Ariana got up and ran to get her phone. She picked it up from the concrete and ran back to Jimmy. It was still working. She called 911 and then her parents, telling Jimmy over and over to hold on.
***
Ariana sat in the waiting room, silent tears falling down her face, which was buried in her hands. Her foot wouldn’t stop tapping. Her mom and dad were on either side of her. Her mom had also been crying, but now her eyes wouldn’t move from the front desk.
It had been an hour since Jimmy had been brought in by the ambulance. Ariana had ridden with him, and she had called her parents again just after they had gotten here. But the hospital staff hadn’t let her go in with him, and they hadn’t gotten any news.
What if he was dead?
He had gotten hit and kicked so many times. There had been so much blood. It would be her fault if he was dead. Or if he ended up with a lifelong injury.
She tried not to make a sound as more tears fell down her cheeks. Her foot tapped harder.
Why didn’t someone say something?
Probably because something is horribly wrong.
She shoved that thought of her mind. She looked up. There was a doctor coming towards them. He had a clipboard and a pen in his hand.
“Mr. And Mrs. Aguilar?” he said, looking down at his clipboard and back at them.
They stood up and nodded, clutching at each other. Ariana was at their side. “Is Jimmy okay?” her mom asked.
The doctor sighed. “The worst is over. He’s pretty bruised up, but thankfully, he only has a cracked rib. No broken bones. He’ll be in pain for a while, but we’ve given him medication for that. He’s also gotten some antibiotics to prevent infection.”
Ariana’s mom put her palms together, closed her eyes, and said a silent prayer of thanks. Her dad put his arm around her and nodded at the doctor. “Can we see him, please?”
“Of course. Right this way.” He turned and began walking down the hallway though the double doors, Ariana and her parents right behind him. She texted Mayra the news as she walked behind them, breathing a sigh of relief. For now at least.
He’s okay.
***
Jimmy lay in a hospital bed without moving. His left eye was swollen, his face was covered in bruises, and he had bandages wrapped around his ribs. At least they had cleaned up all the blood.
Ariana was at his side, not able to look away. She heard him groan and try to move. She didn’t know what to do. Her mom got up and tried to make him comfortable. She saw her stroke his hair as a few tears raced down her cheek. They were still waiting on more news from the doctor about Jimmy’s internal injuries.
Shortly after, the nurse came in with a small tray that she placed on the counter. “How are we doing?” She walked over and saw that Jimmy was awake. “On a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst, how’s your pain right now?”
Ariana got up so the nurse could get a better view, but she couldn’t bring herself to get too close.
“Uh, eight.”
The nurse nodded. “I’m gonna give you some more painkillers. It’s been enough time.”
“Thank you so much,” her mom said.
“No problem.” The nurse grabbed a needle and some other things from the tray and moved to the IV. A minute later, Jimmy was out again, and Ariana gave a small smile because at least Jimmy was at peace.
Just a few minutes later, there was a knock at the door. A tall, thin doctor with lots of friendly wrinkles on his face came in.
“I’m back.” He walked up to Jimmy. “We got all the tests back, and thankfully, it looks like there’s no internal damage to Jimmy’s organs or brain. And no internal bleeding. It’s just the cracked rib, but that should heal up just fine along with the cuts and bruises. ”
Ariana’s mom’s hands went up to her mouth, and her eyes filled with tears. “Oh, thank God.” Ariana breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll be back later to check in.”
“Thank you.” The doctor nodded and shut the door quietly behind him. Ariana’s mom took a seat beside Jimmy again. She saw her put her palms together and close her eyes to pray.
Then she called her dad to tell him the news. He was outside in the lobby with relatives. He came to the room and gave them both hugs. Her mom looked at the clock on the wall.
“Why don’t you go home and sleep? I’ll stay here. I already called work to tell them I’m not going tomorrow.”
Her dad nodded and looked at Ariana. “Want to go home?”
“No, I’ll stay here,” she said.
“Are you sure?” her mom asked. “Maybe it’s not a good idea for you to miss school.”
“I’ve only missed like one day this year. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay.” Her dad patted Jimmy on the head and turned to leave. “I’ll come during my lunch break tomorrow to bring you some things.”
***
“You should have gone home with your dad so you could rest. It’s getting late.” It was almost eleven.
“No, I need to be here.” She went back to staring at Jimmy. Her mom looked at her phone.
“My sister’s calling, probably wondering about Jimmy. I’m gonna go outside.” Ariana nodded.
She felt numb. There were no more tears left inside her.
Jimmy had been awake a while earlier, but he had slept most of the afternoon and most of the evening. He seemed to be doing okay for the moment—and Ariana was still grateful that things hadn’t been worse.
Her phone buzzed. It was Mayra.
Mom finally got home. We’ll be there tomorrow.
She took a deep breath and tried to block the images of Jimmy being beat up, but they wouldn’t go away. Tears filled her eyes as she remembered how helpless she had felt watching Carlos’s friends.
