Shallow River

That voice. Ugh, not again.

“Go away,” I groan. Another hopeless attempt.

My seatbelt unbuckles and slides across my chest. Mako has to work to get my arm out of the strap. The clanging of the metal hitting the side of the car hurts. Gently, he sits me up and I’m airborne. Only a second later, I’m cocooned in warm arms. Warm, warm arms.

I’m conscious enough to know I shouldn’t nestle deeper into said arms, but I do anyway. I’ll find time to regret it later when I’m not on the brink of death.

I’M NO LONGER IN warm arms, but a hospital bed. Ryan and his parents sit on one side of me. Mako on the other. I woke up only a minute ago to bright light and solemn faces staring at me. The moment I saw Julie and Matt’s watching me with concern pinched into their faces, I nearly jumped out of the bed and ran. And Mako being here just makes me want to vomit. Why couldn’t he have just left? Another thing Ryan won’t like—Mako finding me. It’ll look like I sought him out somehow.

The tension in the room is enough to finish the job and kill me via suffocation.

“What happened?” I groan. My throat is incredibly dry. It burns to speak, let alone breathe.

“You were attacked,” Ryan answers, his hand covering mine. His touch feels cold, but his voice is warm and concerned.

Attacked? It takes a few seconds, but the events of… last night? —whenever it was—comes rushing back in full force.

Billy. I was in Shallow Hill collecting rent from Barbie and he showed up. It’s been awhile since Billy has beat me to this degree. I can’t say I’ve never been in this predicament before, but back then, my hospital bed was my twin sized bed at home. My nurse was… well, myself.

The aches and pains are familiar, but fuck, it’s still a shock to the system.

Turning my head, I look into Ryan’s eyes, tightened in the corners with distress. Hidden beneath is a darkness swirling in his dull blue pools.

I’ve no idea if it’s for me, or Billy.

“Oh, honey, how are you feeling? I’m calling the nurse,” Julie says. She stands and pushes the red button to call the nurse. I weakly

signal towards the water. Julie rushes towards it before Ryan can get to it.

Not that he attempted to try, anyway.

She holds up a straw to my busted lip, and orders me to drink slowly. It burns something fierce at first, but after a few swallows, it eases until the cool water is a balm to my throat.

The nurse shows up a few minutes later. I’m asked a bombardment of questions that I barely have the energy to answer. Her voice is overly sweet and grating on my last nerve. I try to be civil—she has to deal with enough shitty people in a day. The nurse is in the middle of checking my vitals when the doctor shows up.

He’s younger, only his thirties or so, with spiked hair and a killer smile. Even has a dimpled chin. He’s handsome. I’m not sure why that’s the first thing I latch onto.

Maybe because I don’t want to hear what he has to say.

“Hello, River. My name is Dr. Forrestt,” he says, smiling at me softly. He’s got really pretty blue eyes. Prettier than Ryan’s.

“I went over your chart, and the good news is that you’ll recover. You suffered a pretty severe concussion, along with two cracked ribs and a broken pinky. Other than that, you’re severely bruised. No internal bleeding, and no other broken bones. I want to keep you another night or two to monitor your concussion, then you should be free to go home.”

I give him a weak thumbs up, not really caring what the damage is. They’re injuries I’ve suffered before. Probably won’t be the last time either.

He gives me a serious look. “River, due to the state we found your clothes in and the abrasions to your body, I have to ask. Would you like us to perform a rape kit?”

The blood drains from my face. “No,” I whisper.

“Why the hell not?” Ryan snaps from beside me, looking at me as if I have three heads.

“Because she said no,” Mako intervenes, glaring at Ryan with heat. I don’t like Mako sticking up for me—it makes my insides feel weird and only pisses Ryan off more.

The doctor nods his head anyway, not pushing the matter, while Ryan splits his glare between Mako and myself. There’s accusation in his eyes, assumptions forming in his head at rapid speed. I’m sure he thinks I cheated with Mako somehow. Maybe he even thinks Mako is the one that did this to me. Mako finding me was pure, unlucky coincidence. I would have preferred the devil find me himself.

“River, we did report this to the police. A couple officers are here and want to speak with you. Is that okay?” Julie asks softly. Her face. That’s true concern. I appreciate that, but I really fucking wish she wouldn’t have called them. I know it’d be the obvious thing to do with normal families, but that’s not me. I don’t come from a functional family that cares about each other.

I force a smile and nod. She goes to call them in.