His Friend, My Living Hell

Kell

For a moment, I allowed myself to feel the phantom weight of his presence, the ghost of the man

most comical. He accused me of being ungrateful, of not understanding the "pressure" he was under. He insisted he would not visit me again unt

my eyes. Let him think what he wanted. Hi

lf out of the hospital. No farewells, no forwarding address. I was a

yan was in physical therapy, his face tight with concentration as he learned to wal

in a coma, but his condition was stable. I went to

of the room, partially obscured by a privacy screen. They were

didn't scream. I didn

pitcher from the bedside table and lunged. "Get away from hi

ut and stumbled ba

s Fab

menacingly. A clear liquid-potassium chloride, I would later learn, enoug

e trembling with a rage so

l broke. I lunged at her, my hands finding her throat. The satisfactio

rled, shaking her like a rag d

.. deserved it!" she choked out. "You both do! Ruining my re

"He can have you," I spat. "You

w open. "Grace! What t

d. Fabiola, ever the actress, immediately

e cried. "She tried to

rip like iron on my arms. "Have you l

ed, pointing a shaking finger at the syringe o

innocent-looking face. He didn't want to believe it. He couldn't. Admitting sh

t, desperate lie. "A special vitamin cocktail. I wa

d, returned with a vengeance, all of it dire

aid, my voice dripping with s

s. I dared him to punish me. "What will it be this time, Julian? The cellar? Another l

eetly, placing a hand on his arm. "She's not well. All this stress... it's clearly affected her mind. Ma

ung in the air,

, his eyes hard. "T

art s

he said to

purchase on the polished floor. The last thing I saw