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I grit my teeth and will my feet to move faster, and then everything changes. My feet are no longer on the ground, and I get pushed back like I am merely a kite in the wind. When my eyes meet Katie’s, I watch both the women as they fly toward me in the air, still holding hands, complete fear and shock on their faces. I land hard on my back, my ears ringing so loud it is deafening. People run everywhere, and then the noise comes back loudly—sirens, screaming, someone yelling my name.
“Eddie!” Harrison is on his knees in front of me, his right in front of mine.
“You’re a heavy fucker,” I hear Tennyson groan from underneath me, and I look around, seeing that my brothers caught me, and I lean back into their embrace.
“Eddie?” Harrison says again.
“Here. I’m here,” I groan, my body sore, my ears thumping. “Pinkie?Pinkie!” I am alert again as I sit up, Harrison helping to lift me slowly. Then I see her, right in front of us. Looking around, it is what I would imagine a war zone to be. People are running everywhere. Medics and the fire departments, water being sprayed, smoke clouding the entire scene. The media are all talking over the top of each other, the general public behind us all, watching from a safe distance.
“Pinkie!” I say again, stumbling over to her, crawling to her on my hands and knees. I nearly had her. She is only a few feet away from me, lying on her stomach on the grass. Lucy is the same, both unconscious, face down.
“Pinkie.” I reach out my hand and brush it across her face gently. “Pinkie!” I yell, but she doesn’t answer.
“She won’t wake up,” I say, panicked, looking at my brothers who all gather around us. “She won’t wake up!” I yell louder.
“Give us room, sir,” a paramedic says as a group of them rush to her side, and they gently roll her over. There is blood, so much blood. It drips down her face, along her arms, in between her tapestry of art.
“Pinkie…” I croak out, feeling nauseous, but my eyes remain glued on her.
“Is she breathing?” Harrison barks at them.
“Yes, sir. She is breathing, and her pulse is still strong,” they say, and I sag in relief, with Tennyson still holding on to me.
Lucy looks in worse condition. Her leg is bleeding profusely as a piece of building material sticks out from her thigh, and I grit my teeth as my world starts to spin a little.
“Where are you taking her?” I force out, now standing, the adrenaline kicking in as I watch them lift Pinkie onto a gurney.
“The University Trauma Center, sir,” the paramedic tells me without looking at me as he continues to bandage and monitor Katie.
“You need medical attention, sir,” a young female medic comes up to me, pushing a bandage onto my forehead.
“I’m fine.” I swat her away. As I do, her hand pulls away, and I see the familiar bright red on the bandage, and my fingers immediately go to my head. I feel the warm liquid and pull my fingers away, seeing them coated. Bright red runs down my fingers, and I start to sway.
“Eddie…” Ben says, watching me. I swallow roughly, my mouth dry as my stomach curdles. But I shake my head and grit my teeth. I need to be awake. I need to follow Katie and not leave her side. She is all that matters. She is everything.
CHAPTER FORTY SIX - KATIE
As I open my eyes and look around, I wonder what the hell is going on. Rubbing my eyes because they sting, they water immediately, and I squint and blink, trying to get them to clear. The room is quiet but extremely hot. My ears are ringing and feel full, like I am underwater. I swallow roughly, my throat dry, and the familiar dull beep of a monitor repeats next to me. I see bandages on my arms, my head feels heavy, and I slowly lift one hand and touch my face, feeling another bandage there too.
I try to take a deep breath, and I smell smoke, panic filling my body instantly, even though I am not near a fire. I try to calm myself, taking smaller breaths, and I realize the smell is in my hair and up my nostrils, and my memories come back to me. The hospital, the fire, Lucy. My eyes well with water as I think about Eddie's mom and Dr. Wilson. Did they get out? Are they safe?
Tears run down my cheeks as I try to process everything, my heart rate increasing, letting the room know as the beeps become faster. I take a breath and look at everyone. Harrison and Beth are lying asleep over on an armchair. Ben and Emily are similar next to them. Tennyson and Willow are sitting asleep uncomfortably on a few separate chairs. It must be the middle of the night, but it is hard to tell because the curtains are drawn across the window.
I look down at my bed. Eddie’s head rests on the mattress near my side. He is sitting on a hard plastic chair, which he has brought right next to my bed, his hand wrapped in mine. His eyes are closed, but I see the gash on his head and frown. I remember him. I remember him running toward me. There was so much yelling and screaming and panic, but I remember him. Putting his own life on the line to get to me. Jumping that police barricade, the screams of his brothers who panicked and chased him.
I lift my finger and trace his jaw softly, and his eyes ping open immediately.
“Pinkie?” he says groggily, lifting his head, his eyes now open wide.
“Hey…” I say, my voice rough.
“Oh my God.” He releases a breath. “You’re okay? You’re okay?” Moving up the bed, he cups my head in his hands. “Fuck, you scared me,” he whispers as he peppers small kisses to the parts of my face that are free from bandages.
“I’m okay, Eddie. A little sore, but I am okay.” Tears now flow freely from both of us.
“Oh my God, you’re awake!” I hear Willow say from the side, before she and Tennyson stand and walk over behind Eddie.
“Hi…” I say, not really sure how to greet them. It’s not like I can just sayHey I’m fine, you guys totally saved my life for a second time.
