Don't Tell

   I was bored; working wasn't the most excited thing in the world. Hanging out or call of duty would be much more appealing. I locked up the front door, being the last one done work. The past hour had gone by slowly, not a single customer came. Closing was an easy task; I swept and mopped the floor, counted the till and was out the door. I spent most of my day at work today and now I get to see my girlfriend. One street light lit part of the otherwise dark parking lot. I walked away from the light into the dimness and from the corner of my eye I spotted Trevor, and Anthony; it was weird that my girlfriend's brother and cousin were outside my work place. Trevor usually was getting drunk at the bar, or sleeping after a night of drinking; I only met Anthony a few times, and every time he was high on something. The last place they would be was outside my workplace. Something was definitely up.

   Trevor had something partly concealed in his jacket sleeve. I couldn't make out what it was.  They came closer to me, as I waited for one of them to say something. Trevor stopped in front of me; Anthony shuffled behind me. This is when I realized this was not going to end well for me, when Trevor pulled out pepper spray from his sleeve. I turned around to try to make a run for it but it did me no good.  I fell to my knees and my hands went right to my face. Were they going to rob me? What did they want?  Tears were welling up in my eyes; the worst part of it all was I was victim to whatever else they had to give me.     

   "I here you're messing around with my sister," Trevor said. He grabbed me by the collar of my shirt. Still struggling with the burning in my eyes, I still was able to jerk backward, causing him to release his hold on my shirt. Anthony surprised me; his fist connected with the side of my face where I landed on the ground with a loud thump. I was vulnerable at this moment.

   "Well?" he asked. "You messing around on my sister you piece of trash." I didn't say anything. I wasn't cheating on Ariel. I loved her and the entire time I have been with her, I have remained faithful. She's attractive, smart, nice, and the kindest person you would ever meet. I never met a woman as great as her before. Anthony didn't give me a chance to speak before he kicked me in the chest. I sat up, the wind escaped my body; for a brief second I couldn't breathe.



I finally caught my breath. "I would never cheat on Ariel," I kept breathing heavy, recovery from the blow to my chest.  I was sitting with my eyes closed, still burning from the effects of the pepper spray. I couldn't hear either one of them for a few seconds, so I thought they left. I got up from the ground, when I met Anthony glare, but where was Trevor. I turned around and felt the blade lunge into my rib cage. My body felt limp, as I fell backwards crushing my head in to the cold concrete.  I let out a gasp; Anthony pulled out the knife that was still sticking out of me. He hovered over me, once again the blade entered into my stomach. Trevor put his shoe on my head, lifted it up and cracked it into the side of my face. 

       

"You don't mess around on my sister, and get away with it, you trash," Trevor shouted, his wet saliva splattered on my face.  They walked away, and left me to die.



I closed my eyes, my life being sucked right out from under me. Out of nowhere, Ariel started to scream. "Nick, don't leave me. Nick come back," She kept yelling my name repeatedly. I tried to reach out to her, but my arms wouldn't move. Numbness in my legs, blood pouring all around me. I was disabled, couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't see, just heard her cries. "Nick, don't leave me, Nick come back. Please come back," The struggle, continued, I couldn't move, I can't see where she is. I wanted to run to her. She was close but so far away. She was perfect; her voice was that of a humming-bird. She was kind.





"Can you hear me?" I heard a voice. I managed to open my eyes just enough to make out the outline of a man standing above me. Reality came crashing back to me. My body felt broken, lifeless. I couldn't move any part of my body. "Just hold on a bit longer, help is on the way."



Everything was going blurry in front my eyes. I couldn't fixate on anyone thing; the man was still standing above me. The paramedics arrived shortly after. The one medic removed my shirt, exposing my tortured skin to the cool air. I felt something being applied with pressure to my skin. My wounds were covered with gauze. At the same time the other medic checked my airways, he inserted a cervical collar on me.  Once I was in a stretcher, and in the ambulance, the medic inserted an i.v that was the last thing I remembered before everything went blank. I woke up and looked around. There was a curtain surrounded around me. I was lying on a stretcher, and was wearing a hospital gown.  I was still hooked up to the i.v I felt a discomfort feeling between my legs; I lifted the gown and noticed a urine catheter. The oxygen was the lifesaver. A nurse walked in with a clipboard in hand.



