A Silence to Remember (manxman)

Chapter 24

Josh

The knife trembled in Mario's hand, its blade stained with fresh, dripping blood. Rage coursed through my veins, combined with shock, disbelief, and fear. I couldn't take my eyes off Mario, too scared to look anywhere else. Mario's eyes revealed an emotion I'd never seen before. What would I call it?

Regret?

Disbelief?

Fear?

I was afraid to let my eyes stray from Mario's intense gaze, fearing what horrors might lie on the floor. Just as I was about to lunge at Mario, a hand tugged at my jeans. My eyes slowly drifted to the floor. It took me a moment for me to process the horrors. It didn't seem real. It was like something out of a slasher flick. On the floor, Dominick leaned against the wall, his bathrobe soaked in blood. He clutched the side of his stomach as blood oozed out of him.

Mario fucking stabbed him.

"Oh, my God," I gasped, falling to my knees. "What have you done? What the fuck did you do!" I yelled at Mario. Even though he struggled with reading lips, I was sure he understood what I said.

"You made me do it," he responded.

That's it. I lost it, jumping to my feet. I punched him in the center of his face, demonstrating a strength I never knew I had. He tried to fight back with a switchblade, but I caught him off guard by strangling him. I wanted to kill the son of a bitch. As I shoved him against the wall, the switchblade flew out of his hand. All the doors on the floor swung open.

Two men intervened and yanked me away from him. That's when Mario ran. "He did this! He fucking did this! Don't let him get away!" I shouted. "Get the mother fucker!"

As the two men released me, I returned to Dominick. His body trembled uncontrollably. I put pressure on his stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. "It's alright. It's gonna be alright," I said to him. "Someone help!"

By now, someone had called 911, but since I was deaf I didn't hear the sirens.

"Look at me," I said, holding Dominick's face. He swallowed hard, his eyes wide and full of terror, looking directly into mine. "Help is coming. Hang on."

"I don't want to die," he said, clutching my hand. "Don't... don't leave me."

"I won't leave you. I'll never leave you."

He nodded off, closing his eyes. Holding his shoulders, I shook him awake.

"Don't close your eyes. You're going to be okay. We're going to be okay and we're going to get out of here and you'll become a famous writer and we'll live happily ever after. You can't leave me. You better not leave me."

He shook his head, closing his eyes.

"Dominick, don't. Open your eyes. Open your..."

Police officers and paramedics filled the hallway. Rushing to Dominick, the paramedics pushed me out of the way, prying my hand out of Dominick's. With his eyes closed, I couldn't tell if he was dead or alive. With all the police and residents crowding the area, I had a hard time seeing what was happening. The paramedics swiftly carried Dominick out of the building on a stretcher. Two police officers blocked me, preventing me from going with him. Frozen in place, I wasn't sure if I was living in reality or some kind of alternate universe. My eyes wandered around the crammed hallway, my insides shaking in complete turmoil. As my eyes shifted downward, my stomach churned at the shocking sight of Dominick's blood smeared across my shirt and hands. Standing in front of me, the police officers' lips moved, both speaking at the same time.

Lightheaded and dizzy, my vision blurred and my mind wandered in all kinds of directions. I realized they were asking me questions, but I had no idea what kinds of questions. I didn't want to speak. I didn't want to do anything.