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“It should be me lying there. Not her. Never her,” I whispered.
Mason tugged on my arm, forcing me to stand up. “She needs you, man. You need to be strong for her.” I nodded and pulled him into a hug.
“Thank you. If you hadn’t shot him…” I trailed off thinking how much worse it could have been if Mason hadn’t brought the shotgun with him. He slapped my back but didn’t say anything. There wasn’t anything to say. “I need to get back in there,” I said, stepping away from him.
Taking a deep breath, I said a silent prayer before forcing myself to walk back into the house. Quinn was still lying on the floor, the paramedics leaning over her. There was so much activity around her, I couldn’t get close. Her t-shirt had been cut off and there was a large dressing over her shoulder. One of her arms was in what I can only describe as an inflatable splint. I frowned not realizing she’d even hurt her arm. There was a line in the back of her other hand, and a police officer was standing over her, holding a bag of fluid which was attached to the line. One of the paramedics walked toward the door.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked as he got nearer to me. He sighed and dropped his head.
“She’s lost a lot of blood.” He paused and put his hand on my shoulder, lifting his eyes to mine. “We’re doing all we can.” He squeezed my shoulder before walking past me and outside to the ambulance. I felt my heart shatter as I looked back over to her. Her eyes were closed, and her skin looked gray. Catching the eye of the paramedic who was still with her, she beckoned me over.
“We’re taking her to the emergency room. Do you want to come with us?” I nodded as I kneeled on the floor next to her. Gently picking up her hand, I enveloped it in mine, being careful not to knock the line out.
“Her hand is cold.” I lifted my head to look at the paramedic. She gave me a sad smile.
“We need to get her to the hospital, she needs blood.” Just then the other paramedic came through the door pulling a gurney. I stepped back as I watched them lift her onto it before covering her with a blanket. The bag of fluid attached to her line, was placed on her stomach and they quickly wheeled her outside. Following them, I was stopped by a police officer.
“I need you to come to the station and give your statement,” he said, stepping in front of me. Looking around him, I watched as Quinn was loaded into the ambulance.
“My girlfriend's just been shot. I need to be with her!” I tried to push my way around the officer.
“The sooner we get your statement, the sooner you can be with her.” He put his hand on my chest.
“I’m going with her!” I shouted. “You’ll have to wait for your fucking statement.”
“Officer Bolton, I know Brody. I can vouch for him. Let him go to the hospital with his girlfriend and we’ll get his statement later. He isn’t going anywhere,” Ethan shouted as he came running over to us. The officer nodded and stepped aside. Breathing a sigh of relief, I mouthed a “thank you” at him as I ran toward the ambulance. As I jumped inside, I glanced back to see Mason being put into a police car. I hadn’t really thought about it until now, but it had been him who’d pulled the trigger and killed Evan. It had been self-defense. I only hoped the police would come to the same conclusion, especially after what Evan had done to two of their own.
Sitting on a small pulldown seat in the ambulance, I reached across to hold Quinn’s hand. I hadn’t known her for all that long, yet this was the second time I’d sat in the back of an ambulance with her. This time was different though. This time I knew how much she meant to me, and the thought of losing her was more than I could bear.
Brody
Pulling up outside the hospital, the ambulance doors flung open and Quinn was rushed in through the emergency room entrance into the trauma area. I tried to follow but was stopped by a nurse who led me to the waiting area. Looking me up and down she frowned.
“Are you hurt?” I shook my head.
“It’s not mine.” My hands traced over my bloodstained t-shirt. She smiled sadly before promising to be back with news as soon as she had any. Sitting down on the hard, plastic chairs, I rested my elbows on my knees and dropped my head into my hands. Should I have waited for backup, like Ethan had said? Maybe Quinn wouldn’t have gotten hurt if I hadn’t barged in there, trying to save the day. A hundred different scenarios raced through my head of what I should or could have done. None of that mattered now. What had happened couldn’t be changed. I could only hope and pray I didn’t lose her.
I’d only been waiting about ten minutes when the same nurse reappeared. Jumping to my feet I walked toward her, my whole body on edge, waiting to hear what she was going to say. She held her hand up.
“There’s no change. They’re still working on her. Are you Quinn’s next of kin?” She guided me back to the plastic chairs and gestured for me to sit down.
“No, but other than my family, I’m all she has. I’m her boyfriend,” I said, sitting heavily on the chair.
“So, no parents?”
“No. Her mom died about six months ago and she never knew her father.”
“She has a scar low down on her abdomen. Do you know what surgery she’s had?”
“She gave her mom a kidney six months ago.” She nodded, obviously joining up the dots, and gave me a sad smile.
“How sad the kidney couldn’t save her mom. She’s a brave woman.” She patted my knee before standing up. “Thank you. I’ll let the doctor know.” As she went to walk away, I jumped up.
“Is she going to die?” I blurted out, terrified to hear her reply. Watching her slowly turn around I forced my eyes to meet hers.
“She’s lost a lot of blood. We’re doing everything we can for her.” I nodded and sat down, my head dropping into my hands as tears fell down my cheeks.
The hospital was busy, and a steady stream of people walked through the waiting area. Every time the door leading through to the trauma area opened I got to my feet, desperate for news. After about fifteen minutes I heard a commotion at the reception desk before my parents rounded the corner. My mom’s eyes went wide as she saw my appearance.
