Drug Lord

All of a sudden, a bright light was shining right in my eyes.

I tried to flinch away, but his hand held me in place.

“What are you doing?”

“Checking to see if you have a concussion. Your pupils aren’t dilating properly. One of them is bigger than the other.”

“It’s not a big deal.” I shook my head. “I’ve gotten minor concussions before. I’m fine. I don’t need to go to the hospital.”

“You don’t need to go to the hospital, but you do need to stay with someone who will wake you up every two hours.”

“Why do you know so much about concussions?” I asked.

He didn’t answer me.

“Come home with me.”

It wasn’t a question.

I tried to joke, “I wasn’t expecting to go home with anybody tonight.”

I earned a small smile from him. “Is there anybody else who can take care of you?”

I thought about it. I didn’t even know if the hostel owners had a first-aid kit. I doubted that they would be willing to wake me up every two hours to make sure that I was still breathing. It might be bad business if I died in their hostel.

“No.”

“Then it’s settled. You’re coming home with me.”

He pulled me into his arms.

“I can walk,” I protested, even though it was really fun to be carried as if I didn’t weigh anything. It was a new experience. I hadn’t been carried since I was 4.

“I can carry you.”

And that was the end of it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned my head against his hard shoulder as he walked further down the block.

“I’m going to let you down now.”

I slid to my feet.

He took out a key fob, and then the car next to us beeped.

“Get in. Watch your head.”

I opened the door and thought about getting into a car with a stranger. My mother had not raised a naive fool.

“Wait. Maybe I should just go to a hospital.”

“Naelle, please. If I wanted to hurt you, I’ve had enough opportunities already. You could be dead in that alley.”

He was right. I knew he had a gun, but I wasn’t afraid of him. He’d saved from those two thugs.

I got into his car.

First Aid

Emilio