Page 42 of Stone
Setting the milk on the bar, she made her way over to where she’d tossed her purse on the side table near the front door and withdrew her cell phone. Grabbing her umbrella from where she kept it propped in the corner, she held it out in front of her and entered her bedroom. She hoped it wasGarenthon the landing. But in the event some asshole was trying to get into her apartmentvia that route, he’d find himself on thestabbyend of her bumbershoot while, at the same time, she’d be dialing 9-1-1.
Someone was definitely on her fire escape. A dark shadow blocked the moonlight. There was a grunt, and the figure collapsed next to her window. She paused beside the bed and debated whether or not to turn on the lamp on the nightstand, when a voice faintly whispered.
“Brielle.”
Garenth.
Throwing the phone and umbrella on the bed, she rushed to the window to find him bent over on the landing.
“Garenth? What’s wrong?” She remembered he wouldn’t understand what she was saying, but she hoped he could hear the concern in her voice.
She placed an arm across his shoulders to help him to his feet,when her hand encountered something wet and warm. Lifting her fingers to her face, she smelled the unmistakable metallic whang. “Oh my God! You’re bleeding! You’re hurt!” She flung her arms around him and tugged. “Come on. Get inside. How badly are you hurt?”
With a little more cajoling, she managed to get him to step over the transom and into the bedroom. She guided him over tothe bed where he half-sat, half-laid. It wasn’t until after she pulled down the window and drew the shade that she turned on the lamp.
Brielle gasped in horror to see bright red streaks of blood flowing down his arm and leg. A wide swath of smeared blood covered his side, hip, and stomach. “Oh dear God,Garenth!” Snatching up her phone, she threw the umbrella to the side of the roomand opened up the translation app. “What happened? Why are you bleeding? Stay right here.” She laid the phone on the bed beside him and rushed into the bathroom for towels and a wet washrag. When she returned, she saw him holding out a bag. It took her a second to realize what it was.
“Mother idol,” the app intoned.
Stunned, she took the bag but didn’t open it. Layingit on the nightstand, she proceeded to try and staunch the flow of blood coming from a hole in his right bicep and a nasty gash running across his ribcage.Garenthflinched and hissed at her touch but didn’t try to stop her.
“Where else were you shot?”
“Shot.”
“Yes. You were shot with a gun. These are bullet wounds,Garenth.” Her mind reeled. He neededimmediate medical care, but taking him to a hospital was out of the question. Neither could she call EMS.
Pressing a towel to his arm, she snatched up his free hand and had him hold the towel in place. “Garenth, you need medical care. I-I don’t know if I can help you. I don’t have anything here outside of a Band-Aid, Tylenol, and some spirits of camphor.” Her throat constricted asshe fought the tears welling up in her eyes. “You could die, and there’s not a fucking thing I can do!”
An odd little smile quirked the corners of his mouth, and the app replied, “Fucking.”
“It’s a curse word,” she quickly explained as the heat rose into her face.
She gathered more towels from the bathroom. Pressing several washcloths to his arm, she used a bathtowel to secure them in place. “We have to keep pressure on that wound to stop the bleeding.” The mark on his side already appeared to be healing. “It looks like you were grazed here.”
“Leg.”
“Your leg?”
He vaguely pointed to his right calf. Getting on her knees, she lifted his foot to see blood soaking into the coverlet. Quickly, she raised his leg higher to see where another bullet hadplowed into the back of his calf. Although she wasn’t medically trained, it was evident the bullet had exited and taken a chunk of the muscle with it. Brielle hastened to try and staunch that wound, too.
“Are you injured anywhere else?”
“’La.”
“No,” the app intoned.
Garenthgroaned softly as she stood up. There was nothing more she could do. She couldn’t even give him anything to helpwith the pain. There was no telling how his body would react to modern chemicals.
“Lie down.” Standing over him, she pushed on his chest to make him lie prone on the bed. “You must rest. If you keep moving around, you’re going to bleed out.”
He stared up at the ceiling, but his eyes seemed unfocused. If she didn’t know any better, she’d swear his rocky exterior had either faded or gone white.Placing a hand on his chest, she waited until he finally looked at her.
“Would you like some water?”
“Na-am.”
“Yes,” the app replied.
‘Laandna-am. No and yes. Her first Arabic words. Brielle smiled to herself.
“Stay here. I’ll bring you some.”
She went into the kitchen and filled a glass from the tap. Fortunately she had a few unused straws she’d saved from eating out, and placedone in the water.
When she returned to the bedroom, she found him lying still, his eyes closed. A flash of fear went through her at the thought that he’d died while she was away, until she saw the faint rise and fall of his chest. He was asleep, and that was good. It was the best thing for him, but he was far from being out of the woods.
Sitting the glass of water on the bedside table, shewent back into the living room and curled up on the couch, expecting it to be a long night.
She had no recollection of falling asleep.
