cuffs of her sleeves, were soaked with maroon blood. Her hands felt brittle as the crimson substance dried, creeping into the cracks of her skin, seeming to soak into her very essence. She chuckled, a haunting, dry laugh, one devoid of humor. “Well sir, I have no clue whose this is, I’m perfectly alright!” She laughed harder. Tears began streaming down her cheeks as her laughs turned to agonizing wails. Through her blurry vision she could see the young man’s expression, he looked almost frightened. She clutched her stomach and screamed “My goodness, I’ve ruined my blouse!” Her laughter devolved into hysteric cries as she doubled over and realized he was gone. Joey was gone. Her little boy. Her whole world. It stung like a bullet between the eyes. Her laughs slowly became weaker, she began to cough. An empty, hollow sound. She slumped to the ground and feebly attempted to wipe the dried blood on her hands on the rough doormat she sat on. The paramedic watched her with a knot in his own stomach as he watched Nina stare once again onto the lawn where you could see a small figure under a white sheet in the rear of an ambulance. A police officer walked up the steps and stopped next to the man. Over the sound of her own raspy breathing, she heard the officer say to the man, “We’re going to catch this guy. We have to.” The paramedic nodded at the police officer and walked apprehensively towards her. “Ma’am, please come with me.”
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