Page 22 of Social Sinners

“The bus began to slide across the road. Rob gripped the steering wheel tightly trying to control it but he couldn’t. The bus tipped over on its side. Diamond lunged at me, and the table hit him as he covered my body with his. He protected me. I saw, I saw...” he stuttered, and I knew what was coming next before the tears he could no longer hold back, fell. “The bus flipped on its side. Rob was thrown through the windshield. His body bent backward. His bones cracked before the blood... there was so much blood. His head... his head was crushed. Oh, my God. Someone’s screaming. I can’t get it to stop. Please, make them fuckingstop!” The calmness left as his plea for help came.

Reaching up, I wiped the tears I shed not only for our fallen friend but for the man I loved who’d been reliving that horrific night on an endless loop. As soon as the bus tipped over, I had Easton safely tucked inside my arms. I’d buried my face in his neck, so I didn’t see Rob die, but I did hear it. The metal grinding, glass breaking, bones snapping, someone screaming… How I’d been able to repress it, I’ll never know.

“Now Easton,” Dr. Linden began, reading from the paper he’d given her, “when Rob hit his head he died instantly. Your face was buried in Diamond’s chest, and you passed out. You saw nothing else until the paramedics pulled you from the wreckage. Can you repeat that Easton?”

“Rob hit his head and died. I passed out. Paramedics came.”

“Good. Now, I want you to count backward from ten. When you get to zero open your eyes,” the doctor directed him. “Begin. Now.”

“Ten… nine… eight… seven… six… five… four… three… two… one.” He opened his eyes, glancing around the room until he found me. “Diamond?”

“Yes, my love?” I’d been given no directive on what to say or do, so I let him lead the way.

“Can you stay and have dinner with me?”

I eyed Dr. Linden, who nodded in affirmation. “Yes.”

“Dinner’s in an hour Easton, did you want to go to your room and freshen up? I’d like to speak to Diamond for a few minutes,” she told him. When he looked at me, I winked letting him know it was all okay. Even though inside I wasn’t so sure that it was.

“Diamond,” she began a few moments after he’d left, “given the fact that he’d been rehearsing this new ending repeatedly over the last ten days, I feel that the hypnosis will be successful. Unfortunately, there is always a chance that it didn’t take, but we won’t know until he sleeps.”

“I’m not leaving until he does,” I informed her. Under no circumstance was I leaving here without my man.

“Sal and I figured as much. I’m planning on only staying tonight as I’d like to check on him first thing in the morning. If all is well, I’ll leave right after. If not, then a new game plan will be put into place. Easton will be staying for at least the remainder of the week. If all goes according to plan, they’ll release him on Saturday. Given what he just shared with us, I must ask, how are you doing?”

“Well,” I blew out a breath, sinking back into the chair, “I can’t deny that was pretty freaking intense. As soon as I tackled him, I buried my face in Easton’s neck. I didn’t see what he did, but I did hear it. I’ve been able to suppress it, somehow, and I hope it stays that way. Healthy or not, that’s the way I prefer to deal with it.”

“Fair enough, but you need to contact me immediately if you notice any changes in his behavior whatsoever or if things change for you. He’s no longer on suicide watch, but he’s also no longer medicated. That means the healing process is one hundred percent up to him. You heard the ending he chose. If he brings it up, please reiterate what was just said. We can’t afford any setbacks, and this is the ending he wrote for himself.”

“Not a problem,” I assured her, having etched it in my mind as she’d read it aloud.

“And Diamond, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you need my services as well.”

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