Title: Trouble at Home- Chapter 4
Author: Em Walters
Rating: I'll give it a PG this time, cause there's no Violence this time, just major suspense!!
Author's notes: Thanks to all that have reviewed so far, I'm really enjoying giving out these cliffhangers!! Hehehehehehe, J/K! But anyways, just a quick note: Um, I know that Jamie has a brother, but I already had the plot in my head when the Ep aired, and a big brother didn't fit in the picture. So Jamie doesn't have a Bro in MY story, it's my story, so I'll do what I want :) Okay, have fun reading!
*All disclaimers apply*
Alex sat at his desk, tapping his fingering nervously on the mahogany surface. It had been nearly two weeks, and no one had heard from Jamie. The phone was always busy, and according to the rest of the squad he hadn't been to school either. He didn't know what to do. Something didn't seem right. Jamie hadn't sounded too good when Alex had last spoken to him, and him not showing up anywhere really worried Alex.
And what was up with Jamie's dad? Alex had met Mr. Waite, and he seemed like an okay guy, just a normal dad. But wouldn't he have called or said something to the effect of 'My son's sick, sorry he hasn't been coming, he'll be back soon.' In fact, Kevin Waite hadn't even mentioned Jamie when Alex had met him, and that was kind of odd, considering that Jamie was all Kevin had. Alex shook his head, something had to be done. He walked out of his office and into the common room, where Hank, Val, Tyler and Brooke sat. "Hey guys, you still haven't seen Jamie at school, right?"
"Nope," Hank said. "It's like he disappeared or something."
"Catie hasn't even heard from him," Val added.
"Yeah, I'm getting kind of worried," Alex said, almost to himself. "Why don't you guys take the ambulance out for gas, and stop by his house on the way back, just to make sure he's okay."
"Alright," Hank said. "C'mon guys, let's go."
***********
"Hmm, it doesn't look like anyone's home," Val observed as they approached the front door of Jamie's house.
"His dad's probably at work," Tyler replied, shrugging.
Hank reached the door first, and rang the bell. When there was no response, he rang it again, and then for the third time. "No answer," he muttered, and then tried the door. It was unlocked. He opened it and stepped inside.
"Hank, do you think it's okay to do that?" Tyler asked.
"It's fine." Hank turned around to face Tyler and Val. "Besides, I don't think anyone's home."
Tyler shrugged and followed suit, with Val at his heels.
"Jamie," Hank called out. "Jamie, you here?" He walked down the hallway, with Tyler and Val behind him.
The three tried a few different doors, and Tyler reached a locked door. He knocked on it. "Jamie? Hey Jamie, are you in there." He looked back, and motioned for Hank and Val to join him. "It's locked," he said, and then banged on the door. "Jamie, JAMIE!" he yelled.
Jamie groaned, and turned his head. Who was that? Was it his dad? No, it sounded like, like Tyler. What was Tyler doing at his house? Ohhh, everything hurt really, really badly. It had gotten worse. He couldn't even remember what had happened in the past couple of days. He remembered waking up a couple of times, and going to the bathroom, but it was all a blur. How long had he been out?
"Jamie, Jamie, are you in there?!" Tyler was about to give up.
"Tyler?" Jamie weakly called out.
"Jamie! Hey, are you okay?" Tyler asked anxiously.
"I don't, know." Jamie replied. "My dad, he-" He started coughing, and when he covered his mouth his hand became soaked with blood. He tried to speak, but no sound would come out.
"Jamie, you're going to have to unlock the door so we can come in and help you." Hank moved in front of the door.
Jamie looked at the door, it seemed miles away from where he was lying on the floor. He regained his voice. "I, I don't, I don't think I can."
"Jamie, you have to try." Val said.
"Okay." Jamie pushed himself up, and slowly crawled to the door. It was excruciatingly painful, and with each movement it became harder and harder for him to breathe. He knew that just outside that door, his friends were waiting. He could get help. He wasn't even worried about hiding it anymore, he just wanted the pain to go away. He reached the door, and used the doorknob to pull himself up. He couldn't even keep his balance, and it took all his strength just to unlock and open the door. He pulled just enough to get it open, and then fell forward.
Hank and Tyler opened their mouths in shock as they caught the falling Jamie. He didn't even look like himself. They slowly lowered him to the floor. His breathing was heavy, and he was gasping for air.
