The Grey Zone (Black Noir / The Boys Fan Fic)

Ch 38 Spiritual Advice

Jess picked at the rim of the cheap paper coffee cup whilst she sat in the clinical-smelling corridor. The uncomfortable plastic chair she graced wasn't made for long-term use, but she had been waiting for her turn to say goodbye for hours.

People walking by took pity on her, noticing the bruising on her face. She looked a mess. A turtleneck was enough to cover the marks on her neck, but there was no way to hide everything. As white coats walked passed, they bent their rubber necks to judge her appearance. The attention was nauseating, so she kept her head down.

After 4 hours, movement caught her attention.

A distraught-looking couple walked into the corridor, struggling to hold each other up. Chrissy's parents. Jess looked up at them and then quickly hunched over again to avoid their gaze. Loose hair covered her face and guilt began to scrunch her features together. The action pulled her skin taut and tugged at the freshly sewn stitches on her forehead. Tears threatened to fall, but she didn't let them.

Chrissy's parents looked shattered. They had been fighting to stay with their daughter, but it was time for them to go home and get some rest. As they strayed down the corridor, Jess took the opportunity to swoop in.

Softly closing the door behind her, Jess gazed upon the still body that lay before her. The weight of her guilt came crashing down followed by a surge of silent tears. There was no holding them back once she saw Chrissy laying there.

At first, she felt frozen. Her feet refused to move, glued to the floor below. Fear and grief didn't want to get any closer.

But she owed Chrissy a goodbye.

Swallowing down an acidic taste in her mouth, she pushed herself closer. Her bruised hands reached out for the clip board at Chrissy's feet. Barely legible handwriting gave an insight into the horror that took place.

PATIENT: CHRISTINA CARTER
D.O.B: 21/01/1990 (AGE: 19)
PATIENT ID: 85776-33789-10015
ESTIMATED LEAVE: N/A

Her stomach had been punched so hard that it had ruptured. For two weeks she was fed through a tube, whilst her body fought to stay alive. The young woman was littered with bruises, all the hallmarks of someone who had put up a fight. The notes detailed a major head wound, most likely from Phil's WAG award. Staples were required and they had to shave some of her hair off to make room to work.

"Oh god. Am I dead?" Chrissy croaked, her voice was still hoarse from the breathing tube that was pulled out earlier.

The question startled Jess as she looked down on the puffy faced patient.

"I figured you only really see a spiritual advisor in a place like this if you're... you know." Chrissy said through laboured breathing.

"Chrissy I'm not really-"

The girl in the hospital bed tried to laugh, but it came out as a phlegmy cough. "I'm trying to make you stop crying," she said.

Only Chrissy, with her unending enthusiasm and spark, could make a joke at a time like this.

It only made Jess cry more.

Chrissy twitched her fingers, signalling for Jess to hold her hand. After watching her own parents crumble before her, she was numb to the unexpected sight of Jess' tears, but she was touched none the less.

"So, help me fill in the blanks. Did we fight?" Chrissy asked.

Jess was stunned "No, no, this wasn't us I-"

"I don't mean this. Before."

Chrissy could just about remember attending Nathan A Lawson's event. The details became hazy after that. Visions of a stand off plagued her mind, but she couldn't figure out who was there. Only the faces in the crowd starring back at her were clear.