Page 180 of Wrench
you.¡±
Maybe she had headphones in or something. She wouldn¡¯t leave like that without
saying anything. She couldn¡¯t.
I glanced down at my bandages and saw they were changed. I hadn¡¯t even felt her
hands in my sleep, so lost in a dreamless doze. What if she changed them for the last time
before sneaking away? No, she wouldn¡¯t.
Even though I knew she¡¯d yell at me for walking, I couldn¡¯t just lie there, paralyzed,
wondering where she went. I had to make sure she was still here. With my elbows, I
grunted as I propelled my back off the bed. Though my chest still radiated with agony, it
was just easier to make myself push through it.
Beads of sweat dripped down my forehead by the time I sat up straight, panting from
the simple movement. The hard part was over. Thank God my legs were only sore but still
working. Swinging them over the ledge, I used my fists to push off the bed. Once
standing, I could feel the weight of my shoulder bones crush my torso, sending the pain
surging again, but slowly, I took my first step in days.
Taking staggered baby steps, I made my way down the hall, wincing every second of
the way. Though, the two holes in my body didn¡¯t hurt half as bad as I did when I saw she
wasn¡¯t in the attic.
¡°No¡¡±
What the hell did Evelyn and Tank say to her to make her leave? I tried so hard to stay
awake when they were in my room, but exhaustion won me over. Maybe Samantha asked
about my history with drugs and they told her I cooked for the Freeways¡ Fuck! If she
heard that I was associated with those freaks, she¡¯d definitely leave¡
Rationally, I knew she could have just run to the store or gone to visit her father. But I
didn¡¯t care about rationalities, all I cared about was talking to her. When I woke up in the
middle of the night to see her, I thought that was the happiest I¡¯d ever been.
I was relieved to see that the stairway was still released. Growing dizzy, I probably
would have passed out trying to open it. Maybe one of the guys was around and saw her
sneaking off. Hopefully, someone knew where she went. She seemed like the kind of girl
to leave a note if she was leaving without saying anything. Unless, of course, something
