CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
The trip to the hospital was a blur. I was on autopilot and didn’t remember even getting in my car, let alone driving. My mind was in a fog, and the only clear image I could see was Jillian’s face. I had barely put my car in park near the entrance of the emergency room before I ran out of it. I left the keys in the ignition and didn’t even bother to close the front door. If they wanted to tow it, fine.
I scanned the ER waiting room, hoping to see someone who could give me more information. When I didn’t see anyone I knew, I flew up the stairs, taking them two at a time, to check the waiting room near the surgical floor.
Ava paced the hall, and I allowed my heart to drop out of my throat slightly. If she were pacing, it meant she was waiting. Which meant there was still hope. Trish was crying on JT’s shoulder, as he hugged and rocked her slightly in an attempt to comfort her. I found his presence odd but dropped it from my mind immediately. Jillian was my number one concern.
“Please, tell me you know something more,” I begged, running up to them. Tears brimmed, but I blinked them away.
“Her parents are in with the doctors and police now. We should know more soon,” Ava said.
The next twenty minutes were my worst nightmare come to life. The entire situation conjured up so many memories of my mother and the agony of losing her. I remembered the doctors coming out, in their long white coats and solemn faces. My dad knew before they said a word. He crumbled to the ground and begged for it not to be true. I stood, stunned into silence, as the doctors gave us their sympathies and assured us they did everything they could. That everything wasn’t good enough. And now…If Jillian didn’t make it…
My legs tapped incessantly. I leaned my head into my hands, pressing my thumbs against my eyes as a stress headache formed. I couldn’t sit; my body was too tightly wound, so I began to pace. As I wore a path in the carpet, I remembered it was only few weeks before, when I was trying to soothe an anxious Jillian as she awaited news. And now here I was, in the same predicament.
Her parents came out from an adjoining room, both looking like they’d been run over by a truck. Mrs. Mayfield’s eyes were bloodshot with dark circles under them. She was clutching a tissue, slowly shredding it. Her husband looked pissed, like he wanted an outlet for his emotions.
Ava, Trish, and I stood when they entered. I held my breath and waited for what they had to say.
“She’s in surgery. The fall broke her leg, cracked several ribs, and punctured a lung. They’re going to look for any internal bleeding, too. We won’t know more until after they’ve gone in and had a look at the full extent of the damage.” Her bottom lip quivered, and she turned to her husband, burrowing into his side as she broke down again.
“The police found evidence of a break in, but nothing was stolen. We think maybe she startled the burglar or something and tried to escape,” her dad said.
“No, sir. It wasn’t a burglar.”
We all turned at the sound of the new voice. It was Jillian’s ex-boyfriend, Christian. Someone had worked him over pretty bad. His arm was in a sling, and he had fresh bruises and cuts all over his face.
“I’m afraid this is all my fault.”
“Christian?” her mom questioned, leaning over to make sure she was seeing right. “What do you mean this was all your fault?”
I growled, and JT stood next to me, ready to intervene. We’d talked several times over the last few weeks about him, and JT knew that I despised the prick already. And now this? I was out of mercy.
“She was attacked because of me. It was a guy who I owed money to, and Jillian happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time last week. When he came to collect today, I tried to keep her name out of it. But he beat it out of me.”
He gave this guy her name? Are you f*cking kidding me? He basically fed her to the wolves, the f*ckin’ coward. I didn’t think my opinion of him could be any less than it already was, but he just lowered that bar into the ground.
I lost it. My hands fisted instantaneously, and I took a step forward, ready to attack. Since the drug dealer didn’t finish the job and kill Christian, now I was going to. My fist flew into his face, making contact. I could hear the bone in his nose crunch beneath my fist. I pulled back and punched him again, making contact with his jaw this time. Blood spilled onto the floor and I could hear Mrs. Mayfield cry out in surprise. JT grabbed at me, attempting to pull me off of Christian, who lay limp in the fetal position below me.
“This is your fault, you stupid son-of-a-bitch!” I twisted out of the arms holding me back and rammed my fist in his face again, seeing nothing but red. My fists continued to pound the bastard’s face until I was once again pulled off him. “I swear to God, if you ever so much as even think about stepping in the same zip code as her again, I will rip out your spine and feed it to you before breaking every bone in your body.”
The prick lay on the ground, his chest heaving as he tried to take a ragged breath. Red mucus-streaked blood dripped out of his mouth and down his chin. He spat out a tooth, spraying blood on the ground at my feet. He never bothered to try to stand back up. It was a smart decision on his part, because I’d just knock him back down.
