"We found her!" Maureen announced. "You guys, we found her!" Mark and Joanne rushed to Mimi's side, and rolled her onto her back. The three other Bohemians came running down the alley.
"Mimi!" Roger exclaimed as he dropped to his knees next to her. with shaking hands, he brushed her hair out of her battered face. "Someone call 911," he choked. Collins gave Angel a reassuring kiss on the cheek, and ran out of the alley to call for help. "Mimi? Mimi can you hear me?"
"She's out cold Roger, look at the bump on her head," Joanne pointed out. Roger got a good look at Mimi. Her left ankle was twisted to the side at an unnatural angel, she had a black eye, fat lip, and a large bump on her forehead.
Roger clung to Mimi's hand until the paramedics arrived twenty minutes later. Collins pointed them towards Mimi.
"Wait, she's umm, she's HIV positive," Roger told the paramedics before they could even touch Mimi. They nodded gratefully, and pulled on a pair of rubber gloves.
"You her boyfriend?" one of the paramedics asked Roger. He nodded. "Are you the one that found her?" Roger shook his head.
"No, Mark, Maureen, and Joanne found her. she was two hours late coming home from work." The paramedics put Mimi on a stretcher. "Can I go with her?"
"Yeah, come one."
As Roger walked past Angel, he asked the paramedics, "Can Angel come in the ambulance with us too? She and Mimi are best friends."
"There's only room for one of you, I'm sorry" Angel put a comforting hand on Roger's shoulder.
"You go ahead honey," she said. "I'll stay here with everyone else. Mark, Maureen, and Joanne have to talk to the police, then we'll meet you at the hospital." Roger nodded, and rushed after Mimi.
As Angel and Collins waited for Mark, Maureen, and Joanne to finish with the police, Angel clung to Collin. She was in shock about the whole ordeal. Collins held the drag queen close.
"So you can't think of anyone who would want to harm Ms. Marquez?" the police officer, Officer Porter asked Mark, Maureen, and Joanne. The three looked at each other.
"No, I'm sorry," Mark replied.
"Wait," Joanne said. "What about her dealer? He could be mad at Mimi for getting clean." Officer Porter took diligent notes.
"Do you know the name of this dealer?" she asked. Joanne looked to Mark and Maureen for the answer. Both shrugged.
"Roger would know," the diva replied.
"Okay, I'll see you all at the hospital." Officer Porter shook the trio's hands and left. The six Bohemians all rushed down to the subway station to go down to the hospital.
When the Bohemians got to the Emergency Room, they found Roger pacing back and forth in the waiting room. His hands were jammed deep in his pockets, and his head was bowed causing his hair to fall in his face.
"How's Mimi doing?" Joanne asked him. Roger looked up, slightly startled.
"I don't know," he snapped. "I'm not family, so they won't tell me a fucking thing! I can't even see her!"
"Calm down Roger. Where's the doctor, I'll talk to him?" Angel asked in an unusually calm voice.
"Out there I think. Her name is Dr. Arons or something like that." Angel gave Collins a peck on the cheek, and went to go talk to the Doctor.
"I'll be right back sweetie," she told him before leaving.
Everyone except for Roger sat down to wait for Angel to return. The rocker continued to pace back and forth. Maureen curled up next to Joanne, and rested her head on the lawyer's shoulder. Joanne wrapped her arms around her girlfriend, and rested her cheek on top of her head. Five minutes later, Angel returned from talking to Dr. Arons.
"Roger, you can go see Mimi now," she said. Everyone looked at the drag queen, very confused.
"Wait, what? I can go see Mimi?"
"Yes, now go!" Roger rushed out of the waiting room, and down to Mimi's room.
Angel sauntered over to Collins, wrapped her arms around his neck, and sat down lightly on his lap. Collins wrapped his arms around her small waist.
"Alright Angel, what did you do to get Roger in to see Mimi?" Mark asked the drag queen.
"I told the Doctor that I'm her cousin, and former legal guardian. She offered to let me see Mimi, but I told her that Roger wanted to see her first."
"So you lied?" Joanne asked. Angel crossed her legs.
"Not exactly. I was Mimi's legal guardian for four years when we were younger."
"I didn't know that baby," Collins said. "Why didn't you guys tell us that?" Angel shrugged.
"Those were shitty times; we don't really talk about it. Mimi started using while I was in charge of her. We would argue about the drugs constantly."
Flashback:
Mimi stomped around the apartment looking for her uniform for work. Angel was hot on her heels, yelling at her.
"Maria Marquez, you had damn well better listen to me!" the drag queen exclaimed. Despite the fact that her full name had been dragged out, Mimi ignored Angel. "You are not going out tonight!" Mimi found her uniform. With her back to Angel, she began to change.
"Don't you get it? We need the money!"
"No, you need the money to buy smack! You're seventeen, and you're throwing your life away!"
"I'm going to die soon anyway! What about 'No Day But Today'?"
"You're twisting my words around to get what you want. It's not just the drugs that I'm talking about too! You're working as a stripper. What's next Meems? How long until you do private performances for some John in a deserted alley in the middle of the night?"
"It's not like that!"
"How long?"
"I don't know," Mimi replied in a harsh whisper before brushing past Angel stiffly. "I'll be back around three in the morning or so." She stuffed a wad of money in her jacket pocket.
"Mimi, please don't go see your dealer," Angel pleaded. Without replying, Mimi left for work
End Flashback
Dr. Arons led Roger down the hall to Mimi's hospital room. They didn't speak until they made it to the dancer's room.
"Mr. Davis, Ms. Marquez is suffering from a mild concussion, and twisted ankle. She was also raped," Dr. Arons explained to Roger.
"Lord Meems," he mumbled as he ran his fingers through his hair. "What the hell happened to you?" Roger was on the verge of tears.
"I'll leave you two alone now." Roger sat in the chair next to Mimi's bed, and gently held her hand. Suddenly, her eyes flew open. Gasping, she bolted upright in bed.
A/N: there you go, chapter 2! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I'm going to try and do one flashback a chapter. Some will be Mimi and Angel Pre-Rent, and others will be right before the attack, it depends really. You know the drill, check out Off-Set, and please review! Much love (this is my new catch-phrase).
Tina101
