“Ma’am—”
“I knew he saw us kissing,” I sob.“I took it too far—”
“Ma’am!Amy.Am I speaking with Amy?”
“Y-yes…”
“Okay, Amy, I need you to take a deep breath for me and tell me your location.”
“L-location… his, James’s ap-apartment.”
“The address, Amy.”
“N-noVo Building.Pinckney Street.”
“Okay, NoVo Building.And the apartment number?”
My mind goes blank for a horrifying second.
The number.
I swallow hard.“The p-penthouse,” I stutter.“Penthouse B.”
“Penthouse B.Got it, thank you.Help is on the way.”
“Please hurry!Please!”I wail.
“Amy, stay with me.I need you to help me.Okay?”
My eyes are glued to James’s still form.
“Amy?Are you with me?”
“Y-yes, yes.”
“Okay.Is he breathing?”
Another sob bursts from my depths.“I don’t know!He was talking to me and then, then there was that sound… Oh God, what did I do?”
“Amy, listen to my voice,” she commands, her sharp tone cutting through my hysteria.“You need to help him.Where is he bleeding from?”
“Arm.H-his arm.The coffee table… it’s broken.There’s glass—”
“Okay, I need you to stay calm and listen to me carefully,” the operator cuts through my rising panic.“Do not try to remove any glass from the wound.But I do need you to get a clean towel.Can you do that for me?”
I nod uselessly, then stumble into the guest bathroom.I rip a pristine white hand towel from the rack and rush back to James, dropping to my knees beside him.
“Do you have the towel, Amy?”
“Y-yes.”
“Good.Listen carefully.Do not touch the glass.I want you to take the towel and press down hard on either side of the wound.Do not let up.Do you understand, Amy?”
Sobbing, I press the towel down with all my might, just as she instructed.The fabric turns dark red almost instantly, the blood warm and sickening against my trembling hands.
My stomach roils.
“Amy?Are you still with me?”
