Page 121 of No Rules

I hear him move limply near me. Finally my head turns to him. My limbs do not respond. It’s as if I’m disconnected from reality. But I can see his face smeared with blood. He too was tied up, thank God. But his nose is full of blood. And his mouth too.

“Rafael,” I whisper again.

I want to cry, but no tears come. I don’t even feel the pain, I only see him. He doesn’t open his eyes.

“I called for help, don’t move!” someone yells outside the car.

I can’t move anyway. I try to lift my hand, but I can’t.

“Rafael,” I repeat in a voice that is now panicked.

Finally, his eyes open weakly. Finally, only his right eye opens, the left one is drowned in blood.

“Iris,” he articulates with difficulty. “It hurts.”

“Someone will come and help us,” I say with a groan. “Stay with me.”

He moves his hand slowly and touches my arm with a grunt. It’s almost like I can feel his forces leaving him.

“Don’t move,” I beg him. “They’ll be here soon.”

“I’m sorry, Iris.”

He’s crying. I see tears running down the roof of the flipped car. My lips are trembling. I try to move my arms, but it’s hard. I try to touch my seatbelt. I have to unbuckle myself. Or maybe I shouldn’t move?

But he looks so bad.

“I love you. I love you so much,” he repeats as he touches my arm one last time with difficulty.

I have to…I have to help him. I hear sounds outside the vehicle. A siren.

“Help is coming,” I whisper. “It’s going to be okay.”

I notice he’s not moving, and I start to panic, repeating his name several times. Suddenly, I feel a tiredness invade me. I bleed, I hurt, and then, all of a sudden, I feel nothing.

Then I close my eyelids, just for a moment…

A few hours later, I wake up alone in the hospital, while his eyes remain closed for eternity.

***

My mouth trembles slowly. I almost feel myself losing my balance, but I can’t. Yeleen has just reached her car and is trying to unlock it. I run to her and snatch her keys from her hands.

“Leave me alone,” she orders me, her words slurred, her eyes blankly staring at nothing.

“No, I won’t. You’re going to get in my car before I get mad for good.”

She grumbles like a little girl and crosses her arms over her chest. “I can drive just fine.”

“You’ll kill yourself if you drive,” I spit in her face. “GET IN MY CAR.”

My tone startles her. She glares at me but finally goes to my car.

I let out a sigh, my heart beating wildly in my chest. I’m about to follow her, but I see Trey walking like a madman through the doorway. He scans the area, worried.

A little too late, mister.

“Iris!” he exclaims as he gets close to me. “Have you seen Yeleen?”

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