I opened the commons door. “The attacker is in the alcove injured.”
Jess looked up at me. “Was it who I think?”
I nodded my head at her as the sirens signaled the emergency services. The teacher frowned at us. “Who was it?”
“Bus. He’d been stalking Roxy here for weeks.” I explained moving out of the way for the paramedics.
“We have another injured.” The teacher informed them.
“Where are they at?” The guy grabbed a bag standing up while the other radioed in for additional help.
“I’ll take you to him.” I volunteered holding the door open. We walked to the alcove. I noticed he paled at the blood trail leading toward the building.
When we swept passed the trees, he rushed over to Bus. “Who put the tourniquet on?”
“I did when I noticed where the stick was. Don’t need him to bleed out before he is punished for what he did to her.” I grunted crossing my arms while he tended to the wanker. Another ambulance pulled into the circle. A small crowd of students started forming.
“Drez! Call the Savioes let them know what is going on.” Jess shouted as she climbed up in the first ambulance with Roxy. “Tell them we are going to County.”
I nodded my head just as the football players witnessed the horror their friend had dealt Roxy. One hissed out a slow damn, another tried not to vomit at the amount of blood. Scott and Payne ran over to me.
“What happened?” Payne asked looking around the scene.
“Bus attacked Roxy. Excuse me I need to place a call.” I explained as I pulled up Luke’s number in my mobile. It went straight to voice mail. I tried Charles then Beau. Eva wasn’t answering hers either. I knew Marie wouldn’t pick up. She hadn’t when I tried at lunch. So I dialed the house phone.
Remi answered. “Savioe residence.”
“Thank god. Remi, it’s an emergency. I need to talk to your mother or one of your siblings.” I stared down at the bloodstain on the cement.
“Yeah hold on. Here, it’s him says it’s an emergency.”
The next voice on the line was the one that had shredded me earlier. “Wha’ is so important?”
I took a deep breath. “Roxy has been attacked.”
*****
Marie
My heart dropped in my stomach when he spoke those four simple words. My voice was barely above a whisper. “Wha’?”
“Bus. He grabbed her while she was waiting for Jess to get out of detention. It’s bad, pet, really bad. They’re taking her to County.” I could hear the concern in his voice.
The tears that had been threatening to fall all day finally burst through. I held the phone tighter against my head and sucked in a jagged breath. “We’ll be there in a few. Thank you, Marcus.”
I hung up the phone and collapsed on the kitchen floor. Remi placed a tiny hand against my leg. “Marie?”
I grabbed him against me in a tight hug and sobbed on his shoulder. He patted the back of my head as mom came in the room to inspect the noise.
“Marie, Pumpkin, what’s the matter?” She pried my arms off of Remi and slowly pulled me up off the floor. “Come on, baby, deep breaths. Tell me what’s going on.”
“It’s Roxy.” I sobbed. “Dat cooyon attacked her. Marcus says dat it’s bad. Dey’re taking her ta County.”
I heard her suck in a breath and tell Remi. “Get your brothers now! Have Beau call Daddy.”
“Yes, Momma!” He yelled as his tiny feet ran across the kitchen floor. “Charles, Beau, Dev! Someone has hurt Luke’s Roxy! Beau call Daddy.”
The thundering of their footsteps were deafening as they rushed into the kitchen. All of them started talking at once demanding to know what was going on. I heard Beau on his cell to dad explaining everything.
My mother patted my shoulder before she cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention. She waved at Beau to keep talking to dad. “I want everyone ready in less than five. We are going up there. Oh God, Marie, has someone called her parents?”
I hugged myself as I shook my head. “I don’t know, Momma.”
Beau hung up the phone. “Mom, dad wants you to call the Saintshills and let them know then head up to the hospital with the twins. He’s going to meet Charles, Marie and I at the grocery store so we can inform Luke.”
