The McLanahan Clinic Ch. 03

Erika rode the pain like she had been taught, breath hissing between clenched teeth as she frantically sliced another parallel line a fingerbreadth away from the first. She dropped the razor, now slick with blood, and lay down on the cold concrete floor, staring at the ever-widening pool of blood underneath her arm.

The door to the tiny room sighed open, "Hey, Lucy, is tha--holymotherofGod!" Stephanie screeched as she stuck her head in. A rush of air stirred Erika's hair as Stephanie collapsed next to her. Erika fought weakly against Stephanie as she tried to close the wounds up with her bare hands, "Erika. Erika honey, you have to help me, I can't close them Erika, please. Please Erika, help me." Stephanie's voice was thin, shrill and panicky.

"No."

"Erika, sweetie, please, you're bleeding too much, you have to help me."

"I've already killed someone, Stephanie. With my hands. I felt his bones break, watched him bleed and beg... watched him plead and die in my hands." Erika whispered looking down at her blunt fingered calloused hands. "Like I've been training to do since I was five, and I wanted to learn to protect myself from my brother."

"Hey, Stephanie, where are yoooohshit!?" Alexander asked, sticking his head in the door.

"Erika's lost a lot of blood," Stephanie said, looking around wildly. She let go of Erika's arm and pointed at the locker next to Alexander's head, "Hand me the cable ties and get a doctor."

Alexander fumbled with the locker before he fished out a wrist thick bundle of ties and tossed them at her. "Erika, hang in there." He shouted as he reversed with a whine.

Stephanie fished two ties out of the pack and fitted them around Erika's upper arm carefully before pulling them as tight as she could. "Don't you die on me, dammit, you owe me!"

"She's dead. I have nothing, I am nothing. She was the only reason, and now she's gone." Erika sobbed.

"No, baby, you have me."

Erika smiled and reached out with her other hand and stroked Stephanie's cheek tenderly, "I love you. I've loved you since we met, and I won't ever stop loving you. Let me die. Please Stephanie, just... let me... go..."