Chapter 3 Part 3

Scarlet walked up the stairs, it was as if she was walking in someone else’s body. She didn’t know where she was going exactly but was following a familiar smell. She turned the doorknob and walked into the little room. It was a bedsitter just like her own, but this wasn’t her home.

The scent was getting stronger and made her mouth water. She walked towards the bed and stopped at the foot of the bed. She watched as the blue flower-patterned cover slightly rose and fell. She could feel the warmth from the bed, and most of all hear the slow rhythmic sound. It was like slow drumming and the rushing of a river.

It was like she was floating towards the sound. She sat and pulled the cover down from the warm body. She leaned in towards it and took a sniff. It was like a drug but this high was different, she wanted more. She traced her nose along the lady’s neck, she didn’t know what she was doing but she couldn’t help it. Her tongue replaced her nose, and then her teeth replaced her tongue. She couldn’t help but sink her teeth into the weak flesh.

The lady woke up and began struggling against her. Scarlet raised her head to look at her face. She pinned her body down with hers and viciously bit into her neck again.

When she stopped moving under her and she had bled her dry, she got up from the bed and covered her. She left her as she had found her.

Scarlet walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.

***

Scarlet woke up in a panic, it was dark and she was alone in the room. She shot up to her feet and flicked the light switch on. Her clothes were drenched with sweat. She pulled them off her body and stepped into the shower. The bathroom door was ajar and Scarlet’s eyes couldn’t help but return to it every so often. She pictured Stephan sitting on her bed back home, staring at her with adoration in his eyes as she took her shower. She always thought that her bath times were the best part of his day. She missed him. She missed being with him, having his arms around her and his lips on hers.

Scarlet could help but imagine his hands caressing her belly just as she did. That vision was replaced with something else, the anger in his eyes when he saw her with Archie at the coffee shop.

She grabbed her plus-size bath towel and wrapped it around her swelling body. Scarlet had to stop thinking about the past and focus on the future. Her life was about to change, soon. She could feel it. At the rate she was growing she knew the baby was due soon.

She emptied her purse on the bed and grabbed her phone once it fell out. She had to talk to Kayla about what happened at the hospital earlier on.

“Hey sweet pea, I have been trying to call you for the past two days. What happened to you?” Kayla had picked up the phone on the first ring.

“What do you mean two days?” Scarlet hadn’t heard her phone ring that day or the previous one.

“I tried calling you on Friday then on Saturday. I figured work must have been keeping you busy.”

Scarlet chuckled once, she thought she had figured Kayla was trying to play with her head. “Ha Ha! Nice try K today is Friday.”

The line went silent for a while, and Scarlet got the feeling that she was not joking.

“Scar, I’m worried about you. Tonight, this day is Sunday and tomorrow is Monday.”

She looked at her phone for the date and time, it was nine o’clock Sunday night. Scarlet’s chest tightened, she began panicking. Where had she lost the last two days? All she could remember was falling asleep when Archie was in her apartment.

“Scar? Do you want me to come and stay with you for a while? I can be there by tomorrow.”

The concern in Kayla’s voice was evident, but Scarlet didn’t think her visit would be a good idea at the moment.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll be fine. I will call you tomorrow.”

“Sure, love you Scar.”

“Love you too.”

Scarlet hang up the phone without telling her what had happened at the hospital. She didn’t want to worry her any more than she should.

For the first time that night, Scarlet thought about her dream. It was so vivid yet impossible. For a day and two nights, she had been asleep trapped in her dream. She thought about going to the old lady’s home but ruled against it immediately. What was she going to say? Hey, old lady I just came to check that I didn’t kill you last night.

She giggled at how absurd and neurotic she sounded. It was late and she didn’t want to be a bother to a neighbor she didn’t even know what her name was. Scarlet looked into the fridge, she had not eaten for a while but was surprisingly not hungry. She settled on eating a cup of yogurt for the baby’s sake. She stayed up all night watching rerun soaps on television, she wasn’t the least bit tired. Her body felt relaxed and rejuvenated.

The next day would be Monday and she had to go to work. She hoped that she wouldn’t have a repeat of what happened on Friday.

***

Scarlet reported working earlier than usual. She waited at Shee’s office to apologize for the disappearance the past two days. Then she would go down to the emergency room to thank Archie for his help.

“Hallo Scarlet, how are you feeling today?” Shee walked in with a smile on his face. He didn’t seem annoyed at her for missing work. This gave her the hope that they could try and work out an arrangement for her to work the hours she missed.

“I’m better thanks for asking. I just wanted to apologize for missing work I was pretty out of it.” that was technically the truth, she hadn’t been conscious the past few days. Making it extremely difficult to get to work.

“Don’t worry about it, we could all see how unwell you were. Besides you do have fifteen sick days a year, so you are sorted.”

“Thank you.” Relief washed over her, she hadn’t been aware of the sick days. She was sure how she would use the thirteen she had left.

