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“Let go of her!” He yelled.
To my surprise, he’d risen from his bed and planted his feet on the floor. His attempt to get across the floor seemed to have been unsuccessful, but it didn’t stop him from trying again.
“Mr. Hodge, please don’t! You’ll fall!”
Nelson struck out, pushing Mr. Hodge to the ground. I yelped, leaping over the objects that had been tossed in our direction to pry Nelson’s hands from around Mr. Hodge’s neck. The old man refused to go down without a fight. He snatched the phone from the table beside his bed, bringing it down on Nelson’s head.
Mr. Hodge’s reflex was commendable. He had caught the receiver before it could touch the floor, slamming it against the side of Nelson’s head at once. Upon realizing he was in for a fight, Nelson redirected his anger. He gripped my neck, instead, leaving Mr. Hodge gasping for air.
“What the fuck have you told him? You told him my business, haven’t you?”
“It’s not my—you’re cho—Nelson!”
Left without a choice but to defend my life, I lifted my leg, trying to connect it with his scrotum. Though his grip loosened, he didn’t let go. My attempt was unsuccessful, but enough to get him to lighten up.
“It’s not my business to tell, Nelson!” I screamed. “Let go of me.”
“That shit going to your grave with you,” he grunted, applying more pressure around my neck.
I could feel myself running out of oxygen. Words were impossible at this point. I tried my hardest to unwrap his fingers, but it was impossible without breaking skin. That was the last thing I wanted to do.
WHAM!
WHAM!
The blows completely blindsided Nelson. The hold on my neck ended suddenly as bodies began to move around me. It was Mr. Hodge and Dr. Thomas that I recognized immediately. Simultaneously, they’d sent mind-numbing blows to Nelson’s cranium. Mr. Hodge had used a piece of metal from the IV stand. Dr. Thomas had gone a more traditional method, using his fist.
“Are you okay?” Dr. Thomas asked, paying little attention to the fallen.
“Yes. Mr. Hodge,” I gasped. “Ma-make sure Mr. Hodge is okay.”
“Hell, I’m all right. Feels like back in the day, except I didn’t have a diaper on my ass then.”
As the words left his mouth, police stormed the room.
“Berkeley City Police Department. Make room! Make room!”
“It’s him. The one on the floor.” Tony, the only male nurse on our wing, ushered them in while pointing at an unconscious Nelson.
“You aight?” he turned to me and asked.
Because I was still struggling to breathe, I simply nodded.
* * *
The remorse that rested in his eyes made me turn away. I was unable to match his gaze. His heart was breaking into pieces before me. I couldn’t hold myself together.
His love blanketed the room. I couldn’t breathe. Yet, without it, I couldn’t continue life. Makai had become my direct source of oxygen. The line was tangled and I wasn’t sure if I’d survive his glossy eyes and flaring nostrils.
“Ya neck, Kiwi,” Makai groaned. “Ya fucking neck.”
He ejected his body from the chair in the waiting room and began pacing again.
“Makai, please.”
Falling to his knees, he looked up at me.
“Do you see your fucking neck?” Pain resided in his tone as the question surfaced.
