by
Mark 'Ponyboy' Peters
Chapter Thirty-Seven
I thought I was dreaming. In fact, I thought it was a nightmare. But then lights and sounds began to creep back into my consciousness, turning my nightmare into reality, and I found myself right in the middle of a scene from which I thought I had just escaped.
From where I sat on a public bench on the footpath, I looked out at a street bathed in the blue and red flashing lights of several police cars, while darkness was gradually falling. There were also several police officers standing around. Some talking to other people, notebooks in hand and scribbling down what was being said to them. One policeman taking photographs.
It was like a scene from a TV show. But I knew it wasn't play acting. Not a TV scene. It was a crime scene. This shit was real.
Someone had moved my car from where I had slammed the brakes on in the middle of the road, having parked it along the side of the road, and just as I noticed that I saw Mike climb from it and close the door, locking it, and then walking in my direction.
Mike. I think he stopped me from falling, didn't he? But then again, didn't this whole fucking mess start with him and his introducing me to that other prick, who from now on should not be named.
'How are you feeling?' I heard someone beside me say, causing me to almost jump in surprise. It was a young policewoman.
'I . . . errr . . . I'm not sure.'
'You've probably had quite a shock.'
Ya think? Jesus! I thought that. I didn't say it. Or at least I hope I only thought it.
Mike arrived and held out my car keys for me, which I took, then he sat down beside me.
'W-what's been happening?' I asked. ‘And what happened to your old Valiant?’
'Police have been interviewing everyone who was a witness,' he said. 'I guess they'll want to talk to you as well. And I traded the old girl for the 4X4,' he added, while looking past me at the young constable beside me.
'Yes, we will need a statement,' she said. 'And can I ask who you might be, sir?'
'I'm Mike Devlin. I'm Grayson's boss.'
'And you just happened to be driving along here when it happened?' she asked.
'Actually, I'm on leave at the moment and yes, I was driving down Market Street. I saw Gray and Rafael in the carpark so when I got down to the roundabout,' he said, while pointing to the intersection at the bottom of this block, 'I came around and back up the street, intending to stop and catch up with them.'
'And what happened then?'
'As I've already told the other constable, they pulled out onto the street and that's when things went pear shaped, the other car veered out sharply and Raffa was deliberately, I think, run down. I knew instantly who the driver was, as he had recently caused some trouble at work, so I knew he had to be stopped.'
‘And so it was you who collided with his vehicle?’
‘Yes.’
'And you said you've already given these details to the other officers?'
'Yes, to that officer over there,' Mike answered, while pointing to another officer on the other side of the road.
For a few moments the constable frantically scribbled in her notebook, taking down everything that Mike had said, before eventually turning to me and asking, 'Do you feel up to giving a statement now?'
'I guess. But I really need to get to the hospital to check on my boyfriend.'
Just then my phone started ringing and I pulled it from my pocket to check the caller ID. It was my mother. Somewhat reluctantly I took the call.
'Grayson! Where are you?' she almost shrieked. 'I heard there was an accident at your work.'
'That's . . . where I still am. Mum, it's Raffa . . . he's . . . he's . . .' but I couldn't say anything else, because I started crying again.
The policewoman took my phone from me. 'This is Constable Taylor. May I ask with whom I am speaking?'
I could hear mum's reply clearly as Constable Taylor held the phone a little bit away from her ear.
'I'm Grayson's mother. What's happened? Is he alright? And what about Raffa?' she asked, each question racing into the next.
'Rafael de Silva has had an accident and has been transported to hospital. Your son is fine, just shaken up,' Constable Taylor replied.
I'm fine? Really? I wasn't so sure about that.
'Where are you then?'
'The accident occurred on Market Street, just near the exit from the shopping centre car park.'
'I'm on my way,' I heard mum say, before she quickly disconnected. Constable Taylor then handed my phone back to me.
'Can you tell me what you remember happened?' she asked.
I glanced at Mike and he gave me a slight nod. 'Just tell her exactly what you saw, Gray. There were multiple witnesses, and we have all told the police exactly the same thing, so there will be plenty of corroborating evidence. Animal won't be able to hurt you or anyone else for a long time I wouldn't think,' Mike said.
