Not On Her List

XIII ⚘

"Hey, hey, Spivot. Relax, it's me, Cj," the owner of the hand whispers - tries to whisper, that is.

Cj?

I stop fighting against his hand and he slowly releases it from my mouth.

I turn around, crossing my arms across my chest, frustrated.

"What was that for? How did you even get in?" I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

Beads of sweat hang down his face and his breathing seems raspy.

"I need your help," he says, ignoring my questions.

"What do you..."

I barely finish my statement when, suddenly, his knees buck and he falls.

What the hell?

I grab his arm, catching him just before he hits the floor.

Again, what the hell?

"Oh God, Cj are you okay?" I ask.

He doesn't reply.

His eyes are shut and his breathing is slow and raspy.

I pull my hand away from the side of stomach, where I had held him as he fell, feeling something warm and sticky on it.

I gasp.

It's blood.

The blood I had seen earlier, it had been his?

"Oh my God," I breathe, standing up from Cj.

Is he dead? He isn't dead, is he?

I check his pulse.

It's there. It's there but it's weak...too weak. I'm freaking out.

The next thought that comes to my head is my mom. I need my mom.

Cj needs my mom right now.

"Mom!" I yell running up the stairs to her room with only one thought on my mind.

Please let her be home. Please let my mom be home.

I wasn't very certain she had come home last night.

I push her door open, panic blooming inside of me.

What if Cj dies?

Mom's on her bed, sleeping, the light from her table lamp glowing brightly on her face.

She had gone to bed without putting it off.

"Mom! Mom, wake up," I shout, running over to her side and shaking her a little bit too roughly. "Mom, you have to wake up. Now."

"What is it, honey?" She murmurs sleepily.

"It's Cj, and...and he's bleeding. I-I don't know how. Mom he's going to die if you don't do anything," I say frantically, panic having bloomed inside of me now.

Suddenly she's wide awake and jumping out of bed.

"What did you say, Hillary?" She asks reaching out for her robe and slipping it on.

"It's Cj, and he's...he's bleeding," I say. "I don't know what happened. I just...he just..."

"The new neighbor?" She asks, cutting in.

I nod.

"Alright, you get my kit from the top of my dresser and follow me," she says and grabs her car keys from the top of her table.