The Mule

Chapter 12

"What happened, Braxton?" Marissa asked.

"Something hit me in the back."

"Let me see."

"No, you get going down the hall. I will shield you until you are out of the room."

"Let me see first."

"Marissa! Go!" he commanded in a whisper.

"Not until you let me see."

"Geez, Marissa, you are stubborn." He let her look at his back.

"There's a shard of glass embedded in there", she said.

"I'll get Gavin to take it out."

"You need to go to the hospital."

"I need you to get out of this room, and then I will call 911."

"The shots have stopped." They could hear voices and shouting outside. Someone yelled "Stay the fuck away from my wife, you quack!" Marissa looked at Braxton. He had a strange look on his face. She couldn't make it out. Was he boffing some guy's wife? He didn't seem the type.

"I still have to call."

"No cops", she commanded.

"Marissa, the police *have* to come."

"Then tell them there's nobody here with you. I cannot talk to them."

"I'm not going to lie if they ask if there was someone here with me when it happened. Now, get going."

"Hand me my crutch."

"I'll throw it partway down the hall, so you're out of sight of the window by the time you stand up. If you can't stand up on your own, wait for me."

Marissa tried crawling to the hall, but she couldn't do it using only one hand, so she lay down and tried pulling herself along. The carpet was too much, though, so she had to lean on her forearms and go that way. It was putting pressure on her broken wrist, but she couldn't help it. She finally got to her crutch and used it to get up. She could hear Braxton talking to the 911 dispatcher. Someone knocked on the front door. She walked as fast as she could to her room and closed the door behind her.

Sitting down on her bed, she reached for her phone on the nightstand, which Braxton had pushed out to prevent her from hitting her arm on during a dream. She called Brian, hoping he answered and also hoping he had nothing to do with this.

"Hello, June. Are you okay?" he asked when he answered.

"No!" she exclaimed. "Someone just shot Braxton's picture window out while we were watching tv!"

"June, slow down. What did you say happened?"

"Someone shot at us while we were watching tv! Brian, I have to ask – did you have anything to do with this?"

"For God's sake, June – no, I did not. Why would I?"

"I don't know. I was just making sure. Braxton is calling 911 and the police will be coming."

"You cannot talk to them!"

"I know! I told him that – no, I didn't tell him why. He said he will not lie if they ask if anyone else was in the house at the time."

"June, we can come get you."

"You wouldn't have time, Brian. I hear sirens already and I don't want any more violence here tonight. Don't worry, I'll think of something to tell them if they ask personal questions."