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Guy was jolted awake by a young, anxious nurse.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lantern. But you can’t sleep here.”
Guy felt the drool down his cheek and did his best to wipe it off. His mouth was dry. Fuck, I must’ve been snoring.
“Sorry about that,” Guy said, still disoriented as he stood up and ran his hands through his hair and over his face.
Guy looked around the room to notice the ma’am working the front desk earlier was replaced by someone else. He looked down at his watch and realized he had been asleep for almost an hour.
“Shit,” he offered the young lady. “I’m sorry. It’s just been a long day, you know,” he offered. “How’s the kid? Mom get here yet?”
“Amalia is doing well. She’s resting.” The nurse looked away before responding. “Mom… has been identified, found, and contacted. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to arrive until this evening.”
“Shit, is everything alright? Do you know where she is? I can pick her up. I technically don’t gotta be anywhere until about 5pm. Just a meeting with some latex bound assholes.” Guy didn’t feel like dealing with the league today anyway.
“Well…” the shy nurse looked at her clipboard as she spoke softer. “It seemed like Mom was… preoccupied with other things at the moment. She said she would make it over as soon as she was done with work.”
“Are you fucking kidding me.” he spoke the thoughts as they crossed his mind. “Did you mention that her kid was found face down in a fucking river? At four in the fucking shit stained morning? Overdosed on prescriptions? Did you mention that?”
“We did,” the nurse offered, only that, gently.
Guy looked at the quiet nurse. A part of him was annoyed to death by shy people, but another part admired them. Next question was obvious, but its fucked up answer even more so.
“He wants to die? Lettem die. I’ont wanna raise no punkass kid anyway,” Guy remembered hearing his dad tell his mom, drunk as all hell, when he found out Guy was self-hurting.
The memory sent Guy straight livid. The waiting room was relatively quiet right before he let out a booming “Fucking BITCH!” Prepared, the nurse still jumped.
“Sir, please. You’re gonna have to control yourself,” she asked; almost begged.
“Fuck off, where’s the kid,” Guy asked already pushing the nurse to the side.
“She’s resting, sir. And because she’s a minor, she’s not allowed to have visitors without the co-”
Guy found the room exactly where he last walked out of it: two left turns and a water fountain away. He barely paused to knock on the door as he pushed his way through the heavy door. The young girl was bruised up and down her left arm. Her hair was pressed from sweat down onto her forehead, and her eyes were closed. Guy took a second.
The kid was no older than eleven, twelve years old.
“Mr. Lantern, please. You have to leave or else I’m-”
“What’s gonna happen next?” Guy knew, but was curious if things had changed between then and now.
“Well,” the frantic nurse spoke softer. “Um, right now, we’re working on detoxing her and stabilizing her condition. Once she’s sober and goes through another toxicology screening, she’ll be taken to a crisis center, where she’ll get more help.”
Guy took a moment to recall resentful memories. “And locked up for 24 hours?”
“Um,” the nurse winced. “She’ll be in a safe environment for that time, yes,” she confirmed.
“Jesus fucking Christ,” Guy commented. He hated that place when he was there.
They stood there for a cool minute, nurse surprisingly patient, before Guy figured it was time to leave.
Right on cue, the kid woke up. Or at least spoke up.
“Hey,” the kid said weakly to Guy’s back that had already made itself halfway out the doorway. The nurse and Guy turned around.
“Hey kid. Amalia, right? How ya doing?” Guy tried to ask as coolly as he would ask her how her day at school was as he began to pace the room.
The kid coughed a couple times before giving a “Never better.”
The nurse started looking at monitors and pressed a button for a doctor.
“I’m glad.”
The truth was they had nothing to say to each other. Neither of them was up for going through the cordialness of what their conversation should’ve been. The pacing didn’t stop.
After a bit, Guy spoke again.
“Your mom’s been called.”
The girl swallowed, her eyes on her hands.
