Change of Heart by S.E. Edwards Page B

Rich’s left quad. His jeans are cut right in the middle of it. Each time Rich breathes, the stain grows larger.
    “Really, Penny, I’ve been hurt worse before.” To prove his point, he takes a step toward me. When his weight shifts to his left leg, his knee suddenly gives out.
    I reach his side before he can hit the floor. I catch him by the waist, grunting with the effort of holding him up. “Nothing?” I ask. Looking down, I can see that his white sock is stained red. “Rich, you’re bleeding badly. We need to get you to a hospital!”
    “No.” He shakes his head. “Just help me to a chair.” I do, and he settles down heavily. “I need to get some pressure on it to stop the bleeding. Here.” He hands me the knife. For the first time, I notice that the blade is red with Rich’s blood. “Cut me a strip from Victor’s jacket.”
    I rush over to the unconscious man and kneel down. Before I start cutting, I look back at Rich. “Are you sure he won’t wake up?”
    “You could fire a cannon by his ear and he won’t wake up.” Rich takes his hand away from his wound, and grimaces at what he sees. “Hurry, Penny. I don’t know how long we have until Tam comes back.”
    The reminder spurs me into action. I hack off the sleeve, then run over to Rich and help him tie it around his leg. “How is it?”
    Rich extends his leg, testing it. He stands up, and takes a cautious step forward. “Not bad.” I know he’s lying by the grimace on his face. “I can still walk, so that’s good.”
    “Rich, we should really get you to a hospital—”
    He stops me mid-sentence. “No. That’s a terrible idea. We’ll just be sitting ducks for Tam and his cronies to come find us. Besides, I’m just—” His knee buckles again and he lunges forward. I dart to him and put my arm around his waist to hold him up.
    “You’re not ,” I scold. “You can barely stand. We need to get you proper attention—”
    “Penny, look around!” Rich yells. “Do you not remember where we are? Did you forget what just happened? We need to get the hell away from here as fast as we can! Do you think that when Tam comes back he’ll just sit on his fucking hands and wait for Victor to get up? No! He’ll go looking for us. For me. For you. And he’ll find us, unless we’re far, far away.”
    I don’t respond. If I open my mouth now, I know I’ll just get yelled at. Given that Rich is probably close to losing the same amount of blood as Victor had, I decide it’s best to avoid a flare-up.
    I take a deep breath, and speak very deliberately. “Where to, then?”
    “Out. I’m parked on the street. From there, we just drive.”
    “Where?”
    “Away.”
    I help Rich limp to the door. There, he bends down and lifts up the bottom latch, making me feel like an idiot. He pushes open the door into the cool night air.
    I glance back before leaving. The bar looks like a war zone. Toppled tables, broken glass, and Victor’s blood is everywhere. Stains from every step Rich had taken make dark red spots on the floor.
    I shudder. Somehow, despite going through all that, I made it out all right.

Chapter Six
     
    We drive for hours. Rich doesn’t say where we’re going, and I don’t ask. The whole time, he stares straight ahead, his eyes on the road. The tension in the truck is thick.
    I don’t dare move, except to sneak a glance at Rich every once in a while. Every time I do, he seems paler. In spite of everything he’s done, I’m worried about him. The wound in his leg has stopped bleeding, but I can tell by his face that it still pains him. I’m half-afraid he might pass out and veer into the oncoming lane.
    He proves resilient, though. Maybe I should expect that of him by now. For better or for worse, I am stuck with him for the foreseeable future.
    Finally, he takes an exit off the highway and pulls up to a ramshackle motel on an empty street. Half the letters in the neon “VACANT” sign are dark. The rest flicker on and off like