She typed slowly, maddeningly slowly. “ER. Wing B. Talk to the charge nurse at the end of the hall.”
I walked. The hallway stretched like a tunnel in a bad dream. People stared—the desperate, pregnant wife waddling toward disaster.
At the Wing B desk, an older nurse with a stern face looked up.
“Laura Thompson?”
“Yes.”
“He’s stable. Fractured left arm, some abrasions, but conscious. The doctor will be with you shortly.”
Relief washed over me, so intense my knees buckled. Alive. Conscious. I grabbed the counter to stay upright.
“And the… the other person?” I asked. “The one with him?”
The nurse’s expression shifted. A flicker of pity? Or maybe judgment.
“His passenger is in the bed next to him. Minor injuries.”
Passenger. The word felt intimate. Too intimate.
She handed me a clipboard. “I need you to sign these admission forms.”
I took the pen, but my eyes were drawn to the top of the page, where a harried staff member had scribbled the details.
Patient: Michael Thompson, Bed 14.
Passenger: Jessica Ramirez.