Chapter 26

Corrin

“Corrin, Quint, keep going, ”Aida says after we enter the staff areas of the Casino and both, Sevina and Terrel turn upstairs. “It’s through the hall.”

Quint and I step into the Casino and into the ocean of noises, clatters of the machines, laughs, and music. People in garments swallow us, shielding us from any unwanted eyes.

I’ve never been to a Casino, but Dan and I would sometimes accompany Father to a party. Then we too wore suits and attracted ladies in gowns. Well, mostly Dan did because I was his sidekick, fated to be admired only for my cuteness. Dan enjoyed the company while it lasted and then forgot about the ladies as if they never existed. Once, during one of those parties, I caught my mom chatting with a handsome man.

Observing from around the corner, I stood and wondered whether it meant anything. Strangely, it did look a lot like something; the way she looked into his eyes, touched his arm. Never have I seen her touch Father like that.

She noticed me and excused herself. “Spying, dear?” Lovingly, she brushed her hand over my hair and raised her light brow.

“Who is he?”

She squinted, piquing my interest. “A business partner, helps to find some lost connections. Nothing to worry about.”

“Lost connections?”

“Old friends,” she smiled. My mom didn’t have her own business, but as I understood she had the right and the means to build one. Maybe that’s what she wanted to do. I’ll never learn.

As we tread through the throngs of people, twisting and turning our shoulders to avoid contact, I scrutinize the perimeter. Security, as usual, dawdles along the walls, their attention on the guests. A VIP area balcony, walled off with a thick layer of glass, has some heftier guys patrolling the doors and people of higher status situated in the vinyl booths. I bow my head for fear my father might be among them.

“Comm’s down.” Quint turns over his shoulder at me. “We’re still going.”

Following Aida’s directions we cross the Casino, stopping to observe the slot machines and other gambling tables to appear less suspicious.

Eventually we approach a metal staff door at the other end of the Casino and descend into a network of humming ventilator shafts, pipes, generators, and little storing areas. We snoop around, pretending to look for someone, but rushing maintenance men and waiters pay us no attention. At the far end of the empty corridor, we reach the door Aida said will be the right one.

Reaching for the knob I halt. “Strange.” Quint looks at me, asking what with his expression. “That capo would know the precise door—”

The fluorescent lights in the basement die and my heart bounces into my throat. The door in front of us cracks and a hand wraps around my collar, yanking me inside. I swivel in the darkness, stalling my panic. The door bangs close.

With a flick of a switch, an empty janitor cell takes shape.

A man in a black suit stands by the door. “Dan?” I exhale. A thick goatee covers his face and his hair is combed back. Despite his late twenties he looks like he’s over thirty.

Dan leans against the closed door. “You just don’t give up, do you? No matter how much you fail you just keep causing me problems.”

My mind races. “Dan, I have to talk to you!” Should I tell him about Sevina? Where do I start? “The murders! We have to take control of the family. You have to take control.”

A lopsided smile of disbelief crawls into my brother’s face, a gesture of contempt I know so well. “You’ve come all this way to tell me this? I thought you were going to beg for a return.” Letting out an irritated huff, he reclines his head back, the light accenting each dimple on his olive face. He looks tired, exhausted even. Did Father push him that brutally?

“Or we’re going to address the police,” I state. “If our father doesn’t stop what he’s doing and we can’t solve it.”

“Do you really think it—“ his hand jumps to the comm in his ear. “What? What do you mean cops…Got it.” Dan’s eyes flicker at me, growing harsh. “You sure no one already notified the cops? Because they’re on the way.”

I blink. “What?”

“Someone called the cops on the casino, you better get your ass out of here.” Dan pulls a tiny chip from his pocket. “Here, you’ll be able to contact me without any interference. And better give me some damn reason to listen to you! Because it’s not as easy as you think it is.”

He flings the door open to Quint, standing at the gunpoint of another man. He looks like Casino security.

“Let them go.” Dan strides past me, then cocks his head over his shoulder. “If he learns you’re alive—”

I wave him off. “I know, I know. Go.”

“Mate,” Quint pipes. “Did you forget we came here for the IT?”

His words hit my head like a book. “Oh, my God.” They knew all along! Dan knew we would come. How did he find out? Does my father know?

“Quint!” Aida’s sobbing voice explodes from the comm. I suppose, Dan had a frequency jamming device. “Someone’s shot!”

