Devoted to Her (Dream Date Book 2) (27 page)

Emmy gave a pout, and then they walked forward.

“I’m glad that we’re going to spend some time with
Brad. I’ve missed him.”

“Brad told me he missed you, too,” Amanda said. “He
looks forward to showing you how he acts.”

“As long as he doesn’t kiss Lizzy, I’m fine with it.”

Judith and Kellan laughed.

“It’s a movie, friend. Actors kiss each other all the
time.”

Emmy pursed her lips.

“I know. I guess I’ll have to handle that.”

On the road, Emmy looked around to see where Kellan
was driving. She was trying to deduce where they were taking her.

In about five minutes, the car pulled into a curb.

“Come on, Emmy. Caldwell will remain in the car.”

When Emmy stepped out, she looked at the buildings
adjacent. Across the street was a unisex salon.

“You brought me to a barber?” Emmy asked.

“I did,” replied Amanda. “You need a makeover. Don’t
you want to look beautiful for Brad?”

Emmy’s eyes lit up at those words.

“Yes. I want to be the only girl Brad has eyes for.”

The salon they were visiting was presumably the best
in Ithaca. Kellan had looked around the city and told Amanda which one to pick.
When they entered, a couple of middle-aged women looked at the newcomers. One
of them was working on a customer.

“Good afternoon,” said the other stylist, glancing at
the four of them. “How can I help you?”

“Our friend here needs a change of look, and a
haircut,” said Amanda. She placed her hands on Emmy’s shoulders from behind.
“She wants to look gorgeous to impress a guy.”

Emmy blushed. The hairstylist nodded.

“You came to the right place. Come over here, honey.
Sit down,” she said to Emmy.

“How long will this take?” she asked.

“That depends on what you want.”

Amanda and Judith went to sit on some chairs by the
front. Kellan walked outside to stand guard.

The stylist first gave Emmy a book containing photos
of different hairstyles. After browsing through it, Emmy chose the look she
wanted. Then the stylist set to work.

Emmy pouted at the small chunks of her hair falling to
the floor, but she couldn’t complain. She hadn’t cut her hair in ages and it
had grown all the way to her elbows. As she was a little short, the hair looked
longer on her than it really was.

Sometime after, the stylist finished. Emmy touched her
hair, awed at the change.

“Wow. It looks spectacular,” she said, smiling. Her
sleek hair was now shorter, falling a bit past her shoulders. It was styled in
a waterfall braid.

“Oh, that looks pretty!” Judith said.

“I agree,” Amanda added. “I’m tempted to get my hair
done like that, too.”

Emmy laughed.

“No. Your hair looks so pretty on you. I like how you
made your bangs fan out to the sides. They frame your face instead of falling
straight down.”

Judith touched Emmy’s hair. It now looked glossy.

“Brad will do a double-take when he sees you. And I
say that as a compliment.”

“Do you like it, Emmy?” the stylist asked.

“I love it. Thank you.”

“I’m glad. Now let’s do the makeup.”

Amanda and Judith stood aside to let the stylist
continue working.

“Don’t overdo it, though. We’re the kind of girls who
prefer not to look too artificial.”

“I get it, sweetie. Then I’ll go for subtle.”

It took another quarter hour for the stylist to apply makeup
on Emmy.

“Girls, what do you think?” asked the stylist. Amanda
nodded.

“Not even Lizzy’s going to keep Brad’s attention with
you in the room, friend.”

Emmy smiled, beaming.

“That’s it. You can stand now, sweetie.”

Emmy got up from her chair. She looked herself in the
mirror from all angles.

“It’s amazing how a change of look can make such an
impact,” she said. Emmy was of only average looks, but when she prettied up,
she could turn heads.

The stylist gave them the bill. Amanda paid it.

“You don’t have to,” Emmy said.

“Think of it as a gift. If Brad doesn’t put his eye on
you after this, I don’t know what else to do.”

After paying, Amanda and her friends walked back
outside. Judith and Emmy were the first to cross the street to the car. Amanda
went next. Simultaneously, Kellan received a text message. He reached into his
jacket pocket.

In the next couple of seconds, they heard the sound of
screeching tires. Kellan looked up. Amanda was still in the middle of the road.
Judith and Emmy were just getting in the car. To the right, an unknown truck
sped right toward Amanda.

Kellan didn’t think about it. He ran forward. Amanda
looked at the incoming truck, freezing in panic. Just then, something pushed
her hard. Then she heard a thud. Amanda fell to the ground.

“Amanda!” Judith said.
She and Emmy rushed toward her. Caldwell got out of the car. He quickly brought
his gun up, firing two shots. He cursed and aimed for the tires, but missed.
The truck turned at a corner and disappeared.

Christopher did not fancy going out in winter when he
was sick. He was just recovering from the common cold. A few minutes earlier,
Christopher had been resting in bed. That was when Rebecca had called. She
asked him to pick her up. Christopher was reluctant to go, but Rebecca had no
one else to turn to. Besides, she sounded strange. It was as if she were in
pain or something.

On the next intersection, Christopher turned. A few
feet ahead, he saw the truck Rebecca had mentioned. She was inside it, on the
driver’s seat. Christopher parked his car and then walked toward her.

“About time,” said Rebecca. She had her eyes closed,
and her mouth was pursed in pain. There was a light sheen of sweat on her
forehead, despite the cold weather. Christopher glanced down at her right hand.
It was covered in blood. He looked up and saw that the car seat was almost
soaked in it.

“You’re hurt,” he said, blanching. “What have you been
doing?”

“Don’t ask questions. Just drive me to my place.”

Christopher blinked twice, confused.

“Are you mad? You won’t make it! We have to get you to
a hospital.”