*****
Dad looked as ragged as I’m sure we all felt. He walked over to Beau’s truck placing his hand on the hood. “I’ve talked to his manager a few minutes ago. He’s going to give him as much time off as he needs. Marie, since you are the only other one that knows how to ride it, take his bike to the hospital. Here’s his spare key. We don’t need him driving.” I took the key and placed it in my pocket.
We entered the store in search of Luke. Beau and dad went one way, Charles and I the other. We found him standing in the back of the dairy aisle stocking the cheese. He had his headphones on listening to music bobbing his head along to the beat. Charles tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around and saw us. He pulled the headphones out of his ears smiling. “Hey, what’s up? Mom want you to pick up something?”
I bit my lip and looked away from him to keep my tears at bay. His smile faded as he placed a bag of cheese down. “Marie, what’s wrong?” He looked over at Charles who was just as dumbfounded as I was. “Charles?”
Dad and Beau walked up behind him. Dad cleared his throat. “Lucian, son, there’s been an incident.”
“Is it mom or the twins?” He looked around us to see if anyone else was there, his blue eyes filled with worry.
I shook my head, grabbed his arm above the elbow and rested my head on his shoulder. “Luke, frère….”
He pulled me away to stare in my eyes with his brows furrowed up in rising fear. “Marie?”
“It’s Roxy. She’s in the hospital.” I bit my lip and turned away from him as tears gathered in his eyes.
He swallowed hard the muscles in his neck strained as he barely controlled his sorrow. His voice sounded like he had swallowed hot coals. “What happened?”
“Bus.” Beau placed his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “He attacked her after school.”
The sound of Luke’s painful howl echoed through the grocery store drawing the prying eyes of everyone in it. I squeezed my eyes shut at it trying to keep myself together for his sake. He staggered against the refrigerated shelves. “How is she?”
“We don’t know. Marcus said that it was bad though.” I bit back a sob.
“Take me to her.” His voice was barely above a whisper.
*****
Drez met us at the hospital. He and mom were standing in the waiting area with Jess and Roxy’s parents. My tears flowed freely as soon as I saw him standing in the dimmed light. The closer I got to him the more I began to notice his appearance. The light blue of his faded jeans had streaks of brownish red coursing over his thighs; the black T-shirt looked matted at his chest and arms. Oh my god that was blood. I woodenly walked over to him, my bottom lip trembling as I realized the gravity of the situation. I wrapped my arms around his waist my face resting on the scratchy material. I didn’t care that I broke things off with him earlier. I really just wanted to be held. Screw my heart.
His arms trembled before they enclosed me. “Shhh. It’s going to be okay, pet. They have her in surgery now.”
I leaned back slightly wiping my nose with the back of my hand as I sobbed. “Gawd, she has ta have surgery? What did dat cooyon do ta her?”
Luke stepped away from Roxy’s mother Jamie with his arms wrapped around him listening intently to us. Drez took a deep breath and relayed all that he knew. “Her arm is broke, possibly her nose as well, she had a huge gash on her forehead and apparently she had some sort of metal gnashed in her stomach. That’s not including the bruises and small scrapes. She managed to fight him off though. She stabbed him with a tree branch in his upper thigh. He’s here too.”
I heard a low rumble and recognized it as the last shred of Luke’s temper snapping. He started to head
toward the ER when Beau, Dad and Charles grabbed hold of him. “Lemme go! I’m goin’ fuckin’ kill da cooyon. I shoulda done dis weeks ago.”
Beau held hold of his shoulders pushing him back up against the wall. “Not here. There are too many witnesses, frère.”
Luke shoved him off as he broke slowly sliding down the wall into a crumbled heap. He pulled his legs up to his chest and wrapped his arms around his knees placing his head on them. “He coulda killed her. He coulda killed her.”
I turned my head into Drez’s chest. Seeing my brother so distraught was beyond anything I was prepared for. I clung to his shirt letting my tears fall. We stood there for what seemed like an eternity just holding each other. I sniffled, leaning back to look up in his eyes. Drez led me over to the chairs next to Jess and sat me down. He stood up wiping the tears from my cheeks. “Do you want something to drink, luv?”
