by Tonya Clark
I grab Charliee’s hand. She looks over at me, tears in her eyes. “He’s going to be all right,” I try to reassure her.
My attention is brought to where they are working on the firefighter they just brought out. They are shooting off questions to him and checking for his injuries. The good thing is you can hear the firefighter answer the paramedics.
I feel Charliee’s hand being tugged away from mine, but I hear her tell Levi to calm down, so I keep my attention on the firefighter, hoping to hear something that I can tell Charliee to give her hope that everything will be alright.
Turning to update Charliee, I panic. She is no longer next to me. Looking around frantically, the only faces I recognize are Derrick and Bryce and they are both deep in conversation with other officers. Where the hell did she go?
Yelling and commotion at the building catches my attention. My heart stops. Charliee and Levi are running in. A thousand images run through my mind. I don’t even notice I have started running in after her until someone grabs my arm to stop me right before I get inside.
“What the hell are you doing?” I turn to see Derrick has my arm.
“Charliee ran inside, we need to get her out, Derrick. What if there is another bomb?”
The words that stream out of Derrick’s mouth has all ran through my head. Before I know what is going on, Derrick pushes me toward the other way. Another pair of hands are holding me now and I watch as he runs inside after his sister.
“You were supposed to be watching her,” Bryce says from behind me. He must be the one that Derrick handed me off to.
I turn around and glare at him. “Do you know your sister at all?” I yell up at him. “I looked away for a minute trying to hear some information for her and when I turned back around, she was gone.”
Bryce starts pulling me back from the building. Emotions are running wild through me. I want to pull out of his grasp, run inside and pull Charliee out before anything else blows up. I want to turn around and smack Bryce for yelling at me for allowing Charliee to get inside. I am mad at myself for allowing her to go inside. I want to sit on the ground and cry!
Neither one of us says another word, we just stand there staring and waiting for Derrick, Charliee and Travis to come back out. I can’t stand here and wait much longer, I feel helpless. It feels like I have been standing out here staring at the building for an hour, but I’m sure it is only minutes, waiting to hear the boom. I’m not even sure I am breathing.
A bunch of commotion starts going on, and firefighters start running into the building while police officers start gathering at the entrance. What is going on? I look up at Bryce, he has his radio up to his ear as he listens to the chatter. His eyebrows are drawn together as he concentrates on what he is listening to.
“They found Travis,” Bryce yells at me, even though I am standing directly next to him.
“Is he alive? Where is Charliee?” I shoot the questions at him.
Bryce just shakes his head. “That’s all I’m hearing right now.”
The waiting game again. I am getting antsy. I need to know what is going on. Is everyone all right? Every once in a while, Bryce puts the radio back up to his ear, but he won’t tell me what is being said.
I can’t take it anymore and am about to pull my arm away from Bryce and go in myself when I see Derrick exiting the building carrying Charliee, Levi following close behind. He heads straight over to one of the paramedics. That can only mean one thing, she is hurt. A group of firefighters carrying Travis follows out shortly behind them and rushes him directly over to another waiting ambulance. I can’t tell from here if he is alive or not.
Bryce and I run over to where they have taken Charliee. Running up, I notice Darryn, the girl who was with Bryce that night at the fair, working on Charliee’s leg. Her knee is cut wide open. I look her over to see if I can see any other injuries.
“What the hell were you thinking?” I yell at her. “If you weren’t already hurt, I would beat the shit out of you right now.” I lay across her upper body and hug her.
“I’m all right, Jayden,” she reassures me.
Standing back up, I wipe the tears away. I hadn’t noticed I had started crying. My phone vibrates in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see Charliee’s mom’s name on the screen. I show it to Charliee and then answer it. I don’t get to say a word before she starts shooting off questions and crying.
I step away for a moment while I calm Mom down and explain as quickly as I can what has happened. She just keeps telling me that she can see Charliee being worked on by paramedics on the television. The news crews are everywhere. I explain she is all right and where they will be taking Charliee. She tells me they will meet us there.
I turn back to Charliee and am putting my phone back in my pocket when I hear Charliee yell.
“Bryce, the bastard is here!” We both look in the direction that Charliee is pointing.
“Who’s here, Charliee, who are you seeing?” Bryce asks, scanning the area.
I start scanning the area looking for someone who looks out of place. I know Charliee says something else behind me, but I don’t hear what it is. Bryce, walking toward all of the news personnel quickly and talking into his radio, has caught my attention. Along with the guy in a hoodie who takes off running as soon as he spots Bryce coming at him. There are too many cops here, he isn’t getting far this time.
I turn back to Charliee just as another firefighter comes up to her. “Charliee, they are taking Travis to the hospital now. He is breathing on his own but hasn’t woken up. They have no idea the extent of his injuries, so they want to get him there quickly as possible.”
“I’m going with him.” Charliee tries to sit up.
Darryn quickly gets to work on strapping her down to the backboard. Smart lady, get her down before she can get up and hurt herself more.
