Chapter 2
He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me close to him, so I couldn't turn around. He smelled like sweat and stale beer, and I thought I was going to be sick.
"Gimme your money, lady," he growled into my ear.
"I-I have five dollars in my pocket, but that's all I have," I stammered, my heart threatening to pound out of my chest.
"Yeah, right. Look, you wanna live, hand over the money." I saw something shiny in his hand, and gulped when I realized what it was. A knife.
"I swear, I don't have anything. I was just going to the store and I just grabbed five dollars, I swear." I babbled, saying whatever popped into my head. I didn't want to die. I was terrified that I would never see John again, that the last person I would see would be this mugger.
"What DO you have?" he said, and I could tell he was getting mad. I wished I had something to give him, something that would appease his anger and possibly spare my life.
"I don't- I don't have anything, I was in bed and I just-"
"SHUT UP!" he yelled, throwing me to the ground. I couldn't keep myself from screaming as his foot slammed into my ribs.
"I can't believe this. I picked the one that doesn't have no money," he said angrily, and he kicked me again.
"You got any money now?" he yelled, sure I was holding something back.
"No! I don't have anything-" another kick rolled me onto my back. I moaned in pain as I felt blood oozing over my stomach.
"Well, let's see what you DO have," he said, with an evil glint in his eyes.
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"Carter, can you take this guy? Low fever, complains of chest pain-"
"I am OFF," I said, interrupting Weaver's monologue. "I think Chen's still here; get her to take it."
"Nobody wants to work around this place," Weaver grumbled as the paramedics wheeled the patient by me.
Walking into the lounge, I whistled as I stuck my stethoscope into my locker. I couldn't wait to get home to Abby. After a 14 hour shift, I just want to crawl into bed, preferably not alone.
I made it to Abby's apartment in record time. Sticking my key in the door, I tiptoed into the apartment. "Abby?" I whispered, not wanting to wake her if she was sleeping. "Abby?"
I walked into the bedroom. The sheets were messed up, like she had just gotten out of bed. Maybe she's in the bathroom, I thought. But she was not.
I stood in the middle of the room, puzzled. Where could she be?
Just then, my beeper went off. I knew who it was, but I looked at it anyway. Sure enough, it was the ER. "Oh, give me a break, I just got off!" I said, exasperated. But it said 911, so I knew it must be an emergency. I called the ER.
"Hellowho'sthis?" said a harried voice.
"This is Doctor Carter," I responded.
"It's Doctor Carter," the voice said. I heard the sound of the phone switching hands, then, "Carter? It's Kerry. I know you just left, but we just got slammed. Two traumas, with four on the way, and only three doctors. I normally wouldn't call right after a shift like this but..."
With a sigh, I said, "I'm on my way." As I walked out the door, I wondered if maybe Abby had been summoned to the hospital too, and that's where she was.
___________________________________________________________________________
Abby moaned and rolled over onto her side. Where am I, she wondered. The sharp pain shooting up her side brought back to her memory the man kicking her in the stomach, then punching her...and finally running off when he heard a siren. She had passed out, and now, she was laying in the middle of the alley he had dragged her into.
The sun was up, but Abby didn't know what time it was. The man had taken her watch. Her shirt was soaked with blood. She shifted her body to try to get up, and pain shot through her. He had kicked her in the stomach so many times, she probably didn't have an unbroken rib left in her body.
As Abby finally stood to her feet, tears came to her eyes. Even breathing hurt so badly that she would have stopped if she could. She staggered to the end of the alley, and felt so dizzy she thought she would collapse.
Her apartment was only a block away, but it seemed more like a mile. Finally, she got to the familiar stairs. When she got into the apartment, she locked the door and put the chain on.
Abby crumpled onto the sofa, and gave another yell as a flare of pain shot up her side. Now that she was inside, she dared to look at her injuries.
It was worse than she thought it would be. Her entire stomach was covered with bruises, and parts of it were still bleeding. The rest was covered with a crust of dried blood. A tear dripped onto her stomach, and Abby realized that she was crying.
I'm such an idiot, she thought. Why did I have to go out at three in the morning by myself? Was it worth it, to get those eggs for Carter?
