Page 2 of Bleed for Me

Reluctantly, I nodded. Speaking to them was inevitable. I’d seen enough crime shows to put that together. Might as well get it out of the way.

Doctor Tanner nodded at the two cops before she quietly slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her with a gentle click. Despite the sound being quiet, it felt like a gunshot going off within the tiny room.

The two cops approached my bedside, one on either side of me. The older one ran his gaze along my stomach wound before he met my eye once more. “I’m Officer Fernando,” he greeted in a loud, authoritative tone that had me flinching. He motioned toward his younger partner next. “And this is Officer Declan.” When I didn’t say anything, he released a loaded sigh. “What do you remember?”

The way he asked was gentle, but I knew what he meant. He wanted to know what exactly happened to my family and who had done it. My fingers twitched and my breathing labored as I worked to sift through my memories so that I could provide a step-by-step insight for them so that they’d leave me the hell alone.

The footsteps grew louder with each step Gentry took. They were uncoordinated, like he was stumbling. That meant Daisy had been right. He really was drunk. It was late enough, meaning Mom was most likely in bed already in her own drunken stupor. Even if she’d been awake, she wouldn’t protect us; she never did.

Daisy’s hand latched onto my arm and her fingernails pressed against my bare skin harshly. Pain seared through me as she started to shake even more profusely with every passing second. This was no way to live. My sister was innocent. If I didn’t do something, there was no telling what would happen if he decided to come for us tonight. My main priority was keeping her safe. It wasn’t just about me.

Resting my chin on her shoulder, I pulled her hair back so that I could reach her ear. “I need you to stay in here,” I insisted. “If he comes, our hiding spot will be blown, and I won’t be able to protect you.” My voice came out soft yet determined.

She turned, looking up at me with wide, frantic eyes. “Don’t leave me.” Her lower lip wobbled. “He’ll hurt you and then he’ll hurt me.”

I sighed, pulling her tighter against my body. Her hands fisted the sides of my shirt, warmth seeping into the fabric from her tears. I cradled her head, tears of my own dripping from my eyes.

This was the last time he’d hurt my baby sister. I didn’t care what I had to do in order to protect her. If that meant takingher to college with me, so be it. If that meant dropping out of school and getting a nine to five, then I’d do it.

The truth of the matter was that Gentry was one big son of a bitch and I stood no chance against him. If he wanted something, then he’d do whatever he had to in order to get his way. I had to put a stop to his reign of terror once and for all.

“I can stop him.” I breathed, adrenaline coursing through my veins at the mere prospect of facing him when I knew damn well what he was capable of.

A choked cry fled her lips, and she nuzzled into me further. “Please, Rosalie. Just stay here.”

“I’m going to lure him into the backyard. When the door slams closed, I want you to run out the front and go to Miss Ruby’s house. She’ll keep you safe.”

The policemen both stared at me with bland expressions as I recounted the events leading up to the attack. My fingers twitched, and despair crept in, settling in the pit of my stomach. I didn’t want to relive this. It was the worst day of my life.

“What happened next?” Officer Fernando asked.

My breathing labored and hot tears sprung to my eyes. But before I could reply, Doctor Tanner entered the room with my medicine and water. Closing the door behind her, she made her way over to my bedside.

“Are you able to sit up at all?” she questioned.

I shook my head, not even willing to try. The pain in my stomach was so intense, I knew it would be a pointless endeavor.

She smiled sympathetically and placed the medicine and water on the table at my bedside. Bending at the waist, she pulled the lever to my bed, and it slowly started to fold me into a sitting position. Pain splintered through my abdomen, making me cry out from the sudden sharpness of it.

“Here,” she continued, retrieving the small cup with a small white pill inside. “This should help with the pain.” She lifted thecup to my mouth, and I parted my lips quickly. Tilting the cup back, the tablet hit my tongue. Next, she grabbed the water and poured that into my mouth too, helping me wash it down.

“Thank you,” I murmured.

She nodded, grabbing the two cups and striding to the other side of the room where she then deposited them into the trash.

Tears stung the back of my eyes, the memories resounding through my head and reminding me that I’d lost the one person I cared about more than anything else in this world. My boyfriend was a close second, but not even he meant more to me than my sister. She was innocent and had her entire life ahead of her.

Officer Declan approached, placing a hand on my blanket-clad thigh in support. Sympathy flashed within his gray eyes, and it made my chest tighten. “Whenever you’re ready.” He forced a small smile—an attempt to ease my mind, but it didn’t work. “If you’d like us to come back tomorrow?—”

“No,” I said abruptly. My eyes fluttered closed and a deep breath expelled from my lungs before they opened again. “I did what I said I was going to. Daisy stayed in the room, and I snuck into the kitchen to grab one of our butcher knives. Gentry was pacing the house, but he was drunk; it was easy to get by him without him seeing me. I- I…” My mind short-circuited, bringing forth a panic that started in my abdomen and spread upwards, settling in the back of my throat.

Officer Declan’s hand tightened on my thigh in reassurance once again. “You don’t have to force yourself. You went through something traumatic. We won’t hold it against you.”

“I want to get this over with.”

Declan glanced over at his partner who gave him a slight nod. “Very well, then.”

My thoughts were all muddled. I couldn’t think clearly and didn’t remember everything in the the order that they happened in. Telling them that would seal my fate. I’d be locked behindbars immediately. As much of a piece of shit my mom was, she still needed me. Especially after what transpired.

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