"Oh my gosh Jamie," Val gasped.
"Tyler, go get the backboard!" Hank yelled. "It's okay Jamie, everything's going to be okay."
"It hurts," Jamie gasped.
"Jamie, what happened?" Val asked tenderly as she stroked his forehead, running her fingers through his hair as an attempt to soothe him.
"My dad," Jamie managed. "He, he did this."
Val's eyes opened wide in shock. "Oh Jamie," she muttered, unable to go on. She couldn't even imagine what he was going through.
Suddenly Jamie's eyes got wide, and he struggled to speak. "Can't, breathe," He gasped out.
"Oh man, we gotta get him to the hospital now. Tyler, hurry!" Hank yelled.
As if on cue, Tyler ran down the hall, backboard in hand.
"He's got severe internal injuries," Hank explained. "It looks like his lung's punctured. Let's get him outta here and get some O2." They carried Jamie out and loaded him up.
Suddenly Jamie's eyes closed, and his strained breathing stopped. "Oh man, he stopped breathing!" Hank yelled. "Tyler, start driving, we gotta get him to the hospital now." He started rescue breathing as Val assessed Jamie's other injuries.
"He's got a shattered left knee, some contusions, pretty bad bruises, and a possible concussion." Val explained.
Tyler was going as fast as he could, but they couldn't get to the hospital soon enough. Hank was still doing rescue breathing when they got to the hospital, and Val quickly explained the visible injuries.
"He's got a shattered left knee, contusions, bruises, and a possible concussion. There's also broken ribs, and a punctured lung. He stopped breathing five minutes ago."
"How did this happen?" A nurse asked, taking the chart from Val.
"His dad did it, he beats him." Val replied gravely, tears threatening to flow from her eyes.
There was an eerie silence for a few seconds, and then a doctor took charge.
"Okay let's get a ventilator, and get him up to surgery for the lung and ribs stat." An ER doctor stated, the group quickly vanished behind two swinging doors, leaving Val, Tyler and Hank standing there, alone, their minds full of questions.
"Let's go sit down," Tyler said, and the trio walked over to some plastic chairs. Hank muttered something about making some calls, and walked over to a phone. A few minutes later he came back, and sat numbly in a chair next to his two silent friends. No one spoke, each was trying to get a grip on what had just happened. There was no emotion, no words, no tears, just numbness; each teenager was stuck with their own thoughts.
Val was sitting there, admist the silence, when she just couldn't take it anymore. She had seen injuries like Jamie's. She had seen people die from injuries like Jamie's. He was her friend, he was an EMT, this wasn't supposed to happen to EMTs. She had to say something, she had to let it out. She started to cry. She cried for Jamie, she cried for the injustice served to him, she cried for her own fears. Tears flowed down her face, she couldn't stop them, she didn't try.
Tyler put his arms around Val in an effort to comfort her, but he needed the comfort as well. Jamie was his friend. They were unlikely friends, each with their own agendas, each with so different extracurricular activities, except one. The Teen EMS squad had brought them together, as strange as that could be. Tyler could remember all the calls, all the things that they had shared together, they were truly friends. And now his friend was lying on a hospital table, inches from death, and why? Because his father had beat him. His father. The very man that gave Jamie life tried to take it away. Tyler didn't know how many times Jamie's dad had beat him, it didn't seem fair. Tyler thought he had it bad, but William had never beat him, William was nice to him. Jamie was the one that had it bad. Tyler couldn't believe what was happening. He rested his head on top of Val's, and tears started to form in his eyes.
"What's going on?"
Tyler looked up, locking eyes with Alex.
Alex cleared his throat. "Hank, I don't really appreciate 'Jamie's in the hospital, come now bye,' That was a little vague. So I'll ask again, what's going on?"
Hank was sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. He raised his head and took a deep breath. "We found Jamie at his house, and brought him in. It's pretty bad. He has a bunch of bruises, contusions, and a shattered knee. But the worst is that, well, he had a punctured lung. He stopped breathing once we got him in the ambulance. They took him up to surgery, we don't know anything, and-" Hank stopped, he couldn't go on.
"Alex, his dad did this to him." Val explained tearfully. "He beat him, and Jamie, he, he, practically died." She started crying again, it was just too much.