Jimmy began shifting around, and he opened his eyes a few moments later. She smiled. “You’re awake.”
“Hey, sis.”
She held his hand, and he squeezed it a little. She began crying.
“Don’t cry,” he said quietly. “I’m gonna be okay.”
“Are you feeling better?”
“Yeah,” he kind of whispered.
“I just can’t believe I let this happen.”
“It’s not your fault. Carlos chose to do this. I’ll be happy when he’s in jail for what he did.”
She nodded. “I just want to say that I love you. And I’m so thankful for what you did. And I feel guilty as hell about it.”
“You don’t have to thank me. I’m your brother, and even though I’m your little brother, it’s what any brother would have done to protect his sister.” He smiled.
Everything she had been thinking spilled out. “I do have to thank you. You saved my life. I was so stupid to have been with Carlos. He’s a monster for what he did to me and to you.”
Jimmy shifted, trying to get more comfortable. He nodded.
She continued. “I’m just so glad you’re okay and that you’re going to get better. There was so much blood, and you weren’t waking up… I was more scared than I’ve ever been in my life. In that moment, I didn’t care about anyone else, much less a stupid guy. I just wanted my little brother to be okay. Alive. I am so sorry.”
She could hardly see her eyes were so full of tears, and she was sure Jimmy could hardly understand what she was saying. She had never cried so hard in her life.
“Come here. Give me a hug.”
“I’m so sorry, Jimmy.”
“Shh. You have nothing to be sorry about. Besides, there will be plenty of time for you to take care of me, pamper me, and basically do whatever I want so you can resolve your guilt.”
She laughed despite her chest literally hurting. Only Jimmy could have achieved that.
“Anything you want, little brother. Anything. I’ll be here for you until you get better. And forever after that. I owe you my life.”
She squeezed him, not wanting to let go, but she heard Jimmy cry out in pain and released him.
She wiped
away her runny nose with the sleeve of her hoodie.
“Look at you. You’re a mess,” he said.
She smiled and went to grab a tissue on the nightstand beside the bed. She blew her nose and threw away the tissue.
“Now get over here and watch some TV with me,” Jimmy said as he tried to sit up.
A grin took over her face as she walked over and sat in the chair next to Jimmy’s bed. She helped him adjust the bed. Then they held hands, turned on the tiny hospital TV, and watched reruns of his favorite television show until they couldn’t keep their eyes open anymore.
***
The next morning, during lunch, there was a knock on the door. It was her parents, accompanied by some detectives from the police station.
“Hi, Jimmy. Hi, Ariana. I’m Detective Juarez, and this is Detective Roberts,” a Hispanic lady said as she nodded towards the male detective beside her. She took out a tiny notepad and a pen. “We’re sorry for what happened to you, and we can assure you that we’re going to catch whoever did this to you.” She had soft but firm voice.
Her mom sniffled, and their dad put an arm around her.
The other detective, a man in his forties with a receding hairline, came towards them. “We’ll start by taking your statements. Do you know who did this to you?”
***
About forty-five minutes later, Ariana and Jimmy were still talking to the detectives. Her phone had buzzed a few times already, which meant Mayra was probably outside waiting to see them.
She tried not to fidget and focus on the question Detective Juarez had just asked her.
“It’s okay, Ariana. I know it’s been a long day for both of you. Why don’t we come back tomorrow and continue our conversation then?” she said as they both got up. She got a business card out of her jacket pocket and handed it to Ariana. “If you think of anything that can’t wait, just give me a call anytime, okay?”
She nodded.
“Bye, Jimmy,” Detective Roberts said. “Feel better, bud.” And they went out the door.
Ariana got out her phone. “I think Mom has your phone, by the way,” she said to Jimmy as she checked her texts. She would need a new phone. The screen was really scratched up.
“Mayra here yet?” Jimmy asked, wincing as he shifted. “Damn. My butt hurts.”
“Yeah,” she said with a smile, looking at her phone. “Let me go get her.” She put her phone in her pocket and headed out. She turned the corner and walked down a long hallway into the main lobby. She saw her parents walking back to the room, and the detectives just now walking into an elevator.
“Are you hungry?” her mom asked. “Your father and I are going to run to the house to get some things so I can spend the night here again and then we’re going to buy something to eat.”
She nodded.
“Okay. We’ll be back soon. Let me go tell Jimmy.” Her mom walked away. Her dad stayed for a bit, putting his arm around Ariana.
Then she continued on to the lobby, where Mayra and her mom were waiting.
“Hey,” Ariana said with a small smile. Mayra got up, and they hugged.
“How is he?”
“Better. He’ll live, but it’ll take some time for all the bruises to go away.”
“Thank goodness. Can I go see him?”
“Yeah. Let me just run to the bathroom on the way.”
Mayra’s mom also gave her a hug, and they walked back towards Jimmy’s room. They ran into Ariana’s parents again as they were headed to the elevator. Ariana paused at the restroom.
