“You have to let me out,” I muttered.
“Not just yet,” he responded.
“We’re just going to have you checked out,” the other one said.
“My insurance doesn’t cover ambulance rides,” I told them. “I can’t go to the hospital.”
“Don’t worry about that right now,” the first one said. “Let’s just make sure you’re okay first. Your blood pressure is pretty high, and you just might be in shock.”
“I’m okay,” I said. I tried to get up, but I was strapped onto one of those rolling tables. “Just a panic attack—I have them all the time.”
The second guy put his hand on my shoulder, and I pulled back from the touch.
“Just lie still,” he said in a commanding tone.
I continued arguing for the last couple of minutes of the ride and then also when they pulled me out and started rolling me into the ER.
“I can’t afford it,” I told them again and again. “It’s not in the budget, and ER stays are expensive. I don’t have good insurance!”
“We’ll just worry about that later, all right?” another voice said. I tilted my head up so I could see who was walking in front of the gurney. It was Henry Trevino.
“I don’t want to be in the hospital,” I told him. “I’m okay now, really.”
“Considering my daughter has been just about crazy, worrying about you,” Mr. Trevino said, “I’m going to make sure you get checked out before you are released. If I didn’t, she’d have my head.”
I let out a big sigh and gave up the argument—for the moment, at least. Once they saw there wasn’t anything they could really do for me, they would release me anyway because hospitals liked getting paid. This was one fact I knew well.
Within about five minutes, I was in one of those rooms created by hanging a giant shower curtain from the ceiling. Thankfully, Mr. Trevino was outside of the curtain, talking to one of the nurses. My head was still far too swimmy to try to face him. I was already a little concerned I might have said something ridiculously stupid to him—I really couldn’t remember. Another nurse came in and insisted on taking my vitals, which were back to normal. About two minutes later, Bethany and Travis arrived. Travis immediately started arguing with the nurse while Bethany fussed over me and asked me over and over again why in the world I had parked in the middle of nowhere.
I had no idea what to tell her, so I said nothing. I just sat there on the edge of the hospital bed and let them go on and on while I remained silent.
Travis was now talking to a doctor about my insufficient insurance and how much it was going to cost to have me here. Before I could throw out that I wasn’t conscious and didn’t agree to be brought to the ER in the first place, there was more noise from just outside.
“Where is he? Is he okay?”
I could hear Mayra’s frantic voice from out in the hallway just before she grabbed the curtain and yanked it back. Before I could say anything, she threw her arms around my neck and buried her face in my shoulder.
“Oh my God,” she cried into my ear, “I was so worried about you!”
For a long moment, I remained stiff. I was too surprised by everything going on around me to react and desperately trying not to freak out again. I heard Beth gasp and Travis clear his throat, but I couldn’t move a muscle or respond in any way.
Mayra leaned back and looked into my face. Her eyes were red and swollen, and her cheeks were stained with tears. I could see the relief and sadness combined in her eyes slowly melt into something that fell only just short of fury.
“Don’t you ever do anything like that again!” she snapped at me. “Don’t you ever run off like that! I had no idea where you were, and I was worried sick! If you need to fall apart, you at least fall apart somewhere where I can find you!”
“Sorry,” I gasped. My throat burned a little as the word came out. Mayra’s shoulders dropped with her anger, and her hand traced over my face.
“You said it would be all right,” she reminded me. “Maybe I should have known it wasn’t, but when I asked you, you said you didn’t mind meeting him, but you did, didn’t you?”
“I guess,” I muttered back and looked away from her and down to the floor. She cupped my chin and tried to turn my face up to hers. I let her reposition my head, but my eyes remained over her shoulder.
“You have to tell me the truth,” she said. “I know that can be hard, but you can’t just tell me what you think I want to hear, Matthew. You just can’t.”
“You know, maybe if you didn’t push him into shit he’s not ready for, he wouldn’t be here!” Travis said.
“Travis!” Bethany said, his name sounding like a hiss, and then grabbed Travis by his arm and started hauling him out into the hallway. “You and I are going to have a little talk—again!”
Mayra watched their retreating forms, and I took the opportunity to look more closely at her face. Her hair hung in slight curls, w