Page 67 of Eternally London

Tommy…the shot.

I’m alive.

I try to make my body work to assess the damage, but nothing is moving right. Most of my body is heavy and numb, and the parts that aren’t hurt.

I look around the room. It’s dim, but the accessory lights keep it lit enough to see everything. I search for clues for my condition, but I don’t see anything.

“Loïc?” London whispers. She lifts her head from me and props herself up on her elbow. Her eyes are swollen and red from crying.

My heart sinks.

It’s going to be bad.

I try to speak, but my throat is so dry, and sound doesn’t come. I swallow hard and try again. “Hi,” I croak out.

“Hi,” London says, tears now rolling down her cheeks.

She reaches toward the side table and grabs a Styrofoam cup with a straw. She bends the straw toward my lips, and I take a drink. The cold water is exactly what I needed, and I feel marginally better.

“What’s the damage?” I ask her.

“You’re going to be okay.” She smiles. “The bullet missed all of your major organs and spine. You were in surgery for a long time. You had extensive internal bleeding, but they fixed you up. You’re going to be fine. It will be painful while you heal, but the doctor doesn’t think you’ll have any long-term effects.”

I squeeze my eyes shut, releasing a long breath. Relief spreads over me. I’m so thankful that I’m not paralyzed and that I didn’t lose anything major, like a kidney or another limb.

“Oh, thank God,” I say.

“I know. It was such a horrible day—like, the scariest day ever,” London says through tears.

I lift my arm, trying not to grimace as pain shoots through me, and I wipe away the evidence of London’s sadness. I hate seeing her cry. “Where’s Lindi?”

“She’s at home with my parents. She’s good. She immediately warmed up to everyone, not that I’m surprised. She’s such a sweetheart.”

“Yes, she is,” I agree.

London takes my face in her hands. “Please don’t ever do that to us again. I can’t risk losing you, Loïc. I can’t live without you.”

“You could,” I say. For some reason, I want her to know that she would be strong enough.

“I couldn’t.” She shakes her head. “And I don’t want to.” Her lip trembles. The exhaustion of the day is so evident on her face. “I didn’t know for most of the day if you were going to make it. It was my worst nightmare, Loïc. I can’t go through that again.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“I’m just happy that you’re okay.” She kisses me again. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too.”

Suddenly, I remember. “Tommy?” I ask hastily.

“I don’t know.” London shrugs. “Hopefully, locked up.”

“So, he’s alive?”

London looks confused. “I’m not sure. I didn’t think to ask. What happened?”

I tell London how Tommy was when I found him. “He didn’t try to shoot me, London. It was an accident.”

“How do you accidentally shoot someone, Loïc? He almost killed you. He almost left me a widow and Lindi without a dad. That’s not an accident,” she says with so much anger.

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