Step Love

I took the stairs three at a time. I burst into the bathroom.

Katie was under the water and still. Her eyes were closed and her eyelids were lilac coloured. I fell to my knees and yanked a huge towel down from the towel rack. I lifted Katie out of the water. Her long hair was floating around her body: she looked like a mermaid- not the typical sexed out merwhore movies and shit usually show- she looked how a mermaid should look: innocent and fragile.

I wrapped Katie in the towel and lay her flat on the floor. I reached into the dustiest parts of my memory for the brief lifeguard training I'd had when I was eleven. I opened her airway by tilting her head back and stretching her throat. I lightly slapped her face.

"Katie? Katie?? Can you hear me?? Wake up. Wake up, Katie! Come on, Katie. Please," I begged. I was completely losing it. I desperately blew a quick breath of air into her lungs. I stopped after two seconds, remembering that she was considerably smaller than me and I didn't want to burst her lungs. I gently pressed down on her chest to exhale for her.

Katie coughed once delicately. A trickle of water bubbled out of her mouth. She coughed violently over and over after that. Her eyes opened sluggishly.

"Oh my god. Katie. You're alive. Oh my god," I gasped, scooping up the little mermaid and hugging her to my chest. She coughed and gasped. I released my tight grip on her, feeling stupid.

"Shit! Sorry," I said. She coughed some more. I picked her up and held her in my arms and went back down the stairs. I opened the front door and went outside. Katie shivered in the night air.

"Sorry," I apologized again and held her closer to me. I hurried across the street to Dr. Choi's house and rang the doorbell. Dr. Elizabeth Choi opened the door, wearing blue jeans. I had this ignorant image in my head that for some reason she would always wear hospital scrubs.

"... Benjamin?" She said surprised. "Is that Katie??" She gasped.

"Yeah. She fell in the bathtub," I explained in a rush.

"Oh my- come in, come in. Put her on the couch," Dr. Choi said and ushered me in. I set Katie on the couch, propping her to sit up. She blinked and rubbed her eyes. She coughed again and kind of swayed in her spot. I sat next to her so she could lean on me. Dr. Choi lightly padded Katie's limbs down, feeling for any broken bones.

"Ok, honey. I need you to keep looking at me," She requested, sounding calm and professional. Katie blinked and then widened her eyes.

"Do you know your name?" Dr. Choi asked.

"Katie," She responded.

"Good. Do you know his name?" Dr. Choi asked, pointing at me. Katie looked at me.

"Um... no," She admitted quietly. I felt my heart break.

"Take your time sweetie. Try and remember," Dr. Choi said patiently.

"... oh. He's Ben. He's my brother,"

"Good. Good girl. Do you remember what you were doing before you hurt yourself?"

"Um..." Katie blinked. "I... was reaching for mom's shampoo and I slipped. I was in the bath because... Ben and me made worms and dirt and we got messy. It's a dessert though. It doesn't have any real worms or dirt in it,"

"Ok excellent," Dr. Choi said. Her husband came in the room, then.

"Greg can you hand me my flashlight?" Dr. Choi asked. He obliged.

"Katie, I'm going to shine the light in your eyes for a second," Dr. Choi let Katie know. She gently held Katie's left eye open and shined the light in at her eye. I could see Katie's eye darting and twitching. Dr. Choi moved to the right eye.

"Ok. Good. You are going to be just fine, Katie," Dr. Choi assured her. Katie nodded and blinked. She still looked kind of disoriented.

"She just has a very mild concussion. Keep her awake for five hours, ok?" Dr. Choi told me.

"Ok," I said nervously. Dr. Choi smiled.

"Don't worry. She'll be fine," Dr. Choi said. I looked at Katie. Her hair was still soaking wet and she was shivering. I picked her up and Dr. Choi walked us to the door.

"If she starts vomiting, though, or has a lot of trouble balancing, bring her back here ok?" Dr. Choi instructed.

"Ok. Thanks," I said.

"No problem. You did the right thing by making sure she got checked out," Dr. Choi praised, surprising me. I smiled awkwardly and carried Katie back to our house.