi I’m Dr. Hespler.”  She introduced herself.  Seemingly nervous and unprepared.  James was the first to react.


“I’m James, Adrian’s… Friend.”  He took her hand and gave it a shy shake.


“Oh, Dr. Morgan mentioned you would be popping in at some point, I’m Adrian’s father, and this is his Mom, and of course that is Adrian.”  Introduced my father, while reaching for her awaiting hand.


“Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Conner, James, and of course Adrian.  Now that the awkwardness is at a high, and I have nothing more to loose, may I have some time with your son, or is this a bad time?”  Dr. Hespler Inquired.


“No, no.  Of course!  Come one boys lets go, ummm bug the staff…”  With saying that, Mom guided James and Dad off into the hall, closing the door behind them.


“Well, that was fun.  Why don’t we get comfy.”  Dr. Hespler suggested, trying to ease the moment.  I acknowledged, and climbed into the bed.  She than sat down on the chair and grabbed the clipboard on her way down.


“So, uh… what now?”  I asked, feeling a bit uneasy.


“Don’t be nervous, I just need to pry your brain for any information I can find to be useful.”  She said with a smile.  I let off a partial grin, and threw the blankets over my legs.


“Wow, you really know how to brighten the day.”  I joked.


“Everyone has their talents….   So, do you remember anything about what happened back home?”  She cut right to the chase, not beating around anything.


“Besides, swimming in that pond, and eating lunch, nothing.  Well… Except….”  I hesitated.


“Except what?”


“I remember waking up in the middle of the night, it was really dark, and I couldn’t see anything.  It smelt disgusting, and I threw up.  I remember leaning against a tree, and a dead animal.  I put my hand in its… body.  I think I was sleeping in it.”  I stopped, unsure of what came next.


“You were sleeping IN the animal?”  She elaborated.


“Kind of, I could feel my hand inside it.  It was torn apart or something, but it’s smell was disgusting.  And I could feel its blood all over me.”


“Do you remember what happened next?”


“I ran.  I didn’t know what else to do.  But… than everything went black.  And next I knew I woke up in a ditch filled with slimy water.  And than running down a street, I almost got hit by a car…. Than I was at home, and than everything was black again….  When I woke up, I was here…. And Dr. Morgan was too…  But that could have been days ago now.”


“It’s alright Adrian.  Take a breath.  From as far as I can tell, you must have hit your head, and gotten a concussion.  Your head had an open wound when they found you.  You lost a lot of blood.  I don’t think we will ever know the exact cause of what happened, but I’m sure it was a temporary amnesia.”


“Amnesia?  But I remember waking up a bunch of times… I knew who I was.”


“Like I said, it has been so long since this happened, we’re lucky you remember that much.  You experienced horrific fever which lead to delusions, you had uncountable infections through out your body.  We are just glad to see you recover so well.  You had everyone at the edge of their seats for quite some time.  James on his own is known on every phone line in this hospital.  He called so much, his parents found it cheaper to send him out here for a few days just so they could pay off the phone bill.”  She giggled.  “Funny thing is, I hadn’t met him until today, and I had spoken to him numerous times on the phone.  He loves you a great deal.”


            Her comment caught me off guard, I felt my face turn red, and my eyes escaped her gaze. 


“It’s alright Adrian.  I’m not going to say anything.  James and I spoke on the phone a great deal.  You can trust me.  Everything is between us.”  She assured me.


“It’s not that I’m trying to hide it.  I just… didn’t think we were that obvious.  Do you think my parents know?”  I asked.


“Some parents are completely oblivious, but I’m guessing they have a good idea about you two.  It’s not hard to see the fullness in your eyes when you look at each other.”


“Wow…  So you think they know huh.  Why haven’t they said anything?”  I asked curiously.


“I guess, they figure you will tell them in time.  Or maybe they haven’t realized the details quite yet.  Some people don’t realize that they knew before they are told directly.  The brain is a strange thing, and the heart is even stranger.”