A sob escaped Abby's mouth, and she buried her face in the pillow, trying to smother her tears. I guess I should have expected this, she thought. Things were going so well, I guess I was due some misery. I've never had any happiness in my life that wasn't snatched away as soon as I got it. I don't deserve to be happy. I've had so much fun being with Carter, but I should have known something was going to come along eventually to mess everything up. That's the way my life always is.
A stab of pain shot through her ribcage, and Abby gasped aloud. She started to lay down on the sofa, hoping that would ease the pain, but then remembered that she was covered in blood. So she laid down on the floor instead, and waited for the pain to subside.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Time of death, 7:31," Carter said, exhausted. He had now been working for more than 16 hours. He was so tired he probably could have slept standing up.
Carter went into the lounge and crashed on the sofa. He was just falling asleep when he heard a voice ask him, "Carter, do you know where Abby is? She's the only one who didn't answer the 911 page."
Carter sat up, now awake. "No, I haven't seen her since last night. I went by her apartment but she wasn't there."
"Well, she better have a pretty good excuse for not showing up," Weaver said, walking out of the lounge to try and hunt down the other errant employees.
I wonder where she is, Carter though, now beginning to get a little worried. She did say she was going to be at home last night, didn't she?
Grabbing the phone in the lounge, he dialed her number. He got her machine. "Hi, Abby, this is John. Just calling to check on you cause I didn't see you last night. Call me as soon as you get this. I love you. Bye," he hung up the phone. Then he went to find Susan. "Susan, did Abby say anything to you about going anywhere last night?" he asked her.
"She said she was going home," Susan remembered. "Why?"
"I went to her apartment and she wasn't there. And Kerry said she's the only one who didn't answer the 911 last night."
Now it was Susan's turn to look worried. "Do you think she's okay?" she asked.
"I don't know. I just called her apartment and she's not there, or she's not answering. I'm gonna go look around, see if I see her anywhere." he left the ER, looking for Abby.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Hi, Abby, this is John. Just calling to check on you cause I didn't see you last night. Call me as soon as you get this. I love you. Bye,"
Abby felt tears come to her eyes when she heard the message, and she couldn't remember the last time she had cried this much in a day.
She had let Carter down. She had been a complete idiot, and as a result had almost gotten herself killed. She couldn't bear the thought of telling him how stupid she had been. She could just imagine him looking at her with disgust, saying, "And you went out by yourself in the dark for EGGS?!?"
She could see how stupid it was now, but last night all she could think of was how nice their breakfast was going to be. So she had gone out onto the streets of Chicago by herself. At three in the morning. She was lucky she hadn't gotten killed.
Abby lay there on the floor wallowing in self-pity until she heard a knock at the door. With a start, she tried to get up from the floor, but the pain was so devastating that she fell back down.
"Abby? Are you there? It's John."
Carter! She couldn't let him see her like this! Suppressing a moan, Abby crawled across the floor army-style, her stomach screaming with pain.
Sure enough, she heard Carter's key in the lock a few seconds later. NO! she thought, trying to crawl faster but failing. Then, she heard a sound like the door catching on something. The chain! She had forgotten that she put it on! Sighing with relief, Abby stopped crawling and rolled onto her back. She would be safe now. Lightly massaging her sore stomach, she lay there quietly and waited for Carter to go away.
"Abby?" Carter said through the two-inch crack in the door. He knew Abby had to be home; how else would the chain get on? But for some reason, she wasn't answering the door. He was about to bang on the door again, when a thought occurred to him. Maybe she was asleep. That would be a good reason for not answering the door. Now that he thought about it, that was the only reason that made sense. He lowered his fist. He could come back in a few hours; she should be awake by then. After re-locking the door, he walked away.
Abby sighed with relief when she heard his retreating footsteps, then asked herself, What am I doing? Why am I hiding from my boyfriend like he's my worst enemy? She thought about it, and realized it was because she didn't want him to know. Telling him would only be proving to him that she was a complete idiot, and she didn't want to do that. There was, really, no purpose in telling him. So Abby made up her mind. She wouldn't tell Carter that she had been mugged. The bruises would go away in a few days, then she could pretend like nothing ever happened.
