Chapter 3
"Since ya don't really wanna tell us anyt'ing about ya, I guess we'll do all da talking. We came here a few years ago looking fer somet'ing, didn't know what at da time. Our Ma raised us on her own, says our Da walked out when we were only a few years old. She worked herself to da bone trying ta provide fer us."
"We travelled around fer a bit before we decided ta call Boston home. When we first got here we only had a few dollars ta our name. We'd pick up a paper every couple of days and just go t'rough da jobs section fer anyt'ing we could get our hands on. Fer da most part we'd get somet'ing in construction – roofing, framing, tiling – anyt'ing really, we weren't all dat picky."
"But it'd only last few a couple of days den it was back ta searching da papers. It was good money while it lasted; some jobs would pay us nearly twenty bucks an hour and between da two of us, after an eight or ten hour day it'd add up fast. Of course we were paid in cash and it was all under da table but we'd take what we could get."
"We just happened across Doc and McGinty's one night after we finished a job. We sat down at da bar, ordered a pint, and pulled out da paper. I got up after a few hours ta take a piss and come back ta find Connor talking up a storm with some guy who was pitching a job. Told da guy if he wanted Connor ta work fer him dat he had ta hire me as well."
"Found out his name was McGurk and he was a manager fer a meat packing plant; he just fired a group from da first shift fer operating some sort of crime ring out back where dey park da trucks. Told us if we were serious about looking fer work ta swing by da plant at five da next morning and he'd get us set up."
"Dat was nearly two years ago and t'anks ta McGurk we were able ta settle down in dat flat on da fifth floor. We don't need much, most of da money we make we send back home ta Ma. Like we said, she busted her arse ta provide fer us, it was only right dat we try ta do da same fer her."
Truthfully the walk to the hospital didn't take long but their talking helped to pass the time while I was busy filling out forms and waiting for a nurse to collect me. Every now and then they would try to peak over my shoulder to read the name I had written down on this form or read my birthday that was on another.
It seemed like an eternity before the forms were completed and I was able to pull my ass out of the uncomfortably hard plastic seat they call a chair. Tucking the pen into the clipboard, I walked to the nurse's station and laid the board on the desk; the nurse quickly glanced up from her computer and huffed out an exaggerated sigh as her hand reached out to retrieve the papers.
"Do you have your insurance card?"
"I just started my job; the insurance doesn't kick in until next month. Do you have any kind of assistance program? Those two over there told me they come here all the time and they get help." I asked, nodding to the brothers.
"Here," she started, "read over this, call the 800 number in the morning. Give them your name, when you were here and let them know you need assistance in making payments. Don't let yourself get mixed up with that pair over there; they're nice guys but they're about as rowdy as they come. Unfortunately, due to HIPPA and patient privacy laws I can't tell you about the things we've treated them for but if you ask them yourself I'm sure they'd be more than proud to show you their badges."
"I take it that means they're frequent flyers?"
The nurse scoffed at my question, rolling her eyes, "that's an understatement! Look, I already told you I can't tell you what they've been admitted for but what I can say is that if you value your life, liver, and health you need to stay away from them. Someone will come get you when we have an exam room open."
I returned to my seat mulling over the nurse's warning. They didn't look like bad guys on the surface, sure they had some visible scars but there wasn't anything obvious that sent me into 'red alert' mode. The cold plastic touching the backs of my legs told me I was better off taking my jacket off and laying it across the seat to provide my butt with a little bit of warmth but then the rest of my body would be cold. Braving the hospital grade blast of cold air that filtered down from the ceiling fans, I held my breath and slowly lowered myself into the plastic chair, feeling my back seize up while my teeth began chattering against each other.
"Cold?"
"Nope, wonder what gave you that impression."
"Smart ass; take mine."
"Thanks, sorry what was your name again?"
"Connor."
"Thanks, Connor."
He shucked his coat off and held it out, allowing me to slip my arms through the sleeves to wear it backwards. Admittedly, I wanted to inhale deeply when I pressed the collar of the coat to my nose but my face was as cold as the rest of me and I didn't want to seem like a weirdo in front of him.
"So where'd your brother run off too?"
"Murph? Don't quite know ta be honest. He could be taking a piss or he could be trying ta pick some girl up. You were talking with Miranda fer quite some time."
"The one at the nurse's station?"
"That'd be her; don't let her intimidate ya, she tries ta tell everyone we meet ta stay away from us but she's just mad dat we won't ask her out. She's got herself a crush on ole Murph and an even bigger one on me."
