Part 25 (1/2)

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”Shut the h.e.l.l up!” Tai jumped up and screamed into Mena's face.

”Make me,” Mena dared her.

The girls were throat to throat, and I knew that, in a second, Tai was going to take that dare. I jumped up from beside Janine and stood between the two of them.

Facing Tai, I said, ”Tai, you have to help me carry Janine. She's not going to make it down the hallway.”

Tai rolled her eyes and went over to Janine. We both got a hold of her and lifted her up. It took all of my strength to get Janine down the hallway and back to our room. I could tell that it took all of Tai's strength to ignore Mena. When we reached the room and guided Janine to her bed, she crawled underneath her blanket and continued to cry.

”Tai,” I said, ”please stay with Janine. I'll be right back.”

”Sure, okay. Tell me what's going on when you get back,” she requested.

I nodded and then ran out the door. The hallway was empty. The other girls had gone back to their rooms. I crept up to the door that went back to the main unit and carefully peeked out. I didn't know that Mena was out there until I saw her when I stuck my head out. She looked at me and didn't say a word. She just pointed.

The EMTs pulled a stretcher down the boys' hallway. One of the EMTs yelled into a radio and two others hovered over Rocky for a minute. Then they lifted him onto the stretcher. Another EMT held up an IV drip that she had attached to Rocky. The EMTs worked fast. As they rushed Rocky out, the stretcher rolled by us, and never before in my life had I ever seen a person hanging on one strand of life. His head was in something that looked like a gla.s.s box. It was morbid. His eyelids were shut, and someone must have put his tongue back in his mouth. But his face was still blue and his cheeks were swollen. Another girl had come from the unit and was standing beside me.

She said, ”Oh G.o.d, I'll pray for him. G.o.d, please let Rocky be all right.”

Mena replied on behalf of G.o.d, ”He's dead.” She pushed past the girl and me without excusing herself and went back to the Girls' Unit and down the hallway towards her bedroom.

I had to hold my anger inside. Mena obviously had serious problems. For her to just a.s.sume that Rocky was dead was just cruel. She didn't even show any emotion, nor did it seem as if she cared. Ms. Mosley and Geoffrey brought Daniel out to the main unit. He was crying and saying that he was sorry for falling asleep. The girl beside me called out to Daniel. That made Geoffrey and Ms. Mosley notice us. Geoffrey came over and told us to go back to bed. He walked us onto the unit and stood in the hallway until we were in our rooms.

When I entered my room, Tai immediately asked me what I saw. Janine was still shaking and crying. I sat down on Janine's bed next to Tai. Janine snuggled close to me and put her arms around my waist and her head in my lap. I rubbed her back like she was a baby.

”He's all right,” I lied. ”They took him to the hospital.”

Tai sighed in relief. She leaned her head on my shoulder and closed her eyes. Janine stopped shaking and closed her eyes, too. I was afraid to close my eyes. I was thinking about Rocky. He could be dead by morning. He could be dead in just a few minutes. I looked down at my bandaged wrists. I closed my eyes, trying not to think about that day. Then, I heard Tai's voice.

She said, ”Are you all right?”

I opened my eyes. I couldn't speak. I only nodded my head.

”Okay,” she said. She closed her eyes and placed her head on my shoulder. ”I'm not leaving,” she a.s.sured me.

Gently I rested my head on top of Tai's head. We stayed like that until morning.

CHAPTER 20.

We slept in late the next morning. I opened my eyes when I heard Geoffrey come into our bedroom. My arm had fallen asleep while it had been under Tai's head.

Calmly, he said, ”Girls, wake up. Come on. Dr. Pelchat wants everyone for the group meeting.”

Tai and Janine woke up. Tai saw Geoffrey in the room. She asked him if she was in trouble for sleeping in the room with us.

Geoffrey said, ”Don't worry about it, Tai. Girls, don't worry about getting your day clothes on. Just throw on your robes and your socks and come on out on the main unit.”

When Geoffrey left the room, Tai got up and stretched.

”I'm going to get my shoes on and rinse my mouth out. I'll see you out there,” Tai said as she left our room.

Janine looked up at me as I put my shoes on. She started to say something.

”Are you all right, Janine?” I asked her.

She looked at me strangely and then she covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom. I heard her retching.

”Janine!” I called out to her. I knocked on the bathroom door. I did not want to burst in on her throwing up, but I was afraid not to.

”Go away!” she cried. ”Please go.”

”I can't leave you like this, Janine,” I said.

”I will be okay. I'm just a little sick. I can't -” she started throwing up again while she was trying to talk. I knew she wasn't making herself throw up, so I left her alone.

When I got out to the main unit, I saw chairs scattered everywhere. Ms. Mosley put her coat on like she was getting ready to leave. Geoffrey was helping Mr. Anton get the room straightened up. I didn't see Dr. Pelchat anywhere. Daniel was sitting on the sofa by himself. I went over to it and sat down next to him. Mena came over and sat in a chair near us, and a few others also came over.

Mena looked at Daniel.

”Did you see the corpse?” she asked him.

Daniel didn't say anything.

I snapped at her, ”He tried to break his neck. Have some sympathy.”

Mena's eyes grew dark in her devious stare.

She said, ”He doesn't want sympathy.”

Daniel said, ”You need to shut the h.e.l.l up, Mena.”

Mena started to say something, but Dr. Pelchat walked onto the unit then. Janine also appeared and sat down on the sofa between Daniel and me. She leaned her head on my shoulder. It was strange to see her being clingy. I couldn't believe that she was clinging to me.

Daniel leaned and whispered in her ear. She nodded at him, and then she leaned her head on his shoulder. I started to ask her if she was all right, but Dr. Pelchat called for everyone to gather around and take a seat. Tai came in and sat as far away from Mena as possible. Others had been asleep during all of the commotion with Rocky last night, and they seemed confused.

Dr. Pelchat took a seat with Geoffrey and the other staff members. Ms. Mosley looked like she was about to leave, but Dr. Pelchat told her to sit down with them. She looked tired, angry, and ready to go home.

Dr. Pelchat began, ”I know that this day is starting off a little different.

Some of you know what's going on and some of you don't. There was an incident last night that occurred on our unit.”

Daniel s.h.i.+fted uncomfortably. Janine wrapped her arms around him. I watched as Daniel tried to smile at her. Mena grinned at me as if she knew something I didn't know. I looked back at Dr. Pelchat.

He continued, ”One of your peers is in the hospital right now. He's in critical condition and he is going to be in that hospital for a while.”