5:57 AM

When I came to, it was still dark, but I could tell it was morning. I sat up. My face was bloody and there was dirt and little stones stuck to it. There was a cut on my cheek, made by Sketchy's boot. My side was hurting and I was pretty sure I'd cracked a rib. I was really hurting, but not hurt enough to go to the hospital. Right now I had to see Melissa. I just had to.

I stood up and walked a few steps, but a sudden, crippling nausea forced me back down. I waited for a few minutes for it to pass, then stood up and left the scrapyard.

The buses were running again, so I figured it was past four o'clock. I managed to grab an 86, which would take me right to Holland street. When I got on the empty bus and dropped my coins in, the bus driver gave me the eye.

"Are you okay, kid?" He asked.

"Fine. Just fucking fine." I snapped. I shouldn't have, but I wasn't exactly in the best mood.

I grabbed a seat in the back and watched the city go by. The first snatches of daylight were shining through the early morning dark.

I sat there, remembering yesterday's events. Faces flashed through my mind. Damien, Sputnik, Ray, Eric, Fresh, Desmond, my mom, Jessica, Sketchy, Donna, Kim, and Melissa. I nodded out for awhile, but managed to wake up before the Holland street stop.

I got off and walked to Melissa's house. I figured she wouldn't be up yet so I sat down on the front steps. I wanted a cigarette, but I was fresh out. What I really needed was some ice for my face.

"Nick?"

The voice surprised me. I turned quickly and winced at the sudden bolt of pain that went up my side.

Melissa was standing in the doorway, wearing a cheap nightgown and smoking a cigarette. She visibly recoiled when she saw the damage to my face. In the end she sat down next to me.

"What happened?" She asked slowly.

"Sketchy caught me and kicked ten types of shit out of me." I said.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not so much."

She reached up and stroked my face gently. Her thumb touched the spot on my chin where Eric's hand had hit me.

"Ow." I muttered.

"Sorry."

We sat there in silence for a minute. I found myself staring at her stomach. It was still as nice and flat as it had always been, but soon it would grow big. The baby was nothing now, just a small, shapeless lump of matter that had evolved from my fastest swimmer, but in nine months it would be a living, breathing human being. It was as terrifying as it was fascinating.

"Melissa, I've been thinking...I want you to have the baby, too. I want to be there for you. Both of you." I said.

She looked at me with such touching sincerity it made my heart ache.

"You really mean that?" She asked.

"Yeah."

She tossed her cigarette away.

"I'm glad." She said.

We shared another silence.

"So do you want to get married?" I asked.

"I don't know what I want. I just think we should see what happens, and make the best of it."

She took my hand in hers. I held it tightly.

"Sounds like a good plan." I said.

She put her arms around me, and I did the same. We sat there, holding each other for a long time. When we broke apart, the sun had risen and another glorious day in the city had begun.

The End