10. Hold On

I notice how she begins to look around, like a bird trying to escape its cage. I look at her in worry. Someone must've done something horrible for her to be picking a fight with me now. Why didn't I question her earlier? Why didn't I ask her why she wanted to fight me out of all people? I may have been able to save her from this pain and whatever others are doing to her. I could've prevented this.

I decide to end this. Then I'll question her when there are fewer people around, watching our every move. I throw a punch, knowing she's not expecting it. My fist connects directly to her abdomen. If I were watching in slow motion, I would've seen her abdomen hollow from around my fist as she fell back to the ground. I knew exactly where to hit her so that I could put an end to this. From after the first hit, I realized her chest was the most vulnerable area. I didn't quite understand why. Normally, a person is most vulnerable in their knees, head, eyes, nose, and pelvic region. So why was she so different? There had to be something I was missing.

"What now, Mariposa?" I call out, waiting to see what her next move would be. I walk towards her. To my surprise, she kicks out at me, hitting me directly in my kneecap. I stumble in pain, limping temporarily from the hardness of her kick. She attempts to aim for my other knee. However, I manage to grab her leg mid-kick. Even after all of this, she still hasn't given up. I definitely can say I'm impressed. She hasn't given up even once. Regardless of how hard I go at her, she manages to hit me back just as hard, if not harder. Even when I have her back against the wall, literally, she still doesn't give up. Rather she's like a lioness that's been cornered. More fierce and deadly, as opposed to timid and meek. I begin to have second thoughts about all of this. For the first time, wishing she makes it out alive. I want to know more about her and why she chose to battle me in the first place.

She manages to use her good arm to throw another punch at me, faking just before her hand is about to connect and elbows me in the jaw instead. I can hear a crack in her elbow when her elbow connects with my jaw. I smile painfully, knowing that my jaw has managed to crack her elbow. 

Even after all that, she still keeps going. I have to hand it to her. She's turned out to be quite the opponent. She still needs more training, but whoever has been teaching her should be proud. She's managed to go head-to-head against the Reaper himself without dying within the first sixty seconds. I need to find out who's been training her and possibly hire them to train my men. 

She jumps up, spinning as her foot connects with my abdomen, pushing me backwards. I feel the air push out of my lungs. I take a few quick deep breaths in an attempt to push air back into my lungs. While I do so, I see an opportunity. I kick my foot out, successfully tripping her. She lands on top of me with a thud. Without even touching her, I watch as she drops to her knees. Making my eyes go wide. What happened? I didn't even touch her. Blood begins to pour from her mouth, making me worried. Did something happen? I pushed her off of me to assess what was going on. I hear her wheezing as if she's struggling to breathe, to the point that she begins to choke on her own blood. 

I may not be a doctor, but I do know the basics of anatomy. I know that if a person is spitting up blood, it typically has to do with the lungs. I remember back to breaking her ribs. Did the bone shatter? Is that why she's fallen now? Because the broken bone dislodged or knicked something?

Worried, I quickly approach her, picking her tiny body up and holding her in my arms. I jump out of the cage, careful not to jostle her around too much. 

"Hold on, Mariposa." 

"Respira, mariposa, respira." Breathe, butterfly, breathe.

"GET ME A DOCTOR!" I shout. 

"ACE!" I shout.

Ace is quick to come to my side. He holds his hands out to take Mariposa from me, but I refuse. 

"Lead me to your office. NOW!" I shout, desperation coming out. I can see Mariposa grow weaker and weaker in my hold. Her head has fallen backwards, signalling that she's lost consciousness. Blood trickles out of her mouth. My body is reacting to her in ways I've never experienced before. I can't explain why, but for the first time in my life, I'm afraid. Afraid that she may not survive. If she doesn't, I don't know what I'll do. I've barely known this girl for even thirty minutes, and yet she's already found a spot in my iron-clad heart. 

"No te rindas, mariposa. Puedes sobrevivir a esto." Don't give up, butterfly. You can survive this. I cooed in her ear, not even sure if she could hear me. I just pray I haven't killed her.

Ace runs through the crowd. Thankfully they all disperse as we approach them. It was like a scene from the bible. As we approached the people, they moved aside, letting us through, just like Moses and the red sea.  

We make it to Ace's office in due time. Ace tosses the items from his desk so that I can set Mariposa on it. Someone bursts through the door behind us. I turn to see a middle-aged man make his way to us. I look at him, wondering why he's here. Sensing my displeasure, he's quick to introduce himself.

"You asked for a doctor, sir?" He says, lowering his head to me.

"Right. Come here." I say, demanding the doctor step forward.

"What's wrong with her?" I ask.

