AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Stay with me, Nova. Stay with me.”
Digging in my pants pocket, I yank out my phone, dialing 9-1-1. The door continues to rattle, Tara screaming her apologies and rationalities. I process none of it, trying to communicate with the operator who repeatedly tells me to calm down.
How can I be calm when my future is dying in my arms?
She keeps me on the line, asking me for more details about Nova’s condition, and giving me progress updates on the ambulance, but I’m struggling to concentrate. When I can’t see Nova beyond the sheen of wetness, I scrub my eyes.
“Dev,” Nova rasps.
I blink, clearing the tears. “Nova,” I whisper on a sob. “Stay with me.”
And then her eyes shutter closed again.
Endless minutes tick by when there’s a different pounding on the door, a composed voice coming through. The EMTs.
Ushered out of their way, I remain by the bathroom doorway as they tend to Nova and hoist her onto a stretcher. As I follow the line of medics, my eyes fall on a lifeless form at the foot of our bed.Tara. Maybe I should feel something, but I’m numb. Another group of paramedics surrounds her, and I walk out.
A tranquil evening on our quiet street has transformed into chaos as I step outside. The wailing sirens of an approaching vehicle, the spinning lights bouncing off trees and houses, the neighbors stepping onto their front porches, the officers, the smears of blood. I swipe my hands on my thighs, only to be met with more as I follow Nova’s stretcher toward the ambulance.
“Can I ride with you?”
The EMT swinging the door open glances over my shoulder, and a new voice comes from behind me. “Sorry, Mr. Hawthorne. We need to speak with you before we can let you go.”
I swing around on the officer at my back. “That is my fiancée. I need to be with—”
He shakes his head, his hand at his gun belt. “The sooner we clear up what happened here tonight, the sooner we can get you to her side, sir.”
Before I get a chance to respond, the stretcher disappears into the ambulance’s cab. “Wait—” The doors slam closed. “Nova!”
“Sir. If you would—” My head whirls, the ground swaying as black dots invade my vision. A firm grip encircles my forearm. “Take it easy.”
Closing my eyes, I bend, resting my hands on my knees and catching my breath.
“…Florida Mercy?” Someone asks.
Red and blue lights flash, and the sirens of the moving ambulance drown everything else out.Nova.I raise my head in time to see the silhouette of an EMT working over her body as they speed away. It takes everything in me to keep from getting sick on the front lawn.
Before I agreed to answer any questions, a second officer called Leo. Someone needed to be at the hospital for Nova the moment she arrived.
I don’t know how long it takes to explain everything to the officer in charge, but it’s too long. We returned home from a vacation. Nothing seemed amiss. Nova went into the house first. Tara was just there.
Maybe it’s who I am—a player for the Miami Sharks—or maybe it’s because my damn story involving the dead woman in my house was broadcast six days ago. Whatever the reason, by the time the questioning is over, Officer Landish has me in his patrol car speeding for Florida Mercy Trauma faster than I would have made it.
My phone hasn’t stopped vibrating, and the pit in my stomach grows when I wade through my messages. My hands shake too badly to form an adequate reply.
Leo: I’m here.
Leo: Are you okay? I’m waiting for a nurse to fill me in.
Leo: They said she was awake, Dev. She’s strong and too damn happy to leave us. Hang in there, man.
Missed Call - Brett Pratt
Missed Call - Brett Pratt
Brett: Dev, son? What’s going on?
Brett: Leo said the police have you at the house?!?
