I groaned, my stomach cramping and managed to riddle out my student number to her.
“Well, let’s try Dad and if he doesn’t answer we’ve got…oh, your brother.”
“He’s dead.” I muttered, clenching my hand over my stomach that was buzzing with nausea. I think the nurse might have thought I was being sarcastic, but Enoch nodded his head in confirmation. The other student coughed awkwardly.
“I can’t just leave?”
“Sorry, no. You’re our responsibility until school ends. It’s school policy. Even the 18-year-olds can’t sign themselves out,” she explained.
I took another deep breath, the feeling of nausea becoming unbearable. “Fuck,” I growled to myself mostly, before spewing into the trashcan on the side of her desk.
There wasn’t anything but bile left in my stomach, and it burned my throat, leaving a bitter taste in my mouth when I was finished. I relaxed my shoulders as Enoch held my hair and rubbed circles on my back. I sat back on my butt, leaning my head against the desk as I wiped the involuntary tears from my eyes.
“This fucking sucks,” I pouted.
“So, no one else can pick her up?” Enoch asked, pleadingly.
“I mean, unless it’s in an ambulance or police car, she’s the school’s responsibility. She can stay here until the end of the day, or until a parent can pick her up,” the nurse said.
“You said police, right?”
If I had the energy, I would’ve slapped some sense into Enoch for trying to get me arrested.
“Well yes, but I can’t just call the police to escort her home,” she said.
Enoch stood from his crouched position and pulled out his phone from his pocket. I was about to protest but he told me to trust him. I shook my head and returned to focusing on not vomiting again.
“Hey, can you pick up Shiloh? No, I’ll just text you…okay, bye.”
After several moments of silence, Enoch kneeled beside me and squeezed my hand.
“Officer Reznikovsky is coming to pick you up,” he said like it was some kind of scheme. “He’ll be here in about fifteen minutes.”
I raised my brows, looking up at him despite my burning eyes, “The fuck are you talking about?”
He came close enough so that he could whisper into my ear.
“My dad.”
I shook my head because as far as I knew his dad didn’t actually work at the police station.
“But I thought your dad wasn’t like arealcop. I mean he’s like a teacher or something at the cop school, right?”
“Yeah,” he said drawled. “But he’s still got a badge and it’s enough to get you home.”
I heard the nurse offer to bring a soda from the teacher’s lounge after handing me an icepack for my face, and Enoch replied for me with a grateful yes. The kid on the nurse’s bed with the elbow injury awkwardly cleared his throat and stood up.
“Did you want to lie down?”
I shook my head, my lip curling at the thought of having to move at all. How was I supposed to ride in a car with his dad without projectile vomiting either the truth or the bile left in my stomach?
The thought made me sweat with nerves, and I prayed that the tile floor would just swallow me up before he arrived.
Unfortunately, Dan showed up before I died, so I had to force my body to cooperate as he helped me out to his car. Dan began to drive out of the parking lot, giving me a small smile as he looked in my direction before pulling out into the road.
“Do you need me to stop at the drugstore before you get home?” He asked.
“No. You can just drop me home. I live in Lakeside Apartments, at the Eckner Lake Promenade.
