NONFICTION
A Stranger Cleaned Blood off My Bedroom Wall
I watched in silence
“Stay on the floor.”
He pushed my hand away and moved to his knees.
“Stop. You’re going to fall,” I said sternly.
His eyelids fluttered and his upper body swayed as he placed a foot on the ground and pushed up into a standing position.
“Please, sit down,” I begged as I pulled myself up next to him.
The dresser shuddered as he stumbled into it. The sound startled the baby, and she screamed from her bedside crib. I turned to look at her as he slammed into my body.
A sharp pain struck my knee as it hit the wooden floorboard, followed by a second flash of pain in my hip as it hit the cold, hard floor. A cry of frustration traveled up my throat and escaped my mouth as his weight pinned me down.
I used my arm, my only free limb, to knock his limp body off of me. He rolled sideways, landing with his back on the floor. My heartbeat filled my ears as anger and frustration coursed through me.
He was still now. The glow from the nightlight didn’t reach his face. Our daughter had fallen silent, and the only sound was rain pattering the window. I stayed on the ground in the dark. They’d be here soon.
