Prescription for Miss Walker

Shira still hadn't responded to the text I sent once lunch-break was over – it wasn't like her. I wanted to call and get the info I craved, but for all I knew, she was busy.

Or was fighting with Ben, fuck knows when it came to that pompous bastard.

Chewing the skin around my nail, I internally screamed at myself. No other man would be waiting around for a chick to respond, he'd immediately get to the problem. So, I gathered my things and left the building, heading straight for her cute little studio.

The familiar buzz of my phone alerted me into action. I didn't spare a glance before I took the call.

"Shira!?"

"No. It's Michael... what the hell did you say to Amy?"

Mentally cursing him under my breath, I wanted to throw the device out the window. For all I knew, he could be clogging up the line and Shira was trying to contact me again.

"It doesn't matter."

"Like hell it doesn't! I know we're friends, but I care about her too and I won't–"

Not giving him the satisfaction of telling me off, I dropped the call and focused back on the road. This was important, I told myself, I didn't have the ability to focus on two women anymore.

The streets weren't busy, therefore I made it in next to no time. I buzzed her apartment letter first, just in case she might have been dodging my texts... but no voice came out of the receiver.

I pricked up an ear in the direction of her window, but I couldn't hear any movement or breathing.

About to buzz a second time, the complex doors opened, a fragile-looking couple sauntering out. Both were straggly and shivering in their boots.

The woman undressed me secretly, the harsh light of the sun highlighting her cruel pale frame.

"You're B's fuck buddy, aren't ya?" I located her accent to be one from New Jersey. Just about to answer, she popped her gum and cocked her head. "Sorry, but I think she took off in an ambulance or something."

My eyes widened.

"What?"

His arm draped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close and giving me a look that said, 'back off'.

"Sorry, mate, we have to get going. Please tell her when she's stopped being such a drama queen to turn the fucking volume down on her stereo in the morning."

I paid no heed, I was already heading back toward my car. Reversing out of there, I didn't half care that I was surpassing the speed limit. I put my foot to the metal and soared, letting the needle hit the red. None of it mattered when Shira was in hospital, probably in a whole lot of agony.

Docking my mobile, I called the nurses station and asked to locate her.

"Patient Miss Walker is currently in A&E. She's suffered from severe blood loss, rectum bleeding, bodily bruising and multiple broken bones. Should I call and request an update for you, Dr Cameron?"

Fuck! What had happened to her...? My blood boiled just thinking about her lying bloody in hospital sheets and unable to move.

My knuckles were turning white. So, instead of abusing the wheel, I channeled my inner Shira, who told me not to be such an idiot and assume the worst. True, the worst had been happening to her for months, I just – I didn't feel like saying goodbye to anyone else today.

I arrived sooner than I thought. Not even caring that my parking was askew, I locked it and dashed for A&E. When I was in there, I recalled why I hated coming here. The stench of blood, the screams and all the agony of the world; they all gathered here, like their own little group.

My eyes darted all over the workplace, avoiding the grisly images of humans impaled with metal or rebar. It may have been selfish of me to think such things but... they weren't why I was here. They weren't the reason I was out of breath and my heart hammered like a thunderstorm.

The swish of a curtain opening and voices emerged, and I followed them, to where I finally caught sight of a woman lying naked under white sheets, face and whole body bruised. It was as if something had collided with her, messing her up beyond repair.

She didn't notice me until I was by her side. She looked at me through a bulging black eye, then swiftly removed it, focusing on her hands instead. I took note of the bandage that was wrapped around her wrist like a tourniquet.

The leaving doctor, Patrick, smiled softly when he turned to notice me. He had a case in his hands, holding it close to him.

"Ah, just the physician she needs. I'm going to make a call on her behalf." He leaned a little closer, his everyday musk washing over me like a cloud. I couldn't see her when he was obscuring the view like this.

"Don't look too stunned, Ash, you're making it seem like you actually give a shit." Winking, he pranced off, like the ultimate wanker he was.

I approached slowly, asking the nurses to please excuse us. Without so much as another motion, I pulled the curtains back over. It wasn't the privacy I knew she wanted or needed right now, but unfortunately it was all that I could offer.

All this time, for the past three months or so, I had never seen Shira as disgusting or ugly. She could expel snot as she cried and unintentionally wipe it across her face as she tried to rid of it. She could lose more than thirty pounds and closely resemble a dry popsicle stick, but I still admired each and every bone that protruded, even name them in front of her so I could entice a giggle.

Even when she was at her worst, she'd never made me sick to my stomach, despite the names she called me or her vile way of manipulation. Because, underneath all that rough exterior, there was simply just a woman who was crying out for help. For friends.

However, now, like this – skin open and bleeding, black and decaying – she'd become the ugliest thing that I had ever witnessed.

Shira should never be covered in such things. The broken bones, bruises, and deep cuts shouldn't have a place on that porcelain skin. They didn't belong here.

And whatever did it to her...

Had to fucking die.

So, I tentatively advanced, until I was right by her side. Up close, everything was multiplied. I could see the wounds for what they were.

The markings of a human hand.

When she didn't say anything, I figured it was okay for me to press my lips against her forehead. She trembled, fighting tears, as I breathed in quickly through my nose, the fog becoming me.