Free Angel by Jamie Canosa

tiny blue moons, crumpled and unkempt. She’d been in the middle of a double shift when Kiernan was brought in. The tidy ponytail she always wore to work had come loose and hung in tangles around her shoulders from having her hands run through it so many times. Even her makeup had been wiped away along with her tears.
    Sighing, she leaned against the waiting room wall and shut her eyes.
    “Why don’t you go home, Mom? You look tired.”
    “Gee, thanks, Cal.” Her smile was weak, but genuine.
    “You know what I mean. It’s been a long day. The doctor already said Kiernan won’t be released until morning. You might as well get some rest until then.”
    “What about you? Are you heading home now?” Mom reached for her purse and started fishing around inside.
    “Figured I’d hang around here until Jade’s ready and drop her off at home on my way.”
    “That’s very thoughtful of you.” Dangling her car keys, she zipped up the bag. “How late do you think you’ll be?”
    “I don’t know. Visiting hours are almost over.”
    “ Mmhmm.” She nodded absently, her eyes glued to the door, behind which Kiernan was struggling to comfort Jade, while she struggled to do the same for him. “Alright, then. I’ll see you in a bit. And please tell Jade I said good night.”
    “I will.” Watching Mom shuffle toward the exit, it struck me that she didn’t stand quite as tall as she used to.
    ***
    The sun sank low, casting a bright orange glare through the oversized windows that made up the entire west wall of the Emergency Department. My ass was going numb in the hard, plastic chairs waiting for Jade. I knew they had a lot to talk about and that it would take time to sort through it all, but I was anxious to see the end result. To fast-forward and know that they would both be alright. The not knowing was causing some serious damage to my blood pressure.
    The glare had diminished to little more than a glow on the horizon by the time she reemerged.
    “Hey.” I stood and met her halfway. “How was it?”
    “It was . . . better than I expected.” Her fingers twisted tightly in the dark hair falling over her shoulder. “He seems so . . . normal. Like nothing’s wrong.”
    “Yeah. I know. It can be so easy to forget sometimes. But you can’t. You can’t let yourself forget. Otherwise, you have to deal with the remembering part. And that sucks.”
    “Good point.” Her fingers broke free from the strands of dark silk strangling them and she immediately started in on her poor nails.
    “Do you have a ride home?”
    “Um . . .” What was left of her fingernails were saved when she ripped her hand away from her mouth and shoved it in her pocket. “I figured I’d just call a cab.” Her hand shifted around her pocket and she frowned. “Or walk. It’s not that far and—”
    “It’s dark, Jade. You’re not walking home. And I’m sure as hell not letting you waste your money on a cab when I have a perfectly good car just sitting in the lot.”  
    She was crazy if she thought I was letting her walk in those sub-arctic temperatures. She wouldn’t have made it five feet. The icy wind chased leaves across the darkened lot, scattering paper products and flapping Jade’s jacket against her waist,
    We drove in silence for a while. Not an awkward silence—where no one knows what to say, but everyone feels like they have to say something. A comfortable silence. The kind that brought out a sense of peace in me that I hadn’t felt all day. All year . Outside of the pool. Being with Jade was like being underwater in all of the good ways. And some of the bad. There was something about being around her that made it difficult to breathe, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.
    “Caulder?” She’d been working up the courage to say whatever she had to say for most of the ride. Evidently, she’d found it. I only wished it hadn’t taken her so long.
    I made her nervous. That had to change.