“It’s not for you.” The paramedic patted my hand and wheeled the stretcher to the cobblestone path.
The ambulance driver and one of the security officer raced to the woods. When they came back, a familiar figured hobbled between them. The female paramedic raced to join them, and they strapped Will onto the stretcher.
For some reason I wanted to run to him, but I could barely walk myself. The paramedics wheeled Will closer to me.
“Stop.” He yelled, reaching for my hand.
“Are you okay, Will?” I grabbed his hand and squeezed, tears forming I took in his host of injuries. His left eye was swollen and blood trickled from his busted lip. His clothes were torn and smudged with dirt. By the looks of it, Jake had beat up Will far worse than me.
He tried to smile, but winced in pain. “I’m fine as long as you’re okay.”
The female paramedic grabbed his wrist. “His pulse is weak, but steady. We need to get him to the ER just to make sure he doesn’t have internal injuries.” She pushed me out of the way. “I’m sorry, miss. We have to go now.”
Hot tears oozed from my eyes as I watched the paramedics bundle up the stretcher and load Will inside. He’d been beat up by my ex and it was all my fault.
Please be okay, Will. I whispered a silent prayer to my angel or anyone who would listen, watching as the ambulance sped off into the night.
The female officer opened the back door for me and Bryan, pointing at Shanda. “You get in front.”
Bryan lowered me into the backseat.
The officer shut her door and put the car in gear. “We’ll stop at the nurse’s office first, then take you back to the station.”
“Thanks,” I muttered under my breath. She either didn’t hear me or ignored me as she rolled the car through the crowd as slow as a parade.
“Will was there?” Bryan stared me down, but I just shot him a look. “No, first things first. I’m so sorry about Colleen. Shanda chewed me out good for that one. She can write some mean texts.” He inched his hand along the backseat until he found mine. “Monica told me she had something on you, something she was going to post on Instagram. But it was all a lie. Instead, Colleen showed up drunk.”
“She what? I’m going to kill that girl,” Shanda hissed. “Both of them.”
My head throbbed with beats of pain, and I rubbed my good hand into the back of my neck. “Why doesn’t that surprise me?”
“I’m sorry. I never should’ve gone.” Those blue eyes lost their light, filling up with such sadness.
“You could’ve told me first, but I’m glad Shanda was right about you.” I tried to force a smile, but he still stared me down. “Ugh, fine. Will was in the library when I couldn’t get ahold of you guys. He called campus security, then when they didn’t come he said he was going to take care of it. I guess Jake got to him first.”
“Likely story,” Bryan muttered. Shanda snorted in the front seat.
“I don’t know what happened to Will, honestly. He didn’t come back.” I leaned my aching head against the seat. “So I tried to sneak out on my own, and it backfired. Big time.”
“Hey, honey, don’t worry. You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.” He squeezed my hand, a pained look on his face like he’d been beaten up right along with me.
The car stopped in front of a tiny gray shack behind the gym. The lady guard opened the door and Bryan carried me to the front.
A nurse in scrubs rushed out with a wheelchair and he cradled me into it. I squeezed his hand, smiling my thanks.
His lips twitched, his face disappearing as the nurse wheeled me away.
When I closed my eyes, all I saw was that face, full of heartache. And I finally knew how I really felt about him.
The next time I opened my eyes, I was in a white room, another flashback to nine months ago. Would I ever stop repeating history?
A kind woman smiled down at me. “Let’s see if we can get that shoulder back in place.”
I nodded, grinding my teeth together as she stuck a needle full of something in my shoulder. She waited for my arm to relax and yanked it with one swift motion. Pain sliced through me like a scalpel at first, then disappeared in an instant. I laid back against the crumpled paper of the doctor’s bed. Finally, I could breathe easy.
~
With one great exhale, I fogged up the glass of my favorite perch. Flakes of pure white snow floated from the gray sky, trickling down the windowpane.
So beautiful, so vulnerable, here one minute then melted away in an instant.
That could’ve been me, but it wasn’t. Thanks to my new powers and the angel who came when I asked.
A speck of red bobbed in the field of white. That silly hat his sister made. Bryan looked so small from up here.
I pressed my fingers against the cool glass. If only I could just tell him I wanted more, as if a relationship could actually change anything. Yet I knew it wouldn’t.
“You ready, Rapunzel?” Shanda wheeled a giant suitcase toward the door.
“Wasn’t Rapunzel blonde?” I curled my lips, answering her question with another question. Hoisting my duffel bag over my good shoulder, I dragged my suitcase behind me.
My parents agreed I didn’t have to come back to Indiana until Christmas. Jake was out on bail. He even got special permission to leave the state because he was a minor. I guess there were some perks to Nexis membership. So much for the justice system. Still, they hadn’t been happy about me staying with Shanda for two weeks until I flew out, especially Mom. But I couldn’t face my mother and pretend everything was okay. Not with a crazy man running loose in
