Chapter 9

Once again, she was brought to County.

Carter was coming back from Doc Magoo's. He was carrying the half of a hamburger that he hadn't gotten to finish on his fifteen minute break.

He entered the ER and immediately knew something was wrong. "What happened?" he asked Lily, who was standing at the admit desk.

"It's Abby," Lily said, and his heart dropped. "Luka brought her in. She fell down a flight of stairs."

Carter didn't need Lily to tell him where Abby was; he could see the crowd of people gathered around the doors of Trauma 2. He was furious to see that Luka was among the crowd.

"Was is he doing he?" he asked angrily.

"I brought Abby in. We were getting on the El and she fell down the stairs." Luka sounded almost apologetic.

"I'm sure she did. And by any chance, was the cause of this fall two hands applied to her back?" He turned away from Luka. "Somebody call the police." When no one responded fast enough for him, he said, "That's okay; I'll call them." And he stormed off in the direction of the phone.

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Luka had tried to stop the bleeding. He had called an ambulance. He had done everything he could.

The ambulance workers were friendly, sympathetic. He knew they were the last friendly faces he would see in a long time.

He tried to get them to take her to Mercy, but they wouldn't. Mercy is too far away, and we're only a couple of minutes from County, they explained to him. He hadn't told him that he was a doctor at County; then they would have wondered why he was so reluctant to go there.

When he got there, Malucci and Chuny were waiting for the ambulance. He saw their faces change from casual interest to distrust when they saw who emerged from the ambulance, then to downright hostility when he told them what had happened. They told him to leave, but he came back as soon as they got her in the trauma room.

Slowly, the news spread around the ER. Everyone who wasn't working on a patient came to the doors of Trauma 2, and they all looked like they thought he had no right to be there.

There was an invisible wall around him, like he had a disease. All the other people stood on the left side of the doors, while he stood on the right. They didn't want him here. Abby was their friend, and he was not. It was as simple as that.

I'm so sorry, Abby, he thought to himself, and almost said it aloud. But if he had, he would have looked really guilty; what did he have to apologize for?

I'm sorry this happened. I'm sorry you got hurt again. I'm sorry I was in too much of a hurry to help you. I'm sorry I let you down.

"What is he doing here?"

Carter's words exemplified what everyone was feeling. He didn't belong here; no one wanted him here.

"I brought Abby in. We were getting on the El and she fell down the stairs." He knew that none of them believed him. They all thought he had done this to Abby. How could they think I would do something like this? he asked himself.

"I'm sure she did. And by any chance, was the cause of this fall two hands applied to her back?"

Luka could tell that they all agreed with Carter. They all thought he was an out of control abuser. There was nothing he could say to change that.

"Somebody call the police." Carter paused for a moment, then said, "That's okay; I'll call them."

As Carter walked off, they all turned to look at him. It was obvious what they were all thinking. They all hated him, and they didn't want him anywhere near Abby.

He wanted to see if Abby was okay, but in a few minutes the police would probably be here, ready to haul him back to jail. He would just have to call back later. He could feel their hostile glares on his back as he walked away.

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"He needs to go."

He can't keep hurting her like this."

"Someone has to do something."

"What if she doesn't make it?"

The voices of all the people gathered in Abby's room blended to make a quiet murmuring, and one voice could barely be distinguished from the next. But one thing was clear: they were all against Luka.

"I never would have thought he was like that."

"We can let him do this again."

"He could have killed her."

"What if he did?"

They all felt guilty, like they had somehow let their friend down by not protecting her from Evil Luka. There was no doubt in any of their minds now; he was guilty.

"They'll probably arrest him."

"What if they don't?"

"There's no proof."

"But we know he did it."

They had to do something. Luka couldn't go free after he had committed this horrible crime.

"What if there was an eyewitness?"

"But there wasn't."

"There could be."

They all turned to look at Carter, shocked by his words. "What do you mean?" Haleh asked, but they all knew what he meant.

"Abby is in a coma. She might never wake up, and it's all because of him. We can't let him go free after this."

Haleh's eyebrows rose. "What do you propose we do?" she asked.

Carter turned his attention to three of the people in the room. "The first tip the cops got was anonymous. Maybe another anonymous tip will be enough to make them arrest him."

Now they were all looking at him like he was crazy. Chuny was the first to speak. "Carter, you could lose your license for that. You could go to jail."

Carter nodded. The expression on his face was serious. "I'm not suggesting anything crazy. If Abby wakes up; fine, she can tell the cops herself. But if she doesn't...then someone has to defend her. We've let Luka hurt her for long enough. Are you guys with me on this?" He stared at them.

As Abby's heart monitor beeped, they all turned to look at Carter, and slowly, one at a time, each of them nodded their heads.