“Dude, enough!” JT tightened his grip on my arms as blood dripped from my knuckles.
The f*cker’s eyes held genuine remorse as he glanced around the room at each of us.
“I had no idea this would happen. She wasn’t supposed to do that. They weren’t supposed to hurt her. I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry for everything,” he moaned.
The words and his regret weren’t enough to make up for his actions, but before I could strike again he whispered, “Please, tell me she’s going to be okay. That she’s not…”
The words broke me. My vision blurred behind the tears that welled in my eyes. Was she going to...? She couldn’t…? How did this happen? How did I let myself fail to protect her? She trusted me, and I let her down. I wanted to blame him, but really I had no one to blame but myself. I failed her.
My shoulders slumped as all my anger turned to fear. Fear for her. Fear of a future without her in it. I needed to see her, needed to make sure she was okay. But that wasn’t possible now. The only thing I could do was wait. Sit and wait for whatever way this turned out.
Because no matter what happened, by the end of tonight my life would never be the same again.
The police arrived upon hearing the shouts of the fight. Two officers stepped between us, demanding to know what was going on. Christian sat still on the floor but didn’t say a word. It was JT who finally stepped up and began to fill them in.
“This is Jillian’s ex-boyfriend. He’s the one who sent the guy to her house. He’s a drug dealer, and Jillian found his stash of product last week. When she flushed it, he hit her. Then this morning, like a little bitch, he told his supplier what she did, essentially sending the guy to go kill her. He’s the one you should be arresting.”
The shorter of the two officers looked at Christian, battered and bloody, and then at me. “And where do you fit in?”
Christian, Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield, and the officers turned to me, awaiting an answer. It was a complex answer. I wasn’t sure how I should reply, but it wasn’t necessary. JT stepped in again.
“My boy here was outraged when he heard what this punk did to Jillian. He was just tellin’ Chris he needed to turn himself into the cops and tell you guys everything he knows, wasn’t he, Chris?”
Christian nodded and slumped his shoulders. He knew his fate was sealed. “Yes, that’s what happened.”
The officers didn’t buy that I was totally innocent in this for a second, but no way would Christian press charges. After an awkward silence, the short officer leaned over and grabbed Christian by the arm, hoisting him up.
“Son, seems like you have some information pertinent to this case. We’re going to need you to come with us to the station.”
They paused as they passed by me. “And we’ll need you to be available in case we need to speak with you later as well.”
I looked the officer in the eye. “I’ll be right here. I’m not going anywhere until I know Jillian’s going to be okay. No matter how long that takes.”
The officer nodded in understanding and led Christian away. I sat back down and let out a breath.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. and Mrs. Mayfield. I shouldn’t have gone off like that. I don’t usually go around starting fights, but I lost it when he showed up.”
Mr. Mayfield scoffed. “Son, if you weren’t going to hit him, I was. And I don’t know if I would have had the willpower to stop.”
Things quieted down after that, everyone reverting into their own thoughts and worries. For several hours, the room was silent save for the sounds of sniffing, pacing, and nervous drumming.
The silence was deafening, and the lack of any news from the doctor was driving me absolutely f*ckin’ insane. I needed a distraction. JT was on the couch, an arm slung comfortably around Trish. He caught me eyeing him, and I tilted my head in indication to follow me. He stood and followed me to the hallway, where I pretended to get a cup of water.
“What’s up with you and Trish? You guys were all cuddly last night, but I didn’t realize it would last longer than that. Most of your relationships don’t.”
JT smiled sheepishly. “I don’t know, man, I really like her. She’s got a wicked sense of humor, and she’s a lot of fun to be around.”
“Well, I’m happy for you then. I was surprised, she’s not the type you usually go after.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But the usual girl I go after hasn’t worked out for me so well.” He paused, looking over at Trish, who was sitting with Ava flipping through Cosmo. “But look at her. That lush little body has curves in all the right places. And God, can she work them. Did you see her on the dance floor? So f*ckin’ hot.”
I did see her. Trish exuded more self-confidence than most girls her age, and it looked great on her. But for me, Jillian outshined them all.
“Just don’t hurt her. ‘Cause then that’ll hurt Jillian. And then I’ll be forced to kill you.”
JT laughed. “Nah, I’m not letting this one get away so easily.”
We filled a few cups to pass around and headed back. Just before we crossed the threshold, JT stepped in front of me.
“You know she’s gonna be okay, right? That girl’s a fighter. And she just got her hooks into you. She won’t give that up so easily.”
I smiled. “Damn right she’s not getting rid of me so easily.”