“It’s Travis’s fault. Tis is on him.” I feel sick to my stomach. “Is he really gone?”
Reaching out for my cuffed hand she replies,”Te boy from the news? Is that who did this to you? What happened?”
I close my eyes and I’m surrounded in the park again. Looking past a masked face I see Christopher’s back moving further along the path as he runs away. From over my shoulder comes the smell of liquor and an ultimatum. Te guy in front lifts his shirt to show a gun. I dive on it. Tey try to pull me away. Punches come from every angle. Te gun jumps from our hands and he begins to scream. Glass breaks and I am facedown in the grass. I feel hands rubbing my pockets and hear ,”Travis hit man we gotta go!” A car nearby starts and drives away. My vision fades to black.
“I think they wanted to rob me.”
“Tey did rob you baby. If Christopher hadn’t been there to call the police they wouldn’t have had a way of identifying you. You may not have made it at all.” Sentences trailing off into tears, she takes a raspy gasp between trembling fingers. “I just don’t know what I’ll do if they take my baby.” Her fingers turn to claws as her head snaps back into the wall. Convulsions knock her to the floor.
I lunged for her body but the cuffs cut deep into my wrist. Free hand frantically searching the bed for the remote I shout for help. “Nurse! Anybody!” Te detective is the first into the room
with the nurse pushing her way past him while he takes in his surroundings.
“What’s happened to her?” Dumbfounded, he continues to hold the door open.
“She’s having a seizure!” I yell through gritted teeth as blood wets my fingers. Te room is swarmed by hospital personnel. Te detective is shooed from the door. My mother is carried out. Tey uncuff me. Te nurse makes short work of bandaging my wrist and the cuffs are put back on. At least it’s the other hand. Not long after my hand was bandaged and everyone left the room I fell asleep.
A nurse bringing in a tray of food wakes me. “What time is it? Where’s my mom?”
“Dinner Time.” She says with a smile. “Your moms going to be just fine, don’t you worry, she’s already awake and asking for you. Turn the tv on or something, it’s as quiet as the chapel in here. Don’t all those beeps get on your nerves?”
“Not yet” Cracking the first smile I can remember since waking up. Reaching for the remote with my free hand I turn on the tv.
“Enjoy your food honey.” Te door closes softly behind her.
Te weatherman drones on for a long time about a storm in the gulf while I struggle to eat the jello from my tray. Trumpets sound and the breaking news graphic interrupts my satelite view of the gulf. “Good evening. Tis is Mark Tompson
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