Eagless 105

Turning Tables

Seven students are in custody after an assault last night on what was believed to be the vigilante who had been preying on our campus. The students ambushed the alleged vigilante before a car came from off the road and hit one of the students. The driver was wearing a mask, and the license plate number was not visible from the campus security cameras as the car drove off with the alleged vigilante in the passenger seat. The Daily wants to forcefully condemn any violence committed by students on this campus. The answer to the increased presence of vigilante justice on this campus is not even more vigilante justice. The Daily is happy to be able to report that all students involved in the assault are in custody, though the search for the vigilante and her associate is ongoing.

“All of the students who attacked you last night were arrested and charged with assault,” Nichole told Ashley, laying the paper back down on the table. “I called the police on my way to get you, and they got there before they were able to get away.

“Huh.”

“That’s a good thing, right?” Nicole pushed. She moved to sit in the chair in the living room. Ashley lay on her back on the couch with her legs elevated. Nicole had fashioned stents for both her arms and legs to keep them straight until she could convince Ashley to go to the doctor. Her visible skin was almost all purple from the bruises she had from the fight.

“Yeah.”

“I’ll let you get some rest. I’m going to just sit here and work on some homework. Let me know if you need anything or want to talk, okay?”

“Okay.”

The rest of the day went by with Nicole never receiving more than a one-word answer. While Ashley asked for water a couple of times, she never asked for food, and when Nicole offered, she wouldn’t respond. She asked to go to the bathroom once, and Nicole helped get her to the restroom, as challenging as that was. Other than that, Ashley just stayed motionless on the couch all day Saturday.

Nothing changed on Sunday. Ashley asked for water once every hour or so. She would only say the one word, “water.” Nicole tried asking questions requiring more than one word, but the answers would either stay one word, or Ashley just wouldn’t answer the question at all. Nicole was able to get her to eat a piece of toast, but nothing else. Add another bathroom trip, and that was the day. Nicole stayed by her side all day, but there wasn’t much she could do. The topics of Ashley going to the doctor, going to class, and going to soccer practice on Monday were all met with silence.

Ashley was already awake on the couch when Nicole walked out of her room Monday morning. “Do you need me to stay home from class today? I know you’re still in quite a bit of pain. It might be good for me to stay in case you need some water or a bathroom break.”

“No.”

“Are you sure? It’s not a big deal. I haven’t missed class all semester.”

“Yes.”

“Yes, you’re sure, or yes, you would like me to stay?”

“Go.”

“Okay. I’ll be back in a couple of hours. Do you need me to bring anything back for you?”

“No.”

The next two hours that Nicole spent staring at the clock seemed to drag until she was able to return home. She couldn’t stop imagining what could happen to Ashley while she was gone. What if she tried to get up and fell and hurt herself even worse? What if one of her teammates came by to check on her and found her like this? What if she had worse internal injuries than she thought, and she got back to the house to find her unresponsive?

“Any issues while I was gone?” she asked as she closed the door behind her after racing home as soon as class ended.

“No,” Ashley answered from the couch, staring at the ceiling.

Nicole let out a breath she’d been holding and sat down in the big chair.

“What are you going to do about practice today? Do you need me to call them or email them for you?”

“No.”

“Did you already take care of that?”

“No.”

“So, what are you doing about it?”

“Nothing.”

“Ashley, you can’t do nothing. If you don’t reach out to them, you could get kicked off the team.” Nicole felt the pit in her stomach return. Seeing Ashley in this shape physically was rough, but she’d never imagined that Ashley, of all people, would get to a place like this mentally. This was so far from anything she’d ever seen from her friend before now. And it scared her.

“So?”

“So . . . that’s the reason you’re here? Your soccer scholarship?”

Ashley just continued to stare at the ceiling.

“Surely we can come up with a valid excuse for why you can’t come. We can say you got in a car wreck or something.” Nicole fought to keep the pleading in her tone from being too obvious.

Ashley sat in silence.

“Come on, Ashley. You’ve got to do something. You can’t just skip practice and class. You need to go to the doctor. What if something serious is wrong?” Nicole was losing the fight with her voice. She felt the pitch getting higher, more frantic, as she talked, but she couldn’t help it. ”Please, I’ll help you come up with a reason for it, but you’ve got to do something.”

Ashley closed her eyes without responding, and Nicole slumped back into her chair, fighting back tears and the overwhelming urge to take her to the hospital without her consent and to accept whatever fallout that would come.

