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I hope we’ll be able to overcome this hurdle. Together.
I hear the door open and close again. Footsteps and a soft sigh.
“Is she any better?”
I recognize Abigail’s soft voice.
“Yes,” Seer replies haltingly. “I guess. I… I don’t know.”
“She still won’t speak?” Abigail asks.
“No, she won’t.”
“I brought some food,” Abigail says. “Please, put it down for me. I can barely bend these days.”
There’s a shuffling sound, followed by a few seconds of silence.
“You look like hell, Seer,” Abigail chides in a gentle tone. “You haven’t moved an inch from this room since Victoria was brought in. When’s the last time you had a decent sleep or even a bath?”
Seer sighs. “I… I don’t know what else to do, Abby.”
He sounds so helpless… so broken.
“There’s plenty of things to do,” Abigail says. “And you can start by getting proper sleep. I’m sure even Victoria doesn’t like seeing you like this.”
“I can’t leave.”
“I’ll stay,” Abigail says quickly, cutting off his protest.
Seer seems to realize he’s better off not arguing with Abigail. I hear him stand up from the chair he’s sitting in and walk out, closing the door gently behind him. I feel Abigail settling into the chair that Seer just vacated with a tired sigh.
“Are you asleep, Tory?” Abigail asks gently after a while.
I turn around to face her, and she smiles warmly at me. “I thought as much.”
She leans forward to take both of my hands in hers and gives me a reassuring squeeze. “You’ll be fine, Victoria,” she says gently, smiling softly into my eyes. “You’re stronger than you think.”
I close my eyes as tears roll down my cheeks. Abigail had no idea how much I needed to hear those words or how much I wanted to believe them.
* * *
Pocus takes a small drag from the blunt in his hand and nods in approval. “Good stuff.” He lets out the smoke through his nose and takes another drag before holding out the stick to me.
“You look like hell, man,” Pocus says, quietly searching my face.
“Funny, your wife said the same thing a few minutes ago,” I say, taking a small drag from the weed. I close my eyes briefly, rolling the smoke around my mouth.It’s good stuff, just like Pocus said.
“And I believe she also told you to get some decent rest.”
“Did you order her to do that?”
Pocus laughs loudly. “As if anyone can order Abigail around.”
He’s right. If anything, the reverse is the case. Pocus will walk on hot coals for his wife, and she doesn’t even have to ask. Just like I’ll jump the gates of hell and steal the devil’s throne for Victoria if she so desires.
“I can’t sleep man,” I say after a few minutes of silence. “I can’t close my eyes without seeing Tory get shot over and over again. I keep seeing the look in her eyes, zoomed in and playing in slow motion… it’s like a fucking movie scene. A hellish loop.”
“It’s all in your head, mate,” Pocus says. He leans forward in his chair, keeping his eyes on mine. “She’s home safe and alive, isn’t she?”