The doctor leans down and checks her pulse. Without him telling me, I know it's thready at best. Her lips have already begun to turn blue, signalling she can't breathe.

"Her lungs seem to be obstructed. I will need to operate." He says.

"What do you need?" I ask, getting straight to the point. However, the doctor just looks at me as though I've lost my mind.

"What? I can't do the surgery here!" He states outlandish by the idea.

However, my patience has been worn thin. I grab the doctor by the collar of his shirt and lift him off the ground

"Did I stutter?" I ask.

"N-no." He remarks, strangled.

"Then what do you need?!" I ask again, shouting at him this time, the patient man in me long gone. I find myself on edge the longer Mariposa lies unconscious on the brink of death.

The doctor begins to spew out a list of items. I doubt we'll be able to get them all, but we'll have to improvise.

Instead of a knife, I hand him my switchblade. Ace rummages through his desk and pulls out a bottle of Benzos and a lighter. It may not be your classic medical items, but they'll have to do. Mariposa will die if this doctor can't help her. I walk along the other side of the desk, sitting in the chair as I hold her hand.

"Sir?" The doctor asks, looking at me. I can see the question on his face. Do I plan on staying here throughout the surgery? The answer was simple. Yes. Again, I don't know why. I was probably even more confused than the doctor. But something inside of me was screaming at me to stay with her. So until I knew she was going to be ok. I decided to do precisely that.

The doctor simply nods as he approaches the desk. He cuts her top off, exposing her perfect breasts. I so badly want to cup them in my hands to see how well they fit, but I know I can't. This isn't time for f*cking. If she survives this, I can f*ck her later. But for now, I needed to concentrate.

I look over to the doctor to see that he's paused in his movements. His eyes not leaving her chest.

"Do we have a problem?" I ask, irritated.

The doctor quickly shakes his head before reaching for the lighter. He begins to heat the blade, sanitizing it.

"Give her two Benzos now. She's going to need it. If she survives this, she's going to be in immense pain." He says. 

I grab a bottle of water and crush two pills into it. I then lean her head up, and slowly pour the water down her throat. 

"It just seems to be pooling in her mouth. It's not going down." I exclaim, noting the water just seems to be spilling out of her mouth. Her airway must be clogged.

"Ace!" I shout, grabbing his attention.

"Sir?"

"What other drugs are here? We need something else. We need to inject her!" I shout.

Ace runs from the room and comes back a few moments later.

"Opium and Heroin." He shouts back, running into the room with two syringes in his hand.

I look to the doctor for his response. He sighs but calls out for Opium. I quickly grab the syringe from out of Ace's hand and inject it into her arm. Her body immediately weakens, as if whatever strength she was holding onto escaped her. Her hand goes limp in my grasp. I feel my heartbeat increase. I can't explain why, but I'm worried—worried that she may not make it out of this alive.

"¿Qué demonios acaba de pasar? ¡Dijiste que la ayudarías!" What the hell just happened? You said you'd help her! I shout out at the doctor, reaching over to grab the collar of his shirt. 

"She's ok. The reaction is normal. It means the drugs are kicking in. She isn't dead. At least not yet. But if you don't let me go, she'll die." The doctor responds, making me drop him. I look down at Mariposa lying helplessly on the desk—a ghost of the mariposa I had seen earlier. The cockiness in her was gone, replaced with a look of death. If it weren't for the slight pulse I could feel, I would've sworn she was dead.

"Vamos, mariposa, sé que puedes hacer esto. Solo espera." Come on, butterfly, I know you can do this. Just wait. I whisper in her ear, not even sure if she can hear me. I lean over and kiss her lips. A smile graces my own as I feel the familiar sparks as our lips dance. 

The doctor then grabs the knife he prepared and cuts a line into her chest towards the bottom of her lung. 

"She's bleeding internally!" He yells. The next few hours are tense as the doctor uses whatever we're able to find for him to help her. He manages to stop the bleeding and repair the hole in her lung that he found. I hadn't realized I'd held my breath until I saw him stitch her chest closed. Unfortunately, she'll have a gnarly scar for the rest of her life. I could see the burn marks from when the knife cut into her. Scar tissue was already forming, but it will never go away completely. On the bright side, it looks like she'll survive. 

"Give her a small dose of the Opium in a few hours. She's going to be in immense pain when she wakes up." The doctor remarks before leaving the room. I carefully pick her up, draping a blanket over her from the couch, then make my way out of Ace's office.

"GONZALEZ!" I shout.

Javier quickly runs up the staircase and approaches me.

"Prepara el coche." Get the car ready. I state.

"Si, Patrón."

I'm glad he doesn't question me. Cause, to be honest, I don't have the answers either.