Chapter 35

The air was frigid, and the frozen air hurt to breathe in; I covered my mouth in an attempt to warm the air before taking it in. "Hold on to me tightly.", James warned as he sprinted. I felt the cold air slapping against my skin like I was fully exposed in a speeding car. We arrived at the Trauma Services Center of the Mission Hospital within 3 minutes.

It was the first time James had slowed down since telling me to hold on tightly to him. He walked into the Hospital and cried out to the staff, "Please help her." A staff member rushed over to look at my injuries. Upon seeing the marks on my neck, he immediately called for assistance, and another nurse came over with a wheelchair. The woman wheeled me away to an examination room while the man began asking James questions as they followed us.

James gave them my basic information: name, age, and blood type. Wait a minute. How did he know that? I wasn't even aware of my blood type. When asked about our relationship, he proudly claimed to be my husband. When they asked him what happened, he simply told them that I was attacked but that he fought the attacker off and brought me in when I coughed up blood after taking some Motrin. 

The female nurse helped me into the hospital bed and began looking me over and asking questions, spouting out information at the man to start writing things down. "A and O x 4", she began, "Severe hematoma around the cervical region, petechiae hematomas of the scleras." She paused, "Did you ever lose consciousness?" I said with my gravelly voice, "Almost, but James stopped him." She continued, "Acute laryngitis, Hemoptysis, BP 107/74, O2 93%, Temp 97.9" 

She squeezed my hand gently, "You're safe here; we'll get a doctor in to see you soon." The man transcribing her words hesitated as she left the room before following her. I could hear them speaking just outside the door but couldn't understand what they were saying. 

James pulled a chair over to the bed and sat beside me, holding my hand. "What are they saying?", I asked him. James responded, "The man thinks it might be a case of domestic violence. They will call the police to interview you to determine their suspicions and allow you to press charges if you want." 

I squeezed his hand to comfort him, "I know you would never hurt me; I'll tell them that." my voice became more hoarse as I kept speaking. James sighed, "They will ask me to leave you for the interview; I'll have to go to the waiting room." I squeezed his hand, not wanting him to leave me, but my throat hurt too much to voice my concerns.

"They won't talk to you with me in the room; they would think my presence would prevent you from being honest with them. Call me and hide your phone so I can corroborate your story if they ask me any questions." I nodded, understanding what he meant. I wouldn't be able to tell them that Sylas caused my injuries either; it would have to be blamed on a random, unidentifiable mugger. 

A woman in a white coat entered the room, "I'm Doctor Alexis Spector, but you can just call me Lex; all my patients do." I nodded, not really wanting to speak unless I had to. "It seems that you've had a great deal of trauma to your neck. I just want to confirm that someone tried to strangle you.", she said as she glared at James. I nodded again and then gripped his hand tightly; I felt terrible that they were condemning him when he was the reason I was still alive.

I need to get a better look internally. I can achieve this non-invasively with a CT or MRI scan, or we can put you under general anesthesia, and I can perform a laryngoscopy. I looked at James, and he responded on my behalf, "Do any tests you need to do; money isn't an issue."

Dr. Lex responded, "Alright, we'll try the noninvasive route first, and if we need to do a laryngoscopy, we will pursue that later. Regardless, based on her extensive bruising, I want to keep her for observation for at least 24 hours." "Of course, whatever you think is best.", James replied. Dr. Lex placed a nasal cannula on me, "Your O2 was a bit low; this is just precautionary. The nurse will take you to radiology once they are ready for you." I nodded again.

"If you are up for it, the police will be here momentarily to ask you some questions; we want to make sure the person who did this to you gets caught; they could have killed you.", she said before she left the room giving James another nasty glare. I squeezed his hand again tightly, and he leaned over to kiss my forehead. 

James spoke as he repositioned himself in his chair, "I'll be here with you until sunrise, and I'll return every evening to be with you, Love, no matter how long they keep you. Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything." I nodded; if he could stay with me the entire time, he would, and I knew that.

There was an official knock at the door, and I knew it was the police. I squeezed James' hand tightly, and my palms started to sweat. "Come in.", James said, "Remember, I'll be just outside in the waiting room." Two female police officers entered the room, and one asked, "Sir, would you mind stepping outside while we speak to the victim?" James gave my hand a reassuring squeeze and kissed my forehead before replying, "Not at all." He left the room and waved his cell phone, reminding me to call him discreetly.

The first officer said, "Ma'am, we're here to take your statement. We take domestic violence cases very seriously." I briefly looked down at my phone and hit the number one on speed dial, calling James. "It wasn't James; he saved me.", I said; it angered me that everyone was accusing him. The second officer rolled her eyes skeptically. 

I huffed at her silent accusation and cleared my throat; despite the intense pain it caused me, I wanted them to hear me loud and clear, "James did not do this, and if you don't want to hear what I have to say, then we are done here." The first officer changed her tune quickly after my spiteful tone. I breathed in deeply, calming myself. 

The second officer apologized to me and then asked what happened. I told them my fabricated story, "We were walking the French Broad Greenway. The sun had just set; I had stopped to look at a group of deer, and I told James I would catch up shortly, so he went ahead."

I paused briefly, "The next thing I knew, I was on the ground with rope wrapped around my neck. I managed to get it off and screamed for James, but the man that was attacking me started to choke me with his hand." I was just about to pass out when I heard James running over to me; I guess his presence scared my attacker off." 

I continued, "I'm alive because of him. I told him I was okay but a little shaken up and that I wanted to go home. He brought me here after I coughed up some blood, and that happened after I took a bath and took some Motrin." 

The first officer asked, "Can you describe the man who did this?" I shook my head, "It all happened so fast, but he was much bigger than me and very strong. The officer nodded her head, "I'm sorry for my earlier assumption. It's just widespread for people in domestic violence situations to defend their attackers, and we want those victims to know that we are here for them. I could tell by the seriousness in your tone that he didn't do this to you." 

I nodded, "My throat is really sore, and it hurts to talk. Are we done here?" They both nodded, "We'll just take his statement and be on our way; if you remember anything, please don't hesitate to contact us, and we will try to catch this person."

They left just moments before a nurse came in, giving me time to hang up my phone. "Ready to go to radiology?", he asked. I nodded, and he removed my nasal cannula before wheeling me out of the room. 

I had to swap beds for the CT scan and lay very still with my arms by my head; the bed moved me through a tube that looked like a giant donut. The entire process took about 20 minutes, and the technician kept telling me it was okay to breathe, through an intercom in the room. 

I was wheeled back to my room shortly after, and I saw James pacing back and forth in the room, awaiting my return. He immediately asked, "What did the scan show?" The male nurse scratched his head before saying, "We have to wait for a radiologist to read her results, and then her doctor will come back in to let you know what is needed next." James nodded and walked back to my bedside, where the nurse reapplied my oxygen before leaving us alone to wait.