Page 48 of Sinners' Appetite
“I’d rather keep going. Sammi doesn’t have time for us to wait.”
“Shouldn’t we call the police?” I ask.
“Well let the hospital staff deal with that,” Malachi says. “Right now, we just need to get you to treated.”
“I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not, Nikki. You need to be checked out.”
“I said, I’m fine!” I holler, startling Malachi enough to make him veer off to the right.
“Nikki, he’s just trying to help,” Jeremy whispers.
Just then, I hear Sammi whimper.
“Nikki! Where’s Nikki?!” she cries out, seemingly disoriented as she tries to sit up.
“I’m right here. I’m okay.” I turn, reaching behind me so that I can run my fingers through her tangled hair.
Suddenly, she starts to scream so loud that all of us have to cover our ears.
“Pull over!” Jeremy hollers.
As soon as Malachi stops the car, I hop into the back seat and wrap my arms around Sammi while Jessica and Jeremy get out. I look out the window and see Jeremy in tears, holding his forehead against the car.
“Tell me what to do…” Malachi pleads from the front seat.
I keep my arms around her, holding her head to my chest. After a few minutes, her breathing finally regulates and she lifts her head to look up at me.
“You…” she says, reaching her hand up to my face, tracing her fingers along the dried blood and tears.
“Shhh…” I whisper, looking to Malachi with a faint smile.
“We need to go…” he says.
“Tell Jeremy to sit up front. Jessica and I can squeeze back here with Sammi.”
Malachi exits the car and makes his way around to Jeremy. Moments later, Jessica joins me in the back seat and Jeremy hops up front. He turns around and it breaks my heart instantly to see the distressed look in his eyes.
We finally get to the end of the road and Malachi turns left, heading in the direction of the nearest town. As soon as we get to the hospital, Jeremy rushes out of the car and grabs Sammi a wheelchair, opening the back door to assist in getting her out.
She can walk, but judging by the distant look in her eyes—she’s in shock. She hasn’t spoken a word since we stopped on the side of the road. She just keeps staring straight ahead, at nothing.
It’sbeenafewhours since they disappeared behind the main doors with Sammi.
Luckily, they were able to convince Nikki to get looked at too, considering the amount of blood she had dried into her hair. She hasn’t asked for me to see her yet and I don’t want to push my way into her room.
“Fuck. Why haven’t they come out to tell us anything yet?” Jeremy impatiently whispers, running his hands up and down his legs.
“She’s in good hands, man,” I say. “How about we go get some coffee and come back?”
He runs his hands over his face. “Fine,” he loudly sighs.
Partway down the hall, Jeremy stops and leans against the wall. “Is it bad that it felt so fucking good to kill Nolan?” he asks.
“Fuck no. Some people don’t deserve to take up space, Jeremy.”
“That officer didn’t seem to care about what I did.”
