Page 16 of Bound by Affliction
5
Green
My back hasa knot on the right side so bad it’s fucking painful, but I don’t let it show to anyone. It feels like months, but it’s only been five days since she was brought in and sedated. The doctors say she’s beginning to heal, and I can see some of the bruising turning yellow, but it’s not much. The swelling is still there, but going down ever so slowly. Her cuts are still raw. When the nurse came in to change her head dressing, it almost brought me to my knees, but the nurse said that it’s starting to heal. It doesn’t look that way tome.
“Hey, brother.” Looking to the door, Jacks stands there watching my girl. That man would protect her with his life, just because she’s mine. That’sRavage.
“Hey.” I swipe my hand over my face, trying to brush some of the tirednessaway.
Jacks holds out a takeout bag. “Brought you food. You need to eat or you’re gonna be shit for her when she wakesup.”
Hiding my frustration, I get up and move to him, snagging the food. He’s right. Both him and Leah’s parents are, but I can’t help myself. Leaving isn’t anoption.
Ever since he brought me food the other day, he hadn’t stopped and is here three times aday.
“Thanks,” I grumble, taking a bite of the burger. Jacks comes in and sits in one of the other chairs in the room. With Stella, Aaron, and I, the staff gave us three chairs knowing I wasn’tbudging.
We sit in comfortable silence while I finish my food, Jacks taking in the room. “She looks a little better,” he says, breaking thesilence.
“Notenough.”
He latches his fingers and puts them behind his back. “Everything on our end is good. Never again, brother, never fuckin’again.”
The paper crumbles in my fists making a crackling sound that mixes with the different beeps from the machines. “Good.”
“You need anything?” he asks, standing. “I’m gonna takeoff.”
Following suit, I reply, “Nah. Thanks for thefood.”
“Anything, brother. Anything.” With a handshake and a pat on the back, Jacksleaves.
Alone in the room again, I pull out anotherletter.
“Hi,Green,
First, why is your name Green? Did your mom name you that? I’ve never met a Green before and, no offense, but you don’t look green to me at all. No, I’m not making fun of your name, I’m just really curious and in here you’ll probably get a lot of questions. You, of course, don’t have to answer any of them if you don’t wantto.
Oh geez. I sound like a gooberagain.
Florida is hot. Walking from class to class at school is terrible, but my parents insisted I go to college and get my degree. I’ve declared pretty much every major there is out there. I just don’t know what I want to do with my life, and who’s to say I won’t change my mind once I get that piece of paper. I could want to be a teacher and end up being an author. Or maybe I get a degree in fine arts only to realize I’m not as creative as Ithought.
There’s no telling who or what I’m going to be, but my parents want me to choose something. Right now, I’m in business. I figured it would cover a lot of different areas being so general. Classes are easy and I get bored sometimes, but I make itwork.
Only two years left and I’ll be free of the school and then tied to a desk for the rest of my life. Just the thought of that makes me want to break out in hives. See, I’m not really cut out for it. Another change though will probably send my mother into a fit about my life and future…blah.
The only reprieve I have is my small apartment on campus. Love my parents, but I can’t listen to the questions about the future and their hovering over me all the time. Getting my own place was the best thing that’shappened.
I feel really bad still about the rally. I’ve apologized to Bristyl so many times she’s yelled at me to stop saying sorry. But I just don’t feel like it’s enough. Guilt is a heavy thing, and I wish I could take back my decisions. But life doesn’t allow us to do that. Lesson learned even if it was the hardway.”
The paper fluttersin my hand. If she only knew at the time she wrote that then she wouldn’t be done learning this lesson. Those men weren’t done with her in theleast.
Aaron and Stella step into the room, the doctor following behind them, his expression blank. It’s a look I saw on my mother’s doctor when he sat me down to tell me I had a decision to make: Either leave my mother on life support, which she would stay on until the cord was unplugged, or let her go. Everything comes crashing down on me, and I fear the worst. My chest tightens and breathing becomes difficult as the fear of history repeating itself crashes aroundme.
Standing, I move over to them. The doctor nods, now used tome.
“Leah’s latest tests came back really good. Her numbers are back up. Her kidney is doing much better than I anticipated, considering. The healthy one has been picking up the slack, but the other is now holding its own. We did notice a bit of swelling around the brain from the trauma to her head, but that has since gone down aswell.”
“So what do we do now?” Stella asks, leaning into her husband forsupport.
