AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Didn’t move.
Didn’t flinch.
“George!”I screamed.Adrenaline thundered through me.
Nothing.
“Oh, no.No!No!”I wailed.
An inky surge of panic consumed me.Fighting the restraints, I tugged and yanked, desperate to break free.Remembering the quick release line clutched in my palm, I yanked hard, but nothing happened.The ropes remained firmly cinched.Terror seized me as I thrashed against the bindings.Pulling and tugging the rope in my palm, it finally loosened.With a shout of relief, I clawed the cords off my wrists.Rising up on my elbows, I dug my heels into the mattress, scooted backward, then leapt to my hands and knees.Scampering to the end of the bed, I discovered George wasn’t breathing.
I reached beneath his jaw but couldn’t feel a pulse.My heart pounded in my ears, and tears stung my eyes.Wrestling against his substantial weight, I managed to roll him onto his side, but momentum carried him onto his back, and I was helpless to keep him from sliding to the floor.His eyes were open, staring straight through me.His glistening mouth was slack and agape.
“No!No!”I cried.Bounding off the bed, I crouched next to his motionless body and screamed his name.There was no response.
I pressed my ear to his chest, hearing nothing but deafening silence.Terror spread through my limbs in tingling pinpricks.Jumping from his lifeless body, I raced to the phone.I had no memory of what I’d said to the emergency operator.I only remembered that her litany of questions drove my panic level higher.I didn’t want to talk; I wanted help for George.
“Just send a fucking ambulance!”I screamed and hung up.Racing to the foyer, I disengaged the security system and unlocked the front door.
Sprinting back to our bedroom, I heard the phone ring.Ignoring the incessant sound, I straddled his soft belly.Tears spilled to the silvery hairs on his chest, and the sound of my screams echoed off the walls.Flattening my palm against his sternum, I pressed my other hand over it and began CPR compressions to his heart.
“Come back to life… back to me.Don’t leave me.Please don’t leave me, Master,” I wailed.“I need you.No one can keep me safe but you.Please.Please.Don’t leave me.I’m so scared.”
Pinching his nose closed with my fingers, I pressed my mouth to his.A sob tore from my throat as his lips fluttered lifelessly beneath mine.
“Breathe, George.Please…Breathe,” I begged as I repeated the steps over and over.But it was no use I couldn’t revive him.
With a mournful roar, I fell to his chest.Nuzzling my face against his neck, I howled as all my dreams disintegrated.
“No!”I barked.Sitting up, I started administering CPR once again.“You’re going to live, dammit!I won’t let you leave me like this.I’m not going to let you give up on us.”
Time seemed to have stopped, trapping me in a never-ending loop of compressions and exhales into his sagging lips.Sobbing and counting, I stared at George’s pallid face as I continued to pump on his chest, unwilling—unable—unready to give up.
“I knew you’d have to leave me someday, but not yet.Please, not yet.I’m not ready to lose you.I need you.Come back to me, George.Come back and love me and keep me safe.Please.Please, George.We’re going to Taos.Remember?We’ll make love under the stars.I’ll buy some silky red garters and model them for you.You love it when I do that.Breathe for me, baby.Please.Just one breath.Please!Please!”Tears spilled down my cheeks, snot dripped from my nose, but I refused to stop bargaining him back to life.“You can take me to Brisbane’s for dinner tomorrow night.You love their grilled salmon.I’ll order it, too, and you know how I hate salmon.Come on, George.Wake up for me.Please.Please!”
The sound of sirens grew near, and I longed to tug the sheet off the bed, drape it over his naked body, and grant him a sliver of dignity.But I couldn’t stop giving him CPR...Couldn’t let go of the hope that he would draw in a gasp of breath and come back to me.
Within seconds, our bedroom was choked with EMTs and police.The chaos and their thunderous voices made me dizzy.Someone wrapped strong arms around my waist and plucked me off George’s body, as others swarmed in around him.A uniformed officer helped me into my robe while two somber-faced paramedics quickly opened bags and set up equipment.As the EMTs attached two rectangular white pads to George’s chest, the room fell eerily quiet.
“Please, don’t hurt him.”
My bleak cry of torment pierced the silence as I clutched my waist.
“I’ve got her,” another officer announced, stepping through the doorway.
Gently clasping his hand around my elbow, he led me out of the room and down the hall.He sat on the couch and pulled me next to him, placing his warm hand over mine.
“They’ll do everything they can for him, Leagh.Tell me what happened, sweetheart.”
Leagh?Sweetheart?I frowned and, for the first time, looked at the officer’s face.Staring back at me were familiar hazel eyes.James.The young man was a member and Dungeon Monitor at Genesis.Until that moment, I’d forgotten he was on the police force.
“Oh, James,” I choked.“Please tell me he’s going to be okay.I’m scared.”
“They’ll do all they can, honey.I know you’re scared, but hang in there.We can’t give up hope,” he said, hugging me to his chest and strumming a hand over my hair.
His kindness was intended to be reassuring, but being away from George, confined to another room, had me crawling out of my skin.
Peeling out of James’ embrace, I bolted off the couch.
