The Lady Next Door by S. E. Green

Author:S. E. Green [Green, S. E.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: SEG Publishing
Published: 2022-09-30T16:00:00+00:00

19

Sunday 9:15 p.m.

Blood oozes from my left thigh. For a moment, I don’t move. I stay very still. Like I’m afraid if I do move, Martha will come back in.

But I hear only the sound of the running toilet in my bathroom.

After another few beats, I take in a deep breath. Fire licks across my leg. I force myself to get up. The muscles in my left thigh pulse as I slide that leg across the mattress. Pain like I’ve never felt contracts through every nerve and fiber—from my toes up to my hips. With a hiss, I stop moving. My body sags back against the pillows. I suck in a breath and then blow it out hard.

Okay, Jessica, you can do this.

I can either fling myself out of this bed like ripping a Band-Aid, or I can slow-and-steady-wins-the-race.

I opt for the latter.

Using my right arm and leg for momentum, I roll, landing on my stomach first and then sliding to the floor. My good leg touches down. I put all my weight on it as I hold onto the edge of the bed. The room spins. I squeeze my eyes shut. My fingers dig into the mattress. I breathe.

When I feel more centered, I open my eyes. My gaze lands on the bloody mattress with a singed hole, which means that’s hopefully where the bullet is and not in my thigh.

Quickly, I check, burrowing into the singed area with my index finger. Sure enough, I bring out the bullet. Thank God.

Now to see how bad it is.

Putting all my weight on the mattress, I hop on my good leg. Pain rockets through my left thigh. I grit my teeth, and I hop again. One more hop and I’m to the end of the bed.

I allow myself a second or two to once again breathe. I need something to hold onto, but between here and the bathroom stretches five feet of open space. I’m just going to do it, and if I crash, I crash.

It’s the only option.

I hop.

I breathe.

I hop again.

I wince.

One more, and I wobble.

My arms come out, floundering for anything to hold onto. But I lose my balance and crash to the floor, right on top of my bad leg.

I cry out. Excruciating pain clenches my thigh. Nausea rolls through my stomach and straight into my throat. I dry heave.

There’s no way I’m getting up and off this floor.

Slowly, I crawl, pulling myself toward the bathroom. Through the door, I go, over to the toilet. I pray I don’t yank it off the wall as I wrench myself up to sit. Above the toilet is a cabinet fastened to the wall with a rudimentary first aid kit inside. I fling the cabinet door open. The momentum sends several items crashing down—extra soap, tampons, shampoo, toothpaste, and the kit.

The bathroom spins. I close my eyes. I inhale. I exhale.

I have nothing to cut my leggings with. Instead, I wedge my fingers into the hole already created by the bullet.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.