holding Krista in place.
“ Seriously, you can’t park there. You gotta go around to the lot,” the security guard said forcefully.
Damien finally got her free and pulled Krista out of the car.
“ Do what you gotta do man, but I am taking her inside.”
When the security guard saw Krista’s unconscious form, he relaxed a little.
“ Alright,” the uniformed attendant said. “Go ahead and take her in, but get your ass back out here, pronto and move this car.”
Damien smiled at him. “Thanks. I appreciate it.” He carried Krista inside, hoping she was going to be okay and walked over to the triage nurse.
“ Excuse me, but my friend needs some help,” Damien said. “She’s unconscious and I’m not sure why.”
The triage nurse grabbed Krista’s wrist, feeling for a pulse. As a weak, but steady beat pulsed against the nurse’s fingers, Krista’s chest rose.
“ Well, she’s breathing and has a pulse,” the nurse said. “That’s something. Set her down so I can get her vitals.”
Damien carefully placed Krist on the chair, holding her in place. The nurse wrapped a blood pressure cuff around her arm and began squeezing the air pump.
“ What happened?” she asked, noting the reading on a chart in a file folder.
“ It’s a little embarrassing,” Damien said sheepishly.
“ Spit it out,” the nurse said. “I’ve worked here for 35 years and have heard just about everything. Plus there’s other people waiting.”
“ Okay, okay,” Damien said trying to figure out a way to say it so it didn’t sound as bad as it did when he said it in his head. “We were having sex and she passed out after we finished.”
“ How long has she been unconscious?” the nurse asked while reading the thermometer she’d stuck under Krista’s tongue when it beeped.
“ About twenty minutes,” Damien replied.
“ Is she on any medications?” the nurse asked.
“ Not that I know of,” Damien answered. “She didn’t mention any, but I only just started seeing her.”
“ Was she taking any recreational drugs?” the nurse questioned.
“ No ma’am,” Damien said. “She had one drink a few hours ago, but that was it.
“ Anything else you think I should know,” she asked, leveling him with a piercing gaze. It was like she was looking right through him.
“ It was anal sex, ma’am,” Damien replied, wishing he could sink into a hole in the floor.
“ Alright sir,” the nurse said, “we’ll take her back to the ER and have someone look at her. In the meantime, you can go over to the billing office and fill out her paperwork”
“ Sure thing,” Damien said, glad he had something he could do besides sit here with the nurse judging him. He could only imagine what she was thinking. “Is she gonna be okay?”
“ Her vitals are okay,” the nurse said. “Blood pressure is a little low, but not too bad. We’ll have to take her back and run some tests, but it looks like she probably just fainted and is taking a little longer than usual to wake up.”
Damien walked over to the billing office and filled out the forms using the information in Krista’s wallet. When he finished, he moved the car and returned to the waiting room. God, he was doomed. She hadn’t wanted him before all this mess. There was no way she’d want to pursue something with him now.
After an agonizing hour of worry, Damien heard his name called. “Lance McPherson?” a man in a white coat asked, looking around. Damien jumped up.
“ That’s me sir, but you can call me Damien. Are you the doctor? Is Krista okay? Can I see her?” he asked without giving the man time to answer any of the questions.
“ Hello Mr. McPherson. I’m Dr. Gordon. I examined Ms. Hamilton and she’s okay. She regained consciousness about forty five minutes ago. We ran a few tests and she seems fine, but we’re going to keep her overnight for observation,” the doctor said.
“ Did she say anything? Can I see her,” he asked