my skull. A doctor had set my arm, a clean break of the humerus, and now it was encased in a heavy plaster cast, a stark white symbol of my defeat. The ph

... anything to keep my mind from replaying the scene at the studio. But it was useless. The images were bu

thing I knew, I heard voices from the hall

g to be oka

thick with a flawless

-sounding doctor replied. "He'll be in a cast for at leas

utrage. "I can't believe that mugger did this to him. Alex wa

tragic victim and themselves as the worried loved ones. It was so audacious, so complet

hey were, the two of them, their

er touch made my skin crawl. "We were so worried. We came as soon as we

feign anxiety, the way Mark stood behind her, his hand on her shoulder in a gesture of suppor

e. I had cooked her favorite meal, pasta with a simple tomato sauce, because she said it reminded her of her childhood. She had cried, telling me that

seen in her eyes was just a reflection of my own. Every "I love you," every shared secr

d me back to the present. She was stroking my hand

t... nothing. The love was gone, burned away. The rage was gone, cooled into something harder, cold

ice flat and emotionless.

recovered quickly. "Of course, you need to

footage they had. They would just change the story. 'Brave boyfriend attacked after selling heirloom for sick girlfriend.' They would spin it. They would make

listened to the soft murmur of their voices as they settled into the c

ed myself up. The hospital was quiet. I found my clothes folded on a chair, my wallet an

ed. It was a t

the morning to sign your discharge papers.

the doting nurse for a few days, and then, when the time was right, they would release the

on the floor along with my arm. The person who walked out of that hospital, into the cold pre-dawn air, w

-