The next time I surfaced, I was hot and sweating and shaking. I thought it was because the sun was shining in and maybe it was on me, making me too hot. There were people talking behind my back, and beyond them I could hear Sol and his ex talking quietly together, with ‘bitch please this’ and ‘bitch please that’. I wanted Lefty. I tried to roll over but hands stopped me. My butt hurt but my back hurt higher up too. Naturally, I started to cry.
I heard Todd’s voice. “Fun’s over, Aiden,” (no ‘sweetie pie’ now with others there), “This bite is infected and we’re doing a spinal on you. It will be over in a minute. I’m sorry you woke up to this.” Infected? Blood poisoning? Germs? Goo? Maybe it was that flesh eating bacteria. Maybe I was going to die. I didn’t want to die. I wanted Lefty. I didn’t want to be sick or scared or crying.