Trickster

"I´m sorry, Lis; I let you down. I can´t be perfect."


Lis couldn´t help thinking about that very exact moment when she discovered Adrian lying on the ground. There were traces of blood on his mouth and hands but he wasn´t wounded. She suspected what he had done and the idea of it was devastating.
She checked the weather through an app on her smartphone.
"36 degrees and cloudy," she said, "at least it´s not raining like the previous days."
It was almost 3 AM, a very unlikely hour to be at the hospital. They had been alone that Friday and Daniel, another roommate was away on a party. It was up to Lis to do the best she could to fix this mess.
But it wouldn´t take long for Daniel to call Lis.
"The house is empty, where are you? Is Adrian with you?" said Daniel in a rather heavy voice.
She was still shocked and stumbled upon her words, "Um, yeah. Listen, there´s been an emergency and I had to bring him. I´m at the Saint Vincent hospital over on 12 Street. Don´t come just yet; I´ll come back in a few hours."
"What the Hell happened to him?" he said desperately.
"He passed out on the living room. He´s been under so much stress lately I think he´s probably exhausted. It´s gonna take a while to get some decent results."
"I sure hope it´s not something more serious."
"Why would you think that?"
"What if he´s hiding something from us?"
"Of course not! Let´s not jump to conclusions. I´ll see you later."
She hung up abruptly and groaned. Because she had left the apartment in a hurry she only threw her large, flannel burgundy coat over her pajamas and a t-shirt with the image of The Sisters of Mercy.
She walked across the erie halls to clear her mind but it didn´t help much. Lis didn´t like being cooped up in a place where eventually somebody could die. The usual reek of disinfectant and the creaky sound of the ventilation system were making her uneasy.
There were only a handful of interns and nurses around and a man probably in his sixties who wore a beige corduroy suit and held a rosary between his shabby fingers. He kept saying, "Helen, please be alright."
The raven haired girl finally decided to crash in a chair and called her mom who was back in Elyria. Although it was ridiculously late she was always there to listen.
"It sounds like you´re in a tight situation, sweetie," said Mom.
"I just can´t bear watching destroy himself everyday. I´m losing him."
"If that´s the case then he needs professional help. That boy has always been extra special but he´s a human being just like the rest of us."
"Do me a favor and don´t tell his parents or anyone else."
"But what if things get more complicated? You can´t carry that cross alone, baby."
"Give me some time and I´ll figure something out, ok?"
"Alright, is there anything else I can help with?"
Lis sobbed, "I guess the only thing left to do is pray."
"You do that. I did the same thing for him for years. Bye now."
While rummaging through the pockets of her coat.