Alex gritted his teeth in anger, Kevin Waite was going to feel his wrath. But he had to keep his cool. "Okay you guys, I'm going to go and see if I can find out his progress. Is there anyone you guys should call? Any other relatives that you know of, or friends?"
"No, he hasn't mentioned any relatives," Hank responded.
"But I should probably call Catie," Val added. "She needs to know." She got up and went to the phone. Five minutes later a frantic Catie ran in.
"Val," she said, and ran over to her. The two hugged long and hard, and when they broke off Catie saw the tears in Val's eyes. "How is he?" she asked.
Val bit her lip. "Um, he has a lot of cuts, bruises, and a messed up knee. And, and a punctured lung. He stopped breathing Catie, and they're in surgery right now. Alex went to find out what's going on."
Tears started to roll down Catie's cheeks. "Oh my gosh," she gasped. "Wha-What happened?"
"His dad Catie," Val answered. "He did this."
"You mean, he beats him?"
"I don't know if it's a one time thing, or if he does it all the time," Val shakily replied. "But Jamie looked horrible, and they've been up in surgery for awhile."
Catie couldn't believe it. She sank to a chair, her legs felt like Jello. She cried openly, she couldn't take it all in. Jamie's father? It was something you'd only hear on TV. She was shaking, and her tears turned into sobs, and they didn't stop until Alex came back. Val had sat down next to her, and they both rose at the sight of Alex. Behind him was a young man in surgery scrubs. He looked very tired, and Catie searched his face for any sign of emotion at all. There was none.
"You guys, this is Doctor Travis. He operated on Jamie, and he'll explain his condition."
All the eyes in the small waiting room were focused on Dr. Travis as he cleared his throat and began to speak......................
Dun dun DUN!!! I know I know, another terrible cliffhanger. But c'mon you know the drill. Review the story, get another part. Is it that hard? Thanks for all you who have reviewed, but I know there are more people than 13 reading Trouble at Home. Heck, you could tell me the Story sucks and that I'm the worst writer in the world, but just review, pulleeeeaaaassseee????? Okay, I'll try to get the next part out soon, if I get reviews.
Author: Em Walters
Rating: I'll give it a PG this time, cause there's no Violence this time, just major suspense!!
Author's notes: Thanks to all that have reviewed so far, I'm really enjoying giving out these cliffhangers!! Hehehehehehe, J/K! But anyways, just a quick note: Um, I know that Jamie has a brother, but I already had the plot in my head when the Ep aired, and a big brother didn't fit in the picture. So Jamie doesn't have a Bro in MY story, it's my story, so I'll do what I want :) Okay, have fun reading!
*All disclaimers apply*
Alex sat at his desk, tapping his fingering nervously on the mahogany surface. It had been nearly two weeks, and no one had heard from Jamie. The phone was always busy, and according to the rest of the squad he hadn't been to school either. He didn't know what to do. Something didn't seem right. Jamie hadn't sounded too good when Alex had last spoken to him, and him not showing up anywhere really worried Alex.
And what was up with Jamie's dad? Alex had met Mr. Waite, and he seemed like an okay guy, just a normal dad. But wouldn't he have called or said something to the effect of 'My son's sick, sorry he hasn't been coming, he'll be back soon.' In fact, Kevin Waite hadn't even mentioned Jamie when Alex had met him, and that was kind of odd, considering that Jamie was all Kevin had. Alex shook his head, something had to be done. He walked out of his office and into the common room, where Hank, Val, Tyler and Brooke sat. "Hey guys, you still haven't seen Jamie at school, right?"
"Nope," Hank said. "It's like he disappeared or something."
"Catie hasn't even heard from him," Val added.
"Yeah, I'm getting kind of worried," Alex said, almost to himself. "Why don't you guys take the ambulance out for gas, and stop by his house on the way back, just to make sure he's okay."
"Alright," Hank said. "C'mon guys, let's go."
***********
"Hmm, it doesn't look like anyone's home," Val observed as they approached the front door of Jamie's house.
"His dad's probably at work," Tyler replied, shrugging.
Hank reached the door first, and rang the bell. When there was no response, he rang it again, and then for the third time. "No answer," he muttered, and then tried the door. It was unlocked. He opened it and stepped inside.
