Learning to Forgive (The Learning Series) (18 page)

He punches one, and I watch as the guy falls down beside me. My shadowed rescuer has the other one against the brick wall, and I think he’s yelling, but I can’t be sure. It’s all in slow motion, and my hearing isn’t right. All I hear is a high-pitched ringing. Plus my vision is starting to fade in and out. But I do get a glimpse of the other guy starting to stand before he reaches into his pocket for something. My gut tells me it’s a weapon, and my stomach drops with pure fear. Straining through the pain, I gain my voice and scream. Before I can finish, two shots are fired. I close my eyes as the sound ricochets off the brick walls that surround the alley. I don’t know who went down or if I’ll be next, so I just count.

1… 2… 3… 4… 5…

“Red?”

Hearing that name, I know who is here with me. My eyes crack open to see his shadowed face. “Lyric?” I squeak out, but more blood fills my mouth, so it’s inaudible.

I hear his deep sigh as he lifts me in his arms. My body aches all over, but knowing I’ll be okay, and I’m protected, it’s endurable. Then I let the black spots take over and welcome my friend nothingness once again.

“The world will not be destroyed by

those who do evil, but by those who watch

them and do nothing.”

~Albert Einstein

Lyric

Red’s face flashes through my mind-swollen, bruised, and unrecognizable- as I sit beside Janet in the hospital waiting room. I’ve been here for the past two hours, waiting for the doctor to come out with an update. I’m not the only one either. The cops are waiting to ask her questions as well, but I’ve already had Joe clean up the alley. As far as they know, I scared them off before she was actually raped. I just hope she doesn’t remember me killing the two sonsofbitches.

Anxiousness sets in so I turn to Janet to keep my mind off of Red. “How are you doin’, Janet?” Not many people know how sick she actually is, but since we discuss business, she told me.

She looks my way, and her skin is thinner and pastier than usual. “I’m making it. Doctor says chemo would only prolong my life by a few months. Told them to shove those few months up their ass if they expect me to be sick the whole damn time. I’d rather just get it over with.” She looks toward the door to where Red is. “I just can’t leave until I know Mouse will be okay. She and the bar are my only babies left on this earth. And I know you’ll take care of Jay’s. Now I just gotta make sure she’s okay. Then I can die in peace.”

I don’t know what to say. I know I bought Jay’s out of debt, but I can’t guarantee to take care of Red, too. She doesn’t need my shit. Unsure how to answer, I just sit there and nod my head. Before long, the doctor walks out.

We stand and Janet claims to be Red’s mom when the doctor asks. He tells us she’s awake, and the officers are talking to her now, but she’s on pain meds and incoherent. She’s suffered a ruptured eardrum and her lip needed a few stitches, but she’ll make a full recovery. Even though I know it all ready, hearing no rape had taken place has me exhaling in relief.

“Can we see her?” I ask. I should leave since she’s not in any more danger, but I can’t. Not until I see her not beaten and bloody.

“After the officers are done. I want to keep her overnight, but she should be released by tomorrow.”

Not long after he exits the waiting room, a nurse comes in to get Janet and me. I let Janet go in first and prop my leg on the wall. As I wait, I think of tonight’s events and how it could’ve been a lot worse.

On my way to speak to Joe, I passed her at the cemetery. Not wanting to interfere, I forced myself to keep moving, but when she walked to The Hole, my guard went up. I stayed at a back table and observed her. She wasn’t flirting or even talking to anyone. She looked lost, and with her bags packed, I knew she was leaving. When she left, I sat there thinking it was for the best. Let her leave town and let my life get back to normal and let me get my priorities straight. She’s better off.

But after a few minutes, I stopped lying to myself and went after her. I needed her in my life.

She has become an obsession to me. She makes me feel something other than hate. She makes me want more than this lie of a life I’m living.
Dammit! I sound like a fucking Hallmark card.

“Lyric?” I open my eyes as Janet approaches me. “You can go in now, but she’s out of it.”

I nod my head and walk through the heavy door. The lights are low in her room, but I can see her. And my decision to stop lying to myself feels right. Her face is dark with bruises, and her lip is swollen and stitched on the bottom, but she’s still here. Alive. Whole. And she’s still beautiful.

Not wanting to disturb her, I stand a foot away from the bed. Tonight was very traumatic, and even though she’s been through a similar hell, her mental state is fragile. Watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, I think of a plan. She’s too reckless and obviously needs someone. Should I move her in with me so she can recover, or let her return to Chris’s and crave her company from a distance? I don’t know just yet, but I need to figure it out before she’s released tomorrow.

Before I leave, I reach out and touch her open palm. Her fingers close around my finger for a second then she whispers my name. I look up and see her good eye barely open.

“Thank you.” Her voice is muffled and hard to make out. But I know what she said. And I know I’d kill anyone to protect her.

