Page 187 of Saving Sparrow
“The man still wearing the mask shoved me into our bedroom closet. Clothes littered the floor, and all the glass cabinet doors were thrown open. Quentin’s watches, all the fine jewelry we’d given Elliott over the years… Everything was gone.”
“Open the safe!”
“There were all sorts of tools scattered about, too. He’d tried to get into the safe but couldn’t. I entered the combination for him, then waited with my hands raised while he loaded the cash into the bag.” I never understood why Quentin needed to keep that kind of cash in the house.
“My nerves were so fried as I stood there worrying about Quentin and Elliott. I just wanted to get back to them. We were finally on our way out of the bedroom, and I didn’t even care about the gun pressed between my shoulder blades. Quentin and Elliott were all I could think about. Wewere turning the corner leading to the stairs when life as I knew it came to an abrupt end.”
BANG!
The phantom gunshot rattled my bones. I tried to contain my emotions. “I’ll never forget the sound of Elliott’s gut-wrenching cry.”
Sparrow didn’t look so apathetic now, and I wondered if I’d imagined his step closer.
“I didn’t give a damn about the gun at my back. I ran to the foyer so fast I practically flew there. My cry was a shriek of pure agony when I slipped in the pool of Quentin’s blood.” I held a trembling hand in front of me as if I could still touch him, as if I could do something more to stop the bleeding. “He was trying to say something to me but couldn’t.”
“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here, I’m here.”
“I t-tore my jacket off, pressing it against his abdomen, begging h-him to stay with me.” The two men argued while Elliott screamed Quentin’s name over and over again.
“What the fuck did you do?!”
“Y-you said to s-shoot him if he moved.”
“It was meant to scare him, you idiot! And that isn’t a kneecap!”
“W-what are we going to do?”
“Fuck! Let me think.”
“Quentin went pale, and Elliott stopped screaming. Both terrified me.” I remembered peering over my shoulder at Elliott. His face and clothes were bloodied, his gaze just as distant as Quentin’s.
“I begged them to call for help. Begged them not to let him die.” My pained voice grew shaky, the intensity of my emotions driving me to stand.
“Shut up and let me think!”The man in charge shouted at me.
“He ordered me away from Quentin’s body. I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t leave him. I-I had to keep pressure on the wound. I was prepared to die before leaving him there, bleeding and all alone… But…” I couldn’t see or speak past my tears.
“But then they threatened Elliott again,” Sparrow said, his stare thawing.
I nodded, taking deep breaths before moving on. “They lined both of us up on our knees, made us face away from the front door. I reachedover to hold Elliott’s icy hand. I… I whispered that I loved him.” When I reached my hand out this time, Sparrow took it.
“Their police scanner went off.”
“Shots reported on Birch and Glenwood, need all units available in the area.”
“Fuck! Let’s go!”
“I glanced over my shoulder in time to see the kid running outside, and the other guy raising his gun at us. I threw my body over Elliott’s. I remember falling, and I remember blood. It’s the last thing I remember before waking up in a hospital room alone.”
Sparrow’s gaze was now as warm as his touch, and he pulled me into an embrace I desperately needed. I noticed the bandages I’d felt under his shirt days ago were gone, and he only seemed a little stiff now. Still, I was careful.
“You said you woke up with a gun in your hand,” I whispered against his neck. “That was Quentin’s gun.” It was on the list of things found at the scene. “Elliott would’ve had to go to our bedroom to get it. The intruders would’ve been gone by then.” Which meant he hadn’t retrieved it to use on them. I could only assume what that meant. “Thank you for showing up when you did.”
Sparrow held me long after I stopped shaking, long after my tears dried up. Then he dropped a bombshell on me. “I didn’t do it,” he whispered. “I didn’t kill my parents.”
Miguel
Now
