Page 99 of Nitro

“Seriously?” He attempts to sit up higher in the bed but fails to get enough leverage in his arms.

“I’ll help, but only because I don’t like watching you suffer.” I hook my hands under his armpits and hoist him up. “Don’t ask me to fluff your pillow. This isn’t the Ritz.”

“Somehow, I knew I could count on you to be an asshole.”

“Do you want sympathy instead?” I retake my seat and cross one ankle over the other knee.

“No.”

“Didn’t think so. Scar’s a hard-ass most of the time, but he’s a softie when it comes to us. He’s not going to lay intoyou like I am. This shit with the cutting has to end. You almost fucking died. If you weren’t trussed up like a prized pig and stuffed full of plastic tubes, I’d kick your ass for this.”

“Wow, you really aren’t going to be nice.”

“No. Fuck that. You don’t need it. We’ve sat back, watching you slowly slice yourself up for years. Not anymore. We should have done something sooner. I would have if I’d known how bad it was getting. Was this because of the governor’s race?”

“What the fuck else would it be?”

“Hell, I don’t know. Maybe woman problems.”

“What woman?”

“Daisy?”

“Yeah, right. That’s not a thing. We’re not a thing.”

“Why not? You’re always eye-fucking each other. Maybe she will be the one to knock some sense into you.”

“I don’t need this shit. Get the fuck out.”

“Nope.” I lean back in the chair, making myself comfortable. “What’s it going to take for you to stop cutting yourself?”

“A miracle.”

“I can’t perform those.”

“Then a lobotomy.”

“Get me an ice pick. I’m sure I can find a video online about how to perform one. Want me to try to get one of those men in black mind-eraser things while I’m at it?”

“Sure.” The hint of a smile plays across his mouth, but then it’s gone.

I sigh, unsure of what to say next.

“Is she here?” Matrix asks, not meeting my eyes.

“Daisy?”

“No, the Virgin Mary.”

“She’s on her way.”

“Really?”

“Why are you surprised? She follows you around the clubhouse like a puppy. The fact that she hasn’t humped your leg already is shocking.”

“You can’t let her see me like this.”

“Why not? Maybe she can talk some sense into you.”