Authors: Melanie J. Cole
I see a boy running across the street, into the woods. What is he doing? It’s after ten o’clock, and it’s so cold.
I slip on some shoes, and wrap my blanket around me. I can hear the television, so I know my parents are still up. If I ask them to let me go outside, I know what their answer will be.
I slide my window up, and slip outside. I stop at the street and look both ways
, before I cross.
It doesn’t take me long to find the boy. He’s sitting on the frozen g
round, shaking from head to toe. Why didn’t he put on a coat? His eyes are closed, and his lip is bleeding – really bad.
I watch him for several seconds, trying to figure out what to say to him.
After a few seconds, he startles, and blinks up at me. His eyes are wide, and filled with a mixture of sadness and pure fear. It breaks my heart. I want to help him, but I don’t know how.
I don’t think there are any words, that I could say, that will erase that kind of fear and sadness. But
, I can try to warm him up. I sit down next to him, and wrap one side of my blanket around him. He doesn’t try to pull away from me, so I take his hand. It’s cold, and he’s shaking. I rest my head against his shoulder, and begin humming the song my Mom had been listening to earlier, while she was cleaning the house. Its Keith Whitley’s ‘When you say nothing at all.’ I love that song.
I don’t know what ever happened to that boy. I never saw him again, after that night. I wonder what he’d look like today. This is so weird. Why am I thinking about
this, now? That was several years ago.
Hey, where am I? I can hear sirens, and every now and then, I see flickers of red dancing in front of my vision. What happened to me? I feel so numb.
Several images flicker through my mind. It’s kind of like I’m watching several different movies all at once.
I see Aaron, holding a gun at me. This fades and I see Trent, we’re in the pool, and he’s asking if he can kiss me. Now, I’m sitting on the ground humming to
that boy, from so long ago.
Oh! My! God! Trent! Now, I know why he always looked so familiar. I do know him! Trent is the one humming to me – or was – humming to me. The sirens are getting louder, drowning everything out. No! I don’t want to hear the sirens
, anymore. I want Trent! Where are you, Trent?
My thoughts are becoming a jumbled mess, as the darkness overtakes me, again.
CHAPTER 60
TRENT
I feel numb, like I’m stuck inside of a nightmare. I did everything
- except beg the receptionist - to tell me how Karma was - but all I got was that she was in emergency surgery. The doctor is supposed to let me know when it’s over.
I’m sitting in a hard plastic chair, staring at the large double doors. I can’t believe how many people are here. There are kids crying, and one man is holding a blood soaked towel over his hand. When the doors open, I can see red lights lighting up the dark parking lot. It’s raining – hard.
Why is this taking so fucking long? What in the hell, did Aaron do to her? I lean forward and bury my face in my hands. There is so much fucking noise! I just want to drown it all out.
“Trent!” I jerk my head up, and see Anna, Dusty, and Jude rushing towards me.
“What happened? Where is Karma?” Anna is in a panic.
I hold my hands up, and shake my head. “All I know is that she’s in emergency surgery.”
“What is she in surgery for?” Dusty asks.
“I don’t have a clue. No one will tell me anything. I found her on the floor, bleeding. It looked like Aaron beat the shit out of her.” I rub the back of my neck - roughly.
Anna gasps, and cups her hand over her mouth.
Dusty wraps his arm around her, and brings her up against him. “Aaron was at the club?”
I run my hand through my hair. Here we go. They’re probably going to hate me
, for leaving her alone. Hell, I hate myself.
“Dave and Sherry set me up. They told Aaron that Karma was going to be there. I don’t know what Sherry said to her, but Karma left the club with her. Aaron must have followed them home.”
“Sherry,” Dusty growls. “I knew there was something about that little bitch, that I didn’t like. She was the one that told us about the club.”
“Oh my God, Aaron knows where we live.” Anna whispers.
I nod my head solemnly. “It looks like it. I never should have left her alone. I knew better.”
Anna puts her hand on
my shoulder. “Hey, this is not your fault. You had no way of knowing.”
Dusty nods his head. “Yeah, none of us did.”
I look over at Jude. He’s standing to the side with his head lowered. “What are you doing here?”
He looks up at me and motions towards Anna and Dusty. “They were in no shape to drive, so I brought them.”
It’s odd, seeing him being so serious. “Thank you.”
“No problem.”
We all sit down and begin staring out the doors. After several minutes, Anna leaps to her feet. “I can’t take it anymore. I’m going to go and get some coffee. Does anybody else want anything?”
Jude holds his finger up. “I’ll take a coffee.”
I shake my head. “I’m good.”
Dusty stands up
, and hooks his arm through hers. “Come on, honey. I’ll go with you.”
I tip my head back
, and run both of my hands through my hair. I’m not the most patient person, and this is getting ridiculous.
I’m on the verge of busting through the doors - and going through every Goddamn room until I find Karma – when a man wearing green scrubs, steps out and looks around.
“Who is here with,” he looks down at the chart in his hands. “Karma Davis…”
I’m on my feet
, moving towards him within the blink of an eye. My heart is thundering in my ears. “I am.” I swallow hard, and clench my hands into fists. Please, let her be okay.
He looks up at me. “Well, we removed the bullet.”
