20
Happiness ends where sadness begins
The next day I felt like a zombie staggering through the apartment.
"Rene," Bryson grabbed my arm. "Sit down. I'll make coffee."
"I can do it." He ignored me. Taking a deep breath I fell back into a chair. My eyes burned from the exhaustion. Physical and emotional. In a matter of minutes, a warm coffee was in front of me. Zoning out, I sipped from my mug.
My eyes trained on the wall. I noticed the texture. It looked like groups of continents. The walls were a white that as they got closer to the floor grayed.
"We need to wash the walls," I said out loud to myself. Bryson was in the bathroom taking a shower, I could hear the water running. A shower sounded good. I'm afraid I don't have enough energy or I'd never want to leave.
"Come on, time to change and head out soon." Bryson lightly touched my shoulder. I felt so disconnected. In my room, my clothing was already laid out. I think I had felt the maximum amount of pain I could feel in 48 hours, my brain couldn't process anymore.
"Thank you," I said numbly.
I had tried to put my boots on backward, it took me a minute to figure out why they suddenly didn't fit. My hair swished around me as I tried to figure out what I was doing in the kitchen.
"I already poured you another cup of coffee. It's on the counter." Bryson stood by the door.
"Oh, thank you." Raking my fingers through my hair, I shook my head. Get it together, Lawrence!
"Hold on." He jogged back toward the bathroom. From the bathroom, he walked to the front door. "Hand." Obeying, I suck out my hand. His hands stretch and placed a hair scrunchy around my wrist. Feeling embarrassed I looked down.
"Thank you."
"Of course, that's what I'm here for."
If it were for the exhaustion and feeling numb, I would be a puddle of sadness. The car was silent. Not even the radio or commercials played. I was hyper-aware of every sound. The gravel under the tires, his palms on the steering wheel when he turned, the coffee sloshing in my cup. All of it seemed too loud.
I hadn't noticed we were sitting in the Forestons parking lot until my seatbelt clicked and started to slide across me. Bryson had undone my belt and was already out of the car walking to my side. A week ago I would have swooned at this gesture, today I couldn't register it.
The halls were dark inside like every morning. Since I traveled them often, I didn't bother using a flashlight or turning on the lights. Aimlessly, I made my way to the basement. Joe smiled when he saw me, I couldn't muster up even a half smile. His face dropped.
"I'm going to talk to Gold for a little bit." My voice was barely above a whisper.
"Are you okay?" I nodded. He needed to know how I felt about Bryson. I needed help. Joe took a few steps with me to Gold's office but ultimately hung back.
In his chair, Mr. Gold was turned and slumped over. His entire body leaned to the side as his hand laid limply on the desk.
"Mr. G?" I walked in slowly, I didn't want to startle him if he was asleep. My grandma used to sleep like this in her rocking chair. The older you get the better your ability to sleep anywhere increases. "Mr. Gold?" I said louder, but still no movement. Something brown at his waist caught my attention. It was a rope. Snapping out of my fog, I froze at the door frame to his office. The mug in my hand dropped, shattering on the floor. Hurried footsteps sounded behind me, but I didn't flinch.
"Lawrence? Ralph?" Joe entered the room after me. I grabbed his arm before he got too close. My body went stiff.
"Joe something is wrong," I said in a low voice.
"What are you two doing?" Bryson stood next to me. "Oh my god, is he asleep?"
"No." Joe and I used it in unison.
"He has a rope around his waist." My throat started to squeeze. "Joe, check his pulse. Bryson, call 911." I couldn't move. My feet felt like cement.
It was like the day Bryson got shot all over again. Everything was a blur. People moved in and out and around. All I could do was watch. One of the closest people I had to call a dad was slumped over in his chair, he was-
"Lawrence, you have to leave. This is a crime scene and the coroner needs to be able to come in." Joe spoke, his words barely reaching me. My eyes were trained on Mr. Gold. He wasn't moving. "Lawrence?" Joe said again.
"I got her." Bryson was at my side. "Come on." He grabbed my elbow and tried to lead me out of the door. My feet stuck to the floor like magnets to metal. "Rene."
"You know Mr. G said no nickname," I muttered. "We're at Forestons, we have rules."
"Lawrence, we have to go." He said. Nothing registered on what he was saying, I just heard his voice like background noise. Joe pulled him to the side and they whispered, I still just stared at Mr. Gold.
"Someone should get the rope off his waist. I'm sure it hurts to breathe." I said to no one but the air.
"Lawrence?" Bryson tried to reach me again. Neither his touch nor voice was felt. Everything was numb. There was a lot of information my brain was processing in the past few days. This was the last thing I could accept and process.
"We need to take the rope off his waist," I repeated. "I'll do it." I went to take a step but Bryson caught me.
"Lawrence, you can't do that."
"I have to, it's hurting him."
"Lawrence, we need to leave."
"No." I tried to shake myself free. He scooped me up and carried me out of the room. I started to shriek.
"Mr. Gold needs me! I need to take off the rope, it's hurting him!" Kicking my legs, Bryson kept walking down the hall to another room. "No! Put me down! Mr. Gold! He needs me! He's hurting!" I continued to scream. The eyes of every individual at Forestons watched as Bryson carried me screaming.
Bryson put me back on my feet but held my shoulders tight.
"Rene, he's gone." The world started to crumble around me.
"No," I whispered. "It's the rope, he'll be fine."
"Rene," Bryson brought my face to his. His eyes were wet. "Mr. Gold is gone." Reality hit me like a ton of bricks.
"No, no, no, no." I started shaking my head and crying. My knees buckled. Catching me, Bryson engulfed me in his arms. "No, no, no, no." Sinking to our knees I screamed.
...to be continued
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top