Alan's Biggest Case

Chapter 4 (Graphic)

Alan rolls over to reposition himself and flip his pillow over so that it's cool against his face. He's asleep yet slightly aware of what is going on, and he notices what seems like a yellow light shining through his eyelids. He opens his eyes and sees the bathroom door slightly open and the light is on. He reaches behind him to grab his watch off the nightstand. 3:48 a.m.

"He's probably just going to the restroom." he thinks. He closes his eyes again and pulls his blanket over his shoulder and wraps the end under his hand. He begins to doze off but wakes up again after he heard a loud sniffle coming from the bathroom. He quickly gets out of bed and rushes over to the bathroom, knocking on the door even though it's open. Sam didn't reply, and Alan figured he would peak inside, "Everything okay in here?" He opens the door more and sees Sam standing at the sink, and his broken razor on the floor.

"Oh my god, Sam!" he pushes the door open and it makes a loud slam against the wall, causing Sam to scream out in terror. Alan goes over to Sam and sees blood in the sink, and notices four cuts on Sam's wrists. Blood is trickling down his hand and dripping from his fingers. He immediately turns around and runs to grab a rag and comes back and holds it against Sam's wounds. The rag is quickly turning red, soaking up the blood.

He wraps his arm around Sam's shoulder and walks him over to the couch and makes him sit down and hold the rag against his wrist. Alan goes back to the bathroom to get bandages and Neosporin from the cabinet which us under the sink. He crouches down and grabs the ointment, bandages and gauze and stands back up, but it caught off guard from seeing the mess in the bathroom. There were drops of blood on the tile beneath his bare feet and blood in the sink. He looked to the left and saw his razor on the ground, looking as if it had been stepped on, and one of the blades is missing. He couldn't believe what he was seeing, and he couldn't take his eyes off of the aftermath.

Alan walks back towards the couch and grabs Sam's arm to wrap the wounds. Sam looks dazed and his eyes are red and puffy from crying. "It's okay, Sam. It's okay." Alan says as he applies the ointment and wraps the gauze around his arm. He gets back up to go get some water for him, but as soon as he turns around, he hears a loud thud. He turns around and sees Sam on the floor passed out.

"Shit." Alan says. His eyes widen, and he doesn't know what to do. He needs to bring him to the hospital, but does he call an ambulance? He decides he could get there faster, and scoops up Sam and runs to his car. Alan rests Sam against the car and quickly opens the back door and lays him down across the back seat. He then runs around the car and gets behind the wheel, quickly turning the engine on and speeding to the hospital.

The tires are squeaking from the sharp turns he's making, and he's running red lights to get to the emergency room as soon as possible. He sees a blue sign with a white "H" on it with an arrow pointing to the left, but he notices the road is blocked. "Oh for God's sake. He turns the car around and begins to go down another road, turning at intersections and winding through the roads, swerving around cars.

He finally reaches the E.R. and pulls into a parking space, and picks Sam back up. He's still unconscious. He begins to run towards the doors at a full on sprint through the parking lot. The doors automatically open and he continues running towards the front desk. There is a wall with a glass pane in front of the desk with a small gap for putting paperwork in and out. No one is sitting in the chair and he looks around, but sees no one, other than some people in the waiting room, some look sick, some look in pain.

"Help!" Alan yells as loud as he can. All the people in the waiting room look behind them and sees Alan, still in his pajamas and barefoot, holding a person in his arms. Sam's arm falls limp and hangs from over Alan's arm, which causes Alan to yell again. "FOR FUCK'S SAKE WE NEED A DOCTOR HE'S BLEEDING." At that point a short woman in blue scrubs runs up to the desk, and sees Alan standing, sweaty and tired from running and holding Sam. She doesn't even ask for paperwork, and unlocks the doors and she yells something to someone behind the wall.

Four nurses come through the door with a gurney, and Alan lays Sam down with his head on the flat pillow. He notices the blood seeping through the bandages as he watches them push the gurney back into the room.

"When can I see him? I need to know if he's okay."

"Sir, I know this is a very upsetting situation, but I need you to fill out this paperwork before you can go back to see your daughter."

"SON. I mean - he's not my kid, but..." He rolls his eyes and doesn't finish his sentence and grabs the clipboard with the papers on his side of the desk and grabs a pen out of the small cup full of colorful pens and pencils. He turns around in sits down in a chair in the corner of the waiting room, and begins writing as much as he can. He reaches "Patient Name" and pauses, noticing he only knows Sam as "Sam". He leaves that and the date of birth blank, but fills out as much as he possibly can. He gets back up and sees everyone still staring at him, he looks back and simply says, "What?" and walks towards the desk to hand in the papers.

"I'm sorry, sir, but I can't accept this unless you fill out all the information."

"Look, I'm not related to him, I'm his lawyer. He's not safe at home and it was either sleep in the rain or sleep on my couch. I don't know anything about him other than he's not safe if he goes home. I don't know his real name, he told me his name is Sam, so I call him Sam. I don't know his last name, I don't know where he lives, I don't know his insurance, I know nothing. Please, just let me see him."

"Sir, I need one of her parents or guardians to give consent for you to go back."

Alan rests his face in his hands, and it's obvious he's very frustrated. The woman behind the desk watches him stand there, only his chest moving from the deep breaths. "I suppose, since you're a lawyer, you would have a right to see a client, if it has to do with the problem you were hired to resolve." She walks over and pushes open the door, and leading him to a small room behind a curtain.

"Where is he?" Alan gives a stern look at the nurse. Before she can answer, he asks again louder than the first time.

"Sir, I need you to calm down. They brought her to the operating room to stitch up the wounds."

"How many times do I have to tell you?" Alan rubs his face. "I don't know why you won't listen to me. He. How can you be so disrespectful, especially in a situation like this?" Alan waves his hands in the air, clearly frustrated. He begins pacing around the small room thinking about how much of a turn this night took.