Page 5 of Two Risks I'd Never Take Again

The nurse waved a hand in front of my face. “Ma’am, what’s his name?”

Based on her frustrated expression, I gathered it wasn’t the first time she’d asked. But it was the first time I’d heard. “I don’t know. I tried to play a game where he signaled when I got to the first letter of his name, and that was X. But he shook his head when I asked if his name was Xavier or Xander. So, I don’t know.”

She glanced down at his hand wrapped around mine. “You don’t know him?”

I shrugged. “I don’t recognize him, but...” I widened my eyes and nodded at him, hoping she’d understand that his battered face hindered recognition. I didn’t want him to hear me say how bad he looked. That seemed unkind.

The nurse looked at him. “What’s your name?”

Even though she wasn’t talking to me, I answered. “I’m Tessa. He can’t really talk.” That seemed pretty obvious, but I said it anyway.

She ignored me. “Is there anyone we can call for you?”

The guy let go of my hand and pointed at me.

It made no sense why he was appointing me guardian or whatever his pointing meant, but maybe he thought of me as his guardian angel. A muddy, sympathy-crying guardian angel.

I stepped out of the way as they wheeled him into the back but leaned around the nurses and called after him, “I’ll see you later.”

Too muddy to sit in a chair, I paced. But after only two laps around the room, a woman motioned me toward the big glass check-in window. “Could you please fill these out for him?”

“I don’t know him. I spilled coffee on myself and pulled over. And I found him on the side of the road.” I wrapped my arms around myself. “He looks familiar though.”

Her brow furrowed as she gave me a surveying look. “The police will want you to answer a few questions.”

“Okay.” It wasn’t a surprise that the police would be called. And like it or not, I was involved, but I was a mess. I didn’t want to leave, but I needed clean clothes. “I’m going to run out to my car. If he asks for me, tell him I’ll be right back.”

“I thought you didn’t know him.” She tapped her pen against the desk.

“I don’t, but I want to know he’s okay.” I pointed outside. “I’ll be right back. Is there a restroom in here?”

She pointed to a hall. “Down that way on the left.”

“Thanks.” I moved my car out of the drop-off lane and into a parking space, which I should’ve done as soon as they’d rolled him through the doors.

Grateful that I’d packed a just-in-case bag to take to my parents’ house, I grabbed clothes and found the restroom. There wasn’t much to be done about the mud in my hair, so I knotted it atop my head and shed my muddy clothes. Clean clothes felt like a luxury. The dirty clothes got wrapped in the ruined seat covers and dropped into my trunk.

Wringing my fingers, I walked to the far corner of the waiting area, plugged in my phone to charge, and curled up in a chair. As my adrenaline rush waned, my eyelids grew heavy. A few minutes of sleep would probably do me some good.

When my eyes closed, I saw the stranger’s face. Familiarity clawed at me. I knew him.

That thought made me sick. Seeing a stranger in pain was bad enough.

“Ma’am.” A man’s voice sounded close.

I sprang out of the chair, nearly crashing into a wall of a man in uniform. “Yes?”

He backed up, surprise sparking in his brown eyes. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I’m Deputy Gomez.”

“Not your fault. I’m a bit jumpy tonight.”

“Would you like to walk next door and grab a cup of coffee? We can talk there.” He shifted his belt.

Was he flirting or just playing the good cop? I was in no mood to meet the bad cop tonight.

“I don’t want to leave.” I glanced at the doors where they’d wheeled my new friend out of sight.

“Okay.” Deputy Gomez nodded slowly and pulled a small notebook out of his shirt pocket. “Can you tell me what happened? We have a guy badly beaten with no ID, and you brought him in.”

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