Never again - 2

Chapter 2 - waiting...

Erin threw herself at the car smashing her fists against the tinted back window before dropping to her feet, uncaring that she could be run over too.  Thankfully the car stopped, it may have already been stopping, she didn’t care. On her knees next to the whimpering dog, she stroked his head, calming him slightly before starting to assess his injuries. He was moaning softly, but stopped as soon as she sat beside him comforting him.

  

                “It’s ok Barney! I’m here; I’ll make it better darling!”  She cooed as she stroked. She heard the car door open and feet approach her, but she couldn’t even think of looking up, she’d either cry or scream profanities, and at the moment that would only stress out Barney even more. She was a Health Professional, she had to think, be calm. Feeling his jaw and then his neck, she snapped, “Call the operator and find the number of the emergency vet!”

                “Ok!” A voice replied, “I’m sorry, I didn’t see him.”

Her restraint dissolved, snapping up her head she snarled at him, “didn’t see him? You don’t see a ten inch high Yorkshire terrier; you can’t MISS an eleven stone Great Dane! Make the call!”

It was the man from the park, the one who’d elbowed her, “I should’ve known it was you! You barely saw me earlier...as you hit me out of your way! Talk about ego! There’s more than just you in the world!”

Jack Reilly was horrified. Looking down at the woman at his feet, and the damaged dog, it made him feel sick. He hadn’t seen the animal until he felt the thud against the back of the car, admittedly he had a lot on his mind, but it was dark. The dog should’ve been on a lead...hadn’t this woman heard of the word accident? Dialling quickly, he held the handset at his ear, trying to control his panic.

An operator connected him to the nearest emergency vet and when they started asking questions, he tapped the woman at his feet and handed her the phone. She took the phone and spoke calmly, yet urgently without panicking, all the time her hands ran over the huge dog’s limbs, as he watched he realised she was assessing for breaks. Suddenly the dog yelped, an awful, heart wrenching sound, and he knew she’d found an injury, hopefully the only one.  Her voice dragged him back to her face; she was talking urgently into the phone.

                “Bring him to you? He’s massive! I can hardly carry him there...you’ve only got ONE ambulance?” She shook her head, “I don’t know.”

Suddenly her eyes were on Jack and he was flummoxed, “can you drive us to the animal hospital? The ambulance is miles away on another call.”

Jack was trying to ignore the memory of the phone call that had distracted him earlier, he knew now that he WAS distracted, he should have spotted a dog that size. Hell he was as big as a human...he shuddered, BIGGER than a child. The realisation was getting worse by the minute. Shit! He cursed to himself, this could have ended criminally!

                “I can take you anywhere!” He offered.

Nodding she hung up, “he’s broken a back leg, he could have internal injuries, it’s too early to tell, but we need to lift him into your car. Open the boot!”

Jack obliged, he could hardly argue, he felt worse than awful. Popping the door that flipped vertically upward, he scanned the boot, “I’ve got a blanket.”

There was no response, but she held a hand aloft for it. Squatting he helped her roll the huge animal onto the blanket, grimacing as the animal moaned, then glanced at the car.

                “He’s going to be better off in the boot.”

She nodded, “I’ll sit with him!”

Nodding a reply, he suggested, “you take his leg, I’ll lift him.”

Erin was struggling to control her hatred of this despicable man, who was selfish beyond belief. Poor Barney was yelping, his pain SO evident. She prayed at every moment that it was his only injury.

The man reached under Barney’s body, one arm at his shoulders, the other at his pelvis. As he lifted, Erin held his leg, firmly. Staggering in an awkward fashion, they got to the car, then slid a yelping Barney in. Ignoring the raised eyebrow of the perpetrator, she climbed in next to the dog, and comforted him again. Not lifting her eyes from Barney she stretched out a hand.

                “Blanket? He’s shivering!”

The man was silent for a second, “he’s lying on my only blanket.”

                “Coat them...come on, make it snappy, he’s freezing. This could be shock setting in!”

Jack looked at his eight hundred pound Armani coat. It was less than a week old. Then he glanced at the dog, he really was shivering, and it was all his fault. Sighing he handed over the item, then hopped into the driver’s seat as she wrapped it around the dog.

His satnav read the route to the hospital easily, and as he swung up outside the building, he turned off the engine. Rushing to open the boot, he looked at the woman and dog, sat in the dark. She still refused to look at him.

                “I’ll help you get him out...”

She shook her head, “the staff will come with a stretcher, can you go and ring the bell please?”

Jack sighed, then glanced at his watch, he was needed elsewhere, and that was a pressing issue, she thought he was a bastard anyway, after alerting the staff, he watched as two burly men helped the woman lift the dog from the boot, then place him on a trolley and wheel him in.

                “You can go now!”  She announced as she haughtily flaunted past him, nose in the air.

Jack was definitely not used to treatment like this. And he was so tempted to stay, to prove the haughty cow wrong, but he had to get back to the City, sort out the latest disaster that seemed to plague his life.  As she disappeared into the building he called over a nurse.

