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I touch his arm and try to do the only thing I can by comforting him. “You’re going to be all right. Hang in there, buddy.”
Sirens wail all around as an ambulance and police cars arrive at the scene. The paramedics work quickly to move me out of the way and then get right to work on Blake.
They try to talk to him, but he never responds. One of the guys holds open his eyelids and shines a light in his eyes while another pulls out a needle and pokes it into Blake’s skin to start an IV.
Avery clings to my side and presses her face against my shoulder. It’s hard to watch them work on him and it hits me that this may be the last time I see my friend alive if they can’t help him get better. Watching Blake fight for his life opens the floodgates to a lot of still-healing memories.
“Avery?” The same cop from the bar the other night approaches us and removes his hat. “I know this is a difficult time for you, but I need to ask the two of you some questions so we can get a handle on what’s happened here.”
Avery nods. “Anything. I want to help find whoever did this.”
Officer Ryder pulls out a notepad and says, “How did you discover the victim?”
“When we came to check on him, the front door was locked, so we thought we’d try the back, and that’s when we found him.”
The cop nods. “What made you come check on him?”
This time I feel that I need to speak up.
I clear my throat. “I stayed here two nights ago, but I hadn’t seen him since the fight at the bar. When he didn’t return my calls, I started to worry.”
He makes a few notes on the paper. “Do you have any idea what happened to him and why he’s out in his backyard like this?”
I shake my head. “No, but I did notice he’s wearing the same clothes as the last time I saw him.”
“Oh, God,” Avery interjects. “Do you think the guys from the bar that night followed him home? That’s the only logical explanation, and they’re the only people that I can think of who would want to harm Blake.”
“It’s highly likely that’s exactly what has happened,” the officer says. “Which is why I’m going to put out an APB on the men who had the confrontation with him the other night. Those men are known problems in this town, which is why I wish Blake would’ve pressed charges when he could before. Having incidents on record is always helpful, especially when a situation like this arises. It gives us a clear picture most of the time on who we need to start with in our line of questioning. There’s no doubt that whoever did this to Blake didn’t intend for him to live to identify them, which is why it is of utmost importance to find these guys and get them off the streets. If they aren’t afraid to do this kind of crime and hurt someone like this, they won’t give it a second thought when they do it again.”
“I’ll do anything I can to help, officer,” I tell the man. “Just tell me what needs to be done.”
He frowns. “There’s not much that you can do but sit back and let us do our jobs. We’ll find them and bring them to justice. If you think of anything else, let us know.”
Officer Ryder squeezes the button on the side of the walkie-talkie that’s strapped to his shoulder and says, “We need an APB on Jerry Rose, Thomas Hersel, and Larry Deitz. All known to be associated with the organized gang the Outlaws.”
The radio buzzes to life. “Copy that.”
The paramedics work quickly to get Blake on a backboard and then put him on a stretcher. A white plastic neck brace is also strapped on him to stabilize his head and prevent it from moving around.
Avery turns into me, tears flowing from her eyes. “I can’t believe this is happening.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulder and pull her in tight against me. I wish I could tell her that Blake’s fine, though the truth is, I’m worried about him myself. But at least now Avery and I have each other and we can get through this together.
AVERY
It’s been close to five hours since they brought Blake into the hospital and he hasn’t woken up yet. All the testing they did on him revealed a slight brain bleed but the doctors think it’s not enough to cause significant swelling to the point where they would need to operate. They’re hoping his body will simply reabsorb the blood and the swelling will reduce on its own.
I sit at Blake’s bedside and hold his hand in mine while Tyler sits next to me. Being here reminds me of being at Granny’s bedside after the fire years ago. It’s difficult to witness someone you care about struggle with so much pain. I pray Blake’s outcome is better than my father’s was and that whatever happens, Tyler can handle it and won’t take off running like he did the last time when things got hard.
We haven’t left the hospital since they brought Blake in. Blake’s mom stopped in to see him, but she didn’t stay long. It was the first time I’d ever met the woman in the time I’ve known Blake. He doesn’t talk much about her—just says that they aren’t that close.
I check the clock on the wall, and it’s nearly eight in the morning. It’s almost time for Maddie to get up, so we’re going to have to decide how much longer we stay here because Maddie will be asking for me before long.
I called Granny last night to make sure she was okay watching Maddie all night, and of course she told me that it was no problem. Granny loves spending time with her great-granddaughter.
Tyler rubs smooth circles on my back. “Tired?”
“Yes,” I say and then scrub my hand down my face. “I don’t want Blake to be alone when he wakes up, but I think I need to get home to Maddie soon.”
