Page 13 of Pocketful of Shame
"The boy!" I blurted out, feeling frantic. "What boy?"
"You know," was all Chris replied, voice barely more than a whisper.
"Chris, I don’t –"
"He's coming for you."
"Help me, dammit!"
"Finish this, Romi… Crash the car and protect…my brother," he slurred, sagging forward. "Tell him I'm sorry for what I did."
"No, no, no," I cried out when he slumped face down on his own lap. "Don’t do this to me. Don’t leave me on my own, Chris."
"Tell him I love him," he continued, and the rattling in his chest deepened. "Tell him…tell him…to run…"
"Chris!" I cried, pulling the car over to the side of the road. Killing the engine, I unbuckled my belt and scrambled across the console. "Wake up," I sobbed, forcing him to sit back up. "God, Chris, you can't do this to me." Using all of my strength, I forced him into a sitting position and held his face in my hands. "Open your eyes."
He didn’t and I knew that he would never open his eyes again.
"No!" The scream that tore from my chest was almost feral. "No!" Hysterical, I scrambled onto his lap and clung to his lifeless frame. "Don’t go." Crying hard and ugly, I clenched my eyes shut and prayed for someone to make this stop. To bring back Chris and erase the last three hours of my life. Ignoring the low, keening noise coming from my chest, I remained on his lap, feeling his body grow colder with each passing minute.
Finish this, Romi.
Finish this.
I don’t want to.
You have to.
Protect him.
Sketch.
Sketch!
"Sketch," I sniffled, feeling a tiny spark of something still flickering in my heart. Numb to the bone, I climbed back into the driver's seat. "Okay." Movements robotic, I reached for my seatbelt and snapped it into place. "I can do this." With my hands covered in blood, I slowly turned the key in the ignition, feeling nothing when the engine roared back to life. "I can –" holding my breath when a wave of heartache threatened to engulf me, I forced my mind to empty, "do this," I finished, pulling back onto the road.
Clenching the wheel so tight my knuckles turned white, I pressed the petal to the floor and ignored the tears trickling down my cheeks as I picked up speed. I kept on speeding, allowing the Rover to eat up the miles, until the familiarWelcome to Pocketfulsignpost came into view. Only then did I pull the wheel and veer off road, heading straight for the –
"Catochi!" Gasping for air, my eyes flew open. "Catochi," I slurred, pulling and yanking on the leather cuffs binding my hands and feet to the hospital bed. "Catochi, Catochi, Catochi!"
"Alright, Romi, just take a breath," someone told me, but I couldn’t see who. I was too busy freaking the hell out. "You're perfectly safe and everything is fine."
"No. You're wrong –" Shaking my head, I yanked on the restraints. "Let me out!" I shrieked, panicking. "You don’t understand. I need to –"
"Call Dr. Hardy," the voice said as a pair of strong hands clamped down on my shoulders. "She's not cooperating again."
"No!" Thrashing wildly, I desperately tried and failed to free myself. "Get off me," I snarled, roughly jerking away from the weight pressing down on me. "You can't keep me here against my will."
"Romi, listen to me," the nurse tried to coax as she leaned over me, pressing down hard on my arms. "You need to calm down. You don’t want the doctor to sedate you again, do you?"
I was done listening. I was done being calm. I was fucking done, period. Lunging forward, I bit her as hard as I could, sinking my teeth into her shoulder.
"Ah!" the nurse yelped, jerking away from me like a scalded dog.
"Let. Me. Go," I hissed, breathing hard and fast. "Please."
"Nowthatwas a mistake," a deeper voice said.A man, I noted through the haze, as a doctor in a white coat approached me, syringe in hand. "Say goodnight, Romi."
