Storymania - My Artificial Heart by Joshua B Ramirez

My Artificial Heart (20)
Joshua B Ramirez

"Where does the bank keep all their money?" Tammy wasn't too familiar with banks.
"In the safe."
"How can they keep so much money in a safe? The one we have is too small to fit a piggy bank in it." Tammy was puzzled at the thought of so much money in such a small place.
"They got a really big safe."

"Oh... Hey, if someone knew how to open it then they could get all the money for themselves. We could try that!"
"Yeah, but it's illegal."
"Illegal? Oh, so maybe it ain't such a good idea."
"Lots of people still try it though, that's why banks get robbed a lot." Tammy shuddered.
"Oh no! I don't like banks anymore!"
"Bank robbing doesn't happen that often though, and most of the time they just want the money when they rob a bank. I'm sure we're safe right now."

"Dreeve, it's her!" Suddenly the safe illusion I was trying to portray to Tammy left me as well. Laura, the same bitch that was suing me walked out of the girl's restroom. Out of all the days!
"Oh shit." I cussed out loud, almost too loud because the people in front of me in line turned to me suspiciously.
"She's coming this way." The aging, scrawny lady in front of me turned and waved to Laura. Laura smiled her crooked little smile at her as she took her place right in front of me.

"Hey! She can't do that!" Tammy intervened. As she was right there in front of me my eyes wondered off to her plump ass, even when she was suing me for $500,000 she was still so god damn sexy. I quickly covered my face with my eyes, I wasn't about to get another lawsuit on me.

"Thanks for saving my spot." She thanked the old lady.
"Oh, it's not a problem deary."
"Oh yes it is! That bitch! I'd strangle her if I had arms!" Tammy tugged at me, as if to request that I'd do the strangling for her.

"As long as she doesn't look back then we should be ok." I tried to calm Tammy down, even though I felt like strangling Laura myself as well. Sneezing is an involuntary response, and I guess that laws of probabilities never did work for me anyways. I erupted in a thundering sneeze.

That's when she turned to me, and being the little miss perfect bitch that she was she just had to say, "Bless you." Her manners were as good as her memory, it didn't take long for her to recognize my cursed face.

"You again!?" Her jaw dropped in the typical bitch manner that I had witnessed in many a soap opera. Her flawless face made an even more chiseled frown. My cover was blown. I had to say something. This time I was going to hold my ground, I wasn't going to run away.

"I-I'm just here to get some cash."
"What a disaster it is meeting up with you." she said in sync with her blinking eyes.
"Hey, this is a public place. I didn't know you were here alright."
"That's not a very good excuse, you know I could report you for violating your restraining order." Ok, now I was pissed.
"My restraining order? Hey, I'm not the one who went psycho and sued me for half a million dollars!"
"Oh, well excuse me! I'm not the one who's such a sick pervert who can't even keep his eyes to himself!" Tammy's song hastened, she began to feel my anger just as bad as I was. She rushed to accommodate the increase of adrenaline, but already she was being overworked.
"Look, I'm just here to get the money to pay the stupid lawsuit. So this can all be done and over with and we can all get on with our miserable lives! I'm doing what your stupid lawyer told the court to make me do and that's it, there's nothing illegal, or wrong about me being at the goddamn bank! Now if you can just shut up, take your place in line and you'll soon have your $500,000 to pay for your next breast enlargement!" I stuttered on the last word, suddenly regretting having said that.

"Yay! You show her Dreeve." Tammy was the built in cheerleader, good old Tammy.

"I will not take those insults from you! Now if you want me to have you arrested I'd kindly suggest you leave now!" She pouted her lips and crossed her arms, as if to try and scare me away by that alone.
"What are you going to do? Sue me for another $500,000? That will make you an instant millionaire just by suing me." I taunted her, for once I felt like I was in control of a fight.

