Double Edge | WATTYS 2023 SHORTLIST + AMBYS 2023 TOP PICK

Chapter 17

Blue and red flashed in front of us as I sped down the street away from Mark's home. They didn't know my car. Mark couldn't have told them. Hell, I didn't even know if he had been the one to make the call. It could've been neighbors. With all of the gunshots, I wouldn't have blamed them.

Maggie cried in the backseat. She stared at me through the rearview mirror, and I looked at her. I tried to hide my pain as we fled, but it was hard. In minutes, I could bleed out. "Papi...." She wiped her face. "Mommy... she's gone."

I bit the insides of my cheeks. "I know, mamita. I know." Gripping the steering wheel, I focused on the road and turned onto the next street. "But where she is now, she loves you just the same."

She cried louder and harder and desperately tried to wipe them away. "But Mommy!"

"It's okay, baby." My vision blurred. Pain shot through my body. My heart shattered. Physical pain plus emotional ache wasn't a good combo. "I'm going to take you somewhere safe—" My foot pressed harder on the gas. I passed a red light not because I wanted to; I needed to. I felt the tiny, struggling flutters of my heart. My mechanical eye powered off. On the life side, I saw darkness. "I'm going to make sure you're okay—"

Paxton's building was just ahead. The giant P was their beacon in the night sky. "I love you, mamita." I turned and looked back at my daughter as I pulled into Paxton's parking lot. "And I'm going to make this right."

As Maggie wiped tears from her eyes, the main entrance to Paxton's building opened. Kimi came rushing out towards the car. Anthony was right behind her. Once at my window, and they saw me, their eyes widened. "You won't die, right, papi?" Maggie sniffed. "Please," cried, "you can't die."

My head snapped back toward Maggie as Anthony pulled open the back door and reached for her. He undid her seatbelt, carefully lifting her into his arms. She looked at me the entire time, waiting for me to say something. When I didn't, her face scrunched up, and the tears flowed again. I couldn't lie to my daughter. I'd done that enough.

"Gio!" Kimi pulled open my driver's side door. She reached over my waist and undid my seatbelt. Cupping my face, she searched my eyes. I couldn't look at her. I focused on Maggie as she covered her face and lay her head on Anthony's shoulder.

"Oh, no." Kimi leaned back, looking over my body. She slowly pulled me out of the car. "This is my fault. How did I let you get this far? How did I let this happen? How—"

My vision blurred. I finally looked at Kimi. There were tears in her eyes. "Help her," I said as my head slumped against her shoulder.

And the world faded to black.

***
December 10th, 2019

"What do you mean I need to plead guilty?" I flattened my palms against the cream table. My handcuffs kept me from reacting the way I wanted. Forced to sit in a praying stance while my lawyer told me the worst news I could hear, I needed to stretch my fingers. I needed some sort of freedom. "I'm not pleading guilty to this shit." My back pressed against my seat. "I didn't do it."

George Franklin, my lawyer—my generic, city-appointed public defender—slid his hands through his curly hair and sighed. He had a pile of papers beside him, unevenly placed in a folder he hadn't opened. There were bags under his eyes. But why? He couldn't have lost any sleep for me. He didn't even try. "Giovanni," he sighed. "The evidence says you did."

"What evidence?" This time I balled my hands into fists. I slammed them against the table, and the correctional officer standing beside my door jerked in my direction.

George stuck an arm up to tell the guard at the door to stand back. He kept his eyes on me. "The one they've submitted to evidence," he said.

Evidence? There wasn't any evidence. The prosecution went to the stand with hearsay and whiteboards with poorly drawn pictures. The only 'proof' they had against me was a bag I hadn't touched. A gun without my prints. What was their push? Each was stained with my blood. Yes, they had my DNA. I was the victim, too. "George, you don't understand. They just stood there. They had the money and didn't move. And the cops! They let them leave!"