- 5.
“Open up. It’s Sarah.”
I sat on the couch, staring at the door.
I heard her voice and glanced at Jess, who
was in the kitchen.
I opened the door.
Sarah stood there, looking annoyed that I’d
<
I didn’t know what she’d done. I only knew
that she was my girlfriend, and I was
supposed to be happy.
So, I grinned at her and took her hand.
“Sarah! What are you doing here?”
“Aren’t you supposed to be busy?”
Sarah looked surprised. She frowned down at
- me.
My left arm was in a cast.
But I didn’t seem to notice.
She thought I was acting like this to get her
back.
く
But I’d simply forgotten. I’d forgotten that she
broke my arm. I forgot that I was just Danny’s
substitute.
I led her into the living room.
Jess heard us and came out of the kitchen.
When she saw Sarah, she flew into a rage.
She pulled me away and slapped Sarah
across the face.
Sarah’s cheek turned bright red.
She wiped the blood from her mouth and
smiled at Jess.
Jess grabbed her by the collar, shouting,
“How dare you show your face here! Do you
“How dare you show your face here! Do you
know what you did to my brother?”
Sarah grabbed Jess’s hand and sneered, “I
promised I’d marry him. He doesn’t need
anything else. I’ll take care of him.
“And your brother looks pretty happy to see
me, doesn’t he?
“Don’t push it, Jess!”
Hearing those words, Jess snapped.
She hit Sarah across the face again.
“You don’t know anything!”
Chapter 2
Seeing Sarah was the final straw for Jess.
They started throwing punches.
Finally, Jess broke down completely, sliding
down the wall, sobbing.
I couldn’t hear the fighting.
All I could think about was this new medical
puzzle I’d been working on for months. I
hadn’t told Sarah about it yet.
So, I started searching the house.
I finally found it in a corner where Jess hid it:
the notebook Sarah gave me.
<
I looked at it sadly, wishing it was the medical
textbook my mom gave me. Whatever. Sarah
always wanted me to use her notebook, so
whatever.
I grabbed the notebook and headed for the
door, staring blankly at the two women.
I caught Sarah’s eye and smiled.
“Sarah, I figured out that medical mystery I
was telling you about! You wanted to hear
about it, right? I can tell you now, okay?”
Sarah looked confused. She had no idea what
I was talking about.
I raised my hand, holding up the notebook.
Then I realized, why couldn’t I lift my right
“Jess… Sarah… Why? Why can’t I lift my
arm? Aaaah!”
I screamed.
The notebook fell to the floor.
I was going crazy, running around, grabbing
my hair, but I could only move one hand.
I lost it. I screamed, then looked at Sarah, and
suddenly I was back in that alley.
The cold, wet dirt on my face, the smell of
blood in the air.
I crawled forward. Sarah reached out to help
me, but Jess pushed her back, holding me
tightly.
“Sarah… I don’t love you anymore. Let me go,
okay… I can’t lose my dream…”
“I don’t love you anymore….”
“Mikey! Calm down!”
Sarah’s eyes filled with tears.
She looked desperate.
“Jess, what the hell is going on? Why is he
like this?”
Jess held me tight, yelling at Sarah.
“How dare you ask me! You think you’re so
powerful? You think you can get away with
anything?”
L
She slapped her across the face, screaming:
“Don’t you pretend you don’t know! You think
you’re so smart? How come you didn’t see
this coming?”
“What the hell did you expect? What did you
think would happen?”
“You did this to him, you idiot!”
Sarah couldn’t believe it.
She’d only broken my hand. She hadn’t done
anything else.
She backed away, running out the door, trying
to figure out what was happening to me.
Jose stroked my hair again and again like.
Г
Jess stroked my hair, again and again, like
you would to calm a pet.
“Mikey, don’t be scared. No one’s gonna hurt
you, okay?”
I looked up at her, clutching my right hand.
“Jess… Why can’t I move my hand? Why can’t
I even hold a notebook?”
“Jess? Am I never gonna be a surgeon
again…?”
I passed out in her arms, leaving her there,
trembling, holding me.
