And then I realise what I thought about earlier: the floors are surrounded by carpets. Shit…
I wipe the blood from the floor and put my shirt over the wound, praying to all the existing gods to prevent more spills until we reach the apartment. And not to be seen by somebody in the cameras from my floor.
I exhale in relief when the lift’s doors open on the right floor, and there is nobody around. I rush to the door and try to unlockit. By mistake, I keep trying with the key I’m holding tightly in my hand. Even though the door I hear opening is on another floor, I hurry and open the door using the correct key, gesturing for Lucas to enter. I look on the floor in search of a blood trace, but with the crimson colour of the carpet, no one would even notice it.
Right after Lucas entered, I notice in my peripheral vision just one more door on this floor. I almost forgot that it is Marshall’s, because, as he told me, he wanted the highest floor just for himself.
'And for you, Anmara,’as he kept telling me. And I, as in love as I was, I believed him. Now I’m not so sure what I felt, but it was clear that repulsion was the frontrunner.
I realise I stood still in the doorway just when I hear a whimper of pain that brings me with my feet on the ground. I quickly enter, close the door, and run to the safe room.
I don’t know why I am so lost in my thoughts instead of facing reality.
Because you love talking to me, honey.
Not now, stupid.
I get next to Blake, who is now in bed, still bleeding, but awake and with his face contorted with pain. I then remember that I have a first-aid kit in my room for my moments of clumsiness.
Yeah, you mean all of the time.
I feel Lucas behind my back. He helps me by getting the box from the upper side of the closet that I was struggling to take. His being so close to me feels so good, but I can’t think about nasty things now.
I go to the other room beside Lucas, open the kit, and take the hydrogen peroxide, the iodine, a strong solution for stopping the bleeding, and a bandage. Also, the scarf from the box.
I move his shirt out of the way where his wound was, and I shiver at the sight of it and how much blood there is. It is quite deep and seems to have been made with a knife. I hope with all my heart that it didn’t hit a vital organ.
I take the scarf and shove it in Blake’s mouth, making him send me arrows through his angry gaze.
“I don’t want anyone to hear you, so stop frowning and… try to handle the pain. It’s gonna be big,” I say before opening the hydrogen peroxide and pouring it on his injury, pointing to Lucas to take one of his hands.
The pain Blake is feeling is so strong that his face twists from the pain he feels. I can even hear a muffled scream coming from the thick scarf. I only keep my gaze on the bubble forming on the wound, because I can’t face his gaze full of suffering.
Everything is different when reading a book. You are only imagining the stuff the people are put through. Instead, in real life, it’s much more cruel and heavier than I could have thought.
I also pour the solution that helps the blood to coagulate, and I’m not even watching Blake, as tense as I feel him. I just take his other hand and let him give me one bit of the pain he is feeling, so as not to keep it all inside.
Not long after, the bleeding stops, and I can exhale the air I was holding. I take a clean piece of cloth, put some iodine on it, and wipe his wound to remove the clogged blood. I take a magnet from the first-aid kit and go around the injury, just in case, while Lucas gets the scarf out of his mouth, seeing that he calmed down.
“I wasn’t shot, Anmara,” Blake says with a hoarse throat.
When Lucas hears him, he goes out of the room and comes back with a glass of water, which Blake quickly drinks.
“Can you tell us what happened and when it happened?” I ask him after putting the magnet back and prepping a bandage.
He clearly needs to go to the hospital, but I cannot trust anything related to this town. And however much I want to get out of here, I need some ideas for a book. My conscience won’t let me leave Tamwine without finding out its mystery, whatever danger I may find myself in.
Maybe I am a big idiot for wanting to fall for the danger and most probably risk my life, but I want to be a part of this story and tell it my way. I don’t even need fantasy ideas, as gloomy as the world we are living in is.
But if someone dies, I’m gone.
You say so now, but we’ll talk later.
“I think last night,” Blake starts by saying, removing me from my thoughts while I put his bandage over the wound.
“Even though you were upset at me, I wanted to bring you some food. When I was in the kitchen, somebody came up from behind and stabbed me with a knife. All that I can remember is the blade that entered me and came out quickly. The one who stabbed me went away in a second. I didn’t even manage to see his face, only his massive back. Also, nobody cared what just happened to me. Everyone was looking at me indifferently while I was struggling to stop the bleeding with what I could find, so they knew and didn’t wanna intervene,” he gulps, remembering the moment.
You love to risk it all. I can’t wait to see you in his position, and let me continue or start to bolt like a frightened cat.