“What?” Both our hands jump to our ears and we exchange terror-stricken glances. “Where are they?” We dash back through the corridor.

“Thirty-eighth floor.” The rush of adrenaline deafens both her voice and fear of whatever might’ve happened to Sevina and Terrel.

Four steps at a time we speed to the ground level and into the Casino. “Sevina? Do you hear me? Sev?” Despite Aida’s whimpers my ear buzzes with restless static.

Some people pace out the door as if they got alerted. Police? Just as we’re here? Can’t be a coincidence. All the guests can’t be criminals, but I assume none of them want to be associated with the mob or be questioned for the upcoming hours…

Quint grabs my wrist and pulls me to another staff door through an aisle between emptier slot machines. We break into the staff area and dash through the corridors to the stairwell where we split, then push up against the current of people, flowing from the upper floors. With a glimpse I catch someone hiding cocaine under their shirt.

My head low I follow Quint’s feet so as not to run into my father. Huffing, we make it to the seventh floor and catch an empty elevator. I face the wall, stomping in place.

The doors slide open. “Clear,” Quint confirms. Cautiously, we exit into the intersection of the corridors.

I gasp when I see an open door at the far end of the longest hallway. Without consideration, nothing but my crazed heartbeat in my ears, I throw myself forward.

“Corrin, wait!” Quint hisses and his feet stomp after me.

I bust inside, all but slamming into the door upon turning, and freeze in my tracks. A man with two bullet holes in his face lies on the floor, puss surging from his eye in little bubbles. I think I’ll gag, but it doesn’t come. Rooted to the spot, next to dead Terrel, kneels Sevina.

“Sev?” I stride to her but she stays stiff, her face on Terrel’s. Squatting on one knee I grasp her shoulder. As if electrocuted she yelps and leaps away. “Sevina!” I cup her back with my arm, yet she doesn’t even notice me as her eyes roll up and her head lolls back, body goes limp in my arms.

“Damn it.” I shake her gently. “Sev!”

“She hurt?” Quint steps close.

Blood stains Sevina’s lip and red taints her cheek. Someone hit her. I check her neck and scan her for any injuries. “No, I don’t think so.” Terrel’s glassy eyes catch my attention and my heart stops.

No. Did she…

She saw him die…

“Corrin move.” Quint’s voice and his foot, prodding at my leg, disperse my stupor. “We have to get her out of here.”

“But Terrel…” The live are more important than the dead.

I scoop Sevina’s limp frame up and we rush to the elevators. As we exit and join others who have something to hide, I see an odd man. Well-dressed with faint Asian features he stands tranquil against the white wall and observes the people. His eyes latch onto us like a hawk’s on a mouse, sliding over unconscious Sevina, her bloody hands, then me and Quint. I avert my eyes, all but feeling him track our movements until we flee out the back doors. Besides him no one else pays us much thought. For all they know Sevina might’ve overdosed on cocaine.

We vault into the back of the van and, holding Sevina, I flop on the ground to catch my breath. Aida jerks her head from the wheel. Her eyes water when she finds Terrel missing. “I’m sorry. He said he won’t hurt anyone, he said it!” Sobs escape her lips. Quint and I look at her.

“You-you snitched?” Cradling Sevina I stutter in a desperate voice. “You told them? How coul—”

“Hush! We have to get out first.” Quint jumps to the front and turns on the dark holo, separating Aida and me. The engine roars and the van jolts from its place.

I sit disoriented in the dim-lit compartment. A ball of tears gathers in my throat, but frustration and worry keep it tight down. I grasp one of the coats from the bench and spread it on the ground.

“Sev?” Holding the back of her head I lay her on it and check her pulse.

Thud… thud…

Thud…

It’s slowing. Did seeing Terrel die affect her that much? Can she die?

Terrel’s dead… Two burning holes in a face of the man…

I inhale deeply with my chest and take ten seconds to focus on good memories to put myself back in order, then I lean into Sevina’s face, listening to her fragile breathing. “Sev?” My palm smacks softly against her unnaturally cold cheek. I have to wake her. “Sevina?” I give her arms a shake.

Her eyes snap open and she inhales furiously, leaping into a sit and almost head-butting me.