"Getting a little smug there, aren't you? Would it be wrong of me to ask why neither of you will take her out?"
"She saw us in our britches a little over a year ago and has been chasing after us ever since. She's not really interested in us as people, only interested in what's below da belt." Murphy answered, hands stuffed in his pockets.
"Where da fuck you'd go?"
"Doesn't matter."
"Did seeing Miranda send you running for the hills?" I teased as I continued to wait for someone to come and collect me.
"Not quite."
A small giggle echoed through the empty white-walled waiting room, seconds later a leggy blonde came walking through one of the various hallways, giving a wink to the brother who remained standing. A crooked grin worked its way across his features as the tips of his ears began turning from pink to red. Her walk was a little wobbly and her lipstick was smudged just a bit but I failed to see a single hair on her head out of place. She disappeared through another corridor; a sign above indicated there was an exit in that direction.
"Really Murph? In a fucking hospital?!"
"Connor, leave him be. If she's staff at least she's in the right place to get herself tested."
"Ya saying I'm diseased?"
"Not saying that at all, just saying that if you knocked her up she's in the right place for a pregnancy test. The old pull out method isn't always a guarantee."
"Is that from experience?" Murphy snickered, flopping down unceremoniously into the seat next to me.
"Someone who I thought was my friend back in high school was seeing some guy that was two years older than her and she lost her virginity to him. She came up to me during lunch one day and said that she missed her period; I invited her over to my house that night since it was a Friday and told her she could take the test if she didn't want to do it at home. I'm sure you can imagine a 15 year old girl being scared to have that particular talk with her mom. Anyway, she came over and brought her test with her, peed on the stick, waited, and it turned blue. She cried the entire night knowing she'd have to tell her parents and the guy. Naturally her parents didn't take it too well; when Monday came and she told him…it was not a good morning. I heard him screaming clear across the hall that he pulled out and that she must've been screwing around with someone else. Last I heard, she's got a six year old little boy and he's getting his wages garnished for child support."
"Does she know fer a fact-"
"From what I heard they both demanded a DNA test when the baby was born; it must've come back showing he was the father otherwise she wouldn't have a court order for child support."
"Why do ya say dat she was supposed ta be yer friend? Somet'ing happen?"
"Fucking bitch turned her back on me when I needed her help; she was pregnant at the time but I mean if I gave you my shoulder cry on when that test came back positive the least she could've done was let me cry on her shoulder when I needed to, ya know? It must be nice though being twins, you'll never have that problem; you'll always have your brother when you need him."
The waiting game for an empty exam room had my patience growing thinner as the minutes dragged on. Thirty minutes turned into an hour, an hour turned into two, two turned into two hours and fifty-six minutes before I was finally called back.
"Want us ta go with ya?"
"I'll be fine, besides this shouldn't take too long. Maybe you can go find that cute little blonde again and double team her." I suggested, giving Connor his coat back and following another nurse into the back.
"Sorry for your wait, normally we're not this busy on a Friday night but there have been a lot of stupid people doing stupid stuff."
"I get it; HIPPA says you can't talk about it."
"We're going around the corner here into room four," she started as we walked through the halls, "so what happened? I see you came in with Connor and Murphy-"
"I got stabbed earlier while I was on a walk; I've already called the police but the jackass that answered the phone said just about everyone was responding to some kind of shooting. I think he said it was a homicide. Hopefully someone will call me back either tomorrow or Monday."
"Thank you for getting ahold of the police yourself, it'll be one less call we'll have to make and a hell of a lot less waiting for you."
"So I'll get to go home at a somewhat reasonable hour? I'm sure that'll make those two out there happy."
"Not to sound rude or anything, but why are those two with you? Normally they show up sporting fat lips and black eyes."
"They offered to walk me down because the urgent care was closed. I shouldn't say 'they' rather Murphy offered and he volunteered his brother. I'm glad it was both of them though; they've really helped keep my mind off what's going on with my arm."
"Well, before we stitch it up we'll need to take some x-rays and some scans just make sure nothing is seriously damaged. I'm just a nurse but I don't think there's anything severed like an artery otherwise you'd be bleeding out all over the place and you would've been rushed in as soon as you walked through those doors."
"Can we skip the formalities and just start with the stitches? My insurance doesn't kick in until next month and I have to call patient services to try and get some help making payments."
"I wish we could sweetie but I don't think you want to make another trip here when you do have insurance to get it fixed a second time."
