Chapter 18 Finding Sid

I wandered around, uneasy and checking my phone every few minutes to check the time. The twenty minutes Sid had promised me was taking an eternity. At the ten-minute mark, I wandered back to where Sid had been picked up. I paced back and forth, up and down the street and looked for the red Audi.

At fifteen minutes, I was waiting impatiently for Sid to come back, wishing that she hadn’t had to hustle that awful man for money. I shouldn’t have let her go with him, I told myself. I should have found a date myself. But the truth was, Sid wasn’t one to let anyone tell her what she could or couldn’t do. If she wanted to get in the car with that guy, she would. Even if something about him made me incredibly uneasy.

I sighed and looked at my watch. It had been twenty-one minutes since Sid had left with that guy. I looked up and down the street. No sign of her. I walked to the end of the street and looked around the corner. Nothing. I walked back to the other end of the street. No sign of the red Audi. It had now been twenty-seven minutes. Going on half an hour.

Where is Sid?

I called her cell phone. It rang and rang until her chirpy voice rang out.

“Sid! Oh my God . . . where the hell are you?” I said, before realizing that I was talking to her voicemail. I ended the call and looked down the street again. Nothing.

I walked back to the other end of the street and dialled her number again, then stared up in shock as I heard her phone ringing from somewhere nearby. I started walking toward the sound. Then running.

I saw her bag sticking out from behind a dumpster. It was inside an alleyway that neither of us would ever venture into under normal circumstances. But this was far from normal.

I rushed to her bag, hearing her ringtone getting louder. I saw what looked like a broken mannequin stuffed behind the dumpster as I reached down to snag what I knew was purse.

Oh my God. Sid.

“Sid!” I rushed toward her, screaming her name as I fell to the ground beside her. She wasn’t moving. I wasn’t even sure she was breathing. Her face was a mess of blood and rising bruises. Her nose looked broken and her mouth was so swollen I barely recognized her. I pushed the bloody hair off of her face and tried desperately to see if her chest was rising. There was so much blood! I undid the top buttons of her shirt and saw a stab wound pumping blood. That freak had stabbed her! I was sobbing as I pulled out my phone again and dialled 911.

“Please,” I cried to the operator, gently cradling Sid’s head in my lap. “My friend has been stabbed. Please help her,” I begged.

“Is she breathing?” the operator asked.

“I don’t know!” I wailed. I heard my voice, howling like a wild animal.

“Do you know how to check a pulse?” the woman asked, her voice calm.

“Yes.” I reached down and placed two fingers on Sid’s neck and waited.

I couldn’t feel anything.

“I don’t feel . . .” Wait! There it was! “I feel it! It’s kind of weak, I think. But it’s there.”

“That’s great, sweetheart. Put pressure on the wound. It’ll help with the bleeding. Does she have any other injuries?”

“I don’t know. She’s been beaten up. I think her nose is broken. I can’t see if she’s been stabbed anywhere else. She’s still unconscious.” Truthfully, I was afraid to look.

“Okay. The ambulance will be there any minute. Just stay with her and keep pressure on the wound.”

“I am,” I told her.

“You’re doing great, sweetheart.”

I could hear the sirens now. “I think the ambulance is coming,” I told the operator.

“Okay. I’ll stay on the line with you until they get there,” she assured me.

Within seconds the EMTs were beside me. They took Sid out of my arms and loaded her onto a stretcher.

“What’s his name?” one of the EMTs called out to me.

“Her name is Obsidian. Sid. Call her Sid.” They didn’t even bat an eye. I’m sure they’d seen it all by now.

“Sid? Can you hear me?”

There was no response. Quickly they started to load her into the ambulance.

“Can I ride with her?” I asked them desperately.

“Sure. Just stay out the way,” one of them told me.

The siren screamed overhead as they worked feverishly on Sid. The ambulance tore across Gerrard toward the hospitals.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked them.

“We’re doing our best,” one of them said. I was so panicked, I couldn’t understand what it was they were doing to her. They had IVs, electrical leads, syringes, and a bunch of things I couldn’t identify. And none of those things were helping enough for them to be sure that Sid would be okay.

As soon as we got to the hospital, the EMTs flew out of the ambulance, pulling Sid’s stretcher along with them. As I climbed out awkwardly behind them, I saw several doctors and nurses meet them at the entrance. I followed them through the doors and saw them whisk Sid away. A nurse grabbed my arms as I tried to push my way though the doors.

“You need to wait here, sweetie.”

“But she’s my best friend,” I told her, watching the doors close firmly behind Sid.

“I know. But she’s in good hands. She has to go into surgery. I’m going to get you to fill out some forms. Then I’ll show you where the surgical waiting room is.”

I stood helplessly, looking after Sid as the nurse tried to lead me away toward her desk.

“Will she be okay?” I asked her.

“I hope so, sweetie. I really do. We’ve got some of the best doctors in the world here. If anyone can help your friend, they can.”

I nodded as I let the nurse lead me away, hoping desperately for a miracle for Sid.