“Sevina! It’s me!” I catch her by her shoulders. She doesn’t register my touch as she thrashes like a wounded animal, gasping for air and reaching for something I can’t see. Before she hurts herself I envelop her into my arms. “Sevina! It’s Corrin! Please!” She claws to push me away, but I hold her tightly, restraining her struggles and kicks, petrified to let go. “The kite! Remember the kite? On the roof? The crackers!” She gasps hard and her eyes, pitching around, freeze. She clutches my shirt with bloody palms, struggles stopping. “Look at—” She can’t. There is no comfort for her in the eyes of others.

“Corrin...” She rustles in my grasp.

I press her head to my chest. “Yeah, it’s me. It’s me,” I voice, choking on my tears I didn’t notice filled my throat. “Listen to my voice.”

She pulls herself into a ball and muffles her head deep into my embrace, her ear next to my heart.

“She okay?” I lift my head at Quint. He scans me. “Are you okay?”

I give him a subtle thumb-up. Quint hesitates. “Let me know if you need anything.” I tip my chin and he leaves.

I lower my cheek on Sevina’s hair, soaking in the heat radiating from her head. Now she’s burning…

“I didn’t even cry when they died,” her lips quiver. “I didn’t cry.” Her shoulders twitch and she breaks out in tears.

“It’s all right. You’re alive.” Nothing else comes to my mind. She is and that’s all that matters. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.” She weeps into my chest, quivering. I slide my hand over her hair, rub her shoulder to show her that I’m present with her. “You’re safe here… with me, Sevina. You’re safe…” I reassure her until her cry turns to sobbing. Eventually, the only song I know begins peeling from my lips— my mother’s song. I hum absently, my back slumped against the wall. In the background Aida and Quint argue. Whatever the haggle is about is futile if Sevina doesn’t survive this with her brain intact.

What else can help her? What else might she need?

I bow my head to her face. Her eyes shut tight, she draws breaths through her mouth as if each is her last. “I love you,” I whisper with a sigh. It doesn’t matter if she loves me back. It doesn’t even matter if I do.

She relied on you, Corrin. Put her back on her feet. She has to be safe— it’s a part of a deal you made. After all she’s come back from the dead. What else should I give her if not warmth, love, and care?

I rock her back and forth like a child. I caress her head and stroke through her hair till she falls asleep, but even then I give her my unrelenting attention. Whenever I’m awake myself that is. I think I drift off a few times as against Aida’s pleading requests to check on the gang, we drive back to the warehouse, hoping to meet Will.

The engine dies off and the back doors creak, opening. Before I even realize what I’m doing my hand springs for the gun in the corner and I point it at the exit. Silhouetted by the street light Will stands at the van’s rear.

“Is she hurt?” She ignores my weapon as she looks at Sevina, her voice shrill as if she’s been waiting out in the cold.

A hand lands on my shoulder, a simple but potent gesture that snaps me back from an overprotective mode. Quint hovers his fingers above my weapon until my grip falters and I allow him to take it, only to envelop Sevina in my embrace again. She clings to me with a death grip.

Coming to my senses, I shake my head at Will. “No, she saw Terrel die. I mean, she was looking into his eyes when he died.”

Will’s expression doesn’t shift, as, chances are, she doesn’t comprehend the complete extent of Sevina’s abilities. She sits on the edge of the van, silent. Aida sobs unobtrusively in the front and Quint lowers himself on the bench.

“I’m sorry,” I say.

“We’re all sorry, kid,” Will’s voice is toneless. She shrugs off her black coat and covers Sevina and me. “Quint, get Aida. Let’s go.”

My blood goes cold at the promise of more violence and I snatch Will’s sleeve. “Don’t hurt her.” She turns and my fingers snap free.

Her face softens. “I won’t.” Yet her posture stays tense, itching to let her anger out on someone.

They leave, shutting us in the van.

Whenever Sevina’s awake, she stares, her glare on me. She blinks, but I don’t think she sees me. It’s as if she’s in a coma with all emotion drained from her features, all but for the whirling turmoil in her eyes— two ambers I glance into for short seconds, are painted with sorrow, with thirst and hunger for comfort. She wants to look, but not to see…

I do not look back.

When she falls asleep I slip the band from her hair, allowing the strands to slip around her shoulders. It’s longer now than when I cut it. God, feels like ages ago…

It seems hours fly by as I sing, whisper all the best things I can think of, even describe one of my vacations. The waves, crashing against the heating sand, the exotic fish, and sunsets coloring the crystal sea. I have no idea if it helps, but she listens…

The van’s doors creak and I shiver. “Need anything?” Will taps the console on the door and brightens the lights.