Knowing she was right, I allowed her to finish taking my vitals and escort me to the x-ray room then to get an MRI. Unfortunately for the nurse she had to have the technicians stop the MRI machine several times due to my claustrophobia. Reluctantly, I agreed to let her bring one of the twins back to hold my hand in a vain attempt to help me keep calm. As the nurse returned I heard her voice talking in a hushed tone and one of the boys stifling a laugh.
I swear, if one of those assholes is laughing at me, I'll cut him.
"Murphy, be serious for a change, okay? She's been doing fine until now but as soon as she starts hearing the beeps and clicks from the machine she starts freaking out. I've seen grown men and women wet themselves in this machine and if you holding her hand makes the difference I'm sure she'll be eternally grateful. For some people putting a towel over their eyes helps tremendously and for others they need something physical to remind them that they're going to be alright. Just do this one thing for me and I'll get Miranda off your case."
"I honestly wasn't laughing at her but if ya could get Miranda off da both of us we'd be forever grateful to ya. What'd ya have in mind?"
"I'll just tell her you both got syphilis from some random chick you both hooked up with. It got Al Capone out of Alcatraz, you know."
"C'mon Sandra, dat's just plain mean."
"Then you can deal with Miranda on your own." The door to the imaging room opened, allowing another blast of cold air to enter the room and sending me into another back seizing shiver. "Sweetie, I got Murphy here, okay? He's just going to be sitting outside the machine holding your hand, okay? Do you need anything before we start?"
"A blanket if you can spare one? It's freezing in here."
Even with a towel covering my eyes I could feel the nurse, now named Sandra, nod. The sound of a cabinet door opening and closing coupled with the feeling of something warm being draped over my legs brought a small bit of comfort that for the moment I was no longer as cold as I was. The legs of a chair scratched the tiled floors and soon a hand was holding mine, bring about the biggest sense of relief that I had felt since this whole night began to unravel. Once the door clicked shut the beeps and thumps began again; my heart started racing and I could feel the tears threatening to spill outward.
"C'mon lass, don't cry it's only a machine. I promise, you're not gonna get stuck and you're definitely not gonna die."
His words did just the opposite of what he intended and I couldn't help but to cry as the grip I had on his hand tightened. A voice over the PA system could be faintly heard through the beeps and just as quickly as the procedure started, it stopped. The door flung open, hitting the wall hard enough it had me jumping. Seconds seemed like hours as the table slid along the track, coming out of the machine.
"Murphy, go wait with Connor back in the waiting room. C'mon sweetie, let's get you back to your room and we'll get you stitched up."
As we retreated back to the exam room, Sandra apologized profusely for the trauma I had endured while in the machine and her regret for bringing Murphy back instead of Connor. She had thought that Murphy would be a more calming presence but it was obvious that he stuck his foot in his mouth when he opened it. Sandra tried to ask what it was that he said but I refused to answer. Once we were back in the exam room, Sandra picked through the drawers for a tray, needle, and sutures; laying the items out for the doctor whenever he or she decided to show up.
It was another half hour before someone came back into the room.
"MOTHERFUCKER!" I exclaimed nearly flying off the exam room table and through the ceiling as the doctor attempted to place the first stitch.
Apparently my attacker had done a bit more damage than anticipated and, according to the x-rays (and the doctor) I would temporarily lose the use of my left arm for a couple of weeks. It turns out that the blade had worked its way through some muscle and started tearing through some tendons.
"Ma'am, before I attempt to put another stitch in, I'm going to have the nurse come in and give you a local anesthetic. We'll let that kick in and then I'll be back to finish up." I had opted to get the stitches done without any type of numbing agent in the vain hope that the adrenaline that picked back up upon our arrival would be enough to get me through.
How wrong I was.
With that, the doctor disappeared behind the curtain and was replaced by Sandra, who was making notes all over my chart. God forbid they forget to charge me for something they used to fix my shoulder.
"Guess you're still having a tough time after what happened in the MRI machine? Not that it's any of my business but did you have anything to drink before you came here? You seem to be bleeding a bit more than normal."
"I had a shot of whiskey before I came here hoping it would give me nerves of steel. I know, alcohol thins the blood; my guy refused to tattoo me if I had even a drop left in me from the night before because he didn't want me to bleed out. Does this mean it might take more anesthesia before the doctor can finish?"
"Maybe, everyone is different. I'll start with a normal dosage and we can adjust it if needed. Do you want me to bring you a book or something until it kicks in?"
"No thank you, if you could though get tweedle-dee and tweedle-dumb I'd appreciate it. I may need their help walking out of here depending on how much you give me."