"Is there a problem here?" A man in uniform, gun on the side and arms crossed saying those famous words that always proceeded trouble. I should've known my victoy would only be temporary, I was screwed.
"This man is violating his restraining order! I've asked him kindly to leave but he refuses!" I wasn't going to give in so easily, not now, what would Tammy think of a guy who couldn't even stand up for himself?
"Look, I didn't even know she was here when I got in line. In fact you should kick her out, she cut in front of me." I thought that was a good enough reason. If it were up to me I'd have her kicked out just for being a bitch!
"I was saving her place young man!" The old lady joined in. Two women were on my ass now, the security guard would be the one to decide my fate. The security guard wore his wrinkles like medals on an old and tired veteran, he bit his lips as if he had heard one too many arguments, probably from his own family.
"Well, this is a public place ma'am." That was completely unexpected, could it be that I actually had a chance to win this thing?
"He insulted me and talked about my breast! Do you think that's a very lawful thing to do? I want him out now!" The security guard looked at me with the same worn out face, we seemed to sympathize with each other. I didn't want to add another wrinkle to his pug face so I figured I had to take the loss like I always did. With another loss added to the scorecard I had the sudden urge to take a wiz.

"Fine, I'll come back later. But can I at least use the restroom? You can't deny me the right to take a god damn piss now can you?" He nodded at me and then turned to the women,
"Let him do his business, don't worry I'll make sure he doesn't bother you anymore." The security guard shrugged at me. I quickly proceeded over to the men's restroom, I had been holding it since I was midway through that long line.

"I hate that bitch!" Tammy cussed out, she had learned that word from me. Guess I should've watched my language more. I pushed the door open and scuttled over to the nearest urinary. The restroom was dead quiet, no one else was there except for Tammy and I. I unzipped my pants and pissed to the peaceful echo of the men's restroom. I looked up at the wall, because Tammy was embarrassed and felt uncomfortable being inside the men's restroom let alone watching me take a wiz.

"Ok, I'm done." Tammy opened her eyes again. I went over to the sink and began washing my hands. I watched my beaten face in the mirror.
"Don't feel bad Dreeve. That old lady and that bitch Laura, they're not women. A woman would never even think of doing mean stuff like they did to you. Laura is just a mean person who take's advantage of her sex to steal money from nice guys like you." I smiled at Tammy through the mirror and placed my hand on my chest.
"Thanks Tammy, at least that time I didn't just give in." That was a great accomplishment, for me at least.
"It's ok Dreeve, you don't need to impress me. You already have."
"Tammy..."

A resounding chain of thunder went off, the explosions were intensified in the loud echo of the restroom. Tammy screamed inside me, causing a sharp pain to pulsate inside me chest. I quickly covered her with my hand to shield her from the crashing noise just outside the restroom. It didn't take long for me to realize what that was. That old, familiar sound of death...
"What was that Dreeve?" Tammy said, not bothering to hide her panic.

"Gunshots."

"Gunshots? Guns shoot out bullets, and bullets kill people! Oh, I really really hate banks now!" I took cover behind a bathroom stall, and tried to sort things out.

I kept my arm on my chest, if a stray bullet headed my way it would have to go through my hands before it got to Tammy! Tammy shuddered on the brink of panic, and when Tammy panicked that meant a heart attack, I desperately tried keeping her calm. I had trouble keeping myself calm, it seemed you could never get used to those damn guns. I had heard them so many times before, it was nothing new, hell I'd even been shot before. But Tammy had only heard gunshots on TV, in the safety of our own home. Whoever it was who was out there sounded like he had an automatic rifle, no normal pistol could shoot that fast. I could hear muffled orders being given out ruthlessly by the robber. We waited and waited, it was so quite again that Tammy and I could hear each other perfectly. Her hurried and stressed heartbeat and my rough and frantic breathing. That's when another burst of gunfire rang out, it reverberated through the restroom sending a chill down my back.

"Let go of me!" I recognized that voice instantly, but I had to confirm my fears. I stepped out of the stall.
"Dreeve? Where we going? Don't go out there. Just don't! We'll get killed." Tammy clinged to my hands.
"I'm just going to take a quick look, we'll be fine I promise."
Tammy clinged even closer to my hand, she was being pushed beyond her limits, but her song still persisted. Neither of us wanted to have a heart attack again, not now. Making each step as slowly and carefully as if I were walking on the moon. I reached the door leading out of the restroom. Luckily the door was already cracked open, I gave it a small tug and peeked out the opening.
"Tammy! It's her! It's Trissa!" I peered through the small opening and confirmed what my eyes were seeing. "The robber, he has her! Damn it! That bastard, he has Trissa."

