Part 26 (1/2)
”Jer-” The word died on his lips.
Tyler staggered to the bed. One of his kitchen knives stuck out of Jeremy's chest.
”F-f.u.c.k, f.u.c.k. Jeremy!”
Tyler thought he was dead, but he heard a gurgling breath and wrenched his phone from his pocket. ”s.h.i.+t, shhhhit.” His head was already swimming with the sight and smell of the blood. Don't pa.s.s out, don't pa.s.s out.
”Hang on, mate. Hang on.” He fumbled but managed to press 999.
”Emergency. Which service do you require?”
”Ambulance. A guy's been stabbed. Hurry. Flat four, seventeen Persh.o.r.e Road, Deptford. Oh G.o.d. No...stop asking me for my name. There's a knife still in his chest... No, I haven't touched it. I won't pull it out. Forget about me. He's unconscious. His breathing is wrong. Get someone here. Fast. Please. I think he's going to die. Flat four, seventeen Persh.o.r.e Road, second floor. Deptford... No, I won't calm down. Just get someone here.”
The room was wavering in and out of focus. He'd had to shout all that out in case he pa.s.sed out.
”Why do you need to know-he's seventeen. Please. Please send help.”
He flung down his phone and stared at Jeremy.
”What can I do?” Bile surged and burned his throat as he looked for something to press against the wounds. Oh G.o.d. How many times had he been stabbed? The blood. Don't lose it. Don't lose it.
Tyler grabbed a couple of his T-s.h.i.+rts from a drawer and moved back to the bed. As he pressed them against Jeremy's chest, his eyes fluttered open and Tyler's vision dimmed. Oh no. Afraid he'd fall on Jeremy and make matters worse, in his last split second of conscious thought, he flung himself backward and went down like a stone.
The first thing Tyler noticed when he came round was that he had a terrible throbbing pain at the back of his head. The second thing was the loud banging that wasn't in his head. Oh G.o.d, Jeremy. He tried and failed to get to his feet and instead crawled to the door and pulled it open. It crashed back into him as uniformed police rushed in followed by paramedics. He sat on the floor and watched in a daze as they worked on Jeremy.
Don't die. Please don't die.
A paramedic crouched next to him. ”Are you injured? Can you tell me what's happened?”
”Came. Found him like that.” Tyler's chest was tight and it hurt to breathe.
He spotted blood on his fingers and he tried to rub them on his jeans but his hands wouldn't work properly. Why are my jeans wet? What's in my pocket? Everything was spinning and the floor vibrated. He leaned against the wall, breathing faster and faster, knowing he was having a panic attack. He pressed his arm against his mouth to slow his breathing, tasted blood and gagged. The paramedic reached for his wrist.
”Help him. Help him.” Tyler cast a desperate look at the bed.
”He has enough help. Look at me. Let me see your eyes. Don't look at your friend.”
Tyler's head felt too heavy to hold up.
”What's your name?”
”Ty-ler.”
”You're breathing too fast. You need to slow down. Count. Breathe when I tell you to.”
Tyler tensed as Jeremy was carried out of the room, someone holding an intravenous bag in the air above the stretcher.
”Is he-okay?”
”They'll do everything they can for him. Slowly in and out.”
Tyler made a conscious effort to control his breathing but he could do nothing about his mind. Someone had stabbed Jeremy. He might die. If he'd had the strength, he'd have run, no matter how bad it would look.
A policeman crouched next to the medic. ”What's your name? What's the name of the young man who's been stabbed?”
”He's Jeremy. Don't know...other name. I'm Tyler Bellamy.”
”Whose flat is this?”
”Mine. I said Jeremy...could stay here. Oh G.o.d, oh G.o.d.”
”Are you hurt?”
Tyler shook his head and the room wavered. My head. I'm going to throw up.
”He's fighting a panic attack,” the paramedic said.
The paramedic rose to his feet but the policeman stayed next to Tyler on the floor.
”Did you have a quarrel?”
”What?”
”Things get out of hand?”
”No.”
”Where did the knife come from?”
”Looked like one of mine. What are you...? I didn't do this... I found him. He texted me and asked me to come.” Tyler closed his eyes. Oh f.u.c.k. Did Gerald do this?
”I need you to come to the station and answer more questions,” the policeman said.
”Are you arresting me?” Tyler whispered.
”Should I be?”
”No.”
”Then you won't mind coming with me.”
Tyler struggled to his feet and staggered.
”I'm not sure he's fit to go with you,” the paramedic said.
”None of that is his blood, right?”
”No.”
Tyler couldn't stand to be in the room any longer. It was impossible to breathe. When he opened his mouth nothing entered. His lungs weren't working. He stumbled toward the door, collided with another policeman and went down flailing. He wasn't fighting, just trying to get free, desperate for air.