Finally Home

69. Tyler

Samantha was taking too long in the bathroom. She should have been back by now.

I went to the washroom and knocked on the door.

"Sam?  Are you in there?" I said. No answer. I tried the handle. The door was unlocked. I worried. What if she's had another seizure?

I pushed open the door. The bathroom was empty. Sam wasn't in it. Had she and I passed somehow? I went back to where she'd been treated, but she wasn't there.

The nurse came in with some papers - discharge instruction and wound care instructions - and said we were free to go.

"Have you seen my daughter?" I asked. "She left to go to the bathroom, but it's been twenty minutes or so and she's not back. And she's not in the washroom either."

"I didn't see her in the hallway, but I'll take another look. Maybe the bathroom was taken and she went to find another one?"

"Maybe," I frowned.

I waited a little longer and still, Sam didn't return. I went over to the nurse's station.

"Hi, my daughter, Samantha, went to the washroom about a half an hour ago, and she hasn't come back. Have any of you seen her?"

The nurses looked around and all said they hadn't.

I checked with then security guard by the exit and shows him a picture of Samantha.

"Oh yeah. I saw her. She left. Like, half an hour ago."

"What?! And you didn't stop her?"

"Why should I? She looked fine and looked like she knew where she was going."

"Did you happen to notice she wasn't wearing a coat!?" I exclaimed.

"I figured she was getting picked up and was just heading out to the car or whatever."

"I am her ride. And I haven't left yet. Clearly. You let a 16 year old out into a snowstorm with no jacket and who'd clearly been treated here, and you thought it was totally normal for her to just wander outside into a snowstorm without a coat!?"

"Hey man, it isn't my job to keep people in here. They want to leave, they can leave. My job is to make sure people who get angry and aggressive don't take it out on our staff."

I blew out in frustration. Now what?

Just then two police officers walked over.

"Everything okay?" They asked, looking at the guard and not me.

"No," I said. "Everything is very much not okay. My daughter and I came in because she needed stitches. Now this genius says she just left about a half an hour ago. Without her coat. And since I am her ride, that means she's walking. In a snowstorm. By herself. With no coat or hat or gloves and in a snowstorm.  So no. Nothing is okay."

The police talked to the guard while I tried to decide what to do. I started by calling Sam's phone. It just rang until her voicemail came on. Did she even have her phone with her? I couldn't remember.

I called Jenna who blearily picked up.

"Ty? Everything okay?  Is Sam okay?

"Jen, Sam disappeared," I said. "She said she was going to the bathroom. But that was half an hour ago. I tried her phone and she's not picking up. Did she leave it?"

"I don't know. Hang on," Jenna said. It hadn't registered with her that I'd mentioned Sam was missing. After all, it was only four in the morning.

"Her phone's on the charger here at home. Why?"

"Jenna, I know you're still sleepy. But listen. Sam ran. I think. She's not here. She went to the bathroom and she's not come back."

"Wait, what? Why?"

"I don't know. The doctor stitched up her arm, said he'd be right back with her discharge instructions and she said had to go to the washroom."

"Ty, she wouldn't have run, run. Would she?"

"I'm hoping if she did, she's heading home. Please don't leave the house? And if she does show up, call me?  I'm going to stay here and see what we can do from here. I'll talk to the police who happen to be here anyway."

"Tyler, it's below zero. Does she have her coat?"

I swallowed.

"No. She's only in her pyjamas and boots."

"Oh. Tyler," Jenna said.

"I didn't know she was going to run!"

"I know sweetheart. I'm not blaming you. Where could she have gone?  Does she even know the route home from the hospital?"

"I don't know. But even if she did, it's a 20 minute drive from the house. It'll take her forever to walk."

"She'll freeze to death.  Tyler, you have to go out and look for her."

"What if she shows up here and I'm not here?"

"Call Josh. Have him and Debby go out looking."

"Okay," I said.

I hung up and called Josh's phone. It went to voicemail so I called back.

"What?" The sleepy voice on the other end of the line grumbled.

"Josh, it's Ty."

"Tyler? What the fuck, man. It's four in the morning."

"I know. I'm sorry. I need you and Debby to get up. I need your help. We need your help. Sam needs your help," I knew that would get his attention.  And I needed his attention.

"Sam? Why? What happened?"

I told him what had happened and what I thought had occurred. I could hear him waking Debby up as we talked.

"Okay. Oh shit. Okay. Debby and I will go look for her. She's walking?"

"Apparently. She's in her pyjamas and I doubt she has her wallet on her."

"Shit. Ty, have you looked outside?"

"Yes Josh. I have. I am aware of the snow. That's one of my main concerns!"

"Okay. Sorry. I'm still waking up. Debby's making us coffee downstairs and we'll head out. If we find her we'll call you."

I hung up and talked with the police. Josh or Debby would text now and then to let me know where they were and that they still hadn't found her.

At six thirty, an ambulance came roaring in and the paramedics were shouting to the staff about hypothermia. I caught a glimpse of their patient. She was covered by a blankets but I listened.

"Patient is 16 years old. Severely hypothermic. Maybe frostbite. She had a bracelet from this hospital from tonight," I overheard.

"Really? Who is it?" A nurse asked.

"A Samantha Joseph?" The paramedic said.