Don't Let Me Go

Who are you?

The man approached me with a clenched jaw and menacing look that made me feel extremely threatened.

"You better fucking tell me who the hell you are before I beat the shit out of you!" he exclaims. His shouting awakened Jameson suddenly.

"What are you yelling about?" she says groggily rubbing her eyes. When she puts her hands down she finally sees me.

"Harry!" she says excitedly.

"Who is this?" the man says with a less threatening tone. Jameson rushes over to me before replying.

"It's the boy I told you about, he's the one who stopped me almost getting killed by that psycho," she says to him as she hugs me with her eyes closed, almost, it seems, in bliss to be hugging me. My heart would hold onto this feeling for a while afterwards, basking in the pure human vulnerability of it.

But then I also thought...she talked about me? I was taken by surprise when she hugged me but I happily hugged her back. The man awkwardly sat back down and looked at us but looked away when my eyes met his, as did I.

"This is Max," Jameson says to me breaking the hug and turning me towards the man, "and this is Harry," she says to Max. Max awkwardly apologizes for his brute greeting.

"Don't worry about it mate, I completely understand," I smile. Max smiles slightly back.

"So how do you two know each other?" I ask.

"We're cousins," Max answers, "but I could ask you the same question," he says, almost a thankful glint in his eye, already aware of the circumstances in which we had first met.

"We met for the first time when he saved me, I didn't know him before that," Jameson answers. Max simply nods.

"When will you be out of here?" I ask.

"They said tomorrow morning," she says parting from me towards the hospital bed and lying down again. I could see the bruises and cuts all over her and it bothered me when she laid down. I suddenly came up with an unhealthy solution to the situation that even my conscience immediately started to try and convince me not to think into it anymore; the thought that I should take care of that bastard myself.

"May I ask a question about him?"

"About who?" Jameson says.

"About your ex," I say.

She gets a bit uncomfortable but consents.

"...never mind, it's nothing," I change my mind, but not about what I was going to do to his sorry ass. Just changed my mind about involving her any further.

"Are you sure?" she says.

"Yeah, just go on and get some rest, I best be going. I'll see you tomorrow at some point, okay?" I start heading out the door, "and Max, glad to know you're taking good care of her," I smile.

He just nods with a slightly more friendly smile than before and Jameson and I say goodbye to one another.

Now, let's find out where that bastard lives.