I yawn into my shoulder. “No.”

Will climbs in, rocking the van. She carries a bottle of water. My chin falls to my chest as if pulled by a magnet. Will snaps her fingers in front of my face and I jerk straight. “We should take her to the bathrooms and clean her.” Sevina has her arms wrapped around my waist and her head buried in my chest. “If we can get her off of you.”

I shuffle and Sevina’s fingers lock tighter behind my back. She refuses to budge. “Maybe in the morning?” I search for reassurance in Will’s worn expression. What reassurance? Will has no idea what Sevina’s going through.

Realizing it’s hopeless, Will nods.

“Go on, say it.” I follow her leaden gaze into the darkness. One of the normal-sized doors in the car repair shop is open, leading into the night.

Will adjusts her puffy ponytail and pounces out the van. Nothing to say out loud, nothing that hasn’t been said or discussed.

A few minutes later she returns with a mattress, a bunch of coats, and one warm sheet. “Aida’s staying tomorrow. Quint and I will be working.” She arranges them in front of me. “Watch Sevina. Oh, and…” Will trails off as if about to say something nasty, but shuts her mouth. “Just watch her.” She dims the lights and leaves one of the back doors cracked, allowing the fresh air to circulate the compartment.

“Was someone there?” Sevina utters a little later.

“Will.”

She lifts her chin. “Corrin.” Her breath is hot next to my lips. “Look at me?”

“No.” She shudders despite the velvet tone of my voice. What if she truly needs to look now? But what if it’s an addiction?

Put her back on her feet. How? What else can I do?

“Please?” She chokes out, her eyes watering. “Please, look at me.”

My heart breaks, but I round the question. “This is the first time you ever said please to me.”

Her lips quivering in desperation, she stares at me. I lower my head and kiss her forehead. Not even kiss, but barely touch it, just to see how she reacts. She doesn’t, leaving me discomfited, but she doesn’t protest either and I press my lips against her hot forehead again and keep them a little longer. When I pull away tension from her face streams away, leaving a light, confused frown. I assume she’s never been kissed before. Her eyelids flutter close as she digests the feeling.

Just as I start falling asleep she rustles away from me and sits, her movements slow and wobbly. “I gotta wash them off.” She lifts her bloody hands.

She scrambles out of the van. I take her coat and, using my cellphone flashlight for illumination, follow her through the garage to the second-floor bathroom. Step after step, she ascends the stairs. I think she may trip, but she doesn’t.

I pace outside while she’s in the restroom. I feel dirty for kissing her. All I wanted to do is to help her, but once she’s back to herself will she be happy with my attempts? I doubt the sensation’s positive— being caressed by your friend’s murderer…

Water starts rushing behind the door and when I enter she’s over the dirty sink, water mixing into cherry red in her palms.

Will she come back? God, is it even Sevina? I know nothing about her. I have no idea what was made out of her in the lab she came from. Assuming it’s a lab.

No, Corrin! Don’t think like that. She’ll rest and she’ll be all right. Just the same grumpy, unfit Sevina who wants to help people.

“You should change your shirt.” I run my fingers along my neck, examining the decrepit tiled wall.

It’s not until no answers come that I turn and catch her staring at herself in the mirror. “No, don’t!” I twist her away. She said it doesn’t work, but I’m not willing to take chances.

She doesn’t react to being torn away as she just stands, nor asleep, nor awake.

A sudden urge to scream overflows me. I’m right here! Sevina! Notice me, I’m begging you!

Clutching her shoulders I swallow the tightness in my throat and examine her marred shirt. Terrel’s blood...

I steel myself into a calm demeanor. “Out of my yard you can see the stars, you know. We have a telescope and it’s fascinating to observe the sky…” I talk of random happy things as I unbutton her shirt.

Listening, she watches my fingers, then tugs one sleeve off herself and lets me envelop her in her coat.

She then proclaims she’s tired and wants to settle on the stinking floor. Naturally, I don’t let her. Despite myself I carry her back to the van into the nest of sheets and run to the bathroom myself, change into my casual dark outfit and settle back. She muffles into my chest, cocooning into my body.