"Are you sure? I mean after what Murphy said to you in the imaging room I wouldn't trust him to make me feel better."
"I'm sure, besides I'm sure he's had plenty of time to think of an appropriate apology and I'm sure Connor's chewed his ass out in the meantime."
"As long as you're sure, I'll go get them."
Sandra took out an alcohol laced pad and swiped it along the crook of my arm; using an elastic strap she tied the flow of blood off and waited a minute for a good vein to make its appearance. As she waited, she retrieved another alcohol pad, a needle, and a vile containing the local. Using her middle finger, Sandra prodded my arm until she found the vein she was looking for. Quickly, she tore the packaging of the second alcohol pad and swiped it along my arm. I couldn't stop myself from holding my breath as the needle was jammed into my arm and the elastic was released.
"I'm sorry sweetheart, I know you're hurting and I'm not doing much to make it better, am I?"
"It's not your fault; I just have a bit of a weak stomach and an even weaker nerve. My mom used to be a nurse and she would sometimes have patients like me. I remember when I had to take her to get a CT scan done a few years ago she asked if I could stay in the room with her and hold her hand until it was over; she was claustrophobic too. I also remember that whenever I had to have surgery she would hold my hand when the nurses would start prepping me for the IV. The nurses would try to tell me to breathe instead of holding my breath but I couldn't help it.
"The first major surgery I can remember, they tried to start an IV and ended up trying to go through my wrist on the first attempt; the nurse blew that vein then she blew the one in my right arm on the second attempt." A shudder moved throughout as I recalled the sensation those blown veins brought.
"I promise, I'm going to do everything I can to make you comfortable. You know, a lot of nurses aren't like your mom and I; they don't try to make their patients comfortable anymore. I guess we're kind of a rare breed these days, huh? I'll just let that anesthetic start working and by the time I get back with the boys we should be good to start stitching you up."
The only evidence that I had even been stuck was the tiny blood droplets that rose to the surface.
Minutes later, Sandra returned to the room with the boys in tow. Connor was shoving Murphy's shoulder, giving him grief no doubt about his closet room hook-up a few hours ago. However they fell silent when they entered the room. I knew I looked like a mess – face tear-stained from the prolonged battle with claustrophobia, blood flowing from both my shoulder and arm.
Hell, I'd bet money that I looked pretty fucking pitiful.
But it really didn't matter how I looked, all I cared about was getting this visit done and over with so that I could go home and lock myself away for the remainder of the weekend until Monday forced me out of bed and back into the world.
"She's all good to go boys, just make sure she keeps that arm in the sling for the next couple of weeks and no heavy lifting; nothing over 10 pounds. It's good to see both of you with fresh faces as opposed to the bleeding, bruised messes I'm used to dealing with just about every weekend."
Connor chuckled a bit at the doctor's attempt at humor, slapping his brother on the back with enough force to knock him off balance and pitched him forward slightly. "Well, ya know Michael no week is complete fer us till we make a trip here ta see you and our favorite Nurse Sandra."
With my discharge papers in hand I hopped off the exam table and made a beeline for the door, completely disregarding anything anyone tried to tell me about putting my jacket on. I should've heeded their warnings because it was burr fucking cold out! A growl of frustration escaped as I shoved my arms through the sleeves despite what the good doctor ordered.
"You coming or not? I would like to go home before I freeze my tits off out here."
"Someone's a bit cranky."
I said nothing as the twins exited the hospital knowing that I would more than likely say something I'd regret. Afterall, they did help me get down here in one piece and it wouldn't be right to rip their heads off because I was having a bad night.
The walk home was blessedly quiet; I had locked myself away inside my head to mull over the day's events trying to figure out a way to prevent myself from falling into the same pit fall again. I had managed to walk so far ahead of the boys that Murphy was practically running to catch onto my right arm, jostling me out of my thoughts.
"Didn't ya hear anything we were just saying to ya?" he was panting a little bit and that was when the smell of cigarette smoke hit my nose as it danced along the night breeze. I blinked a little bit, not sure if it was out annoyance or shear tiredness. "Connor and I were gonna stop by da bar fer a few pints; d'ya want ta join us?"
"Not tonight, I just want to go home."
Murphy nodded in understanding, calling out to his brother to hurry his ass up. We made it to the building about 10 minutes later and after seeing me safely to my front door, Connor tried asking again if I'd want a drink with them. I refused once more then proceeded to unlock the door. With the door was securely closed behind me I slipped my shoes off and headed straight to bed.