Watching Trin by Freya Barker

Chapter 5

Trin

The sharp ringing drags me from a restless sleep.

In an effort to locate my phone before it wakes up the rest of the house, I knock my Kindle off the nightstand. I squint against the sudden bright glare of my screen, identifying Vic as the caller. I also note it’s ten to two and suddenly panic puts pressure on my chest as I answer.

“Are you okay?”

My heart skips when a man’s voice answers.

“Katrina? This is Bodhi Jones. Your sister is fine. We were called out to a water rescue and she’s riding in the ambulance with a patient and asked me to call you.”

My sluggish brain is having a hard time processing.

“Uh, okay. But why—”

“We were able to pull three boys from the Animas River. The raft they were in capsized.”

A raft? In the middle of the night? What does this have to do…

Did he say boys?

Fear hits me like a kick in the gut, but my feet are already moving. I dart down the hall and run up the stairs, muttering my son’s name over and over. When I barge into Tucker’s room, I find his bed empty and his window open a crack.

“Trin? Are you there?”

I bring the phone I was clutching in my hand back up to my ear.

“Tucker,” I manage breathlessly.

“Listen to me. Your son is on his way to Mercy and Vic is with him. I’m coming to pick you up so I need you to get dressed.”

A sob escapes me as I back out of his room.

“Oh my God…”

Dressed. I need to get dressed.

At the top of the stairs I catch sight of my father’s bedroom door.

“Pops. I can’t leave him.”

“Shit,” I hear him mutter, followed by a brief pause before he comes back. “Get yourself ready. I’m five minutes out and I’ll help you with your father when I get there.”

The curt instructions give me something to focus on, other than the sheer panic coursing through my veins, and I start down the stairs.

“Okay.”

“Trin? Breathe. I’ll be right there, hang on.”

“Okay,” I repeat, feeling shakes take over my body as the phone goes dead in my hand.

I’m on automatic pilot as I flick on the light in my room and grab for yesterday’s clothes I tossed on the chair. I’m just shoving my feet in a pair of sneakers when knocking sounds from the front of the house.

His hair is damp, a few curls plastered to his forehead as he steps into my front hall. By now I’m numb, unable to think clearly, but Bodhi puts his hands on my shoulders and ducks his head low so his eyes are level with mine.

“We need to get your father ready,” he says calmly and I nod.

He gives my shoulders a light squeeze before letting me go and I turn to the stairs, feeling his presence close behind me.

Pops is disoriented when we wake him up. This is a departure from his regular routine, he doesn’t understand what is going on so gets agitated. Bodhi instructs me to gather him some clothes while he sits on the edge of my father’s bed, calming him down.

Getting him dressed takes far too long and by the time we walk toward Bodhi’s truck I’m almost running. Anxiety has kicked in.

“What happened to your face?” Bodhi interrupts the spinning of my world as he backs out of our driveway.

I shake my head, this morning’s incident furthest from my mind right now. My son is the center of my life and the thought of Tucker hurt, or worse, is all-consuming.

With a quick glance over my shoulder at Pops, who is sitting quietly in the back seat, I redirect his question.

“Nothing. Tell me what happened?”

“We got a call an upturned raft was spotted on the river. We got there just in time to intercept it in the rapids with two boys barely clinging on. A third victim—your son—was knocked loose but got his foot stuck on something underwater. We located him, managed to get him to shore, and were able to stabilize him.”

“Is he hurt?”

My voice sounds small, even to my own ears.

Tyler, Tuck’s father, used to joke I had ice water running through my veins. In those days, my assignments often took me to some of the most dangerous places in the world, and I wouldn’t even blink. Not much would faze me back then, but the idea of my baby in the hospital has me almost paralyzed with fear.

A surprisingly warm hand covers my own cold ones.

“I’m not gonna lie, he was in pretty bad shape when we pulled him out, but by the time he was loaded in the ambulance he was breathing on his own and his pulse was strong.”

