This can’t be.
“Scarlet?”
No. No. No. This isn’t right. It’s not real.
“Scarlet!”
My head snaps up to Theo, hunched in front of me. “We have to go,” I whisper, the letter falling from my hands.
“Go where?”
Blink. Blink. Blink. This isn’t real.
“Savannah. We have to go back to Savannah. My dad—Oscar—I need…” I scramble to my feet.
“What are you talking about?” Theo grabs my arms, forcing me to look at him. “He’s in prison.”
I shake my head. “He’s in Savannah. We… we have to go.”
“What… I…” He shakes his head. “What’s going on?”
I wriggle in his grasp until he lets me go. Then I climb down the ladder. “We have to go. Now.” Down the hall, down the stairs, out the front door, I can’t get out of here fast enough.
“Scarlet!”
Theo’s call to me is muted by the cracking of boards. My feeling of desperation to get back to Savannah is replaced with a shooting pain in my ankle and then my bum. Dusty shadows surround me.
“Scarlet!”
I look up to the light filtering through the jagged hole in the porch. Mucky weeds and dirt cover me. Theo grimaces then extends his arm into the hole.
I grab his hand as tears sting my eyes. The pain is excruciating.
“Can you stand up?”
I release a desperate sob and shake my head.
He lets go of my hand. With a grunt, he rips off several rotting boards with his bare hands, then he offers his hand again. I take it and he slowly pulls me up.
“Easy.”
I try to stand, but I can’t. “My ankle,” I seethe.
“Dammit.” He scoops me up.
“Ah!” The pain is blinding.
“Sorry.” He presses his lips to my head, standing still for a moment until the pain becomes bearable again. Then he navigates us off the porch, testing each step. “Let’s get you checked out.”
“I’m f-f-fine. We n-need to get back to S-Savannah.”
“Your fucking teeth are chattering like you’re going into shock. You have a gouge on your leg that’s bleeding and you can’t walk. We’re going to the emergency room. At the very least, you’re going to need a tetanus shot and some stitches.”
What the hell, Karma? This isn’t fair.
*
Theodore