'Animal?' Constable Taylor asked.
'The guy in the Commodore who caused the accident. His real name is Shane Williams,' Mike replied, as he got to his feet. 'I think this is the part where you need to take Grayson's statement without anyone else around, isn't it?'
Constable Taylor nodded, then Mike left us.
'So, this Shane guy, he was known to you both, and to the victim of the hit and run?'
'Y-yes,' I replied.
'And what did your boss mean about Shane causing some trouble at work?'
Fuck! Exactly how much do I tell them? I guess I had cooled down considerably since the accident happened, and it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to mouth off and tell the cops I want the arsehole to be dead, as much as I do want that. No, that probably wouldn’t be a good idea at all.
Mike said just tell them what happened, but we’ve already opened up Pandora’s Box by mentioning the trouble at work. Will that come back and bite us all on the arse? Oh well, here goes.
'He . . . he was a delivery driver who used to come to the store. We all knew him outside of work as well, you know, socially. That was until he went crazy over something that happened, then he tried it on again at our workplace one day, caused a scene, and when the store manager found out he made a complaint to Animal's employer, and then they sacked him.'
'So, what then? Rafael was involved in what happened and this is him taking his revenge by trying to run one of you down?'
'I wouldn't know about that.'
‘And what about the incident he went crazy over? Care to elaborate on that?’
‘No.’
There was some more frantic scribbling in the notebook before she finally turned to me again.
'And what can you tell me about the accident? What do you remember?'
I spent a few moments to just try and get my thoughts together.
'Just take your time,' Constable Taylor said.
'We had just pulled out of the carpark and onto the street. Raffa was in front of me and I was following in my car. Then all of a sudden, this car just peeled out from the side of the road and sideswiped him, before then straightening back up. Then I think he swerved again, this time to the left, because Mike was coming at him. It all happened in seconds.'
As the vision of Raffa cartwheeling through the air played over and over in my head I just closed my eyes and took a few moments.
'Raffa flew through the air and crashed into that parked car over there,' I said, while pointing at a white Ford which now had a massive dent in the rear door, along with a smashed window. 'Then his bike hit him as well, before they both fell to the ground. It all happened so fast!’
More scribbling in the notebook followed. As she did this I looked again at that car. Where was Raffa's bike? Had it been taken away already? How did I miss that?
'So, if the driver of the car knew you all, and he was upset about something, do you think this was a deliberate attack on your friend?'
'You'd have to ask him that.'
'And again, would you care to elaborate on what it was exactly that had taken place at work, or what led up to that incident? It may be important.'
'Not right now. I just want to go and see my boyfriend.'
'Alright then. Maybe we can talk again later? Before you go, however, can I just get your full name and contact details, for our records, and so that we can follow up with you.'
'Sure,' I said, then gave her my name, address and phone number, which she carefully wrote down.
It was just at that moment when my mother arrived, hurrying down the street from where I could see she had parked her car, which was some distance away given that the street was still blocked. She seemed to always be coming to my rescue lately. Jesus, I was turning into such a wuss now that I'd realised and accepted, I was gay.
I stood up as she approached and was soon wrapped up in her arms as she hugged me and held me close.
'My God, what happened? Are you alright?'
'Raffa was hit by a car,' I said to her. 'He's at the hospital. I need to go there. He's hurt really bad.'
'Of course, honey,' she replied, before turning to the policewoman. 'Was it you that I spoke to?'
'Yes, ma'am.'
'Do you have his statement or whatever it is you need? Are we able to go now?'
'Yes, ma'am. And I have Grayson's contact details so we will be able to follow up with him at a later time. You can take him to see his friend.'
* * *
When we arrived at the Emergency Department we quickly found Raffa's family in the waiting room. His father was pacing around the room like a caged animal. His mother was sitting in a seat and wiping tears from her eyes with a handkerchief. She looked at me as we entered, then in an instant she was on her feet and hugging me.
'My God, what happened?' she sobbed. 'Nobody has told us anything!'
'Where's Raffa. What are they doing?'
