She covers his eyes as if he won’t be able to see his dead father in the darkness.
Together, they cry in bed, their final fight fought.
Orion
6:56 p.m.
Last night, my life changed.
Last night, my life also almost ended.
I had the heart attack in Times Square and I was in the backseat of a taxi, tucked between Dalma and Valentino as they rushed me to the hospital. Now we’re headed back to the exact same hospital, only this time it’s Valentino we’re trying to keep upright, trying to save. He’s got a chance, I know he does, especially since it’s a quick drive to Lenox Hill, even if those three minutes feel like the longest three minutes in the history of three minutes. We waste no time getting Valentino inside, abandoning the car, which Dayana can deal with when she pulls up in her car with Dahlia. I’m too woozy to help carry Valentino, but Floyd has got that handled as Dalma runs ahead of us to alert Dr. Emeterio of our arrival.
Dr. Emeterio appears with a team, surprised to see Valentino in this state when we were all hoping for something more peaceful. She directs her nurses to rush Valentino away. They’re going to try to save his life, like she said they would, but if they can’t, I better get ready for surgery. I’ve had all day to prepare for this, but now that everything is getting really real, real fast, I’m not ready. Death-Cast was supposed to eliminate these fears, but they messed up and now I have no idea if we’re both destined to die at the end. I’m taken into the ER. Floyd is bossy with my nurses to make sure I’m not hemorrhaging; I can tell Floyd is unofficially preparing me for the surgery we’ve wanted for years.
I’m told my heart is fine even though I feel dead inside.
People swear they’re going to live perfect lives when you get the chance to say everything you need to say, but the truth is: death is faster than you.
Even when you’re warned.
There are things I never got to tell Valentino, things he never got to tell me.
Whole lives of stories we never got to share with one another.
Whole lives we didn’t get to live together.
I breathe out his sister’s name, the person who did get to spend her life with Valentino, but she won’t be here to see him through his death.
“I have to call Scarlett,” I say.
I dig my phone out my pocket, and the screen is shattered.
I know why.
The end began when that fucking bastard kicked Valentino down the stairs. I don’t know what happened with those bullets, but you won’t catch me grieving that son of a bitch if he’s dead. Good fucking riddance, I don’t give a shit. No matter how much I get to live because of that fucker’s crime, I’ll never be grateful for how he did Valentino dirty.
I call Scarlett.
“Finally, Val,” she says with all the relief and confidence in the world that it’s her brother on the line.
“It’s Orion,” I say weakly.
“Oh.”
My silence does some of the speaking for me.
Scarlett breathes. “Can I talk to my brother?”
“He’s currently being treated by doctors. He’s alive, but . . . it’s not looking good, Scarlett.”
There’s no silence on her end, only anguished cries. “What happened?”
I didn’t see everything, but I tell her everything I know. Dalma stays close as I keep cracking through this story. Dayana and Dahlia find us, and Floyd hugs them tight.
“Valentino was being a hero,” I say. I stop myself from saying that he died as one.