She closes her eyes again, and her breathing once again becomes steady. I leave to let her rest, and Janet meets me in the hallway. “Are you gonna call Chris to come get her tomorrow?” I ask and push the elevator button.

“No. I’ll take her. Chris kicked her out tonight. I’m guessing that’s why she was down there with her bags.”

“What?”
My fist clenches, ready to knock the shit outta someone. I’m pissed that he would kick her out in the middle of the fucking night with nowhere to go.

She watches my reaction, not saying anything at first, but I see her wheels turning. The whole walk down, there’s a tension, because I know she has something to tell me. I just don’t know what it could be. I do know it’s about Red.

When we reach the parking lot, she stops me by placing her hand on my arm but never makes eye contact. “I see the anger in you, Lyric. It’s not pretty. However, I also see the way you care about my Mouse. She’s had a very rough life and tends to run when things get rough. It’s how she’s survived. Now it’s time for her to face her demons, and she can’t do it alone. I’m dying and can’t be there with her, and Chris isn’t ready to help.” Her eyes meet mine, and she straightens her spine. She’s a fierce woman, and I see why most back away when she looks at them this way. I’m not most. “Are you ready to?” She gently squeezes my tattooed forearm before walking away toward her truck. I can only stand where I am as the sound of her footsteps fades and ask myself that exact question.
Am I?

But another more important question surfaces. How can I help protect her from her demons when I’m a demon myself?

On the way home, I decide to make a pit stop. When I walk up the steps, I smell cigarette smoke before I see Chris sitting in a plastic chair. He eyeballs me while blowing out the vapor through his nose before looking ahead once again.

“You know why I’m here?”

He nods his head. “Yup.” He pops the ‘P’ and continues to sit there not looking at me.

Lighting my own cigarette, I give him more time to talk, but he doesn’t. He only sits there and smokes.

“You gonna talk then? Or do you like me hanging out on your porch at four in the morning?”

“I don’t have to explain shit to you.” He flicks out his bud and slowly stands. “What I do in life doesn’t need your damn approval.”

My hard eyes fall on him, and my spine straightens, ready for a fight. “When it comes to you throwing Red out on the goddamn streets, and her almost getting raped, then it does. She could have been killed tonight.”

“Did you just come over here to make me feel like hammered dog shit? Because you’re too fucking late,” he says with angry remorse, and then takes a deep breath. “Look. If I knew that she wasn’t going to go somewhere safe, I wouldn’t have kicked her out. I was just so damn angry that she betrayed me the way she did.”

“What did she do?” My curiosity gets the best of me. Even though it’s not my business, I tend to make it my business if it involves Red.

He limps to the front door, walks inside, and then calls in my direction. “You coming in?” Following behind, I take a seat on the couch across from him in the living room. Stretching out my legs, I get comfortable and wait. “She was stealing my pain and sleeping medication. I was pissed because I can’t get any more for a few weeks and just blew up on her. After she was gone, I knew I shouldn’t have, but it was too late. I figured she got to Janet’s or even that girl Cory’s.”

“Why the hell are you exposing her to that shit?” I ask in a low angry tone. I know my attitude is unwarranted, but I can’t help it. Especially after witnessing her getting beat tonight. It should have never happened.

“Look, Lyric. I understand you’re pissed at the whole fucking world, but you’re not the only one who cares for Blaire. I’ve known her a lot longer than you have. I never thought she’d pop pills for a high. Especially after what happened to her brother. But people change. Shit happens. And everyone copes differently.” He lifts up his pant leg. “And to answer your question, not that you deserve one, I have my own fucking reasons for taking medication.” He taps on the aluminum leg that hides under his jeans. “I also have PTSD and need prescription medication for sleep and to go about my daily life. And this shit here,” he unstraps the component that holds his prosthetic on and slides off a rubber stocking, “hurts like a bitch most days.”

I examine his amputated leg and the scar that rests below his knee for a second before I pull my eyes away and see the military pictures on the wall. It’s not my place to ask what happened, so I’ll leave it alone. I also can’t bring myself to apologize for being pissed about how the situation was handled, but I understand why he has the medication. This guy isn’t a low life looking for a high like my mind wanted to interpret when he mentioned pills. I guess it’s because I deal with people like that on a regular basis that I thought the worst. He’s a vet who got fucked at a young age and deserves my admiration. What he does and what I do are on two different playing fields. “She just doesn’t need any more shit, ya know?” I won’t say anything more than that because what I know about Red is something so messed up, I’m sure she doesn’t brag about it to her friends.

“I hear ya. And I didn’t mean to flip my shit. I really hope she’s okay.” He sighs and lays his head on the couch. I stand to leave, but he stops me as I open the door. “Do you think they’ll catch who did this to her?”

My eyes stay fixated on the cuts that mar my hand as it’s wrapped around the doorknob. “I guarantee those bastards got exactly what they deserved.”