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Two guys were sitting in the emergency room, one has his fingers in a bag of ice, bruises risen up on his good arm. They looked like whipped dogs.
The man next to fingers had a massive swell rising up out of his head above his eye, his shoulder a red and rashy bruise. They kept their heads down either out of shame or because they didn't want to draw attention.
And when we go back there we are going to fuck him so hard.
Fingers had frozen, staring at the entrance.
What, you don't want revenge
Is that Gomez
The dark silhouette of a man wearing a black pillowcase loomed beyond the sliding door, dusk illuminating him, he stepped sideways and disappeared out of sight.
Looked like him
Think he needs help
I can go check
Eth-ridge, Carl, the nurse called out.
Fingers groaned and worked his way to his feet, his friend remained seated.
Well
He motioned with both hands as claws, gave a frustrated look, lots of yellow teeth, squinting eyes.
Are you gonna check or what, he motioned with his ice finger bag at the door.
Fine, he put his hands on his knees, leaning forward to stand.
Carl nodded at the nurse and walked her direction.
•
He stood in the parking lot and looked around. They had parked directly in front of the emergency room entrance before dusk and there was a trail of blood leading back to the car. He looked to his right at the parking garage and Gomez stood on the top level, still wearing the black pillow case.
Ricky lit a cigarette with his zippo lighter and took a drag on it, glaring at Gomez, knowing he couldn't see him from that far away.
He limped and smoked, taking his time, watching for cars, eye swelling beneath the floppy black blob on the side of his head.
•
The elevator opened and Gomez dove inside, smashing Ricky's body against the wall. He gasped but his ribs were shattered, Gomez kicking his feet and pressing his forearm into Ricky's collapsing throat. Gurgling, arms pressing feeble, scraping and sliding on the dirty floor, a hand in a puddle of coffee. Gomez continued to scrape his boot feet on the floor, wriggling his shoulders and torso like a snake, pressing to find a deeper part of Ricky's neck to smash. Then Ricky's eyes went out. Gomez leaned close and looked in with his milky eye. He released him, body slid to the floor and the death rattle.
•
Gomez was in his pickup truck, driving with his one good eye. Watched cars in the intersection. Drove through a residential neighborhood. Parked within walking distance of Carl's apartment. Followed the path between the houses that the children took on their way to school. They saw him and cowered by the fence. When he reached the apartments he knelt by the stairs and waited.
I wish he would stop calling
I wish he would stop coming by, knocking the door
I wish he would stop coming to my work
Asking how I'm doing
Asking what happened