I'm Not Perfect
Epilogue
Arnold slowly opened his eyes. The light was still painful. He stretched his stiff arms to the ceiling, wincing as he remembered the IV in his left forearm, and looked over at the adjacent hospital bed.
He vaguely remembered his grandparents and her parents leaving sometime late last night. His Grandma's hands on his face…
Don't worry, Jefferson, we'll be back soon. We need to return to base and restock our supplies. In the meantime, these Red Cross nurses will take good care of you…
The memory made him smile. If Grandma was acting like herself, then that had to mean everything was going to be okay.
Justin had turned himself in to the police. He confessed that he and Alex had slipped something into Arnold and Helga's drinks. The plan was that he, Justin, was supposed to slip the drug—Justin wasn't sure what it was, but he had guessed something like booze—into their punch while Alex distracted them. Arnold and Helga were supposed to have been a little tipsy, a little silly. Cutting the wires to the gym on the breaker box was supposed to be a joke. Two people, already buzzed, stumbling around in the dark, maybe falling down, maybe saying some stupid things—it was supposed to be funny, and, okay, yeah, maybe he hoped they would get in trouble for coming to a dance drunk.
But that's not what Alex had planned.
The tox screens revealed that the drug Alex had given them was Midazolam. It was a strong, fast-acting sedative. A normal dosage just made you sleepy, a high dosage might make you confused, sick, and paranoid.
Alex had given them a near-lethal dosage. He may have even planned a lethal dosage, but got his measurements wrong. He cut the wires to the gym so that it would take time for everyone to notice how sick Arnold and Helga were, so that there was less of an opportunity for them to get help…
Respiratory distress was one of the most common side effects of Midazolam. With Helga already recovering from her throat injury, the Midazolam stopped her breathing for at least a minute or two before someone started rescuing breathing on her.
But there was no permanent damage. Alex and Justin were both in custody. Along with Alex's previous attack on Helga, there was more than enough evidence to charge him with attempted murder, they had been told. As for Justin…well…since he didn't know exactly what was going on, he could be let off easy.
Maybe.
But Arnold and Helga had gotten help in time. They were going to be okay, both of them…..
He looked over at the next hospital bed.
It was a little strange, actually, that they had been placed in the same hospital room. Apparently, there had also been a giant accident on the highway last night, and space in the hospital was limited. But he was grateful. It was comforting to be near her, to make sure she was okay.
She was sitting up in bed. The TV was on, but she wasn't watching it. She was staring into space, her blonde hair astray, her pink ribbon gone, hospital gown wrinkled.
"Good morning," he said.
"Aiya…" she jumped. "Geez, don't startle me like that!"
"Oh, sorry."
She rolled her eyes, and sighed. "Man, what a night, huh?" she said, indicating the IV in her arm."
"Yeah."
She bit her lip. "So….how are you feeling?"
"Better. Still stiff." He stretched again. "How about you?"
She rolled her eyes again. "I'm so glad Bob and Miriam finally decided to go home to sleep." She pointed at the cot next to her bed. "His snoring was keeping me up all night. Man! I know they wanted to stay near me and all, but sheesh!"
He chuckled. "What time are they coming back?"
"They said eleven. Yours?"
"Uhh…Grandma said she'd bring me breakfast. Honestly…I…think I'd rather eat hospital food."
She smirked.
He shrugged.
Silence.
She looked down, patted her IV, made sure it was still secure.
He twisted the blankets around in his hands. Should I?...
What now, Helga?
Honestly, it was a lot easier to tell her that he loved her when he was drugged.
He thought for a minute. He would have to approach things differently with her now. They would have to do things differently, now, together.
He swung his legs over the side of his bed and stood up. He carefully walked toward her, rolling the IV bag along with him.
She raised her eyebrow as he approached her bed. "What're you-"
"Move over," he said, swinging a leg onto her bed. She did.
He slipped his hand underneath the crisp white sheet and found her hand. He looked into those eyes, those clear-blue eyes that he first saw eleven years ago…
"I love you, Helga G. Pataki," he said. "I've always loved you, ever since I first laid eyes on your beautiful pink bow."
That did it. She gave a soft, shuddery sigh, trembled, and whoosh! promptly fell back onto the pillows.
He smiled, leaned over, and gently touched his lips to hers. Once, twice, again. Softly, so softly…
Yep, that's better.