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i never told you what i do for a living - my chemical romance
"another knife in my hands, a stain that never comes off the the sheets, clean me off, I'm so dirty babe. the kind of dirty where the water never cleans off the clothes."
Nate didn't bother counting down. As the Lords started to walk towards us, Nate grabbed my blood-stained arm and dragged me down the alleyway. My legs felt like jelly, but I forced myself to run, trying to match Nate's pace and not look back
"Listen," Lords shouted. "I just want to talk to you kids!"
"Fat chance." Nate huffed under his breath as we rounded the front of the strip mall. We were running out of options shy of getting on Nate's bike and taking off
"In there." I panted, pointing at the side door to the Vietnamese restaurant at the very end of the opposite side of the strip, propped open with a plastic garbage can. Spotting the opportunity, Nate spurred us on, running as if our lives depended on it before Lords as his guys found us.
Nate pulled the trash can away from the door, and I held the metal slab open for him, my hands leaving bloody prints on the off-white paint. He hurried in after me, and we took off down the hallway. My hands dripped with Lasku's blood, small pinpricks dotting the tile hallway as Nate and I ducked into the bathroom to hide, blood staining the door as I forced it shut, turning the lock and then placing an industrial trash can underneath the handle.
I felt sick as I dropped to my knees. My hands left blood stains in everything I touched, smearing all over my face as I held my head in my hands. "What have we gotten into, Nate? Be serious with me, for ten minutes of your life."
Nate exhaled, sliding down the wall to sit next to me. His white t-shirt was marred with bloodstains, handprints from when he had pulled me away from the body. "I don;t know, Forrester, but it's not good. I'd say we have until sunup before Lords hunts us down, and he kills us."
"I'm going to die." I said slowly, feeling my chest begin to tighten. Feeling the panic setting in, I scrambled for my tote bag and the tiny orange bottle inside it, just to realize it wasn't there.
I had left my tote bag, and my medications by Lasku's body. My wallet was in there, things that could identify me. Breathing became difficult, and soon I found myself gasping for air, head between my knees.
"Forrester?" Nate asked, his voice seeped through with concern. "Forrester, it's okay! You're having a panic attack, which is a perfectly reasonable response." In an instant, Nate was in front of me, hands on either side of my face as he forced me to look him in the eyes. "Focus on me, Charis. Breathe with me, okay? Do you think you can do that?"
I nodded slowly, trying to match Nate's breathing patterns.
We sat there for a moment, frozen in time as I listened to my heart slow down, the ringing in my ears getting quieter and quieter. I was still covered from head to toe in the Albanian man's blood. Nate helped me get to my feet, and I stood in front of the cheap white porcelain, running my hands under scalding water, watching the blood dye the water pink.
