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The day Mia killed Michael should be a day to feel relief, the ending of a tormenting era. Yet it’d be forever imprinted in my head as the day I failed my family and made them cry.
The acute buzzing in my ears was driving me crazy. It was hard to breathe, and I couldn’t discern the many voices surrounding me. Then I remembered the explosion, seeing Mia be thrown away from the force of it as I fell on my back. Wheezing, I sat up and tried to focus my sight.
Men in uniform ran around, shouting indiscernible words as they tried to access the platform that was once raised but then lay crumbled on the floor. The platform on which Zach was. The platform under which Mia ran.
With my heart galloping inside my chest, I stood up and stumbled to where I thought I’d find one of them. I spotted Danny also getting up and headed his way.
“Are you okay?”
“If that motherfucker is still alive, I’m killing him myself.” His look was murderous, but I knew it was also a way to block the all-consuming fear of how we might find Mia and Zach.
Aaron ran our way, and after being convinced we didn’t need immediate care, we proceeded to look for them.
When I found her lying on the ground, my heart nearly stopped. Her limp body on the ground was covered in dirt and blood. I sprinted to her and sighed in half-relief when I noticed her weak breathing.
“Mia.Mia.” I slapped her face lightly, urging her to respond. I was close to panicking when she opened her dizzy eyes.
We heard Aaron yell, “Found him,” followed by colorful expletives. “We need an ambulance!” That was what made her situate herself.
Her eyes turned bigger. “Zach!” She struggled to get up, forcing me to hold her tighter than I wanted.
“Calm down.”
“We need to get to him.”
“Mia, stop! You’re hurting yourself.” I held her in the middle as she tried to stand up.
“Let me go.”
“You need to see a doctor.”
“Not without him. Let me go.Zach!”
“Stop fighting me, Mia.” For someone so battered, she was incredibly strong. “You need to calm down so I can get to him later.” I thought I’d convinced her when she relaxed in my arms. It took me a while to comprehend she wasn’t being complacent. She was shutting down. “Mia?Mia!”
I laid her down and noticed the shadows that marred her abdomen. Fear overtook me again when memories of another woman portraying those colors came to my mind. I couldn’t let Mia have my mother’s fate.
“I need an ambulance!”
Danny and Aaron turned their troubled eyes to me and started shouting orders so the two siblings could have their care. A couple of first responders rushed inside, rolling two gurneys, and we ushered them to make it faster. It carried a distasteful irony that my two best friends, the two Bryants who saved my life, were being rushed side by side, as they fought for their lives, while I walked mostly unscathed.
People threw away words like “it should’ve been me” because it sounded dramatic andflair-ful. But I understood the truth behind those words.
It should’ve been me.
The place was pandemonium. Policemen, DEA agents, first responders. They all ran around, screaming orders. I was held back by an agent Aaron had assigned to babysit me. It was a smart thing to do, because since we heard the explosion, every second that passed when I didn’t see my people was a second closer to me bolting inside.
After what felt like forever, I saw three tall figures following two gurneys, and my heart leaped. I counted my man, Danny, and Aaron. I prayed the two patients were the men tormenting us. But when I didn’t see Zach and Mia rushing behind them, my knees turned weak as I concluded who were the two people being carried away.
I escaped my babysitter and ran toward them, already crying.
“They need to be rushed to the hospital.” Ben’s voice wavered. That was hard enough for me; I couldn’t even fathom how wracked he must’ve been feeling.
We followed them to the ambulances that were already waiting, and Ben’s turmoil was even clearer. He looked from Zach to Mia, unwilling to let one of them go but unable to follow them both. He stared at Aaron, and a silent conversation seemed to take place between them. They both looked torn and about to be sick.
“Danny, Izzie, go with Mia. Aaron and I will stay with Zach.”
Aaron was already climbing inside. “I’ll call Dr. Miller, so she can meet us there.”
