In which case, she was in some serious trouble.
My other self was incoherent, though. The only two words I could make out amid his near-constant snarling and frothing were, "Get her." I decided I couldn't let him win this time. There was too much at stake here. Scratch that, there was everything at stake here. I still didn't even know with absolute certainty who it was that was standing in probable horror behind me.
Distrustfully, I licked my lips again and swallowed. The beast quieted down a little. I turned slightly to catch a glimpse of the poor soul who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. What I saw was simply a pair of torn up black Converse high tops with the label scribbled out, presumably with sharpie marker. Katy's torn up black Converse high tops. Oh no. Please don't get an closer, Katy, please.
"Tristan, we need to get you some help," my poor girl announced. "There's a hospital not too far..." I didn't hear anything past that. "Hospital" was my least favorite word. I took a deep breath and spun around. My hand raised on its own and gripped her sleeve. Bad, I thought, Bad hand!
"No hospital can help me," I croaked. With every word I dreaded her reaction more and more. I expected it to be somewhere between intense fear and disgust, or something of the like. She would run, I expected, and then I would have to run. I would have to chase her down and - No! I couldn't, not even if she started to bolt.
Instead she looked down at me with rage, thank God. "What do you mean no hospital can help you," she seethed. "You're throwing up blood!" I stared up at her in total silence. How the hell did anyone expect me to answer that? I wasn't clever enough to come up with a lie on the spot, that's for sure. But I also couldn't tell her the truth. I would never see her again, and I was in an infinitely selfish mood this particular evening.
Of course, I could always do the selfless thing and alert her of the imminent peril she was constantly in. That way, I wouldn't feel completely horrible by hiding it from her and she would have the conscious choice to choose for herself.