'He's being assessed by the doctors,' Antonio said, as he hugged both me and his wife. 'They said that they would come and see us as soon as they knew something.'
All this time my mother had stayed in the background, watching our interactions. I glanced at her and saw her smile and raise her eyebrows slightly. Extricating myself from the de Silva's grip I turned to face my mother, who had yet to meet them.
'Mum, these are Raffa's parents, Antonio and Katherine de Silva,' I said to her, then to them I added, 'This is my mother, Pamela Porter.'
Mum stepped forward and hugged them both, while saying, 'It's so nice to finally meet you both. Rafael is a beautiful young man. You must be so proud of him, and I'm so sorry knowing about his accident.'
'Thank you,' Katherine replied. 'It's nice to meet you also. He has been telling us how lovely your family is. He's . . . he's . . .' she added, but couldn't finish as she broke down in tears once more.
'Shhhh . . .' my mother cooed, as she immediately moved to embrace her. 'They will be doing everything they can for him. I'm sure that he is in excellent hands.'
'I-I hope you're right,' Katherine sobbed.
As they held each other tight, Antonio took hold of my elbow, guiding me towards a padded chair.
'Can you tell me what happened?' he asked. I could see the pain and the fear in his eyes as he spoke. He was just as scared as his wife was. Just as scared as I was.
'Haven't the police said anything?'
'Hardly a thing. We’ve barely even seen them,' he replied. 'All I know is that Raffa was hit by a car that pulled out as he was passing. Is that true?'
'Yes. It is. I was following him. We had just left work and were heading for your place.'
'And then what happened?'
'Raffa was flung sideways. He came off his bike and hit a car, then his bike hit him.'
I was blubbering as I said this, as the vivid images replayed in my mind. Antonio placed his hands over mine, before pulling me in for another hug. They were big huggers the de Silva’s.
'Thank you,' he whispered. 'Thank you for telling me.'
We parted and I gave him something of a nod, before I wiped tears from my eyes with my fists.
In the minutes that followed the phone calls seemed to start, as the news began to spread. I heard mum talking to dad and letting him know what was happening, while Hoppy also called me.
'Hey. Where are you guys. We're waiting for you. You're not going to forfeit, are you?' he chirped.
'What? Oh shit, you won't know?' I replied, as I got to my feet and left the waiting room.
'Know what? What's happened?'
'There was an accident after we left work. Raffa . . .' I managed to say, before being unable to finish.
'Oh, fuck. What's happened? Is he okay? Are you okay? Where are you?'
'At the hospital,' I managed to say. 'He got hit by a car, Hoppy. It's bad. Really bad.'
'Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! We're on our way, mate! We're on our way!' he said, then disconnected.
After that people started arriving. Firstly there was a police officer, who spoke with Raffa's parents, before then leaving. Then Raffa's brother, Leandro, and his wife, Beth, arrived.
'So this is the young stud that has captured the heart of my kid brother?' Leandro said to me. 'It's good to finally meet you . . . I've heard so much about you that it's like I already know you.'
He drew me into a hug, which I returned, though somewhat tentatively at first. I hugged Beth also. She smelt of the same perfume that my mother often wears.
Shortly afterwards Hoppy and Nathan came rushing in, hugging me and asking rapid-fire questions. I managed to guide them outside into the hallway, where I answered their questions as best I could. I was grateful that they came and were supportive. It meant a lot to me. It would mean a lot to Raffa also.
When he asked if I knew who the driver was, I said yes.
'Well? Who was it?'
'It was Animal.'
'What? Why?'
'I'm not sure . . . it was almost like he was waiting for us and wanted payback or something, you know, for him getting sacked.'
'But why Raffa?'
'He'd had a session once before with Raffa and lucky for Raffa he'd managed to give Animal the slip before anything bad happened, so maybe he still had it in for Raffa over that. Then I guess he found out that Raffa and I had gotten together, and with his bike Raffa was an easy target, so it was one way to get back at me as well.'
'Man, that is so fucked up,' Nathan remarked.
'Animal is one seriously fucked up dude,' I replied. 'But the cops have him now, so hopefully he will be paying for this.'
