Page 49 of Not Your Romeo
Everything hurt, but the worst of it was my face. I was nauseated and unable to see that well. I didn’t know what the hell had happened. I wished I had a mirror and something for the pain.
“Baby, talk to us. Who did this?” Ziggy implored.
I wanted to help him. I didn’t like the sound of pain in his voice, and whatever else that was. It was pitiful, I knew that much, even if I could barely see him. I raked my mind backwards and forwards. I was at school, but he knew that. He picked me up. I was making dinner.
“The oven is on,” I managed.
Each word stung my throat, my mouth was so dry it made sticky sounds when I tried to swallow as my tongue clung to the roof of my mouth.
“Thirsty. So thirsty.”
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Nash. We cannot give you anything by mouth right now, not until after the imaging,” a female voice apologetically came from the foot of my bed.
“What?” Ziggy, blurted out.
I grimaced as I fought against my dry palate to explain, “Th-the oven. I was cooking dinner. I found the fine plates even. I put the salad in the icebox.”
That much was clear enough but closing that icebox. It was like lights out.
“I don’t know what happened after that,” I almost frowned, but the movement of my brows brought a new level of pain that left me groaning all over again.
Ziggy stroked my forehead, pressing a kiss above the area that burned. When he lifted, he paused before asking, “Baby, who were you running from?”
“Hm?” I stared up at him, confused by the question.
“When you ran to me.” Ziggy stared down at me expectantly.
“Didn’t you just get here?” I tried to look for another face, to see if he was kidding, but moving my gaze made it go blurry.
“She is likely concussed, as I’ve said. Here are my imaging people. I’m sorry, officers, Mr. Nash, further questioning will have to wait.”
“If you’ll follow me,” the female voice suggested, and Ziggy’s lips pressed against my head.
“No,” I protested, sensing he was about to leave.
Something sounded beneath me, and his hand abandoned mine as the bed began to roll, and so did my stomach.
Chapter Twenty-Four
The Negotiated Consent
Ziggy
I stood in the hallway, unwilling to follow anyone until I saw where they were taking her. They didn’t stop me; an officer and a male nurse patiently followed me down the hall. When the lady pushing Ro’s gurney popped a door labeled radiology open and wheeled her inside, I nodded, satisfied that she was in good hands and that I’d find her, if that frantic howling of hers started up again. I knew the cops wanted to speak to me, and I wasn’t a snitch, but I also knew they’d have access to those campus records.
They’d probably already seen the database or call logs or whatever the fuck they used. There was a good chance they already knew the day had started off with a disturbance, one that I was involved with.
“Mr. Nash, I’m Officer Von with the Alton police department. Would it be okay if we stepped back to Ro’s room to talk while we wait for radiology to finish up?”
I shifted, finally taking a good glance at the police officer that had joined my cause.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I guess I kind of took over your interrogation back there.” I sheepishly grinned and fell into place beside her as we started down the hall.
“Ah, you were doing a fine job and asking all the right questions, so I left you to it.” She briefly placed a sympathetic hand on my shoulder when I hesitated at the T in the hallway. Her other hand gestured in the necessary direction, and I flashed her a tight, appreciative smile.
I entered the room first, walked to the countertop in the back of the room. I turned, resting my weight against it, as I faced her. Von shut the door behind her, and flipped on the lights, which had been dimmed at some point during Ro’s admission and the struggle that followed.
“First, I’m sorry you’re going through this. I can’t even imagine.” She sat down in one of the two heavy, plastic chairs that flanked the blood pressure device on the wall. “Do you have any idea who would do this to your wife? Does she have a conflict with anyone?”
