Jury Read online

  “You really are handsome.” She said as she ran her hand across his forehead.

  She smiled and it sent her over the edge. She could not hold her tears in anymore. She sat at the foot of his bed and took his hand in hers.

  “You had better not take too long to get well.” She bent and kissed his forehead. “Because I don’t know what I would do without you.”

  She wiped the tears that had fallen on his face and laughed. “You see what you’re doing to me, Taylor? I sound way too cheesy and like I am in love with you, which I most definitely am not.”

  She kept on massaging his hands and noticed that he twitched.

  “Taylor? You awake?”

  She wiped her tears and took a closer look at him. He had started sweating profusely and his movements had become more regular. His head kept turning from left to right and the ECG machine was beeping rapidly. She took some time to look at the numbers on the ECG machine and she panicked. She was not a medicine student but she had watched enough medical dramas on TV to know what was going on. Taylor was in V-tach.

  She quickly put her index and middle finger on his wrist and looked around for a clock. She remembered seeing one when she came in but she could not seem to find it now.

  “I should have worn my watch.” She muttered as she kept turning her head to see if she could still find the clock.

  After five seconds of frantically searching, she sighted the clock. She waited for the second hand to reach twelve and she started counting.

  “One… Two… Three… Four… Five….” She frowned and looked at the ECG monitor. “I can’t feel any pulse. Oh God.”

  She stepped back and started frantically searching for the nurse call button.

  “Where is it?!”

  She found it by Taylor’s bed on the table and grabbed it. She was about to press it but she held herself back.

  “What if they don’t get here on time?”

  She stood there deliberating what to do and almost immediately, she dropped the box that housed the button, walked over to the table the defibrillator was on and pulled it closer to Taylor’s bed. With quick successive movements, she unbuttoned Taylor’s shirt and held his head still.

  “Stop moving goddamn it.”

  She turned on the defibrillator.

  “Peel off the pad labelled one and stick to the bare skin of the patient exactly as shown in the picture.” The mechanical voice of the defibrillator said.

  “Shut up.” She hurriedly peeled off both pads and stuck one on the left side of his chest, above where the heart is and stuck the other under his right ribcage.

  “Peel off the pad labelled two and stick to the bare skin of the patient exactly as shown in the picture.” The mechanical voice instructed again.

  “I’ve done that already, you bloody unintelligent machine. Move to the next part.” Emily was clearly losing her wits. “And now I am talking to machines.”

  The defibrillator beeped twice. “Do not touch the patient. Analysing heart rhythm.”

  Emily felt like she was waiting for eternity while the defibrillator was analysing so she started pacing and biting her nails.

  “Shock advised.”

  Once Emily saw the orange button flashing on the defibrillator, she ran up to it and waited.

  The defibrillator beeped again but this time, it was a long one. “And clear. Press the flashing orange button now.”

  “STAY CLEAR!!!” Emily shouted and pressed the orange button. The beep stopped immediately.

  “Shock delivered.” The defibrillator beeped again. “Begin CPR now.”

  Emily placed her hands on Taylor’s chest and started doing compressions. She counted to thirty, gently tilted his head backwards, gave him rescue breaths and went back to doing compressions.

  “Come on Taylor. Wake your ass up.” Emily started crying. “Don’t leave me here. I won’t ever forgive you if you do.”

  “What are you doing Emily?” Bob watched through the glass in the door with horror as Emily was giving CPR to Taylor. He did not know whether to go call the nurses or to go in to help her. He weighed his options for a bit and after a while, he started down the stairs but then changed his mind and ran back to Taylor’s room door. He took a deep breath in and let it out before walking in.

  Emily turned to face the door but did not stop doing compressions. “Hey Bob. You cannot tell anyone about any of this.” She smiled. “Understood?”

  Bob nodded and took a step closer. She was a mess. “Let me take over the compressions.” He offered.

  “NO! STAY BACK!”

  The look on Bob’s face said it all. Emily had snapped at him and he was just trying to help her out. “I am sorry. Thanks but I am fine.” She turned to face Taylor. “Wake up Taylor!”

  SIX

  Taylor was running and he could not help but wonder why he was running. He was sure he had seen this place before. It was oddly familiar but he could not quite put a finger on it.

  The wind whistled in his ears as he ran. He felt so free so he kept running and finally it registered. He was in high school and it was the last day of his junior year. He was running to meet his parents. He was what you would call a big baby and he was proud to have that name tag because his parents meant the world to him.

  They had a lot planned for the summer and he could not wait for the wild adventure to start: he would go fishing, kayaking, hiking, mountain climbing and the one thing he was really looking forward to was sky diving. That was going to be the icing on the cake.

  “Taylor! We are over here.” That was his mum calling. Her voice always gave him this sudden boost of energy that made him feel on top of the world.

  “MUM!!!” Taylor called back. He had this childish grin on his face as he ran. He ran as fast as his little legs could carry him, straight into his mum’s arms and she hugged him tight. His dad came over to rub his head and joined the hug. Time seemed to slow down and it felt like they were the only ones in the world but as much as he wanted to stay that way, they had to go since it was almost dark and tomorrow was the start of a summer of fun.

