Page 47 of Violent Skies

“Hey,” I cradle her face, “Birdie.”

“I won the race…” she coughs out and blood pools at the corners of her mouth and coats her perfect teeth.

“Get her up,” Mel says quickly, her brain working faster than mine in the panic. I haul her heavy body into the chair and Birdie giggles like she’s having the time of her life. “Do you know her?” Mel asks me as we get her back and into a bed.

“Yeah she’s my…” I stop. Family. “I need you to find Dr. Kay and clear a slot for a CT.”

“You can’t order th—” Mel stops when she sees the look on my face. “Yeah, alright. She’s bleeding in the back,” she says, pointing to Birdie’s head as I get her settled on the bed and Mel takes off to get help.

The second she’s gone I pull the curtain over and start to look over Birdie’s face. With all her energy, she forces a painful smile. “What happened?” I ask, turning her head gently to inspect the bruise that blossoms across her jaw.

“Won a race,” she grinds out , keeping her one eye on me.

“Can you open this?” I ask her quietly, softly brushing under her eye with my fingertips as she shakes her head. “This is gonna hurt,” I tell her before lifting the lid. The eye itself looks okay, her pupil reacts to the light but it’s bloodshot and she grimaces as I do it. “Your cheek is going to need stitches.”

“No,” she protests, putting her hand up to stop me as I move to check the back of her head.

“Don’t argue with me,” I tell her, and she drops her hand. “It looks irritated back here. Was your hair pulled?” She tilts back and lays against the bed with a groan.

“Two goons attacked me in the street outside Soundwave,” she says finally.

“Who were they?” I ask and she shrugs.

“I didn’t really stick around to ask…” she hisses as I start to clean the cuts.

“Don’t be a baby,” I admonish, but she smirks at me.

“Fuck, the cash,” she groans. “It’s in the glove compartment.”

“I’m just glad you’re safe. Do you remember what they looked like?” I ask, setting out the kit to start her sutures.

“No, it’s fuzzy,” she says, pulling away from my hand. I scowl at her and she relaxes so I can close up her cheek. “But Murphy—” she swallows down a wave of pain, “—taught me to look for CCTV. I'm parked between two—whoever it is, they’re caught on camera.”

“You’re both too smart for this life,” I say without thinking and Birdie clearly takes offense because she turns her gaze away from me. “It’s a compliment, Birdie.”

“Doesn’t sound like one,” she huffs.

“Do you want me to freeze it?” I ask her as she grimaces again, but she shakes her head so I keep going. “How did it feel?” I question and she looks at me, briefly confused before she realizes what I’m asking.

“Good.” She smiles again. “Really fucking good. I beat a Westfall.”

I want to ask her how much trouble that’s going to cause us but I don’t because she’s proud of herself. I understand her need to race, that feeling it brings her. I get the same one working in the ER. Helping people under tremendous stress lights me up like the fourth of July. But it's not nearly as dangerous or as illegal as what Birdie does, and the worry in my bones is loud.

I open my mouth to ask her another question when Dr. Kay comes through the curtain with Mel on his tail. “Cress, you asked for me?”

“Would you mind?” I ask him. Dr. Kay is handsome, all grey hair and charming smiles. He’s always had somewhat of a soft spot for me, and I don’t want Birdie sitting around the emergency room in the open like this. The sooner I can get her looked over and out of here, the better.

“For you?” He smiles and Birdie gives me a hilarious look. I back away from the bed and took the forms from Mel to fill out for Birdie. She can use my insurance, and if anyone asks, it’s me who fell and hit my head. “You sure did a number on yourself…”

“Birdie,” she offers with a smirk. Even in her dazed state she’s her smooth, flirty self and that’s the only reason I’m not letting the panic take hold. It’s not hard to notice how handsome Dr. Kay is, and fortunately for her, he loves to be fawned over.

“Hard to forget a name as pretty as that.” He winks at her and Mel scoffs, leaving the room. I keep filling out the forms and he sends her off for a CT just like I knew he would. “Can you see me, Birdie?” he asks softly, using her name like honey.

“Mid-fifties, two dimples—” she winces. “I can’t tell if you’re single though,” she flirts with a laugh.

He holds up his hand to show the ringless finger with a laugh as he turns his head to me. “I don’t think there’s damage to her eye,” he says from the end of the bed. “I’d get it looked at as a precaution, the sutures are good though.” Dr. Kay gives me a pat on the shoulder before exiting and leaving us be again.

“No wonder you like working here.” Birdie sits up a bit in her bed.