For the next few hours nothing much happened, other than frequent trips being made to a vending machine for really bad instant coffee. The trash can had rapidly filled with disposable cups during this time, as we sat and talked and waited for news, despite our frequent visits to the nurse’s station for any whispers that could bring us relief. It was gratifying to see so much love in this room for Raffa.
Eventually, however, news had to come, with a grim-faced young doctor with Asian features appearing at the door to the waiting room late in the night. He seemed quite taken aback by the number of people on the room.
'Errr . . . are you all family of the patient?'
'Not all of us,' Leandro answered.
Mum placed a hand on my shoulder and said to me, 'Time for us to wait outside.'
I nodded and we started for the door, along with Hoppy and Nathan, but I was soon stopped, as Katherine reached out and grabbed my arm.
'We want you to stay, please,' she said to me. Mum gave me a nod and took my friends out into the hallway, while I waited with Raffa's family for whatever bad news was about to be given.
'My name is Doctor Chen,' he said. 'And you are Rafael's family?'
'Yes,' replied Antonio. 'We are his parents, this is his brother and his wife,' he said, before placing an arm around my shoulders and saying, 'And this is his partner, Grayson.'
Partner? Oh boy, that's a step up! But if the truth must be known, I did feel like I was Raffa's partner. We may not be living together, but we were more than just boyfriends, in my eyes at least. We were serious about our relationship, and provided it made it through whatever was about to be presented to us by Doctor Chen, I hoped that our relationship would only get stronger.
'Alright then,' the good doctor said. 'Rafael is in a very serious condition. There is no other way I can say that. We are going to need to keep him in an induced coma for a little while as we wait for swelling to go down around the location of some of his injuries. Then we will be able to further assess some of his injuries.'
'And just what are his injuries?' Antonio asked.
'Well, we have carried out extensive x-rays and various scans, which is why it has taken us so long to come to you.'
'Yes, we can understand that. Thank you,' Antonio responded.
'So, starting with the most obvious, his left leg has been broken in three places. He also has a fractured pelvis, four fractured ribs and a fractured ulna and humerus in his arm, all on the left side, along with a broken collar bone on his right side.'
There was a strangled cry from Katherine, as her husband wrapped his arms around her and held her tight.
'Thankfully there doesn’t appear to be any neck or head injuries, but what we are more concerned about,' Doctor Chen continued, 'is that there are several fractures in the vertebrae in his lower spine. These aren’t catastrophic, but still bad enough to be of concern to us.'
Another gasp of shock from his family. I was just feeling numb all over, however. A hand found my shoulder and I turned to see it was Leandro's. He pulled me to him, offering me some comfort and support, for which I was grateful.
'So what does that mean?' Leandro asked. 'Is there likely to be any lasting spinal damage?'
'At this stage we can't be sure. We will need the swelling in the surrounding tissue to go down before we can assess that further. I'd like to say that there doesn't appear to be any lasting damage, but once the swelling is down and we can wake him up, then we can further assess if there is any nerve damage or loss of feeling or mobility in his limbs.'
So this is it? I read that as being that they don't know if he'll walk again. Holy fuck!
'But please don't go jumping to any conclusions,' he added, while looking straight at me, as if he had just read my mind. 'It's too early to tell just what damage there may or may not be. In a few days we can bring Rafael out of the induced coma and then we can assess whether he has feeling in his legs, okay?'
'What's the worst-case scenario then, doctor?' Antonio asked.
'Let's just wait and see, alright? He is going to have a long road to recovery, even if there aren’t any lasting effects from the damaged vertebrae. Right now, however, the important thing is that we need to take him to theatre to pin his leg and do what we can for his broken bones, and I'm going to need you to sign these consent forms for that please,' he said, as he held out a clipboard towards Raffa's parents.
Antonio quickly scribbled on the forms and handed the clipboard back to Doctor Chen.
'Thank you. Our theatre team is ready to go, so we will take him straight in there now. It may take a few hours, but we will come and let you know just as soon as he comes out and is taken to intensive care.'
To be continued . . .
Authors Note:
Hi there. It has been a while since I have posted anything new on Nifty. I guess life gets in the way sometimes.
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