I slammed the drawers shut and gripped the back of my neck as panic seized me, threatening to make me lose focus completely. “Where the fuck is it?”
My gaze fell on the family portrait mounted on the wall. There were no other photos or paintings in the office—only the one. As a male that wasn’t very artistically inclined, it wasn’t something I’d ever noticed before, but now, it seemed odd. Or perhaps I was just that desperate.
I raced toward it, trying to yank it from the wall.
“Slate! What are you doing?” Mom exclaimed.
I ignored her as I dismantled the recent portrait of the Helair family. Hazel stood beside me with her demure smile and knowing eyes. I, of course, grinned wide only to appease Mom. She always told me how much she loved my smile. That it was gentle and soothing. For Mom I would do it, even if it felt fake.
There, behind the portrait, sat an electronic code box embedded within the wall.
I froze.
Mom gasped as she came up beside me. “I had no idea…”
“What would the code be?”
Mom’s wide eyes and open mouth soon smoothed over into an expression of clear betrayal. Her jaw clenched and the slight wrinkles in the corners of her eyes deepened as she scowled at the offending box in the wall. “Try my birthday.”
I did, and a loud beep sounded. “Shit,” I hissed, unsure how many times I could try it until it locked me out for good.
Mom didn’t say anything about my language this time. “Let me try.”
I sighed and stepped back, dazed. Rushing back to the princess’s side, I checked for a pulse again. It was weaker than before, but I’d take it. Especially considering how she’d paled even more somehow in the brief time I’d parted from her. “Mom!” I called out, more panic rising to the surface. I was going to suffocate. I just knew it. “Hurry.”
Mom didn’t respond as she typed in yet another code in the hidden electronic box. Each beat of my heart seemed to pulse in time with the beeps from the keys she pushed. Time slowed as we waited.
The light glowed green, and a beep that signaled success sounded, as did the click of the small metal door.
“Here,” she said, holding one out for me to take. “You know how to administer it, but just stick to one for now. She might not need two, but just in case, I have an extra.”
I nodded. With air lodged in my throat and my hands trembling, I held the syringe up to the light and thumped it lightly several times to ensure that air bubbles dispersed. I pulled the plastic cap off the needle and knelt at Princess Gray’s side on the couch.
I was abnormally aware of the hard floor digging into my kneecaps, but I ignored it. Gray was ghastly pale, and it seemed like she’d ceased breathing through blue-tinted lips. Gently, with trembling fingers, I pushed her long tresses behind her. They billowed around her head like a halo as if she were an angel who just wasn’t meant for this cruel world.
With her neck exposed, I wasted no time finding the protruding carotid and pressing the needle against her skin until it disappeared beneath. Once completely submerged, I pressed the plunger and emptied the contents of the crushed nickel liquid into her bloodstream.
I hovered over her face, watching for any signs of revival.
Come on, Gray. Breathe for me. Live.
If she didn’t give me something, my mother was going to have to reviveme.“Come on,” I muttered, fearing I had been too late.
“Give it a second, Slate. You know how it can take an extra moment for it to kick in and do its job,” Mom assured me. “Breathe, son.”
I nodded and forced air to flow through my nose and into my lungs. Silence encapsulated the room, and finally, I fell back on my heels, staring numbly at the princess I failed to save, letting the implications set in on what that meant. My neck could no longer hold the weight that rested on it as my head drooped in failure.
My chest felt hollow, and all I could think was,How could I fuck up so badly?
A hand rested on my shoulder gently. “It’s not over, baby.”
The oppressive force stifling my chest wouldn’t allow me to respond. I just squeezed my eyes shut, trying to block out the pain.
Why would she go to such lengths? Was she that miserable?
A sniffle.
My head snapped up at the sound. Her face scrunched in agony, her nose wrinkling on the sides. A weak cough sputtered from her throat. She groaned, more like a whimper. However, she had yet to move.