  “Let us go home, Cuddles. Your sister has been home for a while now and we would not want to keep her waiting any longer. We had to get her first and that is why we are late. Hope you understand.” His mum was the absolute sweetest. He could not speak with the smile still plastered on his face so he just nodded and looked into her hazel eyes as they walked into the car.

  It was going to be a long drive home so his dad put in a PANIC! At The Disco cd and the first song that played was “Only difference between martyrdom and suicide is press coverage.” That was their song. They kept singing along and they got louder every time they got to “Swear to shake it up if you swear to listen cause we’re still so young, desperate for attention. I aim to be your eyes, trophy boys, trophy wives.”

  They had been on the road for more than an hour and they had sung along to all the songs that had played. Taylor’s eyelids started to close so he kissed his mum on the forehead and went to sleep in the back seat.

  Not too long after, Taylor started sweating and feeling uncomfortable. He could not bear the heat. His eyes fluttered open and he thought he was at home. He blinked a few times and waited for his eyes to fully register his surroundings. He could smell oil or was that gas? He got up and realized he was not on his bed at home; he was by the side of the road. He was confused because it was not too long ago they were singing to “London Beckoned Songs About Money Written By Machines”, so he decided to walk towards the direction they came from to see if he could figure out why he woke up by the side of the road.

  He had not walked too long when he saw it. He ran towards the car that was now overturned and pieces of his memory started coming back to him.

  They had been singing to one of the tracks on the album and he remembered waking up just in time to see someone walking across the road so he shouted for his dad to step on the brakes but he was too late. That was all he could remember.

&nb
sp; He tried seeing if he could force himself to remember more details and that was when it hit him hard; his parents were not with him when he woke up. He increased his pace as he ran towards the car and as he neared it, he saw a pool of blood before the car erupted into flames, sending him back. His parents were still in the car and he did not know how or what to feel; they were dead. He could not cry, he could not scream, and he could not move. He was the only one out there and he was helpless. He just stood there, watching the car burn and then his emotions engulfed him. He could not breathe and his heart would not stop beating fast. Tears started streaming down his cheeks and he fell to his knees.

  “MUM!!!”

  “DAD!!!”

  He could not peel his eyes away from the fire. He just kept watching as it slowly turned everything to ash. He started crawling towards the fire. He had made up his mind. He was going to join them.

  As he neared the flames, his phone rang. He looked at the screen on his phone and the name he saw made him cry. It was his sister. He picked the call and he heard someone shouting “Wake up Taylor. You’re just having a bad dream. Wake your ass up!”

  ***

  Emily kept administering CPR. She did not want to stop. She could not stop. Bob had allowed her to go on and he just stood there, staring at Taylor. “Come on.” She was still crying. “Wake up Taylor. You’re just having a bad dream. Wake your ass up!”

  The ECG machine went back to beeping normally. Emily stopped the compressions and studied the screen of the ECG machine. Taylor’s vitals were back to normal. She checked to see if he now had a pulse and measured it when she found he did. She smiled and looked at Bob who managed a reassuring smile.

  Taylor had stopped moving now and he was back to looking peaceful.

  “Open your eyes Taylor.” Emily said as she sat back down at the foot of his bed. She took his hand in hers and waited.

  “He’ll be fine Emily. Just be patient.” Bob walked over to her and squeezed her shoulder lightly. Come on Taylor, he thought to himself.

  ***

  Taylor’s head was buzzing and it hurt a lot. His eyes were still closed but he could hear the sound of the ECG machine and he was breathing through an oxygen mask.

  Just great, He thought to himself. I am in the clinic.

  He could still remember the fight or should he say the beating he got from Mike. He would have laughed if his ribs did not hurt so much.

  “Come on Taylor. Open your eyes.”

  Emily was sad and he hated that, but she would have to wait a little longer.

  He slowly opened his eyes and used his free hand to take off the oxygen mask. He took a deep breath in and let it out. That was refreshing but it hurt, a lot.

  “Hey Taylor.” Emily said softly like she did not want to scare him. “I am glad you’re awake.”

  “Hey.” Taylor groaned as he tried to sit up.

  Emily quickly placed a hand on his shoulder and tried to make him lie back down. “Don’t move too much.”

  “It is ok. I am fine.” Taylor sat up, ignoring the pain and looked around. He saw the defibrillator and traced the wires to his chest. “What in the bloody hell? Who used this on me?”

  Emily dropped her gaze and set it on her hands while Bob just kept looking at Taylor.

  “Emily. Answer me. Who used the defib on me?” Taylor demanded.

  “I did.” Emily’s voice was barely a whisper.

  “What did you say?”

  “I said I did. OK?” Emily stood from the bed and started pacing.

  “What were you thinking?”

  “I was thinking that it would be best to save your life. What did you expect me to do? Stand there and watch you die? You were in V-tach and I saw it just there within reach so I used it.”

  Taylor looked astounded. “What happened to doing the right thing which was to go and get the nurses? Something could have gone wrong.” He turned to face Bob. “And you, why did you not stop her?”

