The next morning Amber woke me up. I hadn't slept well but finally as I'd fallen asleep deeply she'd just had to wake me, didn't she? Pshh.
"Kane let's go to the hospital. Get up," she said. I opened my eyes to see her already dressed, her hair wet obviously from showering. With two hands she was putting on an earring as she looked down at me. "Let's go, c'mon."
Groggily I sat up and looked at the alarm clock. It was already ten…we were normally traveling or working out by ten, but I guess this wasn't time for that. "Where's Jake and Claudette?" I asked her, yawning. I got up and stretched, seeing that she wasn't in the mood to hug. I walked past her into the bathroom so that I could brush my teeth and all that stuff.
"They're with Dave."
Ah, David. I'd seemingly forgotten all of our moments together, and the night earlier he'd really saved Scott's life. I reminded myself to do something for him, though nothing would equal what he did for us. I brushed my teeth and combed my hair before walking back into the room to dress. I knew by the way Amber was acting that I had no time to shower. I pulled out clean clothes and dressed. She was standing walking here and there around the room, straightening things.
"You know…that's what the maids are for," I said to her.
"I know, Kane, I know," she sighed wearily. "I'm just anxious, okay. C'mon we gotta go to the hospital."
She and I walked down to the car and uh…drove to the hospital. Anything more to it than that? There were few words spoken the whole time and that's where we went. When we neared Scott's room we heard yelling and a metallic clatter. A nurse stood in the doorway. I saw her duck and a bedpan flew over her head and hit the wall on the other side of the corridor. My jaw dropped and I stifled a laugh to have Amber punch me on the arm. We rushed over there to see Scott out of bed, IV's attached to his arms, bandaged wrists, the little wheely thing that held the IV's standing beside him. He wore a hospital robe and the little paper slippers. I tried hard not to laugh, again reminded that Amber wasn't in a good mood and didn't think it was funny. Saphrin was nowhere to be seen and Scott was unleashing strings of curses at the nurse. When he saw us he gave a crooked, exhausted smile, and his eyes sparkled. Almost deranged really.
"Oh…hey Kane! Hi Amber!!" he seemed very happy. The nurse's face twisted into a frown.
"Where's Saph?" I asked him.
"Why don't you ask this bitch that question!?!" he pointed angrily to the nurse.
Amber looked a little shocked but I wasn't surprised enough not to ask. "Where is Saphrin?" I asked her.
She looked down at the floor as if the situation was demoralizing to her. "Ms. Pyrmet was asked to leave."
"Why?"
"Yeah! Why don't you tell Kane why!" Scott raved from the room.
"Visitors, unless immediate family, are first of all not permitted at certain hours, but are expected to be orderly."
"And what did they do disorderly?" I asked her. I think my size intimidated her.
Her voice quieted," Uhm…oral…oral-"
"What?" Scott screamed. "Oral SEX???"
The nurse blushed.
"What the hell do you care, lady?" he yelled. "It's my dick! Not yours! What the hell does it matter?!? You wouldn't have even known if you hadn't just walked in like that, anyway!" he tugged at the IV's. "Ack! Get these outta me!"
I couldn't help it. I burst into laughter. Amber looked at my disapprovingly and took the nurse by her arm, leading her away from the room. I walked in and sat on his empty bed. I couldn't stop laughing.
"Did you see Saph on the way in?" he asked me, and sat down beside me.
"No…"
He grumbled something about Polynesian acrobats or something…if I heard him correctly. He ran a hand over his hair. "That fukkin' wench nurse. Ugh! What nerve!"
I laughed. I was convinced. He was Scott no longer, but once again Raven. I patted him on the shoulder. "So how long are you gonna stay here?"
He laughed sensibly now, not in his raging way as he had before. "Ha. Well after what that fukkin' slut of a nurse went through with us I'll probably be here for…oh, say twenty five years?" We both laughed softly. I was happy that he was being himself. "No seriously though, I think they want me to stay for observation or some shit. But maybe I could work something out and have bazillionaire Vince help me out with that."
"But…" I felt a bit of sadness coming over me, same as the guilt I'd felt the night before when I'd found him up there. "You okay?"
Raven quieted now, too. "Yeah…you know it's…" he rubbed the back of his head, the way Brad Pitt's character did so in the movie Seven. "I'm not usually like this…but it was just that one thing. I snapped, you know? I mean…" I saw tears rising in his eyes. "Saphrin is everything to me. I love her. You have the same thing with Amber. And you know, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but with your scars and stuff I imagine that you must've felt the same way, or worse than I did. You know that hopelessness, when you just know that you're destined to be alone? Well I met Saph and I have something. It's so concrete, so strong. So right."
I nodded my head. He went on and actually began to cry. "If I lose her I'm nothing. And last night I thought I'd lost her. I'd rather have died last night than lived years without knowing her." I felt myself smile. I'd said similar words to Amber once.
"Yes…I know how you feel?"
"Do you?" he wiped his eyes on the back of one of his hands. I nodded.
"Yes I do. And you're right. I'd die if I didn't have Amber."