“I’ll be right out. Jimmy’s just two doors down.”
“I’ll go with you.” Mayra’s mom said to Ariana.
When Ariana came back out a few minutes later, Mayra wasn’t there. Ariana peeked down the hallway and noticed the door was ajar. She inched closer and heard her friend talking to her brother but couldn’t tell what they were saying. She was about to go in when she realized...
She stepped back before they could see her. She stared at the wall across from her, her back against the other wall.
Surely she’d been seeing things.
That’s when Mayra’s mom came out of the bathroom. “They were out of paper towels. Did you notice that?” She rubbed her hands on her jacket.
“Uh,” she began. “They’re right in here.” She knocked on the door before they walked in.
She smiled at Jimmy and Mayra, who turned to look at them, and tried to block out the fact that she’d seen them kissing.
***
Eight weeks later
Ariana, Mayra, and her family watched as Jimmy made a three-pointer. The crowd went wild. They had been tied with their rival school until now, and less than a minute was left in the last quarter.
Ariana and Mayra screamed in approval, and her dad smiled. Her mom was taking endless pictures of the game.
“He’s really good,” said Mayra.
Ariana nodded. “The coach said he has a really good chance of getting a basketball scholarship, maybe even going pro, if he keeps at it and grows another few inches. Oh, and did I tell you he has his test next week for his permit?”
Jimmy was already over six feet tall, and it seemed he still had some growing to do. Obviously, he had been the only one in the family to get her grandfather’s tall genes.
It had been two months since their run in with Carlos, and Jimmy had fully recovered. Christmas had come and gone, and he had grown another two inches since then. He had missed his games and practices for a couple of weeks, and then it was Christmas break. He had been able to return to the team as soon as they had gone to school, and he was doing better than ever.
Ariana, her family, and Mayra made it a point to go to his games every week to cheer him on, and Jimmy’s team hadn’t lost since. Even Mayra’s mom had come on a rare day off.
As for Carlos and his two friends, they were in jail. He was already eighteen, so he was being tried as an adult. The detectives had taken her and Jimmy’s statements that day at the hospital, and later they had found plenty of evidence at the crime scene as well as Carlos’ fingerprints on her phone. Carlos and his friends had agreed to plead guilty, so there wouldn’t be a trial. But he and his friends would be going away for a few months. Not forever, but enough time for everyone to move on.
Ariana would never admit it out loud, but sometimes she felt a little guilty that Carlos was in prison. She knew that what he had done was wrong, but she also knew that she had felt something for him. Probably not love, but she had cared. She couldn’t bring herself to hate him. She only felt sorry for him, sorry for his past, his future. His life. She wished she could have helped him somehow, but it was too late now.
As for all the other boys, she wanted to forget they even existed. For a while at least.
The crowd cheered as one of Jimmy’s teammates made one more shot as the buzzer went off.
The game was over, but the good times had just begun.
A Letter to You, the Reader
First, I just want to take a moment to say thank you. So much. For taking the time to read my book. I truly hope you enjoyed it and it impacted you in a positive way.
Maybe you’re wondering what comes next for Ariana, Jimmy, and Mayra. Find out right now with the next book, Unending Love, at http://yeseniavargas.com/books/ (all online bookstore links there). Ariana gets a second chance at love, this time with a much better guy. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Mayra contemplate the idea of giving each other a chance.
I’ll be honest and say I’m still not sure if there will be another book in this series, but if you want to be the first to find out and see what else I’m working on, make sure to sign up for my mailing list at http://mad.ly/signups/97949/join. It’s completely safe, and you’ll get notified about new releases and limited time sales.
One more thing. Whether you enjoyed the book or not, I’d really appreciate an honest review wherever you purchased this book. If you do, please send me a copy via email at [email protected], and I’ll send you you
r choice of a free review copy of another of my books.
If you’d just like to share your thoughts about this book with me, the email above works as well.
Again, thanks for reading!
About the Author
For almost as long as I can remember, I’ve wanted to write books. Now, that dream has come true.
In my pretty much nonexistent free time, I love to read (preferably on my Kindle), write, edit other writers’ books, attempt to stay active, and spend time with family. I live with my fiance and daughter in Georgia.
If you’d like to see what I’m up to or where I hang out online, check out my website: http://yeseniavargas.com/
Acknowledgements
A list of the people I adore and couldn’t have done this without:
My family. My parents, my very tolerant and helpful fiance, my daughter, my siblings, and my nephews. You all inspire me and mean the world to me.
My best friend, Zendy. You’re the person I can always count on to be there, be honest, and push me forward.
My beta readers. Amber Malone, Cindy Hale, Kendra Ayers, Allison K.T., Raven Pierce, and Carey Heywood. Thanks so much for your time and feedback. You were instrumental to getting this story right.
My editor. Brenda, you did an amazing job and are proof that even an editor needs an editor.
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