boston {h.s.}

trente-sept.

FLASHES. EVERYTHING HAPPENS in flashes.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

"BE CAREFUL WITH her," broken, choking voice. Hands refusing to pull off of me. Unable to open eyes. "Her—her neck."

"Sir, please, take your hands off of her."

"You're not being careful!" I know the voice.

"Yes, we are. We can't get her out of the car until you let her go." Rational, female. Kind. The kind of voice I imagine that my mother would have had.

The hands hold on for a moment, but release. I am aware of the way that I'm moving. "Hey," someone new. Male. "I know you."

"Arjun!" The female voice is now scolding. "Is there someone we can call?"

"Call her brother. Her—"

"Arjun," the female voice is panicked now. "Get him out of the car. He's bleeding. Get him out of the car now."

☘︎☘︎☘︎

"WHEN YOU WAKE up, I'm going to kill you."

I choose to sleep longer.

☘︎☘︎☘︎

"WHAT TOOK YOU so long to get here?" Accusing. Anger.

"I—I was still drunk I had to get an Uber. What happened?"

"I was going to ask you. You took her out to dinner and got her drunk—"

"She wasn't in the car with me." Asher. I realize the voice is Asher's now. Small, he sounds so small and faraway. I can hear the way that he is already crying. Disbelief. Tears. More tears. "I was at home. We went home."

☘︎☘︎☘︎

"IT'S JUST YOU and me, hon." It's a female nurse's voice. She's speaking more to herself than to me, but I hear it nonetheless. "You're lucky you slept through it. Aren't you?" She's poking and prodding and I'm aware of a painful sensation in my neck. I want to cry out, but I can't make the sound even come out of my mouth. I just feel like I'm floating.

This doesn't bother the nurse. She continues talking. "Kicked them out when they were getting a bit loud and told them only one at a time. You've got quite the audience out there waiting for you and that boy you came with. Looks like the entire Bruins team is waiting."

A long sigh parts from her lips. I swear I can feel her hand combing back my hair. "What did you do?"

☘︎☘︎☘︎

A BRIGHT LIGHT shining through wakes me up. It's obscured by a body standing over me. I start. The body flies backwards, intent on giving me space but the damage is done. The sudden movement sends pain ricocheting through my body. My hands fly to my neck instinctively. A tight brace is wrapped around. Panic floods me as I try to speak. "What—what's happening," I gasp, my voice coming out raw, unused, and scratchy.

"I was hoping you could tell me." Asher. There are no words to describe his voice. For the first time, I hear him mad. I hear him impatient. Betrayed. Heartbroken. Gurgled and stiff. Pain. Most simply it can be summarized as pain but there is no summarizing the sound of that voice. It is every hurt, pained emotion bundled into one and I know that I'm at the center of it.

He knows.

The voice is quiet in my head. He has to know. "I was going to tell you." I whimper, finally opening my eyes to look at him.