"Hank, do you think it's okay to do that?" Tyler asked.
"It's fine." Hank turned around to face Tyler and Val. "Besides, I don't think anyone's home."
Tyler shrugged and followed suit, with Val at his heels.
"Jamie," Hank called out. "Jamie, you here?" He walked down the hallway, with Tyler and Val behind him.
The three tried a few different doors, and Tyler reached a locked door. He knocked on it. "Jamie? Hey Jamie, are you in there." He looked back, and motioned for Hank and Val to join him. "It's locked," he said, and then banged on the door. "Jamie, JAMIE!" he yelled.
Jamie groaned, and turned his head. Who was that? Was it his dad? No, it sounded like, like Tyler. What was Tyler doing at his house? Ohhh, everything hurt really, really badly. It had gotten worse. He couldn't even remember what had happened in the past couple of days. He remembered waking up a couple of times, and going to the bathroom, but it was all a blur. How long had he been out?
"Jamie, Jamie, are you in there?!" Tyler was about to give up.
"Tyler?" Jamie weakly called out.
"Jamie! Hey, are you okay?" Tyler asked anxiously.
"I don't, know." Jamie replied. "My dad, he-" He started coughing, and when he covered his mouth his hand became soaked with blood. He tried to speak, but no sound would come out.
"Jamie, you're going to have to unlock the door so we can come in and help you." Hank moved in front of the door.
Jamie looked at the door, it seemed miles away from where he was lying on the floor. He regained his voice. "I, I don't, I don't think I can."
"Jamie, you have to try." Val said.
"Okay." Jamie pushed himself up, and slowly crawled to the door. It was excruciatingly painful, and with each movement it became harder and harder for him to breathe. He knew that just outside that door, his friends were waiting. He could get help. He wasn't even worried about hiding it anymore, he just wanted the pain to go away. He reached the door, and used the doorknob to pull himself up. He couldn't even keep his balance, and it took all his strength just to unlock and open the door. He pulled just enough to get it open, and then fell forward.
Hank and Tyler opened their mouths in shock as they caught the falling Jamie. He didn't even look like himself. They slowly lowered him to the floor. His breathing was heavy, and he was gasping for air.
"Oh my gosh Jamie," Val gasped.
"Tyler, go get the backboard!" Hank yelled. "It's okay Jamie, everything's going to be okay."
"It hurts," Jamie gasped.
"Jamie, what happened?" Val asked tenderly as she stroked his forehead, running her fingers through his hair as an attempt to soothe him.
"My dad," Jamie managed. "He, he did this."
Val's eyes opened wide in shock. "Oh Jamie," she muttered, unable to go on. She couldn't even imagine what he was going through.
Suddenly Jamie's eyes got wide, and he struggled to speak. "Can't, breathe," He gasped out.
"Oh man, we gotta get him to the hospital now. Tyler, hurry!" Hank yelled.
As if on cue, Tyler ran down the hall, backboard in hand.
"He's got severe internal injuries," Hank explained. "It looks like his lung's punctured. Let's get him outta here and get some O2." They carried Jamie out and loaded him up.
Suddenly Jamie's eyes closed, and his strained breathing stopped. "Oh man, he stopped breathing!" Hank yelled. "Tyler, start driving, we gotta get him to the hospital now." He started rescue breathing as Val assessed Jamie's other injuries.
"He's got a shattered left knee, some contusions, pretty bad bruises, and a possible concussion." Val explained.
Tyler was going as fast as he could, but they couldn't get to the hospital soon enough. Hank was still doing rescue breathing when they got to the hospital, and Val quickly explained the visible injuries.
"He's got a shattered left knee, contusions, bruises, and a possible concussion. There's also broken ribs, and a punctured lung. He stopped breathing five minutes ago."
"How did this happen?" A nurse asked, taking the chart from Val.
"His dad did it, he beats him." Val replied gravely, tears threatening to flow from her eyes.
There was an eerie silence for a few seconds, and then a doctor took charge.
"Okay let's get a ventilator, and get him up to surgery for the lung and ribs stat." An ER doctor stated, the group quickly vanished behind two swinging doors, leaving Val, Tyler and Hank standing there, alone, their minds full of questions.