                “Look, bill me, for everything, before it happens. She’ll complain, but it’s my duty.” He handed her a card, and he could see the realisation as her eyes flitted from the familiar face to the VERY familiar name. Nodding she agreed, then also took money to prepay a taxi for Erin to get home.

Turning around, he strode back to the car and disappeared away from his second disaster of the day.

Erin followed the veterinary staff into the building, and was approached by a smiling nurse. There were a few plastic seats scattered around the waiting room, and a coffee table held a few dated magazines. In the corner there was a cabinet filled with pet products, anything from flea repellent to catnip. The nurse assured her that Barney was in the best hands, that they’d contact her once they’d stabilised him, but Erin insisted on staying.

An hour later the vet himself appeared, a middle aged man with a ruddy complexion smiled at her, “Miss Barker? We’ve x-rayed Barney and he has a nasty fracture to his rear leg, looking at the angulation I think we’re going to have to operate I’m afraid, but not until the morning. Fortunately he doesn’t seem to have any internal bleeding or damage...but we need to keep a close eye on him overnight. Go home, there’s no point hanging around here, he’s asleep and comfortable, and in the best place. One of the nurses will give you our details, and the phone is manned twenty four hours.”

Erin struggled to control her tears, poor Barney. How could she go home without him? The vet told her that she couldn’t see him at the moment, and she knew that was because it would upset her. So she nodded and turned to the reception desk.

                “This is the twenty four hour reception number,” the woman who’d greeted her handed her a business card. “And this is the high dependency room number, that’s where Barney will be tonight. Call anytime. There’s a prepaid taxi waiting outside.”

Erin struggled to grasp all that was happening, as she was bundled out of the door.

                “Prepaid?” She froze dead in her step and turned to the young nurse.

The woman smiled, “of course, courtesy of Mr Reilly.”

                “Mr Reilly?”

Looking at her as though she was mad, the nurse nodded, “Jack Reilly! Who brought you!”

Erin took the free cab, it was against all her principles, but in reality it was almost ten o’clock and she was miles from home. But as the car travelled back towards her city home, her mind was over active. She hated the man who’d first barged her, then hurt her dog, the latest news that as he ran off away from any problem, he’d thrown money for a taxi griped her like nothing else. Knowing who he was...well that just made it even worse. The money meant nothing to him, so the taxi wasn’t even a particularly grand gesture.

Holding the coat he’d given her for a blanket, she grimaced at the designer label. He probably had four like that she assured herself as the cab stopped near her home.

Erin didn’t sleep, curled up in the sofa she turned on a movie, read a book, but couldn’t drag her eyes from the empty sofa in the corner of the room. Poor Barney. Then her mind would flick to Jack Reilly, she’d been too distracted to actually process the man who epitomised so much evil. She’d not met his eyes and barely glanced at him, she was too upset, and too likely to start a tirade of verbal abuse. She was known for her hot-headed reactions and it had got her in trouble in the past. It was one of the things she was trying to curb. And thinking back she could barely visualise the man, let alone any specific feature.

Jack Reilly. Even the name conjured up a thousand thoughts. Even five hours ago each would have been pleasant. The darling of Irish football, he was a tall, dark and apparently handsome man, and more famously a bad boy, tonight had only confirmed that. He’d been a household name for years but a few months back had signed a huge contract at one of the Manchester clubs, since then his fame was off the map. He was extremely talented, but rash, impulsive and determined - not the best traits in the sport. She remembered him being fined a few weeks ago for his aggressive behaviour during a game. Noting that she then sought through her mind for more damning evidence to support the fact that the man was a first class bastard.

Come Monday he’d feel her wrath that was sure. The coat, the money for the cab, he’d have it all back. She wouldn’t let him buy himself free of guilt over this, and she was determined that he’d never feel appeased for what he did.

Impulsively she picked up the phone and called the animal hospital. Barney was stable, she knew nothing would change until after his surgery, but she also knew big dogs were at great risk with anaesthetic. She didn’t know what she’d do without Barney, he was her crutch.

It was well after midnight when Jack let himself in through his front door, cursing everything, he swiped at the wall with his foot, then when pain burst into his big toe, he rued his behaviour. When would he stop diving in feet first? He’d got himself into so many messes by being impulsive.  Reaching in his pocket he found the card for a telephone number, then dialled the hospital.

Barney was stable. Who called a majestic animal like that Barney? Shaking his head he hung up, there was a big operation in the morning, and the vet he spoke to didn’t sound that confident. Walking into the kitchen he took a can of Coke from the fridge and popped it open. Caffeine before bed was not the best option, but he couldn’t have whisky, he was playing at midday. Kicking off his shoes, he leaned back onto the sofa and closed his eyes. Earlier his sister had assured him that hitting the dog had been an accident, nothing more, nothing less, but alone, all he could think about was how devastated his owner was, that fiery, angry woman who’d barely looked at him.  His body warmed at the thought of her, but he knew that he was only slightly interested, and only then because she seemed to be oblivious as to who he was. It had been a long time since that had happened.

Draining the drink, he made for bed, alone, this was the way it was going to be from now on, never again was he going to spend an evening like tonight, and if that meant being some sort of monk, then so be it.