2:37AM
It’d been about three hours, closing in on four hours if he were lucky. Something he was used to on most nights, sometimes getting even less. Maybe for once he’d reach the elusive five hour mark? Nah, not this time.
The light blanket that had been over his body as he laid on the bed prior was already a mess by his feet. His tossing and turning only helped accomplish that. His head filled with the mournful cries of a young boy, the orphan boy. The one that he was at fault for. Or at least, that’s what the guilt that never left him that night was screaming and blaming him for.
In truth, it was not Riley’s fault at all. He did everything he could for the mother of the boy to keep her stable, keep her alive. A rough spot for him in his second year of being a paramedic. What made it worse, she somewhat recovered for mere seconds. Then she crashed before even reaching the hospital. She never recovered after that. The woman was gone by the time Riley had exchanged her with the nurses whilst she was being rushed into the emergency department. That’s when he saw him. The boy.
Other paramedics had taken him with them as there wasn’t enough room for the two patients in one ambulance with only one Riley to tend to them. Especially not in this domestic abuse situation. It was the worst Riley had encountered. Unlike his mother when they arrived at the scene, the boy was conscious. In a hell of a lot of pain, but conscious. The other paramedics wheeled him in, Riley was already moving back down the hall after the nurses had taken over from him with the mother. The eye contact with the kid was probably what haunts Riley if not the most. He could see deep into those once innocent, now tarnished blue eyes as he cried for his mother.
Now Riley was abruptly awake, gasping for air as his heart pounded. The sides of his face were damp from the tears that rolled down his cheeks throughout the span of his nightmare. Sitting up, he hunched over himself as his face was then buried into both of his hands. Keep calm, it was just another nightmare. Same bloody one nevertheless. It’ll be okay. His fingers gripped the curls of his own hair as he attempted to steady his breathing and set his mind on something else. That was when his elbow was met with a cold, wet nose and a weight settled on his knee. Yowie.
“Hey mate.” Riley spoke quietly, his voice rather raspy as he pulled his hands away from his face to rub the loyal kelpie’s ear. “Did I wake you up? I’m sorry.” He softly forced a chuckle, wiping his face with a sniffle. It wasn’t the first time Yowie had comforted Riley in this kind of a situation. He was Riley’s shadow ever since the day he adopted him. Match made in heaven honestly. Giving a sigh as he rubbed his forehead, Riley shifted his legs to the side of his bed.
“Did you wanna go for a walk?” He asked, a slight smile creeping onto his lips as his companion tilted his head. “Of course you do, who am I kidding. Let me get changed and make a coffee, then we’ll head.” Riley spoke as he got out of bed, gesturing at the dog who was now bounding about with excitement. A walk!? Omgomgomg. Ideally you would think about going back to sleep, but he wasn’t gonna get any more sleep after that anyway. There were a few hours to waste now before Riley had to get to his next shift. Life of a paramedic and all.