 
“Wow…  Dr. Morgan was right, you are good.”  I acknowledged.


“Dr. Morgan has to say I’m good.   He’s my father.”  She giggled.


“Well… I gotta admit, I didn’t see that coming.  You definitely got your looks from your moms side.”  I noted out loud.


“That I am thankful for everyday.  But he is quite the character.”


“I hear you there.  I’m glad he’s my doctor.”


“He wasn’t originally, he asked for your case.  He has a love for the unknown.  And you fit the bill.”  She told me.  “Only trouble is, he seems to have gone a little out of his league.  Your condition is undetermined, it’s bound to drive him bananas until the day he dies.  You can safely say, once you leave this hospital, it will not be the last time he speaks with you.”


“That’s okay, I have call ID.”  I giggled.


“You’re going to need it.  Well, I think that’s about all for today, I’ll pop in tomorrow and see how you are doing.  But as far as I can tell, you’re fine.  But if you need to talk, or if you remember anything that can be useful, just pass a message to the nurse.  Or my office is on the second floor right next to the candy machine outside the elevator.”  With that said, she closed her clip board, and walked to the door.


“Thanks Dr. Hespler, bye!”


“Seeya Adrian, try to rest… oh, and drink plenty of fluids.”  She smirked and then turned and exited the room.


            Shortly after James scurried in.  Plopped on the seat where Dr. Hespler was sitting, and wiggled his feet anxiously.


“So….  Are you nuts?”  He inquired with a smile.  He must have been waiting to say that for a while.


With a smile I replied…


“Yup, they’re gonna transfer my to the psyche ward in the morning where I’ll be fed happy pills and get to eat Jell-O all day.”


“Okay, well seeya.”  James stood up and bolted out the door.  Catching me a little off guard I wasn’t sure how to react to him up and leaving.  All I could do was laugh.


“Get back here you freak!”  I demanded.


“Hehehe, the look on your face was worth it.  So what did she say?”


“That you’ve been harassing her office non stop, and that I must have had amnesia or something along that line.”  I explained.


“I did not! We had very nice conversations!  She even called me a couple of times….  Amnesia?  Hmmm… I thought it would be more like temporary insanity.”  He added, but there wasn’t a degree of sarcasm in his voice.


“What do you remember James?  What happened before I left you?”  After I said this, his face grew stressed and upset.


“You don’t want to know Adrian.  It’s okay, I’m fine, you’re fine…. It’s okay.  Let’s just put it behind us now.”  He pleaded.


“Did I hurt you?  I did didn’t I!  The arm and the bruises, that was me wasn’t it.”


“Yea, but it was my fault.  I should have just let you go….”


“Go where?”


“To the voice.  The one that you heard.”


“Voice? “  My reply was obviously baffled.


“You heard a voice, you said it was calling your name.  I heard nothing, but you assured me it was there.  I swam out with you and walked towards the trees.  But when we got there, you were gone.”

“What do you mean I was gone?  I ran off?”


“No… Your voice changed, so did your eyes.  You were yelling at me to leave, but I wouldn’t go without you.  When I tried to force you back, you….. attacked me.  But it wasn’t you!  I know it wasn’t!  You were different.  You grabbed my arm and tossed me into some rocks.  I know it wasn’t you.  My arm is fine now, I got the cast off a few days ago.  Are we done talking about this?  It’s not going to help anything.”  James eyes watered and tears began to flow down his cheeks.  I instinctively embraced him, and kissed his forehead.  Holding him tight, I stopped prying for answers.  He was right, It wasn’t going to solve anything now.  But… it did fill in some blanks.


I guided him to my bed where I laid him down and cuddled up next to him.  I could feel him calming, as he buried his face into my shoulder.  I pulled the covers over us, and held him close.  As I breathed in his wonderful scent, I felt my eyes grow heavy.  With questions still stirring in my head, and the one person who I never wanted to hurt sleeping beside me, I allowed myself to drift off.  There would be time for questions another day.



Chapter 11