Page 26 of Trig

She stands there, skin battered in the sunlight. My heart breaks, looking at her. She has the same damn knife I had earlier. The doctor’s wife must have set it down in there. Nine is holding her stomach in pain with one hand and the weapon in the other. Her left eye is bruised and completely swollen shut. I’m going to eat Carmen’s soul for breakfast. Fuck him!

“What is it with this family and knives?” I hear the doctor’s wife say.

“Nine, is that your name? My name is Doctor Finn and this is my wife. You’re in my house and we are here to help you. It’s okay. Don’t be afraid. You’re experiencing escalated emotions which is normal for what you’ve been through. How do you feel?” the doctor asks.

“How do I feel? You wanna know how I feel?” She waves the knife around.

I finally push through everyone. “Move!”

“Trig!” she shouts.

Nine sees me, and her stance relaxes. Tears fall from her face as her chest heaves and we reach for one another. I’m scared to touch her and hurt her. She drops the knife on the carpet and she lets me gently embrace her as she wraps her arms around my waist. I hold her in my arms and kiss her cheek. Her hair smells of chlorine and her skin smells of medicine. She tastes like a mixture of sweat, salt, and dirt. I release her and step back, limping in the process. She stares down and points at my leg.

“Is that a gunshot wound? You got shot?”

“Yeah. I’m fine, though. You need to get back in bed.”

“You are not fine! You’re limping. I don’t want to be back in bed. I want to be with my family.”

I turn and nod to Gabriel to come over. He grabs her by the arm but she pulls away.

“Who is this asshole?” she barks.

Gabriel smirks and looks at me.

“This asshole saved your life from drowning. There was a pool incident.”

“Oh shit! Did I fall out of a window? I remember broken glass.”

“Ummm. No. Baby, I threw you out from an upper window. I had to,” I correct her, while staring down at the floor in shame.

“I fell. End of story,” she insists. “Where is Mya, and who are these people staring at me and where are we exactly?”

“Mya is safe. She slept with you all night. She’s out there on the couch. Do you want to see her?” I pause, as she nods. “As this gentleman said earlier, this is the doctor who saved your life and his lovely wife who saved my leg and this is their home. Honey. Nine, um, you had an infection after you lost the—”

“Don’t fucking say it. Not a word.” She pauses and looks around. “I don’t owe any of you anything. Not you. Not you, and especially not you. Got that, Bob?”

“It’s Gabriel,” he’s quick to correct as he picks her up and puts her back in bed.

“Whatever,” she replies.

He walks past me, and says, “Sassy. I like it.”

“Me too,” I mumble. “Most of the time.”

The room clears out and now it’s just me and her. She drops her guard and I can see how much pain she is in. She groans as she lays her head on the pillow.

“Everything hurts. There isn’t one inch of my body unaffected.”

I want to tell her, but I’m gathering the right words in my head. I rub her hand while I build up the bravery to crush her. She sadly stares down at her hand and then back up to me.

“They took the ring you gave me. I loved that ring.”

“That’s whatever. I’ll buy you another.” I pause. “Look, I know you said not one word, but, Nine—”

“It’s not whatever. That ring was our love; Those fucking animals took and they took and they took from me. I thought I was going to die in that place, by myself with just my thoughts haunting me. Stripped down, humiliated, and marked like property. Beat to death for nothing more than a game. Our unborn child was just collateral damage. I felt fucking looney tunes in there staring at a wall. Some quack trying to convince me I was crazy. Not knowing what time or day it was, how many hours had passed, or if you and Mya were alive. That ring is a memory of the day I told you I was pregnant. That ring is mine. I want that fucking ring back.”

She looks at me in frustration. I nod to calm her down.

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