Page 11 of Forever Found

“I don’t know,” I replied as I turned to nervously look out of the window behind me. “We…we were taken. We managed to escape but they sh-shot at us. They shot Eli.”

“Just try to take a breath, girl. You’re safe for now and I’m sure the police will be on their way too at the mention of a gunshot,” he assured me.

“I should call Asher,” I whispered as the thought ran through my head. I didn’t want to be anywhere near police again and I had no idea who I could trust at that point. I couldn’t even think calmly enough to get my thoughts in a line. I was a mess, in pain, and terrified not just that I was going to lose Eli, but also that we’d be caught again.

“Here. Use this if you need to call someone,” The trucker said as he pulled a cell phone from the back pocket of his jeans and handed it to me.

“Thanks,” I whispered as I took the cell he’d unlocked for me.

I knew Asher and Eli’s cell numbers by heart, having learned them when I first arrived at their place, terrified I’d be separated from them somehow at any time, so it was easy to type in Asher’s number and relief flooded me when it started to ring.

Asher answered on the third ring with a barked ‘hello.’ Wherever he was it was loud and I could barely hear him, but I heard enough to have me slumping with relief. The waitress, who was hovering close to me, grabbed my arm and pushed a chair beneath me before I went down completely. I still held one hand under Eli’s head and I laid my own beside his against the table as I spoke.

“Asher,” I whimpered.

“Addy? Fuck, hold on, sweetheart.”

I could hear Asher’s breath as he seemed to rush somewhere, then the background noise quieted down and he was talking to me.

“Addy, can you hear me? Where are you? Is Eli with you?” he asked all at once.

“We got away, but Eli…h-he was shot Asher. He’s lost so much blood and….and he w-won’t wake up now. I let him sleep. I shouldn’t have let him sleep,” I whimpered.

“Addy, tell me where you are?”

“I called 9-1-1 and they’re on the way, but I…I don’t want the police to….” I faltered as I turned my head to look at Eli. He was too still and pale. “Adam.”

“Addy, Adam’s okay. He had surgery and he’s stable right now. Jordan’s with him at the hospital.”

I couldn’t even speak as a deep sob tore from me and I just slumped even harder against the table, pressing my forehead to the cool plastic surface. Adam was alive. Just to know that was like a huge weight that had been trying so hard to crush me into the ground, was being lifted from me.

“Addy? I need to know where you are, little dot. I need you to speak to me. Are you safe?” Asher demanded so loudly I could hear it from where I had dropped the cell on the table. I knew I needed to gather myself and talk to him, but I just didn’t have anything left in me. Instead I moved my head until it touched Eli’s and just cried. I was exhausted, in pain, and my anxiety was pushing through the paper thin wall I had been using to hold it back, ever since the moment I had seen Eli bleeding out in our living room.

“Hey. She’s okay, just exhausted and upset. Looks like she’s taken a beating too,” I heard the truck driver speaking and knew he’d picked up the cell. He went on to explain to Ash that Eli had lost a lot of blood and blacked out, and that police and EMT’s were on the way. The voice continued but I blocked it out as I closed my eyes and tried hard to just not think.Just a fewminutes, I told myself.Just a few minutes to block it all out, then I’ll be fine.

***

I sat beside Eli’s bed feeling numb. When we’d arrived at the nearest hospital, Eli had been rushed away from me and I’d been left waiting in a tiny room. It had contained a few chairs and was painted with these annoyingly ugly murals of bright summer scenes. They hurt my pounding head and only proved to piss me off even more.

The doctor had arrived and told me the bullet had nicked one of Eli’s arteries, which was why the bleeding wouldn’t stop. He’d been taken into surgery, while I’d tried hard to close my eyes against the painfully sunny images, just waiting for more news.

When we’d left the diner, the trucker who had helped us, had assured me Asher was on his way and would meet us at the hospital. Police had been there too, and I knew they’d followed us to the hospital, but so far they hadn’t tried to speak with me.

Now, hours later Eli was out of surgery and the doctors and nurses had all assured me he would be fine, and would wake up when the pain meds that he’d been given, wore off. They’d offered to check me over too, but I was not in a good place to have strangers touching me and I knew it. If I were honest with myself, I had no idea how I was still clinging to the tiny threads that were holding me together and staving off the impending meltdown I knew was bubbling.

I’d washed my hands and face, not even realizing until I went to pee, how much blood I had been covered in. Eli’s blood.

It hadn’t helped much, since I still wore the too short dress I would only ever dare to wear with leggings if I had a choice,the cream wool now covered in blood. I was also still in Eli’s too large sneakers and my hair was a wild mess around my pale face. I was a mess, inside and outside, but Adam was alive and Eli was going to be okay. Those were the things I tried to focus on. Those were the thoughts getting me through. Those, and the fact I knew Asher would come as soon as he could, and hopefully with Kane too.

I lowered my head as I wrapped my arms around myself. I was still shaking so hard I worried it may never stop this time, and I was freezing cold. I knew I should try to rest, but there was no way I was giving an opening to my nightmares after what we had been through.

“Addy?” My head snapped up at the croaky voice and I smiled shakily as I saw Eli looking to me with worry. “Shit! Where are we?” He tried to move to a sitting position and hissed in pain when he put weight on his now bandaged arm.

“Stop moving. You got shot, remember?” I said, even my voice giving up on me at that point and coming out as a rough rasp. I tried to clear my throat, but even that hurt. “We’re at the hospital and there’s cops outside. We’re safe.”

“What happened?” he asked as he sat up, this time only moving his good arm to do so.

“You lied to me about the bleeding stopping, and I almost let you die as a result,” I snapped.