Page 25 of The Piece You Broke

Brushing my tears away with the back of my hand, I keep going until I reach an alley in the middle of whatever road I’m on. After hesitating for a beat, I duck down it.

Two steps down, my right foot lands in something wet and sticky, but I keep going to the metal dumpster that smells so bad it’s like something died.

That’s a good thing.

A stinky dumpster that smells like death means no one will want to go near it, and right now, I want to be on an island surrounded by a moat no one can cross. Since I’m never going to find one of those, this will do. For now.

I tuck myself behind it, so the dumpster hides me from whoever might pass the alley. With my back flush against the wall, and the foul death stink burning my nose, I close my eyes and let myself think about Dr. Simon Trevor.

He was the only one who wanted to help me, and Nathan killed him.

The memory of Nathan breaking his neck, the blood, the crack, and his dead stare fills my head. I cover my face and sob.

Why did I let him help me? Why didn’t he just let me throw myself out of the hospital window?

Maybe then he might still be alive.

He didn’t deserve to die.

I slide down the wall, my entire body shaking with the force of my sobs. Something soft and furry scampers over my foot, but I ignore it.

Who cares about mice and rats when this world kills the people who don’t deserve it and never punishes those who live to hurt everyone around them?

Something rustles from inside the dumpster. I try not to think about how many rats are making a home for themselves in it.

Right now, they’re having a better night than you are. No doubt about it.

The thought provokes a half snort, half-laugh.

No wonder the bus driver wanted to send you back to the hospital if this is where your mind is going.

The rustling intensifies.

Sounds like they’re having a party in there. At least someone is having a good time.

And Simon…

God, how can he just begone?

He’s a doctor. One of the good guys. People like that die in their sleep when they’re old and gray, surrounded by their family.

Girls from the shitty part of town with dads who knock them about and who end up with boyfriends who aren’t much better are the ones supposed to have their blood painted across a parking lot like that.

Something inside the dumpster thumps hard. I peel my hands from my face and glance at it because those rats must be giant mutated ones for them to be making that much noise.

I’m still staring at it when the lid flies open with an almighty crack, and a man throws himself out of it, landing inches from my hiding place.

The high-pitched scream that bursts out of me is one I’ve never made before. I thought nothing could shock me or scare me anymore, but the universe never fails to find a way of proving me wrong.

I shove myself to my feet as I back up from the man-like shape writhing on the ground. Rags and loose dark clothing hang from skeletal bones as the man laughs and laughs.

I thought something smelled like it was dead in the dumpster. This man proves to be it, yet somehow, he’s still alive.

My desperate leap carries me over his body, and the second I land, I dart out of the alley, coming inches from a collision with a couple dressed for a big night out.

The man, a husky-looking blond guy who must have played football before muscle turned to sagging fat, shoves the girl behind him and glowers down at me. “Get the fuck out of here.”

Backing up, I take off down the street with no idea where I’m going, only the desperate need to keep running until the world doesn’t seem as terrifying as it does right now.

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