I bite my lips shut to contain the sob trying to escape and focus my eyes on the city streets whipping by outside the window. Finally, I take in a few deep breaths through my nose until I trust myself to speak.

“Is he going to be okay?”

I look at his profile.

“He’s likely suffering from hypothermia and shock, but he’s in the best possible hands. I’m sure there’ll be better answers when we get to Mercy.”

He darts a glance my way and I nod woodenly as the first hot tear rolls down my cheek.

“Are we going for ice cream?” comes from the back seat. “I’m hungry.”

“We’re going to see Tucker, Pops.”

“Tucker?”

“Yes. He’s in the hospital, but I’ll find you something to eat when we get there.”

“I want ice cream,” he snaps.

My father has developed a serious sweet tooth recently. Something we’re trying to curb but it doesn’t seem to help. He wants what he wants and these days has no patience to wait.

“Bruce?” Bodhi looks in the rearview mirror as he addresses him. “What’s your favorite chocolate bar?”

“Snickers,” is his quick response.

“Mine too. How about I score us some Snickers bars from the vending machine when we get to the hospital?” Bodhi offers.

“I like Snickers,” Pops repeats.

“Yeah, I do too.”

When the back seat stays silent, Bodhi turns his head my way and shoots me a quick wink.

* * *

Bodhi

I’m itching to push her on the bruising on her face, but although I have a sneaky suspicion, this isn’t the right time. Nor is it really my place.

She wasn’t exactly lying when she mentioned her life was chaos. At the time I didn’t know she had a teenage son. As if a father with dementia wasn’t enough of a challenge, now she has a child in serious condition in the hospital.

Cap had been about to send Hog to her house when I explained I met her a few weeks ago, and it might be less threatening if she saw a familiar face. He agreed, although it wouldn’t have mattered if he hadn’t. One of the patrol cars, that had arrived on scene in the meantime, had dropped me off at the station so I could grab my own vehicle, and I rushed over to her place.

When we get to Mercy, we find Vic in the waiting room and the sisters hug each other tightly. She’s able to tell us Tucker is stable but as yet unresponsive, and ER staff is working on getting his core temperature up and running some tests.

Leaving them to talk, I walk over to the vending machines in the corner and thank my lucky stars one of them holds Bruce’s preferred chocolate bar. My offering earns a grunt from the old man, but he doesn’t hesitate to rip the wrapper off. He’s distracted, for now, but from what I remember that can change on a dime. The last thing the sisters need right now is to deal with that.

“I’ve got to step out, I’ll just be a minute,” I announce before slipping out the door.

I cross the lobby and head outside where I make a quick call.

“Beacham.”

“Cap, it’s me.”

“How’s the kid?” he asks right away.

“Stable for now but they’re still working on him. We’re waiting for news.”

“Fingers crossed. The other two were lucky, although they may not think so after getting dropped off at home in the middle of the night by a police officer.”

I vividly remember a few times I lived through a similar scenario. I was a tad adventurous in my younger years. It hadn’t surprised my parents at all when I ended up with the fire department.

“Probably not.”

“So are you on your way back?” he wants to know.

“Yeah, about that…Vic and her sister look after their father. He has dementia and we had to bring him along. It’s not an ideal situation.”

“Damn, Roadkill. That’s a tough one, but we’re shorthanded as it is and it’s a goddamn full moon out there. You know what that means.”

Whether there’s any correlation or not, things tend to get busy on nights like this.

“I get it. Can you give me half an hour?”

He agrees and I quickly dial another number.

“Bodhi? What’s wrong?” my father immediately asks when he answers the phone.

I wince. Getting a call in the middle of the night when your son is a firefighter is never a fun experience.

“I’m fine, Dad. Is Mom there?”

I spend the next few minutes explaining the situation to them before returning to the waiting room.

“You need to get back, right?” Vic observes when I walk in.

“Soon, but I’m hoping I can bring the boys some good news.”

I’m addressing Vic but I’m looking at her sister. She doesn’t see me though; her eyes are locked on the door to the ER. I sit down on the edge of the coffee table in front of her and take one of her hands in mine.