“Go down to the emergency room, ask Archie to show you to the little girl they brought yesterday. She was in a wreck last night, just examine her then tell me what you think.” He sat behind his desk flipping through patient files.

“Sure.”

Scarlet took the elevator down, she could help but feel nervous. The last time she had been down there things had gotten strange and she hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat.

He stepped out of the elevator and the first thing that hit her was the scent of fresh blood. Unlike the first time, it didn’t send her into s frenzy but warmed her.

Assuming it was safe she took a deep breath, absorbing the scent and closing her eyes to feel the calming effect it had on her. She knew her actions seemed crazy but she couldn’t help it.

“Scarlet?”

Her eyes flickered open to find Archie standing in front of her. She seemed happy to see his ginger hair and his brown smiling eyes looking at her.

“Hey, Archie. Thanks for helping me on Friday.” She smiled up at him.

Archie was puzzled, he carefully looked her over a questioning eyebrow raised. He couldn’t connect the cheerful girl he saw now to the sick one on Friday.

“Scarlet? Where have you been?”

“What do you mean?”

“I have been trying to reach you since Saturday. I have called you dropped by your place a couple of times too.”

Scarlet looked away, she didn’t want him to see the shock on her face. She hadn’t left the house since Friday and was sure she didn’t hear him knock. The same way she hadn’t heard his or Kayla’s calls. She put her arm on the crook of his arm and they walked towards the wards. She was going to downplay her disappearance as much as she could.

“I was out, sorry about that. And my phone has been on silent my best friend gave me an ear full about that.” She chewed on her lip letting the lie sink in.

“That’s cool. Why didn’t you call me we could have gone out for a movie or dinner?” his facial expression went back to its usual smile.

“I wanted to venture out into the world alone.” Scarlet deepened her voice mimicking his unsuccessfully.

“That is funny.” He chuckled. “So I have a little girl for you to see.” His tone changed.

Scarlet could read the gravity of the situation on his facial expression. Shee had told her about the child but never told her the extent of her injuries or her state of mind.

“How old is she?”

“She’s about eight and so was her friend. Her name is Kyla and her friend was Rachael. They were pretty close. She hasn’t spoken to anyone since the crush. And last night she woke up a couple of times screaming.”

“I have a friend named Kayla.” She thought of how she would be in a similar catatonic state if Kayla ever died. Died the second time and permanently that is.

Archie stopped at the door of the little girl’s hospital room. They looked into the room through the glass window on the door. Her mother sat on a chair holding her hand. The girl stared into the air, not reacting to her mother's touch or light sobs.

Scarlet entered the room and asked her mother to leave them alone to talk. She didn’t think that she would talk to her having refused to speak to everyone else she knew, but she was determined to try. With her protruding belly leading the way, Scarlet stepped beside the bed.

She refrained from sitting beside her, she didn’t want to cause her any discomfort or make her feel cornered.

“I am here to talk to you about the bad thing that happened. But I won’t force you.” She took out a coloring set and placed it on the table, pulling it closer to the little girl.

“When you are ready to tell me about yourself I will be here waiting. In the meantime, you can color,” she smiled down at the child’s blank face. She was trying to make her as comfortable as possible.

Scarlet pulled the chair to a corner in the room away from the eye view. She wanted the girl to know she was there but didn’t want her to feel pressured.

When the girl picked up the colors and doodled on the drawing book, Scarlet smiled appreciating the little victory she just had.

She sat quietly watching and waiting for the child to confide in her. To open up to her so that she could help.

“Is that a baby in there?” The little girl pointed towards her belly.

“Yes, it is. Do you want to touch it?” Scarlet approached her when she nodded. She let the child feel the curve of her bump, something she never let anyone but herself do.

Her hands remained on her belly just as her eyes did. Scarlet could hear little sobs escaping the little girl’s lips. Then finally they had a breakthrough. She held her as she cried herself to sleep. Archie was watching from the peep window on the door. He had doctor Shee paged, Scarlet had done her part and now he had to step in.

Gently Scarlet laid the child back onto the bed and met the two doctors outside her room.

“I would like to stay on this case if you don’t mind. I feel like we made a connection.” She was determined to help her and the only way to do it was to get assigned on the case.

“That is fine but I also want Michele to be introduced to her, especially since you look like you are going to erupt any moment now.” Shee was making a joke about how big Scarlet was getting.

“When you go for maternity leave and Kayla is still getting treatment, we don’t want to destabilize her by introducing her to someone new.”

Scarlet couldn’t argue with reason. “Sure as soon as she wakes up.”

Archie leaned down to Scarlet to whisper in her ear when Shee walked away. “You are going to make a great mom.” He smiled at her then left.

Scarlet felt proud of herself, she had just begun accomplishing what she had wanted, what she had promised her parents she would. She joined Kayla’s mother in the room and sat back into the chair she had put in the corner. She wanted to be there when she woke up, she was excited about the little progress they had made and hoped for more.