“We need to get you to the hospital yourself and get this leg checked out, Charliee. You need to sit still,” Darryn explains to her.
Charliee is about to argue when I cut her short. “Charliee, you need to get your leg checked. I know you want to go, but you need to take care of yourself first. I’ll ride with Travis in the ambulance if they will allow it and keep you posted. I have already spoken to your parents, they are on their way. There is nothing you can do until they check him out, so get yourself treated first.”
She wants to argue with me and I can’t say I blame her. We don’t know exactly the extent of Travis’s injuries, or if he will make it to the hospital. She, however, isn’t going anywhere. Her knee has bone showing out of it and she needs to get herself fixed first. Finally, she lays back down and nods.
“Come on if you are going with him.” The firefighter leads me away by the arm.
They have already loaded Travis into the ambulance, so I quickly jump in and sit on the bench next to him. Just as we pull away, my phone goes off again. I am expecting it to be Charliee’s mom again, but it isn’t. It is Cameron. I don’t have the time for that conversation right now. I push ignore and slip my phone back into my pocket. I’ll call him back later.
I look down at Travis, and my heart hits my feet. He just lays there. I grab his hand. “Come on, Travis, you have to pull through this, you can’t leave her now. She is strong, but if she loses you it will destroy her. You are her strength now and she leans on you, please don’t let her fall.”
My phone goes off once again, but I ignore it. I just sit here listening to the sirens of the ambulance as we are rushed through the streets and pray.
Everything happens pretty quickly once we arrive to the hospital. The staff goes right to work on getting Travis unloaded and quickly taken back to be examined. I am asked to wait in the waiting room while they take him back.
I have just sat down in one of the chairs when the doors open again and in comes Charliee. She isn’t saying anything, all I see is her lying there. My heart falls again, what happened on the way over? Jumping up, I run over to th
em. I look up at Darryn with the question in my eyes.
“Don’t worry, she is fine. I gave her something for the pain and to calm her down a little. It knocked her out, which is probably for the better,” Darryn explains.
Two nurses and a doctor come over and I listen as Darryn explains to them Charliee’s injuries. Like with Travis, I am helpless, all I can do is stand there and watch as they take my best friend back behind the same doors that Travis was taken through. Hospitals are becoming a place I don’t ever want to see again.
I wait for Darryn to finish up with the nurse behind the counter and when she turns back around, I ask, “Have you heard if they caught the guy or not?”
She shakes her head. “No, we haven’t heard anything. I was about to ask you the same question.”
“Jayden!” My name is shouted from behind me.
I turn and see both of Charliee’s parents, along with another older couple running into the hospital.
“Have you heard anything yet?” Charliee’s father asks.
I give Charliee’s mom a quick hug and am slightly taken back when she goes straight over to Darryn and hugs her next. “They just took both of them back, they said they would come out as soon as they have something for us.”
“Darryn, what’s wrong with Charliee?” her mom asks.
“I’m not sure exactly what is all wrong with her leg, but she will need stitches, that I know for sure, and I’m sure she broke it but we will have to wait until they examine her to let us know if she’ll need surgery or not,” Darryn explains Charliee’s injury.
“You two know each other?” I ask, a little puzzled.
Both Darryn and Charliee’s mom look at each other, Charliee’s mom answers, “We have been introduced by Bryce. They have been seeing each other,” she explains, like I should have already known that.
I feel like something isn’t being said and I would have asked more questions but the other lady steps forward.
“How is Travis?” I see the tears in the woman’s eyes. This must be his mom.
I look between the lady in front of me and Charliee’s mom. “Sorry, Jayden, this is Anna and Kevin, they are Travis’s parents.”
“Oh, sorry. They both just went back right before you guys came in so we haven’t heard anything yet. They just told me to wait here and they would come and let us know when they have something to tell us.”
“Did you ride over with Charliee?” Steven, Charliee’s dad, asks.
“No, I rode in the ambulance with Travis. Charliee was worried about Travis and giving everyone a hard time about not being with him, so I rode over with him to calm her down.”
“Was he awake?” Anna asks.
I shake my head no. “I’m sorry I can’t give you more information. They didn’t tell me anything on the way over here.”
The sliding doors to the hospital open again and a very pissed off Cameron comes charging in. How did he even know where to find me?
Chapter 25
Cameron
I have just walked into the front door from driving since Monday night when my phone rings. It is David, Tyler’s dad. I know Jacob stayed with them while I was gone so I have to answer it.
“Hello.”
“Cameron, are you home yet? Have you heard about what’s going on?”
“I literally just walked in the door. Is Jacob alright?” Fear slices through my veins.
“Jacob is fine. Sorry, I didn’t think, I guess I should have told you that before worrying you. I do think you need to turn the television on to the news. There has been another bombing.”
I grab the remote and turn the television on. “What channel?”
“Pick any one of them, they are all covering it. Two firefighters are buried in the explosion. They haven’t mentioned names of them yet, though.”
