“No, he’s fine, but he needs to calm down.”
“Calm down?” Jack yelled. “Mara, they’re hurting you. If you won’t stick up for yourself, I will.”
The second nurse waved her hands. “What’s the problem?” She pointed in Jack’s face. “No yelling.”
“Her legs are sore where she used the Epi and her wrist has a rash from the bracelet. I was justasking?—”
“Not asking,” I sighed. “Demanding.”
“—that you remove her bracelet so her rash will go away.”
The nurses exchanged a look.
“Sir, you need to leave.”
Jack’s eyes took on a rage I’d never seen before. “I need to leave? I don’t fucking think so!”
TWENTY-FOUR
JACK
NOVEMBER
Red.Everywhere.
Ringing in my ears. Feeling very far away from the scene before me, like I was outside myself. Panic. Rage. Nausea. Fury.
They were hurting Mara, and someone had to pay. There were two women nurses and one big guy, so I went for him. I had the sense enough not to fight a woman, and though I’m small, I’m feisty. I could take the big guy.
My hands gripped his shoulders, his locked onto mine, and we grappled. I poured every ounce of my core strength into trying to force him to the floor. In the background, I faintly registered Mara shouting, and out of the corner of my eye, I noticed another nurse looking ready to step in and take me down too.
Then Mara’s voice cut through more clearly, “Jack, please!”
My rage bubble popped, and I stopped fighting the guy. Now with the upper hand, he pinned me to the wall.
“You done?” he demanded in my face.
I looked over his shoulder to Mara’s worried, puffy face. “Mara.”
“Please let him go,” she whimpered, and the man released his grip on my shoulders.
“You can’t act like that here,” he said. He went on, something about grief and difficult time, but I just wrenched past him to sit on Mara’s bed.
I took her hand and looked deep into her eyes.
“He has to leave,” her nurse insisted.
“Please, I just need a few minutes with him,” Mara said.
Her nurse said something about the ice packs and bracelet, and then the room cleared out. I chewed on my bottom lip, not sure what to say for myself. I was embarrassed. Mara was the one in trouble, and she was comforting me. “I’m okay, Jack. They’re taking good care of me.”
My jaw was almost chattering, coming down from the adrenaline. “I don’t like seeing you like this.”
Mara gave me a sympathetic smile and squeezed my hand. “It’s how I look right now.” She examined me, and I feared what she’d see. “You’re shaking.”
She looked better than she had when she almost passed out on me, but she was still obviously not well. I was shaken up by all of it, and all I wanted was for her to be okay. “You scared me yesterday. Hearing you struggle to breathe . . .”
Mara’s eyes cast down. “I’m lucky you showed up when you did.”
