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I put my hand on Connor’s back to comfort him, and that was when I felt the warm, thick wetness of blood. I realized the shot had missed his vest. I flashed my light around on the ground, noticing a lot of blood. "There's got to be more than one wound, guys." Flashing the light again, I noticed his pants were soaked in blood. He'd not only been shot in the upper torso area but had also been shot somewhere in the leg.
"Can't breathe..." he whispered, gripping my arm as blood trickled out the side of his mouth. Panic filled me.
"How far away is the ambulance?" Grant questioned.
"About ten minutes," the dispatcher radioed back.
I glanced down into the face of my partner. "Can't breathe..." he pleaded, pulling at my shirt.
"Guys, help me roll him onto his back. Let's try to make him a little more comfortable." Everything in me screamed not to do it. I knew we weren't supposed to move anyone for fear we would do more damage, but I also didn't want to watch my partner, and soon-to-be brother-in-law die because he couldn't breathe. I cradled his shoulders, while Grant knelt down to help me swiftly roll him without moving him too much.
"Oh fuck!" Ryan yelled and immediately dropped down to his knees to put pressure on a gunshot wound on his leg that was now gushing blood at an alarming rate. Grant dropped to the ground and helped Ryan apply pressure to the area to try and help slow the bleeding.
"Connor, stay with us," I pleaded as I noticed he was starting to pass out.
"Look after Bailey, bro, please."
"Come on, man, don't talk like that. You’re going to be fine, just fine. Help is on the way."
There was one more gurgled breath and then silence as his head fell to one side. The three of us looked at one another, and I dropped my head in defeat. When I finally found the strength to raise my head, both Grant and Ryan were gone. I was in the same dark alley, my heart rate increased, as I stared down at Connor's cold, lifeless body.
"Connor, Connor, wake up!" I yelled. "The ambulance is on its way. Come on, man." I screamed as loud as I could for help, but no one came. I watched in horror as Connor sat straight up, turned, and looked into my eyes. "You didn't do as I asked, Jackson. Why didn't you do as I asked."
"I tried," I cried. "I tried so hard."
"Wake up. Wake up, Jackson."
My eyes shot open. I looked around at the strange surroundings, my heart beating hard. I felt someone shake me and was just about to push them away when I realized I was in my own bed and Zoe was beside me, gently shaking me.
"You all right? You were dreaming," she said, gripping my hand. "Who's Connor?"
I ran my hand over my clammy face and inhaled deeply, my mind wandering back to the look in Connor's eyes in my dream.
"Are you going to tell me who Connor is?" Zoe asked again.
Instead of answering her, I was silent. I rolled onto my side, the words in my dream running at the forefront of my mind.“You didn't do as I asked, Jackson. Why didn't you do as I asked?”
"Did you want to talk about it?" she questioned when I didn't answer her right away.
"No," I barked, throwing the covers off me and climbing from the bed.
"It might help."
"It won't help. Just go to sleep," I bit out and grabbed my sweats from the bottom of the bed and slipped them on.
"Where are you going?"
"I'll be back," I said, grabbing a T-shirt and throwing it over my head.
"Want some company?" she questioned.
"No. Go back to sleep," I mumbled and pulled the bedroom door shut.
I'd barely sleptthe rest of the night and was glad when I dropped Zoe off outside of Hooligans. She had spent the morning asking me if I was okay, and no matter how hard I tried to change the subject, it would come back to that. I remained tight-lipped, however, and when she left my truck, that was when I dropped the news that I no longer wanted to see her. There was no doubt she was irritated with me as she slammed the door to my truck and marched off across the parking lot without so much as even looking back at me.
I wasn't ready to go home yet, so I drove across town and pulled into Ryan and Cara's driveway. I walked up the walkway and banged on the front door.
"Come in," I heard Ryan call. I stepped inside and could see Ryan in the kitchen making a sandwich. "Hey, man."
