Aim to Please (wlw)

ch. 17 • i am yours

"Everyone back away," a commanding voice shouted to the white-noise rumblings around me.

A siren wailed in the short distance, the sound resonating off the glass and stone of the high rises and brownstones. My right eye socket throbbed with searing hot pain. In an attempt to open my eyes, the feeling intensified. The vision out of my left side was normal; the right was blurrier than my regular bad vision.

I reached up to touch it, to inspect the damage. Someone pinned my hand down at the wrist, denying me the opportunity. With a little convincing, I wrenched my left eye open.

Rin. Her face was pale, contorted with concern. Her eyes— I had never seen her so terrified.

"Rin?"

She nodded. "It's gonna be okay, Mackenzie."

"What's going to be okay?" I mumbled, warily eyeing the police officer next to her. "Why does it hurt so much?"

While I have never been purposefully punched in the face, I have been accidentally kneed or hit during recess or PE. Sure, it had been well over a decade since I experienced anything of the sort— but if memory were to serve me right, this wasn't that.

"Where are my glasses?" No response. Agitation stimulated by pain caused me to snap. "What the fuck is going on? Where is the bitch that punched me?"

I glanced around the perimeter. The paparazzi crowd had thinned, and those that remained were standing further away than previously. Blue lights were flashing from the road, but looking at them sent a sharp pain through my eye, almost picking at my brain.

"Alright, what do we have here?" A heavy Bronx accent interrupted my thoughts. "I think we must be here for you, Miss."

I looked up at the man, dressed in an EMT uniform, and scowled. "Will you tell me what the hell is going on?"

"We were hoping you'd be able to tell us that, ma'am."

"She was punched by one of the women over there," Rin began, pointing in the direction of the blue lights. "She was wearing a studded ring and it hit Mackenzie's glasses."

The EMT kneeled down next to me. "Miss— Mackenzie, yeah? I'm gonna fire out some questions for you to answer, okay?"

"Go for it," I muttered.

"What is your full name?"

"Mackenzie Elizabeth Williams."

"How old are you, Mackenzie?"

"I am 29."

"Who is this young lady beside you?"

"Rin Nakamura." Rin nodded in confirmation.

"Alright, looks like you're mostly here then! I'm going to give you a look over."

He posed my head in different directions, his soft gloved hand guiding me by my jaw. He breathed in through his teeth, a hissing sound equal to that of nails on a chalkboard. He whistled the air out and shook his head.

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how's your pain?"

Deadly. "I'd say an 8, 9."

"Where is the pain located?"

"My right eye," I replied sarcastically, then sighed. "Sorry, it just hurts. So much. I can't blink, look at light, can't even see out of it—"

He nodded, grimacing, and tapped his partner. "Tell central we're 10-82 to M 03, code 3."

Huh?

"Alright, Mackenzie," the lead EMT said, standing up. "We're going to help you up and get you over to Mount Sinai, okay?"