I touched the back of my head slowly. My fingers came back bloody. I could feel it pouring down my neck. The room tilted slightly. "Eva…" I frowned in disbelief. "What the fuck…"
"I—" The bottle slipped from her fingers. "I didn't mean—"
I tried to steady myself against the wall, but my legs buckled hard underneath me. My shoulder slammed into the edge of the table before I hit the floor. Everything felt wrong suddenly. Too warm. Too loud.
Eva rushed toward me then dropped to her knees. "Bishop!" Her hands hovered over me frantically not knowing where to touch. "Oh my God—oh my God—"
Blood was spreading fast beneath my head. Way too fast. "You hit me hard as shit," I muttered dazed.
Tears poured down her face. "I didn't mean to!" she cried. "You scared me—I wasn't—I didn't—"
"Aight…" I blinked slowly trying to focus on her face. "Aight. Just call 911."
But Eva froze.
And that's when fear finally crept into me."Eva." My voice sounded strange now. Thick. Slower. "Call the ambulance."
She shook her head rapidly, hands trembling harder. "No no no no…" Her breathing became sharp and uneven. "The kids…"
"What?" I tried pushing myself up, but dizziness slammed into me instantly. "Eva—"
"The kids!" she cried louder. "What happens to the twins if I go to jail?!"
"You not gon'—" I stopped, swallowing hard as nausea rolled through me. "Just call."
But she wasn’t hearing me anymore. She had crossed into full panic now. Pacing. Crying. Talking to herself. "I can't go to prison." She pressed both hands to her head. "I can't. I can't. My babies need me."
Blood kept pouring warm beneath my skull. I could feel my body getting heavier.
Colder. The bourbon in my system wasn’t helping either. Everything around me felt muffled and distant like I was underwater.
"Eva…" I slurred again trying to focus on her blurry shape moving around the apartment. "Phone."
She looked at me. And seeing the blood seemed to make her spiral worse. She dropped beside me again sobbing hard now. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I'm sorry! You made me so mad and I just—"
Her words started drifting. Or maybe my hearing was. I blinked slowly staring up at the ceiling. A weird calm started settling over me then.
My kids crossed my mind first.
Then my wife.
Then…
Gianna.
Always fucking Gianna. I wondered what she was doing right now. If she was thinking about me too.
Eva's crying sounded farther away now. My eyelids felt heavy as hell.
"Bishop!" she grabbed my face suddenly. "Stay awake!"
I tried. But darkness kept pulling harder. "Tell the twins…" I swallowed thickly fighting to get the words out. "Tell 'em Daddy love 'em."
Fresh sobs ripped out her chest.
I turned my head slightly toward her voice though I could barely see her anymore. "Eva?"
"Y-Yes?" she choked out.