Tuesday passed similarly, with Nicole never getting more than one word at a time. Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all passed the same way. Each day, she told herself that if she wasn’t responding better, she would take her to the hospital. Each night, she stared at her reflection in the mirror, feeling the shame of not being able to force her friend to get care. She knew if the roles were reversed, Ashley would insist on getting treatment, and Nicole would oblige. That’s how their dynamic had always worked. Ashley never took advantage of Nicole’s personality, but there was no question that Ashley would have what it took to make sure Nicole went to the doctor if she were in this situation. She couldn’t shake the question, even as she fought to fall asleep every night. What did it say about her that her best friend was still on the couch and not in a hospital bed?

“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can get for you before I go to bed?” Nicole asked on Saturday night.

“I’m fine,” Ashley responded with her eyes already closed. Nicole hesitated before continuing on to her room.

Her optimism from the two-word response she had gotten was squashed again Sunday as Ashley returned to one-word answers. As the next two weeks passed, Ashley peppered in a few more two-word answers and even a very occasional three-word response, but would still shut down when Nicole brought up class, soccer, or the doctor. And Nicole still couldn’t bring herself to insist that Ashley talk about any of it, much less force any action.

The following Tuesday, Nicole opened the door to the house after returning from class. Ashley was sitting up on the couch. Her legs were still in their stents, but she’d removed the ones from her arms while Nicole was out.

“Hey,” Ashley said as Nicole entered.

“Hey,” she responded. Gesturing towards her position, she asked, “Are you feeling better?”

“A bit,” Ashley responded, turning back to the TV.

“That’s really good to hear, Ash.”

Ashley flashed a quick smile and nod, but didn’t answer, turning again to the TV.

“Let me know if I can get you anything,” Nicole said as she walked into her room to rest.

When Nicole returned home from class on Thursday, a smile broke across her face as she walked in. Ashley’s legs were both still in stents, but she’d found a pair of crutches and was in the kitchen supporting herself as she made her lunch.

“You’re walking!” Nicole exclaimed.

“I am.” Ashley smiled back. “Well, kinda. I think my body is finally starting to really heal. My mind is feeling a bit better, too. Thank you for taking care of me these past few weeks. I don’t want to even think of what would’ve happened if I hadn’t had you around during this time, much less what would’ve happened if you hadn’t shown up for me that night.”

“I’m just glad you’re feeling better, friend. I’ve been worried about you.”

“I know you have. And I’m sorry I didn’t communicate better with you. But I want to make sure you know how much I appreciate all you’ve done.”

“Don’t worry ab—”

“I’m serious, Nicole.” Ashley waddled her body on the crutches to face her, the smile replaced by a serious expression and what looked like tears welling at the corners of her eyes. “I put you through something unimaginable. You took care of me, kept me alive, kept me sane when I was on the brink of going off the edge. And you did it the way only you, of everyone I’ve ever had in my life, can.”

“What do you mean?” Nicole asked, confused by what she had done to warrant such special praise after feeling like she had dropped the ball over and over again in making sure her friend was okay.

“You’re always there. You never gave up on me. Even when I didn’t even feel like a human, you treated me like one. You didn’t force me to do something, even when I probably should’ve gone to the hospital.”

Hearing Ashley say she should have gone made Nicole’s stomach drop. “I’m sorry, I—”

“Don’t be. It would have maybe healed my body a little faster, but it mostly would have been the same experience for me. But in my mental state? The fluorescent lights, the sterile feeling of a hospital, all that would have added months to my mental fog. Not to mention, I probably would have gone to jail and lost everything if they were able to connect me to the vigilante. You saved me, Nicole, in more ways than one. I’m not surprised. You’ve always been there for me. I just don’t know how I can ever thank you this time.”

Nicole felt three weeks’ worth of inner turmoil and anxiety melt away. She did good. “The best way for you to thank me is to not put yourself in that position again.”

“I’ll try my best,” Ashley laughed. “We have a lot to talk about after these last few weeks. About class, about soccer, and about our partnership, and what the best next steps would be.”

Nicole set her backpack down against the wall and spun one of the dining chairs around to sit in it backwards. “Then let’s get to it.”

Eagless continues with episode 106.

For more stories set in this world, buy my books, The White Knight and SAMSON – OUT NOW! Or read my short story series The Street Rat for free like Eagless!

Subscribe below to be the first to know when new stories are released!