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Officer Lewis knit his brows with a nod and turned to Officer Moss.
Although Moss kept his eyes on me, calculating. He quickly forged a smile when the door opened, announcing Martin’s entry. “Well, we’ll be in contact in case you do remember anything.” He looked over at Martin then back to me. “We would really like to catch the guys responsible for this, Ms. Cohen. Best wishes.” His white teeth shone through his grimace, and they both stepped back before turning to leave the room.
The moment the door clicked shut, I closed my eyes and let out a relieved breath, but as I exhaled, it became shaky.
“Davina?” Martin asked carefully.
“I need to leave,” I whispered.
“Now?” he questioned, but the constricting feeling in my chest grew, suffocating me. “Talk to me.” He ushered, but I quivered. “Please.”
“A detective should’ve been here, Martin. They should’ve shown their badge or identification.” I opened my eyes to see his paled face, and I continued, “They didn’t even leave a card to call back, a case number—nothing!” I seethed through my teeth. “And the worst part, they knew I was lying.”
“Are you sure?”
“They weren’t cops, Martin,” I heaved.
He looked at me as if I was paranoid, but instead he replied, “What’s the plan?”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He still wanted to help.
“The plan is for me to leave without them knowing. The plan is to put as much distance from you and this city.”
“No.”
“Yes. You’ve already put yourself in so much risk. I can’t let something happen to you.” I shook my head, but he mimicked me.
“No.”
“Martin, I’m just a stranger. You have a whole life ahead of you. Family, school, everything.”
“Let me at least get you a hotel room, get you somewhere safe.”
“No.”
“It’ll be dark soon, Davina.” How could he be so stubborn? Couldn’t he not see the danger? “I won’t take no for an answer.”
Two
Davina
It took all my strength to change into the clothes Martin had brought me, as all my clothes from that night were ruined. All I had was my small crossover purse and the bullet casing I’d taken before my clothes were confiscated for evidence. But were they really?
As I stood in front of the bathroom mirror of my hospital room, I could see how much these past days had taken me away from me; they’d dragged me. Dark circles rested under my tired eyes, my skin was pale, clammy, and my cheekbones were pronounced from the weight loss. But in my reflection, all I could focus on was the angry red scar that marked my skin.
Before coming into the bathroom, I’d looked through the cabinets of the room, searching for the items I needed to clean the wound before re-bandaging. I didn’t want to risk an infection, and with the unknown ahead, I wanted to assure it was cleaned before leaving, escaping this hospital.
I winced and cursed once the alcohol-drenched cotton ball touched just the surrounding area of my wound.
“Davina?” Martin’s voice flew through the cracked door, worried.
“I’m fine,” I replied with clenched lips.
“I can help. Let me help.”
I closed my eyes and gave in. “Come in.”
“You are mad, woman,” he said, looking at the tight grip of my hand that held the cotton. “Here, let me wash my hands, and I’ll clean it for you.”