        "You're awake," she said. "You were very lucky," she said, checking my heart rate, and i.v



        "What?" I said.



        "Dr. Jackson will be in shortly to talk to you," she said about to leave. "Take it easy until then."



        When she left the room, I looked around, slightly moving. I let out a gasp. I couldn't believe what happened tonight. The doctor walked in.



        "How you feeling?" he asked



        "Pretty shitty," I said truthfully. I didn't know how he expected me to feel. I was stabbed, and beaten. My body was killing me; I was sweaty and lying in a hospital bed. Was not my ideal way to spend the night?



        "You were really lucky. Your left lung collapsed on the way to the hospital, you stopped breathing and fell unconscious.  After further examination, you had a punctured liver, a couple broken teeth, and a mild concussion. The good news is the surgery was a total success. I let your family know what's going on and they will be in to see you shortly."



        I noticed my reflection in the mirror that was above the bed. My face looked bad; I had a fat lip and a big nasty bruise above my right eye. My mom, my sister and Ariel walked into the room.



        "Nick are you alright?" my mom asked me running to my side. "What did they do to you?"



        "I was jumped in the parking lot. But the doctor said I am going to be fine."



        "I thought the worst was going to happen. When you didn't call, I began to worry. Then I got that phone call hearing you have been stabbed. We got here as soon as we could. We had to wait forever; they wouldn't tell us anything." she was in tears. I rarely saw my mom cry; the last time was when my sister graduated from high school last year. It was obvious she had bawled. Her hair was a mess, her forehead was full of sweat and her eyes were puffy.



        "Mom, don't cry everything is fine. I am alive and am going to be alright."



        "She has been a nervous wreck the entire ride here," Ariel said. "Your sister had to calm her down the entire way here."



        "I thought you were going to die," she said her voice changed "But I happy to hear you are going to be alright,"



        Ariel held my hand; it sent chills down my back. I didn't know how I was going to tell her Trevor and Anthony were the ones that put me here. That was the last thing she needed to hear. I didn't want her to blame herself for this attack, but at the same time, I felt the need to say something to her. Surely, they would come back for me since they didn't kill me.



        "I love you," the words slipped out of my mouth. Despite all that has happened, I was happy to see her.  I held her hand tighter.



        "I love you too," she said. "I wish I could have been there, and maybe this wouldn't have happened." Her voice was shaky, and tears were dropping down her face.



        "You wouldn't have been able to be able to anything to help me. Don't feel down," I said. I was glad she wasn't there. I didn't need her to be involved in this mess. I didn't want to tell her that her brother was accusing me of cheating on her, or the fact that her cousin was also involved. This whole situation really sucked. I took a deep breath, an agonizing experience.



        The nurse entered the room, checking my vital signs, gripping my wrist to check the i.v "Five more minutes, before you have to leave so he can rest and if everything goes well tonight, tomorrow we will try to get you up and moving around and remove that catheter,"  I nodded. The last thing I had wanted was to move around. I have no energy at all, and I was in extreme agony, but being able to go the bathroom on my own was a nice thought.



        After they left, I laid back and closed my eyes to think. I kept thinking about what I would tell Ariel, when she asked what happened. I didn't have a real chance to explain what happened.  However, I knew that I would have to explain to her and my family what went on.



        I was resting my eyes. "Nicolas Everyn," I opened my eyes to the sight of two men in front of me, they were in uniform, with the handcuffs on their belt. There was a knot in my throat; I hadn't thought about what I was going to tell the police. I wasn't sure if I wanted to expose Anthony and Trevor, but I had to decide quickly what I was going to say.



        "Ya," I said.



        "Why don't you tell us what happened."



        "I was just getting off work, and heading for my truck when two men mace me, stabbed me, kicked me and left me to die."



        "Did you get a good look at either one of them?"



          "Not really," I lied



        "Can you tell me anything?"



        "They were both shorter than me by a few inches."



        "Can you tell me their race?" the officer asked.



        "They were both white from what I could remember. I don't really remember anything else. After they mace me everything was one big blur."



        "Is there anything else you can tell us?"



