The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2013 by Dave Eggers

Author:Dave Eggers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

When I came to, everyone was gone, except for Mattie and Nora.

Get up, Mattie said.

He had the toe of his boot under my skull.

Nora was still on the bed, watching me.

I stood. The pain was sharp, like Henry was still there, like he was stabbing me every time I filled my lungs, and when I coughed it dropped me to my knees.

You need to go home, Theo, he said.

I stood in that frigid room looking at him. He’d been there all night, Mattie, I said. Tied up, man.

He took the ring out of his lip and dropped it into his shirt pocket. There was that cold thing on him again. That cold thing like all the rest of them had.

Mattie, Nora said. I looked over at her. When I turned back to him, he hit me hard in the face. The blow spun me around and I bent over holding my eye, but I didn’t go down.

He put his mouth next to my ear and said, That hurt, Theo? You like that, Theo? Mattie, Nora called to him again. He reached beneath my chin, took me by the throat, and pulled me up. He drew his fist back. Henry doesn’t want to see you walk, Theo. He’ll come after you, you know. It doesn’t just end with that guy.

Mateo, Nora called out, this time louder.

He hit me in the eye again—short and sharp—and let me drop.

The pain shot through my face, radiated, was in my skull, was everywhere.

I stayed on the ground and waited with my hand over my eye.

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