“Ayuda.” Panic settled in my chest as I tried to scream. “Ayuda!”
A hand clamped over my mouth and I thrashed against the body holding me firmly.
Por favor. Por favor, Dios.¿Qué está pasando? Javi, te necesito.
There was someone forcing my eyes open, a bright light the only thing I could see waving directly in my line of sight.
“She’s in shock. We need an immediate evac! No, now dammit! She’s fucking hemorrhaging.”
My heart felt like it was going to race out of my chest, and I was panting. Short and shallow. I couldn’t catch my breath. I closed my eyes against the dizziness making my eyes roll.
The image of Javier on his knees begging me to fight for my life as his was ripped away flashed before my eyes.
No sabescuántolo siento.
My eyes welled with tears, and I couldn’t hold them back.
“Almost there, hold on,” a gruff voice called out, reaching me through the haze that I’d found myself in.
I opened my mouth to ask where, but all that came out was a whimper. My ears rang with the sudden noise, and the wind sent dirt and grass flying into my face.
“Seven minutes,” someone shouted over the noise. My body jostled as I realized I was being handed off to another person. I struggled to keep hold of reality.
Where were we going? Why was it so loud?
“Oh fuck,” another voice swore as hands trapped me in place. “If she dies, this still counts as the favor we own Nguyen, right?”
My stomach leapt into my throat. It was loud, too fucking loud and I stopped fighting to stay conscious.
I guessed this was it. The end. A lifetime of hell just to die as someone came to save me. I hoped it was worth it. I hoped they all got what they deserved. The Walshes. Los Siete. Everyone who had ever screwed up my life. I hoped they all suffered while I was gone.
Wherever I ended up after death, I knew it couldn’t be worse than the hell I’d been living through.
Maybe seven really was my lucky number. I welcomed the darkness, a moment of peace finally washing over me.
It’s over.
Three Years Later
One
June 20, Saturday
Emory
I closed my eyes, everything falling away as the chemicals rushed through my bloodstream. I reached out for the only person I wanted.
“You’re okay,” he soothed. The deep timbre of Enoch’s voice sent my heart flipping in my chest and I sighed. I felt his arms snake around my body, my head resting against his chest. The steady rhythm of his heartbeat drowned everything else out. “You’re safe.”
I let myself stay there, sinking and floating at the same time in the sea of endorphins, a smile on my face.
You’re okay.
You’re safe.
There was always a short moment, like the moment between sleeping and waking, where you forgot every bad thing that ever happened to you, before reality came sinking in. I wanted to live in that moment as long as I could. I wanted to savor the momentary bliss, but the tickling trickle of blood running down my hip banished the high instantly.
I blinked my eyes open, staring up at my bathroom ceiling extractor fan, as the numbness settled back into every cell of my body.
