For Readers of Duly Noted - a Bonus Chapter

Hey Readers!
The following chapter was cut during revisions. It’s still raw, and may contain spelling or grammar errors. It was supposed to be Chapter 27 in Duly Noted, but in consultation with my editor and beta readers, it added a whole other range of issues to explore, and the word count was already creeping up, so it needed to be cut. But it explores a bit of what Nate thought of Aurora's PTSD.

Copyright 2016 -- H.M. Shander

No portion of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopied, recorded or otherwise without express written permission from the author.  

                         DULY NOTED – BONUS CHAPTER

Nate had to chuckle to himself as Aurora sang way off tune to a song on the radio. He knew this was a side to the medication, even if he never told her. Cole knew it too and had warned him. But it was very amusing listening to her belt out “Summer of 69” as if she were Bryan Adams.

She’d been very relaxed getting into the car, and he knew his time was limited. The last pill didn’t give him nearly enough time, but he was confident that he’d make it this time. The roads were much quieter being late into the night, so he drove a little quicker than normal too. He wanted her in her apartment before the pill wore off, he wanted her to come to in a place that was warm and familiar.

They made good time and he was about ten minutes from her house when he saw the flashing lights in his rear view mirror.

“Oh no,” he thought. “Please let it be for someone else.” A glance at his speedometer told him he was at least 15 kms over the speed limit. Hoping for another vehicle, he searched fruitlessly and pulled over. “How do I get through this, and get her home before it wears off?” He worried. “You doing okay?” he asked Aurora who suddenly went stone faced.

After an agonizingly long minute with the police cruiser parked behind him, the police officer finally made his way over.

Hoping politeness would speed things along, Nate rolled his window down. “Good evening, Officer.”

“Know why I pulled you over?”

“Yes, sir, I was speeding. But I can explain.” His voice was shaky and if he knew it, surely the police officer did as well. A flashlight beam searched his face. “My girlfriend has PTSD and takes a special pill to help her travel in cars. Her family was killed in a car wreck, see, so being in a vehicle terrifies the hell out of her.” Nate glanced over to Aurora whose expression had morphed into a terror stricken one. “And I need to get her home before the pill wears off and she realises where she is.”

The police officer shined the light over to her and back onto his face. “License and registration please.”

Nate pulled out his wallet and produced the information but kept his focus on Aurora. He touched her leg. “You still okay?”

There was no response and he knew he was in trouble. He knew she was starting to process, she’d explained it to him. How things slowly started coming together. Panic built up in him at an impressive speed. If she came out of it now, he had no idea how he’d get her home. He glanced in the rear view mirror. The cop was just getting into the cruiser. Oh shit, she’d for sure be out of it before he finished.

“Aurora?” he asked. The silence was deafening. He smacked the steering wheel. “Think, think, think!” he pleaded with himself. A lightbulb moment, he thought of his sister, but wondered if she’d be home already. “Couldn’t hurt anyways,” he thought as texted her, explaining what was happening and what he expected to happen. She texted back that she was on her way and she’d bring Max too. A little relief dripped on him. He looked back in the rear view – the cop was still in there.

Aurora looked worse. Her lips trembled and as if the curtains opened, her focus became laser sharp. “Nate?” she said, her voice matching the shaking of her lips. “Why are we stopped?”

“I got pulled over for speeding.”

“Nate?” she said in an almost whisper. “No! No! No!” she exclaimed covering her head. “Please no.” Her voice dropped, and she started shaking.

It was horrifying to watch. She started moaning, a deep painful moan. “What do I do?”

The Aurora he knew was no longer there and he knew it. Her eyes tightly closed, her hands in fists. First came the scream that rocked him to his core, its sound so painful and desperate. He jumped out of his side and ran over to the passenger door. No matter what he did he was royally screwed. Leave her in there and he worried she’d give herself a heart attack. Pull her out, and he had no way to get her back into a vehicle to get her home safely.

By time he opened her door, the police officer was charging over. “What the hell are you doing?”

“The pill’s wearing off, and she’s freaking out.”

Both men looked over at Aurora in the passenger seat, moaning and tears rolling down her cheeks. The police officer nodded and with a swift step, Nate extracted her from the vehicle and she went limp in his arms. “Aurora? Aurora…” He shook her.

The officer called in for an ambulance as Nate placed her on the ground. He checked for her breathing – it was there, just deep and long like she was in a deep sleep. He checked for a pulse and was happy to feeling little pulses beneath his fingers. He sat beside her on the ground, holding her jelly-like hand. No smelling salts to bring her back, he just had to wait.

A car passed by slowly and braked, pulling in front of Nate’s car. Chris rushed over first, with Max right behind.

Nate caught them up as the officer stood over them. The wailing of a siren in the distance was music to his ears. He couldn’t remember a time he’d been happier to see the red and white lights of the ambulance. Max had moved his car further up the road to give the ambulance room to pull in.

The paramedics jumped out and came over, Max relaying info to them. Nate stood up as a gurney arrived and they lifted her onto it, pushing it back into the ambulance.

They worked over her, while Nate watched from the road, his hands running through his hair, pulling on it hard. He looked at his sister, just a few steps away. “I can’t do this, Chris.” He shook his head and stepped back to lean against his car. “I can’t wonder if every time we get into a vehicle if this will happen. This isn’t normal.”

“You’re right, it’s not.” He felt her arm on his shoulder.

“So how do I get through this? How can I do this?” He felt like he was going to crack and fought the urge to lash out. “Everything was going so well.”

Max yelled out the back. “What did you give her to fog her memory?”

Nate walked closer. “Her dad calls them Isa’s but I don’t know the full name.” The looks between the paramedics did not escape his view. “Why?”

“We just need to know what’s in her system, so we don’t give her anything harmful,” said one of the paramedics hanging up a bag of fluid.

“Why isn’t she waking up?” Nate asked, but no one in the ambulance answered.

Her sister’s voice beside him answered. “Her mind has shut down everything. It’s the brain’s defence mechanism. And it’s doing a good job. Really, it’s quite amazing.”

“Amazing? Are you for real?” Nate said with disgust. “There's nothing amazing about this.”

“Clinical speaking, I mean. As her boyfriend, I can imagine it’s quite different.”

“You’re damn straight.” His gaze never left Aurora. “When will she wake up?”

“That’s up to her.” Chris looked sympathetic.

“We’re ready to transport. She’s not responsive, so we’re taking her in.” The paramedic told Nate, as he hopped out and closed the door.

He watched as the ambulance pulled out and drove away, taking his heart with him.

“Come on we’ll follow them in,” Chris said to him, but his feet were glued to the ground.

The police officer handed him back his licence and registration but he couldn’t move.

“C’mon, Nate,” she urged.

He shook his head. “I can’t.”