"I'm scared Dreeve." Her song became even faster, adrenaline coursed through my veins.
"We gotta do something, there's just one guy, maybe we can-"
"This is too much Dreeve! Don't do this, remember what Trissa did to you!? She deserves what she gets! We're safe here, we just gotta wait it out."
"This is my chance Tammy, this is my chance to clear my name! Become a hero, prove my manliness! I gotta do this. This is my only chance to apologize to Trissa..." Tammy was beating rapidly, I felt her pain and tried to comfort her.

"And if this doesn't work? What then? You'll be shot! Remember when you were shot?"

Thoughts raced back to that terrible night, the edgy policeman, the shiny barrel of the .45 revolver. Trissa’s tears falling like rain off a water drain. The loud bang and the piercing, stunning pain. The pain, the incredible pain.
"Do you really want that to happen again? Don't do this Dreeve. I don't want you to die on me."
"Tammy, thank you so much for everything. But I must do this. You said you'd be there for me no matter what. Now I need you more than ever. " Tammy kept up her song, and suddenly I felt her rhythm become louder.
"You're right. We're in this together Dreeve, I won't abandon you. You're good at throwing knives, that's your gift. I won't be afraid anymore. We can do this Dreeve."
"Thank you Tammy.... Trissa, I hope this is enough!"

I opened the door slightly, everyone was huddled close to the ground. The robber was in plain sight, giving out orders. Just then I caught sight of Laura, she was kneeling almost right next to the robber. Her eyes filled with fear. She caught sight of me, and her face suddenly changed. She no longer looked at me through the arrogant, supermodel eyes that she had, she looked at me through the eyes of a scared child. It was so strange to see such a powerful and hurtful figure humbled before the all ending authority of a gun. I ducked back into the room. I did this for Trissa, I reminded myself. Trissa Meyers, my love, my one true source of pain and suffering. Why I did this for her, I'd probably never know.

I grasped the edge of my switchblade tight in my hands. I lifted it up close to my face. Without another thought I kicked the door abruptly, seconds slowed down, Tammy's song remained constant, cheering me on. My arm shot back and then sprung forward like a hammer, I let the blade go and it went spinning through the air in a perfect arc. Trissa screamed franticly, the robber turned to the disruption. Suddenly I found myself staring into his eyes. The moment our eyes met my courage simply dissapeared, I was a coward again, all that remained was complete disregard to my own life. My switchblade found its mark, lodging itself perfectly through his unshielded throat.

"Dreeve, you did it! You got him!" Tammy laughed like a little girl. I smiled in spite of myself. But my smile was only temporary.

A burst of gunfire rang out.
"Tammy!"
"Dreeve!"

A train hit me, my body was thrown back into the wall, leaving a trail of blood flinging through the air. "Damn it! Not again!" I found myself reliving the past again, the overwhelming, excruciating pain that just wouldn't stop. "Not again!" My hand felt for the wound, as I slumped up against the now bloodied bank wall. First my left shoulder, then my right, and then my chest... A large bloody gap laid dead center in my chest,
"TAMMY!!!" I didn't care if I died or not, Tammy had been hit! "Tammy, are you ok? Say something, talk to me! Tell me you're ok!"

"Dreeve..." Her song was uneven, it had lost all synchronization. Her words choked on the blood that spewed forth from me. "Dreeve, I don't feel so good. I don't get what's happening. This feeling, it, it hurts!"
I quickly placed my hands on the open bullet hole. As if by doing so I could block out death from taking Tammy away. "Tammy, you've been shot. You're feeling pain. I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have never done that!"

"Then... I'm dying?"
"No, you're not dying! You're going to be ok! Just hang in there."
"I feel so cold." I huddled closer to Tammy, in a futile attempt to keep her warm. "I'm so sorry, I can't sing anymore. It's just too cold."

I lifted my blood soaked hand and quickly looked down at Tammy. I found the bullet hole that tore a path right through her metallic body.

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