When I don’t talk to her, in my sleep I try to straighten and turn on my back, but can’t because she clings to me to the point that her legs entwine with mine. I try to loosen her grip around me, but it tightens. For hours I can’t stop trembling, remembering all the little spaces and restraints I was forced into, but as I can’t do anything but lay and take it like a man, her squishiness against my body grows on me and I begin relishing the warmth.

“I wish I were normal,” her mutter against my chest in the morning. “What’s wrong with me?” I waft a breath of relief. She’s asking questions. God, I hope she’s back.

I find no other words but the same chant of support I was filling her head with for the entire night. “Listen, don’t look. Nothing’s wrong with you. You are the bravest, the most amazing and strong person I’ve ever known. The most capable of understanding and showing people the way, Sevina. You are amazing.” I brush my hand through her hair.

She pulls away so she can scrutinize my face. “You’re full of shit.” A grin tugs at the corners of her lips. That’s Sevina I know. “Did everyone else get out okay?”

“Yeah. They’re all right.”

“Good.”

Besides a trip to the bathroom, we snooze together for the whole morning. She refuses to relocate to the second floor and returns to the van. I cover her with all the coats I have.

For as long as I lie my detest for myself swells and blossoms. How could I’ve let her go alone… I’m bound by our deal and I abandoned her…

“Corrin?” Aida’s pliant voice.

Shielding Sevina with my arm, I lift my head. “What?”

Aida’s pale with murky eyes, but her face is intact. “Will and Quint… they went out. Working. Left me here—”

“Aida, just say what you want.”

“Can you check on the hideout?” She bows her head, her expression unmarred by any hidden agendas. “They’re not answering. I’m worried.”

“I can’t lea—” a clutch on my arm stops my refusal.

“I’ll be fine,” Sevina murmurs, her eyes remaining closed.

“No.” I know how difficult it is. I wish there was someone to hold me when I needed help. All I can do is be here for her. I can’t abandon her again.

“Yes,” she states, eyes still shut. “Leave me the key. I’ll lock myself in with Aida. No one will come in.”

“No, no way.” I look sidelong at Aida, not bothering to hide my distrust. “Did Will say anything about staying here?”

“She said it’s as safe as any other place. They can track us anywhere,” Aida whispers, her hands in the pockets of her sweatshirt. “Actually, Will said we better stay here and sit quiet, instead of trying to run away. At least, until she and Quint return from work.” Our van’s parked inconspicuously by the wall in the garages and the car repair shop is still operational. Other people will provide cover. More or less of it.

“Corrin, you gotta go check on the hideout,” Sevina grunts.

Gritting my teeth, I ask Aida. “Why do you still care about them? You betrayed us.”

Desperately, Aida steps forward. “Terrel and the hideout are the only things I care for in my life! I wanted to run, but I knew I couldn’t do it alone so I tried to make it better for him, for them! I never meant for Terrel to…” She clamps her mouth with her hand. “Damn it!” She hides behind the van.

I sigh. “And what do I say?” I raise my voice so Aida can hear.

“Tell them to scatter.”

I consider it for a long while. With everything that’s happening, my father will be outraged and the gang might be in trouble despite us leaving it. “If something goes wrong we’ll meet next to Will’s apartment,” I say. Aida pokes from around the van, eyes red, and nods. I turn to Sevina. “The guns are—“

“I know where the guns are, Corrin.” She muffles into a tighter ball. I ensure she’s covered beneath all the coats before I grab my parka and my holster. I leave her the key and shut the van.

“What of the capo?” I ask Aida.

“He too had to leave this morning.” Aida tries to explain herself as she follows me outside. “Dan found me when I was visiting the gang. He said—”

“Aida, just…” I sigh. “Please, don’t.” It’s not me she failed the most. It’s not me she owes an explanation to. It’s, certainly, not me who knows what’s wrong and what’s right as I too, failed too many times to count.

Warehouses outside loom around the parking lot, moist from the night rain, and the usually gray-toned world is bleached with thick morning fog. I put on my hood, chills creeping under the sleeves of my parka.

“Aida, you watch Sevina.” I pivot to her, my voice falling. “If she’s hurt under your watch, I will hurt you.”

Aida sighs, as if she knows I’m bluffing, but then nods. “I will, I swear.” I won’t hurt her, but former detective Willow won’t be so peaceful.