"Let's go sit down," Tyler said, and the trio walked over to some plastic chairs. Hank muttered something about making some calls, and walked over to a phone. A few minutes later he came back, and sat numbly in a chair next to his two silent friends. No one spoke, each was trying to get a grip on what had just happened. There was no emotion, no words, no tears, just numbness; each teenager was stuck with their own thoughts.
Val was sitting there, admist the silence, when she just couldn't take it anymore. She had seen injuries like Jamie's. She had seen people die from injuries like Jamie's. He was her friend, he was an EMT, this wasn't supposed to happen to EMTs. She had to say something, she had to let it out. She started to cry. She cried for Jamie, she cried for the injustice served to him, she cried for her own fears. Tears flowed down her face, she couldn't stop them, she didn't try.
Tyler put his arms around Val in an effort to comfort her, but he needed the comfort as well. Jamie was his friend. They were unlikely friends, each with their own agendas, each with so different extracurricular activities, except one. The Teen EMS squad had brought them together, as strange as that could be. Tyler could remember all the calls, all the things that they had shared together, they were truly friends. And now his friend was lying on a hospital table, inches from death, and why? Because his father had beat him. His father. The very man that gave Jamie life tried to take it away. Tyler didn't know how many times Jamie's dad had beat him, it didn't seem fair. Tyler thought he had it bad, but William had never beat him, William was nice to him. Jamie was the one that had it bad. Tyler couldn't believe what was happening. He rested his head on top of Val's, and tears started to form in his eyes.
"What's going on?"
Tyler looked up, locking eyes with Alex.
Alex cleared his throat. "Hank, I don't really appreciate 'Jamie's in the hospital, come now bye,' That was a little vague. So I'll ask again, what's going on?"
Hank was sitting in a chair, his head in his hands. He raised his head and took a deep breath. "We found Jamie at his house, and brought him in. It's pretty bad. He has a bunch of bruises, contusions, and a shattered knee. But the worst is that, well, he had a punctured lung. He stopped breathing once we got him in the ambulance. They took him up to surgery, we don't know anything, and-" Hank stopped, he couldn't go on.
"Alex, his dad did this to him." Val explained tearfully. "He beat him, and Jamie, he, he, practically died." She started crying again, it was just too much.
Alex gritted his teeth in anger, Kevin Waite was going to feel his wrath. But he had to keep his cool. "Okay you guys, I'm going to go and see if I can find out his progress. Is there anyone you guys should call? Any other relatives that you know of, or friends?"
"No, he hasn't mentioned any relatives," Hank responded.
"But I should probably call Catie," Val added. "She needs to know." She got up and went to the phone. Five minutes later a frantic Catie ran in.
"Val," she said, and ran over to her. The two hugged long and hard, and when they broke off Catie saw the tears in Val's eyes. "How is he?" she asked.
Val bit her lip. "Um, he has a lot of cuts, bruises, and a messed up knee. And, and a punctured lung. He stopped breathing Catie, and they're in surgery right now. Alex went to find out what's going on."
Tears started to roll down Catie's cheeks. "Oh my gosh," she gasped. "Wha-What happened?"
"His dad Catie," Val answered. "He did this."
"You mean, he beats him?"
"I don't know if it's a one time thing, or if he does it all the time," Val shakily replied. "But Jamie looked horrible, and they've been up in surgery for awhile."
Catie couldn't believe it. She sank to a chair, her legs felt like Jello. She cried openly, she couldn't take it all in. Jamie's father? It was something you'd only hear on TV. She was shaking, and her tears turned into sobs, and they didn't stop until Alex came back. Val had sat down next to her, and they both rose at the sight of Alex. Behind him was a young man in surgery scrubs. He looked very tired, and Catie searched his face for any sign of emotion at all. There was none.
"You guys, this is Doctor Travis. He operated on Jamie, and he'll explain his condition."
All the eyes in the small waiting room were focused on Dr. Travis as he cleared his throat and began to speak......................
Dun dun DUN!!! I know I know, another terrible cliffhanger. But c'mon you know the drill. Review the story, get another part. Is it that hard? Thanks for all you who have reviewed, but I know there are more people than 13 reading Trouble at Home. Heck, you could tell me the Story sucks and that I'm the worst writer in the world, but just review, pulleeeeaaaassseee????? Okay, I'll try to get the next part out soon, if I get reviews.