Saturday, November 10th 2007, 12:15am
It seems like an infinite amount of time until the police come, but I can see the alarm clock on the table by my Murphy bed, so I know that it has only been eleven minutes. They come through the open front door with their guns up. They check the apartment and "clear it" making sure that no one else is here. One kneels beside me and the other checks the man for a pulse.
"Are you ADA Novak?" the officer asks me.
"Yes" I'm relieved that they know who I am and what happened.
He touches me, most likely in an attempt to administer some first aid, but suddenly I am repulsed. "Don't. Touch. Me." I didn't mean to say those words with so much force, they just came out that way.
He walks away for a minute and just when I think that he is going to leave me alone he comes back with a towel from my bathroom and covers me with it. I suppose he thinks he's being a gentleman, protecting my dignity and modesty. Well he's too fucking late.
"I am Officer Romero. You need to let me help you Ms. Novak. You're badly injured." As if I didn't realize that already. I wince from his touch, but I let him put pressure on the cut on my head.
"Hey, Alejandro," says the other officer, "We have a problem. Come'ere"
He walks away for a moment, and the two of them confer in hushed tones. I can't hear what they are saying.
He comes back over to me. "What was that about?" I ask.
"Don't worry about it. You're going to be ok." But he sounds nervous.
In a few minutes the ambulance comes. I want to wait for Olivia, but I know I have to get to a hospital. They won't let me try to walk, and I can barely even stand up by myself, so I have to go on the gurney despite my wounded pride. It makes me feel claustrophobic to be lying here strapped to the stretcher wrapped in bandages and blankets. Since I live in a walk-up they have to take me down the stairs, and it is all I can do not to panic.
Just as they are putting me in the ambulance a black Sedan with flashing lights screeches to a halt in front of my building. Olivia jumps out of the driver's side without even closing the door and runs to the ambulance, climbing in. "Casey, I'm here, okay, I'm here." She sounds worried and looks disheveled, but she made it here in record time and I've never been more relieved to see her. She throws her car keys to an officer who is standing near the ambulance and tells him to park the car while she rides with me.
Alejandro, the officer from upstairs runs up to the ambulance and gestures to Olivia. She moves to him and he says something to Olivia. She nods and turns back to me with a frightened look on her face. She quickly regains her composure, but not so quick that I can't tell she's worried about something more than she was before.
One of the paramedics speaks. "Detective we need to get her to the hospital right now. She has some traumatic injuries that have caused a lot of blood loss and she may have a concussion." Olivia nods, so they close the ambulance doors and go.
On the ride to the hospital I reach out to take Olivia's hand. She lets me hold onto her, which is good because right now I really need someone to hold onto.
"I'm glad that you're here," I say. My voice is hoarse, so I can't really speak above a whisper.
Olivia manages a faint smile. "Me too. Casey can you tell me what happened? Just enough so we know what to look for when – "
"when you do the rape kit. I know Olivia. He – He came up from behind, put a gun to my head. It was oral and P to V. He used a condom. Sadist cut me with a goddamned knife. I tried to fight back and he slammed my head against something. When he was... when he was raping me his gun fell out of his pocket. I grabbed it and shot him. He fell on top of me. He was dead. I pulled myself out from under him and called 911."
I feel so tired, but even more freaked out. Maybe that's why I could talk about it - denial hasn't set in yet. The paramedics put an IV in me and I barely feel it.
"Olivia what's going on? What did that officer – Alejandro say to you?"
"Casey, you need to be calm."
"Calm about what? Look, I want to know."
She hesitates for a moment then speaks, "Case, the guy who attacked you may have been HIV positive or had AIDS. One of the officers at the scene found anti-retroviral medication in his pocket."
"Oh. Fuck." What else is there to say? He put his goddamned penis in my vagina, in my mouth. I have his blood all over me from shooting him when he was on top of me, and I have a dozen cuts and scratches all over me. What are my chances? With all that exposure, what miracle would keep me from getting the virus? Maybe now is a good time to pray, even if I don't believe in heaven.