“Hello?” a groggy Caleb answers.
“I need you! The church. Please hurry. Bring anything medical you have.” I hang up, not waiting for his response.I’ve never called him this late—or frantic—he’ll know it’s an emergency. I can’t let Declan die. My curiosity is too much. He lives in my head. He’s become a fixture I can’t forget, nor do I want to.
I apply pressure to the wounds I see, but there are a lot.
Please God, don’t take him. Not now. I don’t ask you for anything. I have given my life to you. PLEASE!
Finding the largest wound in his side, I place both hands there. Pushing, willing the blood to stop. My face is wet from tears. Tears I wasn’t aware were falling. They land on him, mixing with the staining blood.
“E! Where are you?” Caleb shouts from upstairs. He must have gone directly to my apartment.
“Here! We’re down here!” I shout back, thanking Heaven he came so quickly. But now we have to save Declan.
Caleb comes running, carrying a large duffle bag. He spots me and rushes to us, dropping down next to me. “What happened?” he asks as he checks over the Reaper who’s knocking on Hell’s door.
I continue to press on the spot gushing the most blood. “I don’t know. He just showed up. But it doesn’t look good.”
He starts grabbing things from the bag. “We have to call 911. Get him to a hospital.”
“No. I don’t thinkwe can do that. They’ll ask questions. Police will be involved.”
“He needs surgery, definitely a blood transfusion. He needs the hospital,” Caleb says while bandaging what he can find.
Shaking my head frantically, I tell him, “We can’t Caleb. You have to save him. For me. If anyone can do this, it’s you.”
“Exactly. I work in trauma and I’m telling you right now heneedsa hospital. I’m good, but I can’t save him here. Please listen to me. As your family, he needs what I can’t do here.”
I know he’s right. But what if they find out who he is? How would I live with myself if he lived and then was arrested? But he could—would—live and that’s what I want. Him alive and breathing. To talk to him. To have him look at me with his intense gaze. The one where I feel like he’s consuming my soul.
Caleb finally gets to where my hands have been firmly holding in his life force. He cleans it and tries to close the wound. Seeing the fresh blood, I relent. “Call. We need to do whatever we can so he doesn’t die.”
He removes one gloved hand and dials. He tells them where we are with the emergency.
I’m scared. Not for myself, but for Declan. I don’t want him to go. I pushed him away, but it was only out of fear. Fear for how I felt about him. That fear has now turned to despair.
One benefit of being in South Boston, the response to emergencies is fast. A group of paramedics burst through the front doors of the church. Caleb tells them everything about the wounds and directs them on what to do.
A few officers come in after the medics.
“Father, what happened here?” a burly officer asks. He looks around, trying to see if the altercation happened here.
I glance at Caleb and the medics loading Declan on a stretcher, prepping to whisk him away. Declan hasn’t moved or opened his eyes—the eyes of jade that are my new favorite color.
As fast as they arrived, they’re gone.
Declan, Caleb, and the paramedics leave for the hospital. I’m so glad Caleb is with him. He promised not to leave his side. If anyone can save Declan, it’s him. I want to go and be with him. Watch over and make sure he’s okay. Be there when his eyes open again.
I stare at the large amount of blood staining the floor. It’s starting to dry and darken. A throat clearing draws me back to the officer. He looks bored. I’m annoyed. They’re keeping mefrom following because they have questions. Just like I knew they would.
“Can you tell us everything that happened?” He’s scribbling in his small notebook. I don’t have time to come up with an explanation so I give him the most generic story I can think of.
“I believe he was mugged, or something. He’s a member of this congregation, a friend to his community. I have no idea why someone would do this.” I refuse to make eye contact with the officer. Afraid he can tell I’m lying. I’m committing a sin by lying but I’ll deal with that another time. I will beg God for forgiveness later. I just need to protect Declan however I can.
The officer seems convinced by my answers. “Okay Father, I think we have all the information we need right now.” He hands me a card. “If you think of anything else, or hear anything, please call.”
I thank the officers and see them out. I pray no one discovers Declan’s side job. I couldn’t face him if I was the cause of him spending his life behind bars. That’s if he lives. Which he has to. I know in my heart God isn’t ready for him, but the Devil is knocking on the door. Ready to claim his soul. A soul I will now spend time trying to save.
He said he wanted his last rites, and I will give them, but not now or anytime soon.