Ice cold.

“Katrina…can I get you anything? Water? A coffee? I’m pretty sure the stuff that comes out of those machines is only slightly more palatable than motor oil, but at least it’s hot.”

The small smile tugging at those plump lips is mostly involuntary as she shifts her gaze to me for a moment.

“I’m good. Thanks. Oh, and thank you for picking us up.”

“Of course.”

I smile back and switch to the free seat beside her but keep hold of her hand. Vic doesn’t appear to notice, she’s too busy studying her sister closely.

“What happened to you?”

The question seems to startle Trin and she quickly pulls her hand from mine, immediately bringing it up to cover the bruise on her face.

“I…uh…” She darts a glance at her dad, who is now watching her carefully as well. “Kitchen cupboard. I’ll tell you later.”

It’s clear Vic isn’t buying it but the tense moment is broken when the door swings open and my mother walks in. I get up to greet her with a kiss on the cheek.

“This is my mom, Nira,” I explain. “And, Mom, meet Victoria and Katrina, and this is their father, Bruce.”

She nods at the sisters before focusing her attention on the older man. In no time she engages him in conversation and I turn to the women.

“What’s your mom doing here?” Vic asks under her breath.

“I have to get back to the station but thought you might need a hand.”

“Bodhi’s mom took care of his grandma, who had dementia,” Trin clarifies.

I turn around at the sound of her voice, surprised she remembered that.

Vic clears her throat behind me.

“You don’t say.”

* * *

Five hours later I pull my car into a vacant parking spot outside the hospital.

We were called out to a house fire minutes after I got to the station. I’d barely had time to update the crew with what little info I had at the time before we were back in the rig. When we got back around six, I went to lie down for a bit and promptly fell asleep until Cheddar woke me half an hour ago.

I stank of dried river water and smoke so I grabbed a quick shower before making room for the next shift to come in. Cap was just on his way out the door when I caught him to ask about the submerged car.

Police had informed him the CBI would send a forensic dive team to recover the wreckage, but it could be a day or two. He’d also found out this morning it looks like the boys had stolen the raft off a trailer at Mild to Wild Rafting on the north side of town. They’d found three discarded bikes in the brush beside the parking lot.

Dumb kids, how the hell did they figure they’d get back there to pick them up?

I bowed out of joining the crew to grab some breakfast at the diner, I told them I needed to catch up on some sleep. Instead I ended up driving here.

I head for the doors to the cafeteria—thinking maybe I could pick up coffees and something to eat for everyone—when I spot Vic leaning against the wall, taking a drag from a cigarette.

“I didn’t know you smoked?”

“I don’t,” she claims, tossing the cigarette on the pavement and grinding it out with her heel. “Only when I’m stressed. I had to bum it off one of the nurses.” She bends over to pick up the butt and drops it in an empty coffee from the garbage can.

“How is he?”

“Awake. They got his temperature up with warmed intravenous fluids and heating blankets, and they’re treating him for pneumonia. Other than that he seems a little confused, but they don’t think there is any lasting brain damage from lack of oxygen.”

“He was lucky,” I observe.

“He was, but he’s in for a world of hurt when he comes home. My sister has all but vowed to install bars on his window and a lock on his bedroom door until he’s grown into some sense.”

I chuckle. I believe my father made me that same threat twenty-five or so years ago.

“Hope the wait isn’t too long.”

She tilts her head and narrows her eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be home hitting the sack?”

“I, uh, just wanted to check in. See if anyone needed anything. My mom still here?”

“Riight…” she drawls. “And no. Pops was getting restless so she offered to take him home. When Trin could go in to see Tuck, the rest of us piled into a cab. I just got back here with Trin’s vehicle, mine is still at the station.” She pulls open the door and looks over her shoulder. “Are you coming in?”

“Sure,” I respond, casually following her inside.

We haven’t walked ten feet when she stops in her track and pins me with a hard look.

“What’s going on between you and my sister?”

Fuck if I know, but I’d like to find out.