He grabbed me by my hair and pulled me close to him, so I couldn't turn around. He smelled like sweat and stale beer, and I thought I was going to be sick.
"Gimme your money, lady," he growled into my ear.
"I-I have five dollars in my pocket, but that's all I have," I stammered, my heart threatening to pound out of my chest.
"Yeah, right. Look, you wanna live, hand over the money." I saw something shiny in his hand, and gulped when I realized what it was. A knife.
"I swear, I don't have anything. I was just going to the store and I just grabbed five dollars, I swear." I babbled, saying whatever popped into my head. I didn't want to die. I was terrified that I would never see John again, that the last person I would see would be this mugger.
"What DO you have?" he said, and I could tell he was getting mad. I wished I had something to give him, something that would appease his anger and possibly spare my life.
"I don't- I don't have anything, I was in bed and I just-"
"SHUT UP!" he yelled, throwing me to the ground. I couldn't keep myself from screaming as his foot slammed into my ribs.
"I can't believe this. I picked the one that doesn't have no money," he said angrily, and he kicked me again.
"You got any money now?" he yelled, sure I was holding something back.
"No! I don't have anything-" another kick rolled me onto my back. I moaned in pain as I felt blood oozing over my stomach.
"Well, let's see what you DO have," he said, with an evil glint in his eyes.
______________________________________________________________________________
"Carter, can you take this guy? Low fever, complains of chest pain-"
"I am OFF," I said, interrupting Weaver's monologue. "I think Chen's still here; get her to take it."
"Nobody wants to work around this place," Weaver grumbled as the paramedics wheeled the patient by me.
Walking into the lounge, I whistled as I stuck my stethoscope into my locker. I couldn't wait to get home to Abby. After a 14 hour shift, I just want to crawl into bed, preferably not alone.
I made it to Abby's apartment in record time. Sticking my key in the door, I tiptoed into the apartment. "Abby?" I whispered, not wanting to wake her if she was sleeping. "Abby?"
I walked into the bedroom. The sheets were messed up, like she had just gotten out of bed. Maybe she's in the bathroom, I thought. But she was not.
I stood in the middle of the room, puzzled. Where could she be?
Just then, my beeper went off. I knew who it was, but I looked at it anyway. Sure enough, it was the ER. "Oh, give me a break, I just got off!" I said, exasperated. But it said 911, so I knew it must be an emergency. I called the ER.
"Hellowho'sthis?" said a harried voice.
"This is Doctor Carter," I responded.
"It's Doctor Carter," the voice said. I heard the sound of the phone switching hands, then, "Carter? It's Kerry. I know you just left, but we just got slammed. Two traumas, with four on the way, and only three doctors. I normally wouldn't call right after a shift like this but..."
With a sigh, I said, "I'm on my way." As I walked out the door, I wondered if maybe Abby had been summoned to the hospital too, and that's where she was.
___________________________________________________________________________
Abby moaned and rolled over onto her side. Where am I, she wondered. The sharp pain shooting up her side brought back to her memory the man kicking her in the stomach, then punching her...and finally running off when he heard a siren. She had passed out, and now, she was laying in the middle of the alley he had dragged her into.
The sun was up, but Abby didn't know what time it was. The man had taken her watch. Her shirt was soaked with blood. She shifted her body to try to get up, and pain shot through her. He had kicked her in the stomach so many times, she probably didn't have an unbroken rib left in her body.
As Abby finally stood to her feet, tears came to her eyes. Even breathing hurt so badly that she would have stopped if she could. She staggered to the end of the alley, and felt so dizzy she thought she would collapse.
Her apartment was only a block away, but it seemed more like a mile. Finally, she got to the familiar stairs. When she got into the apartment, she locked the door and put the chain on.
Abby crumpled onto the sofa, and gave another yell as a flare of pain shot up her side. Now that she was inside, she dared to look at her injuries.
It was worse than she thought it would be. Her entire stomach was covered with bruises, and parts of it were still bleeding. The rest was covered with a crust of dried blood. A tear dripped onto her stomach, and Abby realized that she was crying.
I'm such an idiot, she thought. Why did I have to go out at three in the morning by myself? Was it worth it, to get those eggs for Carter?