Without a vehicle I hurry to the nearest subway station, buy myself a sandwich, and take a solitary ride to the Coats.

As I trek through the Safety Blocks I notice the borders are vacant of homeless but for a few old men mingling around the occasional corners. They must’ve relocated, or hid inside the buildings. But why? I stride further. A black jeep pulls into the street and I flatten myself to the alley wall, sneaking a look from under my hood. I glimpse one of the faces— a worker from our gang. But the car isn’t ours.

Unwilling to risk the front entrance to the hideout I find the hidden door and follow the dark tunnel profoundly focused on all that keeps me sane. The door to the bottom level of the hideout is cracked, faint light spilling into the dark corridor. A strange smell picks at my nose. Not just dust and plastic.

Watching my step I shoulder the door, walking in. The hammocks and walls are torn. Busted floodlights cast flickering blotches of light, twisting the destroyed surroundings into frightening shapes.

Something happened here. Leaving the hideout was a poor decision…

My foot stumbles into something soft. From underneath a half-torn plastic wall sticks a leg. Swallowing hard, I raise the plastic to reveal a dead teen sprawled on the ground, his back damp with three red spots.

I gasp, turning away.

The golden kite in the sky.

I force myself past him and enter the open circle. My hand, holding the flashlight, and my breath freeze.

Kids and teens lie dead in the bloodied sand, executed in a straight line. A few sprawl further away, killed in the midst of a failed escape.

I move forward, stepping over the bodies. It’s as if I was struck by lightning and thrown underwater. I can’t feel myself breathe, I can’t hear—

“All done here!” A voice thunders from above. I leap to the car lifting pillar for cover, pressing my back against the cold metal and scanning the levels.

How dare they…

“There’s another one!” A man’s head pops on the seventh level, then his hand with a gun. A shot cracks out, a bullet hitting the sand at my feet. I swivel around the pillar just as two more bullets embed themselves into the metal, barely missing my head.

Adrenaline boiling through my blood I brandish my gun. The shots stop and muffled fast-paced thuds reverberate over the structure. Footsteps. The thug must be rushing down. I twist my head for anyone in the shadows. I must escape this place.

I angle forward, ready to make a run for it—

A bang rattles the structure, a bullet landing next to my feet.

Swiveling around the pillar for cover I look up only to notice the thug running along the edge of the sixth level so he can see me. I raise my weapon and fire. So does he.

Shots crack, some hitting the bodies on the ground.

He disappears.

My temples drum against my eyes, but in the midst of the action my hands are calm, weapon’s sights sliding around the level like a knife through butter.

The thug pokes his gun, revealing his upper body. I fire first, hitting his shoulder at an angle.

A curse rings out, echoing against the metal structure, and his full body comes into view, gun still in hand. Hoping for a good shot to cripple him enough to escape I stride away from the pillar and pull the trigger.

His head jolts, his neck dyeing red in seconds, and he flings his arms into the air, balancing on the edge of the level.

Oh, God.

Angling back, he loses balance.

His body hits the concrete, landing in front of me with a deafening thud. A cloud of sand and dust mushrooms into the air and blood splatters across the sand. Shivers reverberate from my feet to the top of my head.

I choke a gasp, staring at his twisted body— eyes wide open, mouth gaped, cracked skull and horrified stare imprinted into his face. My shot in his neck pools red in the dusty concrete.

Kite, kite, think of the kite…

My legs wobble and I succumb to my knees, gun sliding from my fingers.

Corrin, think of Sevina, think of your mother…

I shut my eyes and bite my lip, gulping down a cry.

Another death, another life ended, by me…

Next to the thug, among other bodies, a familiar face of a girl seizes my attention. A red dot crumbles on her forehead and a tiny rivulet of blood flows into her ginger hair, twisting around her numb face.

Lenore.

My back dotted with chilled sweat, I face the man I just killed and slide his eyes close. Then I move the strands from Lenore’s face and take in all the bodies, for unknown reason lingering on each red dot, each twisted face, each terminated life. Over thirty of them… Whoever killed them must’ve taken the most resourceful kids and executed the rest. The tattooed arms of the dead thug tell me it was another gang’s doing.

A gruff voice calls out at the very top. Another thug must be coming to check on his partner.

I catch myself reaching for the scar on my neck, but stop as the anxiety passes, replaced by the clearest thought I had in months.

I can’t do this. I can’t take this anymore.