Page 65 of A Brother At My Back

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Tiffany…

I stepped into the dimly lit hospital room; a fluorescent light, barely enough to cast a halo on the head of the bed, was lit, harsh, blue-white light falling on the still figure in it. Lia’s face was so swollen and purple, it was grotesque. I couldn’t even recognize her. I wouldn’t have recognized her at all had it not been for her familiar wheat-blonde hair and the birthmark on her wrist.

I leaned down, shoulders shaking with sobs as I choked them down and tried not to wake her. Her eyes were so swollen, I couldn’t believe she could see out of them but she did, she hadn’t been sleeping at all. She turned her head in my direction, choking out my name pitifully, “Tiffany?”

“I’m here, Lia. I’m right here,” I said and smoothed back some of her hair. She winced and coughed weakly.

“Silas,” she rasped. “Cooper and Silas…”

“He came to the club, but its okay, I’m okay. He hit Zeke, but Alan hid me.”

“You have to go, you have to run…” she made a choked, strangled noise and tears seeped from her eyes, slicking down her temples into her hair.

“Shh, don’t try to talk, okay? You’re in the hospital, they’re going to take care of you, alright? I’m going to take care of you like you took care of me.”

She shook her head back and forth and gasped, “Run, Tiffy. Get away. Go far away. Take my car, just go. Promise me you’ll go!” She wept, her voice broken and pleading, the more I looked at her, the more bruises I was able to pick out on her fair skin.

I shook my head, “I’m not leaving you!” I cried, and stuffed my hand into my mouth to try and curb the broken sound that followed. She squeezed my other hand where I’d wrapped it around her fingers. She was gasping, having a hard time breathing and I looked back over my shoulder. The doctor who had brought me in here craned his neck in our direction and I turned back to Lia but she was still. So still.

“Lia?” I asked and when she didn’t answer, I cried louder, “Lia!?”

The monitors began screaming, there was a shout out in the hallway, and the doctor had me by the shoulders, moving me out of his way. A nurse rushed in and shoved me out and two more people barreled into the room past me. I stumbled backward, the scene in front of me blurring and large hands grasped me by the arms, pulling me back against a hard chest.

“Lia!” I screamed and my knees gave way. I sank towards the floor, Nik trying to hold me up. They had her gown open, were charging paddles. The curtain whisked along its track cutting off my view.

A high pitched sound, just like in the movies and her prone silhouette bounced and shuddered. I screamed, long and loud and wordless my pain and my rage but I knew. I knew they wouldn’t get her back.

I knew my best friend was gone.

I sat on my butt on the cold tile floor of the emergency department’s floor and howled my rage and pain to the sterile ceiling tiles.

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