Two-Faced || Cesar Diaz

Chapter Seven

R O S A L I N A

A continuous beeping sound fills my ears and it starts to get louder every time. I cover my ears but I can still hear it. It becomes so loud I feel like my ears are bleeding. That's when everything hits me. My whole body hurts and aches. I feel like I can't breathe. I open my eyes but I have to blink because of the bright light.

I wake up in a hospital room, an oxygen mask over my face. I lift my head slightly and see that my arms are bandaged. I look around the room and spot my brother sleeping on the couch. I lift the oxygen mask off of my face and start coughing. My brother shoots up and sees me. He gets up and puts the mask back over my face.

"Stop," he says quietly. I look at him and lay my head back down. I point to the curtains where the sun is shining through. He goes over and closes them. My stomach hurts, it feels like I've been kicked over and over again.

I take off my mask again and this time I don't cough. I reach for the water on my bedside table and take a couple of drinks. I set it back down after I can't take anymore. My arms are really sore and they hurt to lift. The whole time my brother didn't take his eyes off of me.

"What?" I ask him. His stare makes me want to crawl under a rock and never come out.

"What the hell were you thinking?" he asks with heartbreak evident in his voice.

"How long have I been out?" I ask, avoiding the question.

"A couple of days, now answer me," he demands.

"I'm sure you've read the note. Where's mom?" I ask.

"Downstairs, she'll be back. You know, I just don't get it. Everything in that letter was false," he says.

"No it wasn't," I say. I don't want to talk about this, I don't want to be here.

"Dad didn't kill himself, I don't know where you got that from. You aren't an embarrassment, I don't know where you got that either. Why didn't you tell us? We could've helped you," he says.

"I clearly didn't want to be helped. I'm not happy, I never was. I don't want to talk about it anymore," I say turning the other way. I really just want to be left alone. Why couldn't anyone respect my wishes? This was my one shot at happiness and I couldn't even do it right. I fail at everything. You'd think killing myself would be easy.

"Stop being stubborn and talk to me," he says sternly. I turn over and sit up, not caring about the pain that shot through my stomach from moving so fast.

"I have nobody Javier, I have no friends, I don't have anyone at home. Mom is always gone, dad is dead, and you. You're in a fucking gang," I say glaring at him.

"You're telling me you tried killing yourself over having no friends and because I'm in a gang?" he asks as if it's the most pathetic thing in the world.

"That's not what I'm trying to say. Just fucking forget it. Leave me alone," I say turning over again.

"No, you're going to talk to me," he says. I just want to go back to sleep.

"Just get out!" I exclaim. I hear him get up and walk over to me.

"What was that?" I hear him ask. For some odd reason, the way he said it sent chills down my spine. I turn slightly to look at him.