A sob escaped Abby's mouth, and she buried her face in the pillow, trying to smother her tears. I guess I should have expected this, she thought. Things were going so well, I guess I was due some misery. I've never had any happiness in my life that wasn't snatched away as soon as I got it. I don't deserve to be happy. I've had so much fun being with Carter, but I should have known something was going to come along eventually to mess everything up. That's the way my life always is.
A stab of pain shot through her ribcage, and Abby gasped aloud. She started to lay down on the sofa, hoping that would ease the pain, but then remembered that she was covered in blood. So she laid down on the floor instead, and waited for the pain to subside.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Time of death, 7:31," Carter said, exhausted. He had now been working for more than 16 hours. He was so tired he probably could have slept standing up.
Carter went into the lounge and crashed on the sofa. He was just falling asleep when he heard a voice ask him, "Carter, do you know where Abby is? She's the only one who didn't answer the 911 page."
Carter sat up, now awake. "No, I haven't seen her since last night. I went by her apartment but she wasn't there."
"Well, she better have a pretty good excuse for not showing up," Weaver said, walking out of the lounge to try and hunt down the other errant employees.
I wonder where she is, Carter though, now beginning to get a little worried. She did say she was going to be at home last night, didn't she?
Grabbing the phone in the lounge, he dialed her number. He got her machine. "Hi, Abby, this is John. Just calling to check on you cause I didn't see you last night. Call me as soon as you get this. I love you. Bye," he hung up the phone. Then he went to find Susan. "Susan, did Abby say anything to you about going anywhere last night?" he asked her.
"She said she was going home," Susan remembered. "Why?"
"I went to her apartment and she wasn't there. And Kerry said she's the only one who didn't answer the 911 last night."
Now it was Susan's turn to look worried. "Do you think she's okay?" she asked.
"I don't know. I just called her apartment and she's not there, or she's not answering. I'm gonna go look around, see if I see her anywhere." he left the ER, looking for Abby.
________________________________________________________________________________
"Hi, Abby, this is John. Just calling to check on you cause I didn't see you last night. Call me as soon as you get this. I love you. Bye,"
Abby felt tears come to her eyes when she heard the message, and she couldn't remember the last time she had cried this much in a day.
She had let Carter down. She had been a complete idiot, and as a result had almost gotten herself killed. She couldn't bear the thought of telling him how stupid she had been. She could just imagine him looking at her with disgust, saying, "And you went out by yourself in the dark for EGGS?!?"
She could see how stupid it was now, but last night all she could think of was how nice their breakfast was going to be. So she had gone out onto the streets of Chicago by herself. At three in the morning. She was lucky she hadn't gotten killed.
Abby lay there on the floor wallowing in self-pity until she heard a knock at the door. With a start, she tried to get up from the floor, but the pain was so devastating that she fell back down.
"Abby? Are you there? It's John."
Carter! She couldn't let him see her like this! Suppressing a moan, Abby crawled across the floor army-style, her stomach screaming with pain.
Sure enough, she heard Carter's key in the lock a few seconds later. NO! she thought, trying to crawl faster but failing. Then, she heard a sound like the door catching on something. The chain! She had forgotten that she put it on! Sighing with relief, Abby stopped crawling and rolled onto her back. She would be safe now. Lightly massaging her sore stomach, she lay there quietly and waited for Carter to go away.
"Abby?" Carter said through the two-inch crack in the door. He knew Abby had to be home; how else would the chain get on? But for some reason, she wasn't answering the door. He was about to bang on the door again, when a thought occurred to him. Maybe she was asleep. That would be a good reason for not answering the door. Now that he thought about it, that was the only reason that made sense. He lowered his fist. He could come back in a few hours; she should be awake by then. After re-locking the door, he walked away.
Abby sighed with relief when she heard his retreating footsteps, then asked herself, What am I doing? Why am I hiding from my boyfriend like he's my worst enemy? She thought about it, and realized it was because she didn't want him to know. Telling him would only be proving to him that she was a complete idiot, and she didn't want to do that. There was, really, no purpose in telling him. So Abby made up her mind. She wouldn't tell Carter that she had been mugged. The bruises would go away in a few days, then she could pretend like nothing ever happened.
