Free The Life We Lead: Ascending by George Nagle

winced as he rolled to the floor. He’d
thought getting up from the floor would be easier than the couch.
He was wrong.
    “Tom,” he said, but Tom was already there,
lifting him.
    “You sure you’re okay? Do you want a pain
killer?”
    “Can’t. Need to make sure there’s no internal
bleeding. Really just need to chill and sleep. I’m going back to
campus and to bed. Please tell Daen thanks for finishing the
briefing. Good night, Tom.”
    “James, call me when you get back. Just to
make sure you don’t pass out and all.” James gave him a thumbs up
and shuffled out, saying, “I will, but it’s only twelve miles away.
I’ll be okay.”

Chapter Four
    Getting back to his room went smoother than
James could have hoped. He wanted to grab an ice pack, but he was
happy just to make it back to his room without being stopped. He
was swinging his legs into bed when Edgar came in.
    “You had a call from Tammy. She asked if
you’d like to meet and go over physical chemistry tomorrow.” Edgar
sat down on Mark’s bed.
    “Okay, thanks. I’ll see her in the morning.
I’m beat and calling it a night.” Edgar ignored the obvious hint
that James didn’t want to talk.
    “Tammy huh? ‘Physical’ chemistry, huh?
Getting a little one-on-one time?” Edgar teased.
    “Don’t be all jealous just because even your
hand rejects you,” James coolly replied. He wanted Edgar to
leave.
    “Whatever,” Edgar said, his classic line when
he had no better response. He got up to leave, which was also
predictable. He was through the door and almost had it shut when he
popped his head back in. “Can I see what you did on the take-home
portion of the accounting final?”
    “I turned that in yesterday.” James tried to
get comfortable without showing he was hurt.
    “What? Why?” Edgar asked indignantly. “It’s
not due ‘til tomorrow.”
    “I told you Sunday I was turning it in early,
for the bonus. You were like, ‘Oh yeah, me, too.’ You went
upstairs, and I figured you did it,” James replied.
    “You were serious? Shit!” Edgar left,
shutting the door, and James shook his head.
    It took him a while to get comfortable enough
to go to sleep, and he was greatly annoyed when, at 3 a.m., he woke
up because he needed to go to the bathroom.
    His first movement to get out of bed made him
gasp in pain. He slowed down and figured out how to raise himself
using the wall and steel beams of the bed that made the footing,
then lifted himself to a vertical position as gently as possible.
This took a minute. When you need to go to the bathroom, that’s a
long time.
    Having made successful use of the toilet
without blood coming out, he checked his side in the mirror.
    Marvelous.
    The bruises were already a lovely blue,
yellow, and black mix, with a center that had yet to completely
darken. He knew it was just getting started.
    He made his way down to the kitchen and got
two zip bags and ice to create a double sealed ice pack. He was
getting ready to turn off the light when he noticed a note by the
phone.
    “James, the Fishermen called at 11:31 p.m.
for you. E”
    Flicking the overhead lights off in the
kitchen, James made his way back upstairs to Edgar, John, and
Dylan’s room. He walked in and bent over to wake up Edgar, then
stopped short. Too awkward. It could wait till morning. James
retreated to his own bed.
    The unwritten rule in the house was minimal
talking in the morning until 10 a.m., with the emphasis on minimal.
Pointing and grunts worked just fine in most cases.
    Edgar was the last one to slosh into the
kitchen the next morning. While he grabbed a toaster pastry, James
asked about the message, which got everyone’s unwanted and
semi-disgruntled attention.
    “Hey, what else did the caller say last
night?” James asked.
    “I told you what she said,” barked Edgar.
    “Not Tammy, ass, that.” James pointed to the
note.
    “Oh, yeah, what the hell is going on? This
douche made a point of saying the time like three