Stranger Danger

17

Trigger Warning: Mentions of panic attack

In the hospital's waiting area, Remington sat stiffly on a chair next to Andy, eyes bouncing around, trying to make sense of everything he was seeing. "I not sick," he said quietly, as though he'd only just worked out what the building was, even after Andy had spent the best part of an hour that morning trying to explain it as simply as he could, grateful when Juliet had gone into the kitchen to make coffee and talked to Remington while she did so, telling him how nice everyone at the hospital would be and that he had nothing to worry about. 

Andy looked up from his phone screen. "Well, you might be sick without knowing. It's safer to check, just in case." 

Looking down, Remington touched the back of his hand, as though he was trying to feel if he was unwell by the texture of his skin. "I not know you can be sick that way. I thought if you sick, you sick, then you know. But if you not sick, I not know you can still be sick." 

"That's okay, now you do know. And I'm sure you're fine, you don't seem unwell to me." 

A woman was pushed in on a wheelchair and parked a few seats from them. Remington asked in a whisper, "She not walk?" 

"Her legs might be sick," Andy replied. "Or maybe she's just in a lot of pain so she can't walk right now." 

"What's that?" His attention span was limited. This, Andy had learnt quickly, and had to keep himself from laughing at times when Remington asked about something so unrelated to their conversation.

"A water cooler." 

"What?" 

"If you're thirsty, that's where you can get a drink of water." 

"Oh. Why it's like that?" 

"Like what?" 

With his hands, he mimicked the shape of the container the water was in, saying, "It looks like it been squeezed by all different, uh, all different..." He waved the chain in front of Andy. "Like this but not metal. How do I say that?"

"Oh. String? Or rope. Rope is thicker." 

"I think string. Look like it's been squeezed by lots of strings. Why it like that?"

"I don't know," Andy said, amused. 

Remington's eyes widened. "You not know? How you not know?" 

"I don't know everything." 

"Yes you do," he insisted. "You know all the time when I say what's that, you always know each time, you tell me what it is. But you not know now? I not believe you."

Andy chuckled, looking towards the doctor who begun calling Remington's name. "Alright, sweetheart," he said. "That's us. Come on. Waiting's over now." 

Standing, Remington checked he had the belt chain, then wrapped his fingers around Andy's wrist and said, panicked, "They not evil, promise? Promise they not evil?" 

"They're good, I promise. Not evil, okay? Not evil. You're gonna be fine." 

"You be all the time here?" 

"I'm staying with you, is that what you mean?" 

"Yes. You be all the time here. Okay. Good. I go with you, but if they evil, I not go anymore. Okay?" 

Andy gently pulled his fingers from his wrist. "No one here is evil, you're perfectly safe. I promise. Come on." 

Remaining hesitant, Remington followed him through the waiting area and towards the doctor, who took them both into a room with a blue, paper covered examining table, which she told Remington to sit on. He looked at Andy for reassurance, and the man nodded, smiled. Remington stayed where he was, rubbing the black jewelled ring on his finger, the chain looped around his hand. 

"If you could just sit down please, Remington," the doctor repeated, collecting a blood pressure armband from the metal table against the wall. 

Remington sat on the examining table, continuing to rub the ring. He flinched when the nurse approached him. 

"I'm going to check your blood pressure and heart rate, okay. Could you take your hoodie off?" 

Pulling the hood up over his head, Remington said, "No. Mine." 

"You can put it back on in just a few minutes. I can't do these tests with you wearing it." 

"It's okay," Andy said. "I'll look after it until you can put it back on." 

Remington hesitated, then nodded and proceeded to wrestle himself out of it, holding it towards Andy and watching as the man took it, making sure he was keeping it safe. 

The doctor secured the band around Remington's bicep. "You're gonna feel it tightening," she warned, and he stared at it with wide eyes as she turned it on. 

"What's it do?" He asked. 

"It's making sure that your blood pressure is healthy." 

He blinked, then nodded and continued looking at it. "Is stopping soon?" 

"Nearly done. Have you noticed any dizziness, Remington?" 

"What?" 

"Do you feel like you're going to faint sometimes?" 

"No, I not think so. Only when not enough food, but Andy makes me food so I not be hungry no more. I be better now." 

"You used to under-eat, then, did you?" 

"Yes, I think. I not sure." 

"Alright. Your blood pressure is all good, so if you could lie on your back, we'll have a listen to your heart." 

"I think my heart go funny sometimes." 

"How so?" 

"It feel like I done lots of running when I not done running. Goes fast." 

"Do you have panic attacks?" 

He blinked. "What?" 

"Do you get really panicked sometimes and feel like everything is going wrong? It can feel like you're dying, if it's bad." 

"When they knock down my house and take me to building with little room I not get out of, I not breathe right, I feel like I not right. Something wrong." 

"And did you heart go really fast when that happened?" 

Remington nodded. 

"That sounds like a panic attack. It's nothing to worry about, it doesn't mean anything is wrong with your heart, it's just a way of your body telling you that you're very stressed about something." 

"How you know to use words not very long?" 

"Ah, Andy told me when he booked you in." 

"Oh. Okay. Thank you. I not like when I not understand. I not stupid, I just not know all words like other people. Words so hard, make my head bad." He was still as she set up the ECG machine's wires on his chest and torso, straining to look at Andy, who sent him an encouraging smile. "I okay?" He asked once she removed them. "I not sick?" 

"Your heart is healthy, don't you worry." 

"Okay. Good. Thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, you and Andy need to go and sit in the waiting room again, and we'll call you back in ten minutes for a brain scan, okay?" 

"My brain can be sick?" 

"That's why we're going to scan it, to make sure it's not." 

"Okay. I hope my brain not sick. I put hoodie on now?" 

"Yes, of course. You've done really well, I know it's stressful in here." 

Remington got off the table and took his hoodie from Andy, pulled it on, and followed the man back towards the waiting area.