Bedlam Boyz(57)

"Querida?"

Kayla turned to glare at Ramon. "What do you want?"

"I wanted to see if you needed any help getting your things together. You sound like you're a little angry?"

"A little angry? Look, I don't want to talk to you about it! You're as bad as Carlos—you just think of me as a walking medical kit, not a person!"

He moved closer, taking the shopping bag from her hands. "You know I don't think of you as that. I'll take this to the car. By the way," he said as he walked to the door, "your leather jacket is in the closet."

Kayla opened the closet door. She yanked the jacket from the hanger and pulled it on. The warm smell of leather touched with a hint of Ramon's aftershave surrounded her. This is what I'm going to be, she thought. As tough as leather, as hard as the studs on this jacket. It's what I have to be.

There were several safety pins on the dresser. She took out the silver hoops and dropped them into her jeans pocket. She fastened a safety pin in each of her ears, then followed Ramon downstairs to the car, where Carlos and Roberta were already waiting.



They were halfway up the steps to the hospital entrance when Kayla stopped, unable to walk any further.

"Come on, it's too dangerous to stand out here," Carlos said impatiently, glaring at her.

The sensation of pain and fear emanating from the hospital crawled over her skin, tightening around her throat. She couldn't speak, almost couldn't breathe. "Ramie," she whispered, "I don't want to go in there. It hurts too much."

Ramon took her hand, his fingers tight around hers. "I don't like hospitals, either," he said. "You can do it, querida. I know you can."

"Come on," Carlos urged, looking around nervously.

Holding onto Ramon's hand, Kayla walked through the hospital doors. The emotional noise hit her like a fist, and she nearly fell. Ramon's arm was around her shoulders, holding her upright.

She moved blindly, holding onto him with all her strength, unable to see or hear anything with the cacophony raging around her. Her vision cleared, and she saw that they were in a deserted corridor. There was a policeman seated on a folding chair outside the closest room, watching them with narrowed eyes.

"We're here to see Luis," Carlos said to the policeman, not bothering to disguise the hatred in his voice.

The policeman glared back at Carlos. "No visitors, homeboy. Visiting hours won't start for another couple hours."

"Please, he's our friend, can't we see him?" Roberta pleaded.

The cop's expression softened a little, looking at Roberta. "Okay, okay, but only for a few minutes. And only you two, the girls. The boys will have to wait outside."

"But—" Ramon began. Carlos put his hand on Ramon's arm.

"That's fine," he said quietly. "Kayla is the one who needs to see Luis, not us." They sat down to wait outside, as Roberta and Kayla went into the room.

Inside the hospital room, Luis was asleep in his bed. A bandage covered him from his shoulder down to his waist, and a drip line was connected to his wrist, the IV bag hanging from a rack next to the bed.

Kayla touched him lightly, trying not to awaken him. She could feel the wound beneath the bandage, the track of the bullet that had shattered his collarbone. They'd fitted the pieces back together, but the bone would take months to heal.

But I can change that. I can heal him.

She closed her eyes and let the magic move through her.

She didn't know how long she stood there, lost in the magic. The world vanished around her, and all she could feel was the sensation of the magic coursing through her. She carefully knit the shattered pieces of bone back together, drawing the pain away from him as she worked. When she was done, she sat down abruptly, feeling all the power draining away from her and leaving her an exhausted, empty shell.

Luis opened his eyes and smiled at her and Roberta. <W1%-12>"<|><D%0>'Berta, it doesn't hurt," he murmured sleepily.

"Sleep for a few hours, Luis," Roberta said gently. "When you have the chance, just walk out. Leave your door open so you can hear when the policeman goes to have a doughnut break, and just walk away.

"I will, 'Berta," Luis said. He smiled at Kayla again, closing his eyes to drift off to sleep.

"You did well, Kayla," Roberta said, smiling. Kayla stood up unsteadily; Roberta held out her arm, and Kayla leaned on her gratefully.

They walked slowly from the room. In the hallway, Carlos looked at Roberta with an unspoken question in his eyes. She nodded.

"Now we'll take you to the apartment," Carlos said, glancing at Kayla.



The street looked like a war zone, much worse than any neighborhood she'd ever seen before, with abandoned cars left like corpses on the pavement. Children played between the rusting hulks. The kids ran for the sidewalk as Ramon drove Carlos' car down the street. He parked the car in front of an ancient-looking apartment building.