        "They told me I had what's coming to me. Whatever that means,"



        "Do you know anyone who may have wanted to hurt you?"



        "No?" I said, trying to think of what else I could say. "I don't have any enemies,"



        "Did they get into any vehicle or anything?"



        "I wasn't paying attention."



        "Okay, if you remember anything else, let us know," 



        After they left, a nurse came in once again checked my vital signs and gave me something for my pain and left.



        I couldn't believe that I lied to the police. I couldn't understand why I did. I could have easily had those two arrested, but something stopped me. A part of me didn't want it known what happened. I couldn't do that to Ariel; having it all over the news, that he brother tried to kill her boyfriend. Now I have to wonder if they will come back and try to finish what they started. Worry haunted my mind; I wondered if by staying with Ariel would put us both at risk. I love her, and I was faithful to her. I didn't understand where they got the idea that I was cheating on her. I wondered where this came from. Just a couple weeks ago, I was sitting drinking beers with her brother and family, and now they are out to try to kill me. Everything about this situation really sucked. The real question was should I stay with her. Right now, I was in no shape to fight back. A big guy like me beat up, stabbed and ends up in the hospital by two little punks. I clenched my fists; I was angry, full of shame. No one liked to be beat up. However, I still to made a decision about my relationship.



        The next morning, as the nurses said I was up on my feet. They helped me stabilize myself and I was up and walking around with great difficulty. My whole body hurt and it was the worst pain of my life. They really did a number on me. I returned to my bed after a few minutes. I relaxed taking a deep breath.  Shortly before lunch, Ariel walked into the room.



        "How you feeling today?" she asked.



        "I'm feeling a bit better." I replied "Still very sore,"



        "What happened?" she asked, "I know something else happened last night. The police said you don't remember much, but I but I sense something else has bothered you."





        "What do you mean?" I asked. "



        "Tell me," she said. "Do you know who really attacked you last night?  No one can help you Nick if you aren't honest."



        "It's nothing. I mean I don't know," I said digging my grave. I had to think of something and quick. I couldn't tell her the truth.                                                                                               



        "Be honest with me. We are in this together and I need you to be honest with me. Do you know who attacked you?"



        "Yes, I do," I said deciding to tell the truth. I wasn't sure how this was going to work out. This news would break her heart.



        "Well?" she said, her eyes were turning a deep green. I knew she was getting mad; her eyes gave it away every time.



        "Trevor and Anthony?" I said looking away. She said nothing. We both sat there in silence. "They accused me of cheating on you. I swear I didn't do any such thing. I don't know where they got that idea from."



        "My own brother," she said, looking at the floor. "But why? Are you sure?"



        "I'm sorry Ariel. I wish it had been anyone else. This is why I didn't want to say anything."



        Ariel didn't say anything, instead pacing around the room.



        "I think we should take a break," the words slipped out of my mouth. "I don't want anything else to happen." She still didn't say anything else.



        "You know I love you Ariel. Just last night changed me. I can't put my finger on it, but I can't risk either one of us. I also fear this will tear us apart. I have thought about it all night."



        "Everything will turn out all right," Ariel finally said. "But you need to report this to the police."



        "I can't Ariel," I said. "I think it is best we take a break, and pretend we never had this conversation."



        Ariel stared at me tears, running down her face. She got up and left the room leaving me alone in the dim-lit room. I was all alone, single, and bitter at what has become.



        A few days later, they released me from the hospital.  At home on my kitchen table was Ariel's set of keys to my house and a letter beside it.  All it said was "I love you."  I just sat there and I cried. I cried because of physical pain. I cried because of emotional pain. I cried for how life has changed for me. I picked up my phone and texted Ariel. "How do we fix this?"



        I laid myself down on the couch, and closed my eyes. When I woke up the next day, I noticed Ariel text me back.  “Go to the police. There is no other way. I would but it has to be your decision to want to.” 



        I picked up the phone and dialed the number the police officers gave me. She really did love me, because she was willing to turn on her own family. And best of all she didn't believe that I cheated on her and I would get my justice. After briefly talking to the police, they were going to come and get a proper statement out of me. I text Ariel back. "I'm going to the police." All I had left to do was wait.





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