David isn’t joking. It is breaking news. “Thanks for calling. I already texted Jacob that I was home.”
“All right, I’ll have him text you on what they are doing tonight.”
“Thanks.” I place my phone on the table in front of me. When I look up, I see Jayden standing with a police officer. I think it is one of Charliee’s brothers. What is she doing there? I don’t see Charliee. David said two firefighters are buried. Is Travis one of them? I turn up the volume to listen.
The reporter announces that the first explosion happened at the empty building around one. Shortly after, firefighters arrived and entered the building before another explosion went off. Two firefighters had been caught inside the building. One has already been rescued, but no word on the second one.
As the reporter finishes with his update, the camera is quickly directed back to the rescue. The reporter starts going on about a commotion and people being brought out again. An officer comes out carrying what I think is a woman, but it is hard to see. I thought they said the building was abandoned. Why the hell would they be carrying out a woman? She wasn’t dressed like a firefighter. Shortly after they exit, a whole crew of firefighters come out carrying what looks like another person. This one has gear on, he must be the second firefighter. I pick up my phone and dial Jayden, it goes straight to voicemail.
I sit and watch for another couple minutes, hoping to catch a little more information on the people involved, but nothing. I am about to turn it off, I am tired of listening to the reporter just stand there repeating everything because they have nothing new, when all of a sudden, all the cameras and reporters are pushed aside. Cops fill the area, all running toward the crowd of news crews. After a moment, a rattled reporter comes on air reporting that the cops are in pursuit of a man who they believe is in connection with the bombings.
The camera scans back to the area of where the ambulances are and that’s when I spot her. Jayden is climbing into the back of one of the ambulances. She doesn’t look hurt, which brings me to believe something has happened to Travis and possibly Charliee.
I dial her number again. It rings this time, a couple of times actually before I am sent to voicemail again. I send her a quick text asking her to call me and then run out of the house. My truck is still full, so I jump into my dad’s, his smell once again smacking me in the face. My body runs cold, the irony of the whole situation not going unnoticed.
At a stop light, I once again dial Jayden’s number, only to be sent to voicemail again. Once in the hospital parking lot, I find the quickest spot I can and then run to the entrance. I immediately see Jayden standing there talking to two other couples and a paramedic. I take the first deep breath since I got home, she is all right.
I don’t move from the entrance, I just stand there and watch as she excuses herself from the group and walks over to me.
“How did you know I was here?” she asks as she walks up.
No hi, hello, happy to see you? Just how did I know she was here? Anger is now replacing panic.
“It’s all over the news. I saw you get into one of the ambulances, it didn’t take much to figure out where you were headed.”
She just nods. I want to wrap her into my arms and assure myself she is all right, or maybe shake the crap out of her for not answering my calls.
“I tried to call you, but you sent me to voicemail.”
“I was a little busy, Cameron.”
“You couldn’t answer long enough to tell me you were all right?” My voice starts to raise and brings the attention of those in the waiting room to us.
Jayden closes the space between us, but instead of stopping, she grabs my arm and drags me outside away from the eyes of those inside.
When she turns back to me, there is fire in her eyes. Good, we need to have this out. I have been driving for days thinking of nothing but her, only to come home and find her life in danger by the crazy man who killed my parents. She wants a war of words, then I am all in for that.
“Cameron, honestly, I had no idea you were calling because you were worried.”
“Jayden, I’ve call you a couple of times
and left you a text. It never crossed your mind that maybe you should call me back? Damn, you could have even just answered the phone, said hi and said you had to go. Anything would have been better than nothing and not knowing what the hell was going on.”
“Cameron, right now all of this isn’t about you and me! Charliee is injured and Travis, we have no answers on how he is right now. I didn’t think a conversation about our relationship was good timing at the time.”
Is she being serious right now? She really thinks the only reason I was calling was to talk about what happened in Texas? Unbelievable!
“They are my friends as well, Jayden, and you didn’t think I needed or would want to be here for them? Even if I didn’t know Charliee and Travis, I would have wanted to here for you.”
She just stands across from me, rolling her eyes, arms crossed at her chest. I am trying pretty hard to remember she is stressed right now, but the attitude I am getting is pretty hard to ignore. I have to keep reminding myself that I am lacking in the sleep department and I have been through the emotions of worry, anger and relief. Neither one of us are in a great spot for this conversation. It is probably pretty safe to say if we keep any kind of conversations going, it won’t end pretty.
“Look, I didn’t come here to fight or piss you off or anything else. I was worried about you and Travis and Charliee. I’m sorry you thought I would think anything would be more important right now than how those two are doing. Go back inside, I’ll wait out here to hear anything and then take off to go home.”
I don’t wait for her to say anything back. I turn and head back to the truck. I’ll admit, I am disappointed when I reach the truck and look back to see she has already gone back inside. Damn, I have never had a woman make me want to shake them as much as Jayden does.
I’ve been sitting here in the parking lot for almost two hours now when the text from Jayden comes through.