“It’s just a graze. Now shut up and move.”

Despite the pain, there was still fire in Rebecca’s
eyes.

“Fine, fine. Let me get you to my car.”

“Take this one!”

“No way. They’ll ask questions.”

“It’ll be a lot worse to leave it behind. They’ll find
my blood and…just do what I say.”

Christopher reached behind Rebecca. He felt blood on
her back, realizing it was a gunshot wound. Gingerly, Christopher helped
Rebecca out of the truck. He set her on the backseat and took off her jacket.
She reclined across, face down.

“I have to tend to your injury,” Christopher said. He
walked around to the other door.

“Do you…even know what you’re doing?”

Honestly, Christopher didn’t. But he’d seen enough
people hurt (on TV) to know the basics. Christopher grabbed a pair of scissors
from the glove compartment. He cut open part of the sleeve of Rebecca’s sweater
and the blouse under it. The wound didn’t look too bad.

Christopher grabbed some tape he had in the center
console. Then he cut a square chunk of the jacket. He pressed it against the
wound.

“Argh!” Rebecca said. Christopher kept the square in
place with tape.

“I hope this slows down your loss of blood. The
jacket’s waterproof, so I assume it’ll help.”

“Fine. Now let’s go. I’ll tell you what to do.”
Rebecca took a deep breath. “I got in touch with a doctor I know. He’s on his
way here.”

“That’s great.”

Christopher closed the door and walked over to the
driver’s side. He didn’t bother to clean up the blood on the seat. Christopher
started the truck and drove.

“Leave me in my apartment. Hide my key under the pot
outside, the one on the right of the door. That way the doctor will be able to
enter.”

“You want me to just leave you there?”

“I’ll be fine. You need to take this truck.” Rebecca
gritted her teeth. “Hide it in the forest. Burn it.”

“You are one crazy girl, Sis.”

Rebecca didn’t reply.

“Are you feeling well enough to be out for a little
longer?” she asked.

“I’m not sure. I don’t want to relapse just now that
I’m healthy again.”

“You won’t be outdoors. Relax. There’s something else
you can do…once you’ve got rid of the truck.”

Christopher waited for Rebecca to speak.

“Your dear Amanda is at the hospital.”

After mentioning that, Christopher almost brushed into
a car driving in the other lane. They were going in the same direction, but
still.

“Again? What did you do to her now?”

Rebecca raised her eyebrows. Christopher didn’t see
that, as his focus was on the road.

“Nothing.”

Christopher took a deep breath.

“Is she fine?”

“I don’t know. You find out,” she replied weakly.

Rebecca didn’t say
anything more. Christopher looked over at her. She had passed out.

In the hospital waiting room, Amanda waited with
Judith and Emmy. They’d been there for the past half hour, with no update from
the doctor. They had tended to Amanda, but only briefly. She’d sustained an
abrasion on her arm when Kellan had pushed her.

Caldwell was standing guard nearby. He stood with his
back against the wall. Amanda was so anxious that she wanted to stand up and
begin pacing. Why was the doctor taking so long to bring them answers?

Judith put an arm on Amanda’s shoulder.

“Would you like to go for some coffee?”

Amanda shook her head, panicked.

“I’m not moving from here until the doctor speaks to
us. Kellan risked his life for me. I won’t leave him.”

Emmy and Judith both placed an arm around Amanda. They
tried to reassure her.

At that moment, Christopher burst into the room.
Amanda’s eyes widened in utter shock.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, standing up.
Christopher halted on his way to her.

“I heard about what happened, home girl. They said you
were in the hospital again. I wanted to see that you were all right.”

“How did you find out?” Amanda demanded. Emmy and
Judith were also looking at Christopher with suspicion. He scrambled to think
of a suitable response.

“I…well, I was just at your apartment right now. You
weren’t there, so I turned to leave. Then a neighbor of yours walks up and I
ask her if she knows where you are. That’s when she tells me that you’d just
called her. She said you were at the hospital. So I made my way here.”

Christopher was glad that he’d thought of getting an
alibi in case Amanda questioned him. Rebecca hadn’t told him much, so he went
to Amanda’s apartment to see what he could find out.

Amanda, seeming satisfied, walked back to her seat and
dropped down on it.

“Sorry. I didn’t expect to see you here,” Amanda said.
“I called my neighbor in case any of my friends showed up to my place.”

Christopher nodded. He sat down next to Judith.

“Are you waiting for the doctor to release you?”

Amanda shook her head.

“No. Kellan got hurt. I…I was almost run over by a
truck. He pushed me out of the way and got hit.”

Amanda cried again, looking down at the floor.

Finally, the doctor showed up. Judith poked Amanda’s
shoulder. She looked up and then stood. Caldwell also walked toward them.

“Family of Mr. Kellan Hughes?”

“They’re not here. We’re his friends,” Amanda said,
introducing herself. “How is he, Doctor?”

The doctor took a deep breath, and then spoke.

“The patient is still in critical condition. He
sustained multiple fractures, including his left arm and some ribs on the right
side of his body. He’s also lost his spleen.”

Amanda gasped. She covered her face with her hands.
Christopher heard her sobbing.

“Is he stable?” Judith asked. The doctor shook his
head. Amanda looked at him in panic.

“Not yet. I need someone to notify his family, just in
case the worst happens. Some of Mr. Hughes’ internal organs sustained
considerable trauma. He is still in observation due to his hemothorax.”

Amanda and her friends looked confused.

“Hemothorax?”

The doctor nodded.

“That’s internal bleeding in the chest area. In this
case, the cause is damage to the lung and surrounding tissue due to the broken
ribs. If left untreated, the patient can suffer a collapsed lung from the blood
that accumulates. That can lead to death.”