Copperback by Tarah R. Hamilton Read Free Book Online Page A

been standing away from the bed, afraid to come any closer. After watching Job
wracked with pain, I knew Chase was worried about the same thing I was. He left
the room in a hurry, and I turned back to Job, who was still having trouble
steadying his breath.
    “Listen
to me, please. I don’t know you that well, and I’m not sure if I want to. I was
just trying to get my brother out of a scrape. He’s a good kid, and he asked me
to do this. I have someone coming that might be able to help, but if you die
before she gets here, it’s not going to do anyone any good. You have to promise
me you’ll be okay.”
    I
had started strong when I spoke, but by the end I was on the verge of tears. It
was crazy for me to think he was going to respond, even crazier that I was
getting emotional over a slave. I almost stood up to walk away. I could hear him
slow his gasps. He made an attempt to clear his throat and swallow. Staring at
the ceiling, he licked his dry, swollen lips, getting enough saliva to talk.
    “I
promise,” he whispered in a weak voice.
    The
sound of his voice was shocking. I had no connection to this slave – this man
in my basement – but in his two words of hope, I felt like this would all blow
over and everything would return to normal. I didn’t know if he even knew what
a promise was, but I willing to take anything I could get at this point.

3.
    I
could hear the two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs: the first set,
light and slow; the other, heavy from the excess of weight. The cavalry
had arrived, and it was a relief to see her. Sally had with her the largest
first-aid kit I have ever seen. Carrying it in one hand, she nearly toppled
over as the items inside shifted. Trying to balance, she used the other hand to
hold the hand rail.
    Seeing
him as disfigured as he was didn’t seem to faze her in the slightest. I assumed
she had seen worse before, after years working in an emergency room. I had made
sure not to leave out any details on the phone. She needed to be prepared for
what we were dealing with.
    Sally
briefly surveyed him from a distance. She set the giant case gently down on the
bed next to him and opened it to examine what tools she would need. Reaching
in, she found a pair of latex gloves and put them on, then proceeded to pull
out a large wad of gauze, still wrapped up in its sterile packaging.
    “Can
you tell me what happened?” she asked Job. She wore her warm friendly smile as
usual, but her tone was still as serious as it had been on the phone. Her
question sounded like the first one a doctor would ask when you went for a
visit. It was obvious he was beaten and hit by a truck, but she still asked, as
though he would shed light on the accident a different way.
    “He
doesn’t talk. Or at least, I never have heard him talk before,” Chase said. He lingered
against the far wall, trying to give her room to work.
    Chase
was barely holding his composure together. He was trying to watch everything going
on, but his concentration was failing. When he had left the bar, he may have
only had a buzz going, but now at an hour later, that feeling had multiplied. Without
the constant adrenalin running in his veins, the alcohol was taking over, and I
could see he was ready to stumble to the floor.
    I
wasn’t about to tell either one of them that Job had said anything to me. Saying
aloud that I had practically begged him to live for the sake of my brother, and
had him answer back, would have put me back on edge again. I didn’t want to
explain the crazy conversation I had just a few minutes earlier. I wasn’t
willing to share with anyone that I had broken down over someone as meaningless
as him. It felt wrong to grow attached to someone that might not even make it
through the night, and would be gone either way by morning.
    “I
think he’s in a lot of pain. Is there anything you can do for that, before you
start?” I requested for him. It was the least I could do.
    “I
don’t think I can help