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Mine.
Hands land on my arms, and I jerk away.
“I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry,” I hear through the thickness. It’s a woman. It’s my mother.
Crying.
Wailing.
Not mine.
Sirens.
Tired.
It’s like my body suddenly knows help has arrived and instantly my heart rate slows. The pounding of the beats dulls, and I drift in and out of consciousness. Everything hurts so much that nothing hurts at all.
Numbness.
Darkness.
AVERY IS WALKING toward me, her eyes so focused on mine that my heart rate speeds up. People are calling her name and taking her picture, but she isn’t focused on any of them—just me. Without thinking my feet start moving in her direction. She has this pull on me that I’ve never experienced before, and it’s like we are two parts of a magnet that are constantly searching for each other. There is no way I can’t not go to her. Emma’s head peeks around Avery to see where she’s headed, spots me pushing through the crowd, and her eyes slide past me to Clay. She lights up. A huge smile breaks out on her face, and just as quick as there was joy, her expression switches to one of something else: curiosity, regret . . . who knows?
I’d worried that Avery would be angry, but she doesn’t look like she is. She looks determined to get to me, and I’m so thankful for that. Once I explain everything to her, I know she’ll understand. She has to . . . her life is the same as mine, and rarely do people like us find real, genuine love. That’s what I have for her: love, in its purest form.
Keeping my eyes focused on hers, the closer we get, I can see the tension all over her face and my hands tighten into fists. She doesn’t like being this close to all of these people, and it’s sending up every protective flag I have, but she’s doing okay.
“Hang in there, baby, just another minute or so, I’m almost there,” I whisper to myself, moving over to a spot on the carpet between the stairs and the roped off area. Once she’s done and makes it to the back hallway, I’m taking her away from all of these people and this place. I need to be alone with her, just the two of us.
Somewhere in that minute, there’s a blur off to the side. The guy who’s been following them around comes up from behind her, grabs her arms, and starts pushing her. Immediately her face blanches, the panic sets in, and she closes her eyes tightly. With the force of him pushing her, she stumbles, releasing Emma’s hand, and lands on her knees. Instead of hitting the floor completely, he’s now wrapped his arms around her, crushed her back to him, and is attempting to pick her up and carry her out of the room.
Sweat breaks out across my forehead, under my hat, and every fight cell I have in me stands to attention just asking to be released.
A crowd instantly forms, the commotion around them intensifying, and people rush in front of me to see what’s happening.
In the back of my mind, I know this entire scene is happening very quickly. And unless you know her, no one has any idea what she’s experiencing right now, and all I see is red. What does this guy think he’s doing? I don’t know him, but I know I’m going to kill him.
“Move!” The tenor in my voice is loud, and that along with who I am has people scattering. Clay is right behind me, and I pray to God that he’s prepared to restrain me, because I’m not stopping until my hands are around that asshole’s neck!
As we approach the side door of the hall, the guy shoves Avery through and the girls quickly follow. Security stops Clay and I, and although they can see how angry I am, they won’t let me through. She needs me, I need to be there for her, and these guys won’t move.
“Sir, you need to back away from the door!” The two guys puff their chests as if this is going to intimidate me.
“Are you crazy? Get the hell out of my way before I remove you,” I snarl at them.
“Sir . . .” one yells, but is cut off because Emma pushes between the two of them and grabs my hand. I’m so worked up and about to lose my shit, I can’t even hear what she’s saying. Blood is roaring through my veins and ears.
As we push through into the hallway, my eyes zero in on Avery as she is frozen in fear and having a complete panic attack. She can’t breathe, she’s crying, and shaking all over.
“Let go of her right now!” I storm toward the guy. He still has his arms wrapped all the way around her from behind. Why isn’t he letting go?
“Who the hell are you? And no way! Something is wrong with her,” he snaps at me.
I look at Clay and he knows. He grabs Avery’s arm, yanks her forward, and the creepy guy let’s her go, not expecting the move to come from him. Immediately I slam my fist into his face, and he falls backward to the ground. I hear a few gasps, but I have no idea what direction they’re coming from; they seem to be coming from everywhere.
“I told you to let go of her! You don’t touch her, ever! Do you understand?” I point at him.
Leaving him on the floor, I turn around and see Emma trying to calm Avery down while Clay is still holding her. They don’t understand; she won’t calm down because she is being touched.
