Page 6 of Wings of Ebony
My knees wobble, but I lock them in place as a stranger’s raspy voice rings in my ear. “Lot of funny stories from the witnesses. Stuff you wouldn’t believe.” She points at me. “What’s the story with this one?”
Voices.Gong. Gong.So many voices.
I rake my fingers through my scalp. It stings like fire. “Listen to me!” I pull the officer’s sleeves to mine and his back straightens.Careful Don’t piss him off.
I squeeze my eyes shut and I can see the man from the car in my mind’s eye. His pale skin and crisp ironed shirt. He wore faded black jeans and hair pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes were light-colored and tats peeked from the collar of his shirt. And his car. The way he angled it in the intersection and stopped, a surly grin on his face when he looked my way.
“There was a man. A-a man in a car.” I point. “O-over there. He wasrightthere! He lured my sister to his car and h-he knew somehow that something bad was going to happen. H-he—”
The cop turns to Miss Raspy Voice. “I don’t know. Around these parts, no telling what she’s on.” He turns to me. “There’s no man in the car over there, ma’am.”
He’s not listening. Why am I even trying?
“He was just there, I swear.”Water. I need water.
“Get her seen over there.” He points toward an ambulance. “Run her prints, too.” He lets me go and I stumble.I need to get out of here.Tasha’s perched on the edge of the ambulance talking to a blond paramedic with a clipboard. I will myself over, one foot in front of the other. The gash on her head isn’t gushing anymore. She’s sitting up, eyes open, talking, a cup in her hands. She spots me and her eyes say more than any words could.
She knows.Memory transference.
She knows everything.
I plow into her legs more roughly than I intend to and Blondie gives me a look.
“Sorry,” I manage. “I—this is my sister.”
Tasha nods and Blondie gestures for me to go ahead.
“T, are you okay?”
She nods. “All this time I thought you were dead. Gone. I don’t know.” Her finger traces the rim of her water cup. “I… you…”
I reach for her cup and she lets me take it. The water is cool going down my throat. I blink; her face is clearer, in focus. Not one hundred percent, but better.
She whispers. “The place you live… it’s—”
“I’m sorry to break this up,” Blondie says. “We need to get her back to be seen. She looks alright but we’ll want to run some tests. Are you able to ride with?”
“I-I can’t ride.” I tug at my sleeves, suddenly hyper aware of my secret. “I—I gotta go.”
Each word curves my sister’s lips farther downward.
I hug her, squeezing harder than life itself. “I’ll be back to check on you.”
“When?” Tears dangle on her lashes.
The hole in my chest shudders with pain. “Soon.” I don’t know if it’s true. I want it to be. I’ll do my damndest to make sure it is. “I—please, please just lay low.” I hold her face in my hands. “No strangers. Fam only.”
She nods and flicks away a tear.
“Moms raised a diamond.” I lace my fingers between hers.
She squeezes. “And diamonds don’t crack.”
The paramedic pulls her backward, breaking our grasp. Leaving her here like this isn’t how I imagined today going. As the doors close, she opens her palm and the heart pendant shines. She smirks, holding it to her heart as the doors click shut. A tinge of warmth fills the hole inside my heart.I knew she’d love it.
Around us, flocks of police officers flit back and forth around the crumpled metal car, checking on bystanders, jotting down notes, talking into their walkie-talkies.They saw me… what I did to save Tasha.Men, women, kids are staring from every corner of the block, pointing, talking, as the City Laws take notes.
“Miss, I’m going to need you to come with me to answer some questions.” The fingers cupped around my shoulder are firm. Almost painful. The warmth I just felt dissolves at the familiar sight. I’m face to face with the man’s telltale grayish pale skin; he almost looks like some white dude in need of a tan. But I know that complexion.