Bullet!? He fucking shot her! “She was shot?”
He nods his head solemnly. “You didn’t know?”
I shake my head. “No, I didn’t know.”
The good doctor doesn’t look convinced. “As I was saying, we removed the bullet. She was really lucky. It somehow, managed to miss all of her internal organs.”
I release a small sigh of relief. “So, she’s going to be okay?”
He nods his head. “Yeah, she’s lost a lot of blood, and her blood pressure kept dropping, during surgery. But we’re giving her blood, and medication to elevate her blood pressure, right now. I’ll have a nurse notify you, once she’s been moved to a private room.”
He turns his back on me, but stops when he reaches the door. “One more thing,” he eyes me suspiciously. “The police have been notified. With the angle that the bullet entered her abdomen, there’s no way it could have been self inflicted.”
Why in the hell is he telling me this? I didn’t fucking shoot her! I would have taken the bullet for her - in a heartbeat.
I drag my fingers down my jaw line, trying to get my temper in check. Aaron fucking shot her! He better pray that the police find him, before I do. Because, I won’t be nearly as gentle with him, as they will.
“Trent,” I turn around and see Dusty and Anna, watching me. Jude is standing next to them with his hands in his pockets.
Dusty steps up next to me. “Was that the doctor? What did he say?”
“Yeah, that was the doctor. Aaron fucking shot her!”
I snap.
All of their mouths fall open instantaneously.
I hold my hands up, before they can jump to the worst conclusion. “He said, she’s going to be okay. They’re supposed to let us know when they move her to a room.”
“Here,” Dusty hands Anna his coffee. “I’m going to go call her parents.” He pulls his phone out, and begins dialing, as he walks towards the exit.
CHAPTER 61
KARMA
Beep! Beep! Beep! I reach my hand out, feeling for my alarm clock. Where is it? My head is pounding, and my mouth feels fuzzy. What the hell? It feels like something is on my arm, but I’m too weak to move it.
I finally manage to blink my eyes open. Everything is blurry. I squeeze my eyes shut, and reopen them. They’ve cleared some, but everything still looks slightly distorted.
The walls are a light cream color. There’s a border around the top of the room
. It has several different kinds of pastel flowers on it. Where in the hell, am I?
I roll my head over to the side, and see Trent slumped over in a chair.
Holy shit! I remember! Aaron shot me! I also remember - that I know Trent from a long time ago.
“Trent,” my voice is hoarse. I reach my hand out towards him, and see that I have an I.V. in my hand. I clear my throat. “Trent, can you hear me?”
He inhales deeply through his nose, rolls his head to the side, and jumps. His eyes go wide when they fall on me.
He jumps to his feet, and walks over to me. “Hey, you’re awake.” He gently brushes my hair off of my forehead. “How are you feeling? Do you want me to go and get the nurse?”
I shake my head, slowly. “No. I know you.”
His brows press together. “Of course, you know me. Are you sure you don’t need a nurse?”
He looks like I’ve completely lost my mind.
“That’s not what I mean.”
He leans down and presses his lips against my forehead. “What do you mean, Karma?”
I sigh. “I remember you. I remember humming to you, when you were cold and scared.” I pull back slightly, so that I can look him in the eye. “You hummed the same song to me, didn’t you?”
His eyes search mine intently. “Yeah, I did.” His voice is soft and gentle.
“Did you know that was me, all of this time?” I have a pretty good idea, that he did, but I want to be sure.
He sits down on the edge of the bed, and takes my hand into his. He begins tracing his thumb around the tape covering my i.v.. “Yeah, I knew. I’ve dreamed about you - ever single night - for the past eight years.”
I pull my eyebrows together. I’m so confused. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
He shrugs his shoulders, and looks deep into my eyes. “Because, I wanted you to remember me, on your own.”
“I always knew you looked familiar. I don’t know why it’s taken me this long, to remember you.”
“Hey,” he places his index finger under my chin, tipping my head up. “Don’t worry about it. You remember me, now. That’s all that matters. Do you want anything?”
I nod my head. My throat is so dry, it hurts to talk. “Can you get me some water?”
He smiles at me. “Anything you want, Karma. All you have to do is ask.” He picks up a clear pitcher, and pours some water into a small plastic cup. “Here,” he reaches it out to me.
I drain the glass, and God does it feel good, sliding down my throat. I think this may be the best water, I’ve ever tasted.
“Your parents are here.” Trent says, catching me completely off guard.
My eyes widen in surprise. “They are?”
He nods his head. “Yeah, Dusty called them. They’re downstairs getting something to eat. They didn’t want to leave you alone, so I told them that I’d sit with you.”
I can’t believe Trent has met my parents. “How long have I been here?”
“Two days,” he says deadpan.
Holy crap! I can’t believe I’ve been out for two whole days.
CHAPTER 62
TRENT
“Are you sure you won’t change your mind, sweetheart?” I’m sitting on Karma and Anna’
s sofa - listening to Karma’s parents - try to convince her, to go back home with them.
She was released f
rom the hospital, two days ago - and she’s been staying with them - at a local hotel. It’s been pure torture for me. I hate sleeping without her. Honestly, I haven’t slept. I’ve spent the past two nights staring up at my ceiling, wondering what she was doing.