Guy glanced over at the nurse, who glanced over at Amalia. Everyone knew the follow-up questions but the right people with real authority weren’t in the room at the moment. Guy had learned his lesson that taking things into his own hands would only lead to trouble for the kid and a league of pretentious douchebags up his ass. And knowing that he learned that made him want to punch something to the moon and back.
He didn’t realize his fists were balled up until he felt his fingers lose sensation. Fuck. He did a quick check in like John taught him and realized his jaw was tense and he was just about ready to blow. Against his instinct, Guy realized he had to get out of the room soon; the whole place was a giant finger pressing down on a trigger over and over again.
Guy took the clipboard at the end of her bed and ripped a piece of paper off the bottom. He used the pen there and scribbled away.
“Listen kid. I gotta go. But if you need anything, call me. If you get into trouble, call me. If someone’s beating on you, call me.” He made sure to look into her eyes as he kept his voice regulated. A part of him wanted to reach down and shake her. Don’t take shit from no one! He wanted to yell, but didn't. “That includes bullies, drug dealers, yer own mama; ya hear me. And I know I ain’t yours so I won’t tell you what to do, but hurting yourself ain’t ever the way, kid.”
He took his wallet out and pulled out the only bills he had, which were a total of $40. He rolled it up with the paper and placed it firmly into her hand, using the other hand to close it.
“It ain’t much. But put that away somewhere safe right now. Make sure no docs or anyone take it away from you.” They both looked at the nurse, who was looking hard at a chart that was hanging on the wall. At that moment, Guy understood she was on their team the entire time.
Amalia, barely giving the strange man in a green getup two words, spoke again.
“Why are you helping me?”
Guy wasn’t sure how to answer. He didn’t know if he should be honest or noble or inspiring or just plain quiet.
“Cuz you needed help. And that’s my job.”
When he said that, she noticed his uniform a little more and the familiarity of his colors.
“You’re… a superhero?” she asked, her voice exposing the innocence of her age.
Guy, taken aback at how she reacted just like any other twelve year old would, stood a little taller.
“Yeah-up. I’m a lantern. Best one this Earth’s got. So you can count on me if you need me, alright?”
Once Amalia noticed his ring, she couldn’t stop staring at it.
“But… you’re not wearing a mask?”
Leave it to kids to be the most surprising and simple creatures in all the world.
“Nah, I don’t need one. With all the work I do off world, I hardly get recognized here.” He wasn’t sure why he was being so carefree with the conversation, but he was glad he wasn’t as angry anymore.
“I’m sorry,” Amalia said suddenly, her voice shaking. Guy and the nurse made instant eye contact, making sure they both heard the girl correctly.
“Sorry?” Guy asked with a look on his face. “For what?”
“For… this. I didn’t mean to waste your time. I didn’t even know you was in San Jose. I know you have important things to do.” The way Amalia looked at him by the end of the sentence, Guy knew she was asking for more than forgiveness.
“Amalia, it doesn’t get more important than you.”
He wasn’t sure where the words came from, but he felt them hit his heart like a ton of bricks. Her watery eyes reminded him of the kid he once was. He just couldn’t, couldn’t be there for much longer.
“Alright, I gotta go,” he said at the most awkward time. The nurse moved closer to Amalia now, pressing the button for the doctor once more as he walked backwards out the room.
“Remember,” he instructed Amalia as he held his hand to his ears in a phone gesture.
“Okay,” she said with a nod. “Wait!”
He stopped dead in his track, ready for anything.
“Yeah?”
“What’s your name?” Amalia asked shyly.
“Uh. My name’s Guy,” he glanced at the nurse, hoping this wouldn’t come around to biting him in the ass.
“Guy?” the kid asked with a slight face.
“Guy,” he repeated with an underlying, understanding smile.
“Okay,” Amalia said with a nod. “I’ll remember you, Guy.”
This time, it was Guy that swallowed.
“Ok. Uh, thank you,” he said stiffly and formally. “And I’ll remember you,” he gave back sincerely. He was so close to the exit.
“The doctor will be here soon,” the nurse spoke up this time. “I’ll take care of her.”
Guy nodded at the only other adult in the room then took his last step out.