The Protection

Forty-Three

The ride back to the apartment was fairly quiet aside from Britney Spears' voice blaring Toxic through the Mercedes' high end speakers. I was thankful that for once I could just relax and not talk to Beth. Not pretend like everything about our friendship was perfect. My relaxation, however, was short lived. We careened into the driveway, and as I walked inside, I found a letter addressed to me. I recognized the handwriting immediately on the gold post-it note that had been haphazardly attached to the front of the letter. The letter must've come through our authentic 1920s mail slot. I was quick to shove the large envelope into my purse and hurry to my room. Once I heard Beth turn on the television in the living room, I dug the letter from my purse. My hands shook as I pulled the post-it note off the letter and read it:

Make the right choice or we will do it for you bitch. Stay away from The Protection. This is your last warning or someone will die. P.S. Hope you like the good luck charm.

The handwriting was the same as the note from the dead rabbit box. I tried not to scream and shoved my fist against my lips. The envelope was bulky with the insignia of OHSU brazenly posted on the top left corner. The letter I had been waiting for months to arrive. The letter that had been opened by someone else and now had a death threat attached to it: Make the right choice... or someone will die. The words rang in my head as I pushed my finger along the fresh line of tape. My heart pounded into my ears as I pulled out the thick paper with the school's insignia at the top. I tried to read the sea of letters in front of me: Congratulations Perry Andrews. I couldn't read any further. I had gotten into medical school. This was supposed to be the best moment of my life. This acceptance letter was everything I had dreamed of since I was five, since my father left and reality set in on my crappy life. I had wanted to save others to counteract the ways he had deserted me. So why did my chest feel so tight at the incredible news?

I shifted the package back and forth, surprised to find it still so heavy in my hands. I turned it over slowly onto my bed where a small, fuzzy object fell onto the comforter. A white and red object. The missing bloody remnants of a rabbit's foot. The room spun dangerously around me. I was going to be sick. I sprinted into the bathroom, vomiting until I had nothing left, dry-heaving long after. I stood, trying to steady myself against the sink but the room continued to spin out of control until I fell backwards. My head made an unsettling crunch against the towel rack and everything went dark on the way to the floor.