  “Don’t answer that Bob.” Emily said without taking her eyes off Taylor. “What if the nurses didn’t get here on time and you flat lined?! And don’t bring Bob into this. He did try to stop me but I didn’t let him.”

  “You are crazy. I have a crazy best friend.” Taylor put his head in his hand. “I have told you countless times to stop watching all those medical dramas. You have gone out of your mind thinking you can play nurse.”

  “The same way it is foolish for you to play lawyer when you’re not one and it’s not like I saved your life.” Emily stopped pacing and walked to his bed. “You know what, I am sorry, but I am not sorry and to think I was even worried you were going to die. Maybe I should inject you with poison and then get the nurses. Let’s see them save your ass then.”

  “Oh My God. Now you are going to try to murder me to prove a point?”

  “You bet your ass I will.”

  “I have a crazy, murderous best friend.” Taylor could not hold it in anymore. He started laughing. “Ouch. That hurts.”

  “What’s so funny?” Emily asked dryly.

  “The look on your face. You actually think I am mad at you?” Taylor guffawed. “I am fucking proud of you but please, next time, call the nurses.”

  “You are silly.” Emily got the pillow that was on the chair in the room and used it to hit him. “Don’t ever do that again.”

  “Ouch. I cannot promise you anything E.” Taylor grinned. “What time is it?”

  “It’s 12:36 p.m.” Bob answered.

  “You have got to be kidding me? I have been out for more than three hours?” Taylor shook his head. “That son of a bitch.”

  “Don’t stress yourself out.” Emily sat back down at the foot of his bed. “What happened? In your dream that is.”

  “What makes you think I was dreaming?”

  “Come on Taylor. What else could it have been?”

  “There are a lot of things that it could have been. I could have been reacting to something they gave me or I could have had one of them medical issues.”

  “Which of these medical issues would make you shout mum and dad?”

  “I said that out loud?”

  “Actually Taylor, you shouted it out loud.” Bob said.

  Taylor rubbed the back of his head and smiled. “Well, I apologize for subjecting the both of you to that but it is nothing to worry about. I am fine.”

  Emily frowned. “If you don’t start talking, I swear I’ll put a pillow over your face”

  “Strangely, I believe you.” Taylor chuckled. “Well, it is a nightmare I have not had in years. The accident that took my parents from me.”

  Emily squeezed his hand as he narrated the whole story to her. She was brought to tears and could not believe he had gone through that at such a young age. She always admired him but this made her see him in a new light.

  Bob had taken his seat on the chair in the room. He was amazed at the strength of Taylor. Going through life without his mum who he looked up to and cherished must have been hard and really painful. He was in awe.

  “Come on beautiful. Do not cry.” Taylor wiped the tears from her face. “I am fine.”

  Emily did not say anything. She just hugged him and did not let go despite Taylor’s groaning. She finally let go after a while and kissed him on the forehead.

  “What was that for?” Taylor asked, bemused.

  “Mike did this to you and I know that for some ungodly reason, you’re not going to go after him for it.”

  “You are right. I will not. If I do, I will only prolong this fight and there would be more casualties.” Taylor said. “But you still have not answered my question.”

  “That was me saying sorry ahead of time. If you’re not going to go after Mike, I will.” Emily stood and walked to the door. “He wants war, I’ll give him war.”

  “Please do not do anything stupid E. He is not worth it and what exactly do you want to do? File a lawsuit like he did?”

  “You ask a lot of questions. Get some rest.” Emily said a
nd walked out.

  Taylor sighed and turned his head to face Bob.

  “You aren’t going to stop her?” Bob asked.

  “I would not be able to even if I tried. She has her mind set on going after Mike and there is no changing that.” Taylor pointed at the nurse call button on the floor. “Could you hand me that?”

  “Sure.” Bob picked it up and handed it to him.

  “Thanks.” Taylor pushed the nurse call button. “Plus, I know she has been itching to get back at Mike for the subpoena, so I am more than happy to keep my mouth shut.”

  “You are one sneaky bastard.”

  “Never denied it.”

  They both laughed.

  “What happened in here? And why is the defibrillator attached to your chest?” The nurse who came to get Taylor demanded.

  ***

  Emily walked into the library and started looking around for Mike. Surprisingly, he was not in any of the game rooms, so she checked the study lounges and found him in the third one. She pushed the door open, walked up to him and smacked him across the face.

  “Why the fuck did you attack Taylor?”

  “Hello to you too, Emily.” Mike smiled. “Please, take a seat.”

  “I am not in the mood to get all cheeky with you, so you best answer my question before I do something I’ll regret.”

  “Ok fine.” Mike sighed and closed the book he was reading before Emily walked in. “I was angry at the fact that he beat me again and had just set the foundation for my third loss in two days. I completely lost it and I am sorry.”

  Emily started clapping. “Beautiful speech. Well-constructed and well-delivered but I don’t buy it.” She tossed a folder on his lap. “I hope you have time to prepare for this suit too.”

  “Really? Taylor is suing me for assault?” Mike scoffed.

  “No. I am.”

  Mike laughed. “Ok then. See you later.”

  “Don’t get too cocky and think you’ll win this one.” Emily said and walked to the door.

  “How is he?”

  “Fuck you Mike.”