Dyed In the Wool

6

RYAN

I was in a city I had never before been in in my entire life. We had just been at a water park that I would never again go to. We were now on our way to a hospital I never have heard of, nor know to get to, in a van we had rented and I hated driving. I snuck a quick glance at my passenger, pushing the van a little harder. By no means was I trying to break the sound barrier, but I needed to get her to the hospital as quickly as possible.

Gemma laid against me, her hand clutching the back of mine as I carefully still had it secured around her middle. She sniffled and I instinctively pulled her closer to me. There are any of number of things that could be wrong with her, and they all scared me. At the park she didn't elaborate on her symptoms or what she was experiencing, and I had chalked it up to embarrassment. Yet as she grew paler by the second, I was questioning what happened, what was causing this to happen to her.

"Will you make sure that you tell the front desk someone is here with you?" I asked as I slowly pulled up to the unloading zone. I knew I was going to have be quick in dropping her off and then moving to have the van parked where it wouldn't end up with a ticket.

"Yes." She whispered detangling herself from me, moving towards the door. I felt empty without her touch.

"Let me help you please?" I asked coming to a stop.

"You have to go and park the car Ryan." She said as I put the car in park. "I can make it in, and will give a description of you."

Sighing, I relented against my better judgement. "Fine."

"Please, just be quick." She mumbled, opening the door.

I watched her struggle with the door, quickly trying to get out to help her. A few men were walking out of the automatic doors as she finally swung the massive van door open. "Gemma." I yelled as she stumbled with the running boards, falling to her knees.

"We've got her!" One of the gentlemen called as he lifted her off the ground, waiting for me to round the front of the van as fast as I could.

"Thanks." I quickly said, pulling her into my arms. She had passed out just as I had told her she wouldn't. I held her close as I made my way towards the automatically doors, the hospital would just have to get over the fact that I had left the van there to get my girlfriend inside. "Thank you!" I repeated to them, turning my head to quickly acknowledge them.

The registrar at the front desk leapt to her feet as she took in what had just stormed through her EDs front door. "Excuse me?" She asked, rushing to where I stood. Judging by the way she looked from me to Gemma, she was worried for my girl friends safety, which she should be, but not because of me.

"My Girlfriend." I mumbled,nodding towards her. "She, she said something wasn't right, that she had started her period, but something wasn't right. We got here as soon as we could. Can you help? Can you help her?"

She nodded, her eyes turning from judgmental ones to pity. This stranger was pitting me. "Sit her here." She instructed, placing a stretcher that appeared from nowhere in front of me. "Nathan here is going to wheel her back, and someone will be with you in just a few minutes."