I slowly nodded accepting a tissue from Jess. “Jus’ a water.”
While he was gone, a nurse came into the waiting room. “Mr. Saintshill?”
Her parents stood up and walked over to her. “Yes?”
“Roxanne is out of surgery and in recovery.” The nurse said.
*****
Chapter Eleven
The next few days went by in a foggy haze. None of us returned to school the rest of the week. Luke stayed with Roxy until she finally woke up early Friday morning. She made him come home to get some much-needed sleep and convinced mom to keep him here long enough for him to get refreshed. Beau disappeared that night and showed up half past midnight. No one knew where he had gone and I don’t think anyone thought to ask. Charles was on his phone trying to organize something for Roxy. He even asked me for all the numbers in my phone so he could try to get in touch with them to see if they could help.
I hadn’t seen much of Drez since Wednesday. He’d leave in the morning and come back after dinner dragging ass. He’d go take a shower, grab a small bite to eat then go straight to his room. I overheard Beau tell dad that Drez picked up his shifts at the shop so he could help with the aftermath.
At church Sunday, I decided to go to confessional. I told Father McTierney about all I had done with Drez and that a very small part of me was glad that no one had asked about our split thanks to Roxy’s attack. He told me it was normal for me to feel a sense of relief that I wasn’t under scrutiny but I needed to work on my compassion. He completely misunderstood what I meant by it, but I wasn’t going to dare argue with him.
Monday morning Roxy was supposed to come back to school. Everyone here thought that it was way too soon for her to try it, but Roxy was stubborn. Luke was to pick her up and drop her off each day until she was cleared to drive by her doctor. Charles insisted that he needed to be at school early, so I drove him there in Beau’s truck. Which meant he had to ride with Drez, I could only hope that they didn’t talk about what happened between us.
We pulled into the parking lot a good thirty minutes early. Jess was already standing by the steps leading up to the bus loading area waiting for us. She had her hands full of bags filled with balloons and streamers.
Scott stood behind her with a giant piece of cardboard folded like a card tapping his foot in annoyance. “Dammit Jess, fuckin’ come on. We have the entire commons to decorate in less than thirty minutes. They can get out of the car on their own without you watching them.”
She rolled her eyes at him before flipping him off. “So go in there and get started. You don’t need me to hold your hand.”
Charles shook his head at them as he got out of the truck. He went to the truck bed and pulled a tarp back revealing a huge sign. He grabbed the sign and nodded for me to put the tarp back. “What are you going to do if Luke talks her out of coming today?” I asked while tugging the edge of the tarp.
“Feel like a total fool.” He laughed tucking the sign under his arm. “I’m banking on her stubbornness.”
I shook my head and bit my lip letting out a drawn out sigh. “I hope you’re right.”
We walked into the commons with Jess. The entire football team and quite a few cheerleaders were busy blowing up balloons and putting up streamers. Payne jogged over to us grabbing the sign from Charles and headed over to the doors that led to the locker banks with Hunter. In the corner, Angie and her friends were scribbling on the giant card Scott had earlier drawing flowers, hearts and gluing glitter on the front of it.
“Holy shit! You organized all of this?” I gasped looking over at Charles in awe.
He blushed scratching the back of his neck. “I just made the calls.”
Jess went over to the drama kids and helped them with their sign while I stood by the front doors watching everyone. The tiny science geek Charles knocked to the ground a week or so ago struggled to lift a box of supplies. I started over there and stopped when Charles took it from her flashing her a dimpled grin and a wink. Her cheeks turned pink as she pushed her glasses up her nose.
“Marie!” A high-pitched voice screeched behind me. I stifled a groan as I turned around. There was only one person I knew that had that grating of a voice. Christie, Luke’s ex-girlfriend.
“Yes, Christie?” I raised my eyebrow at her and kept the rest of my face impassive.
“I’m sorry for what happened to Roxy. If there is anything your family needs, I can’t do much but I am willing to help anyway I can.” She gripped her hands in front of her wringing them in her nervousness.
I was shocked. This girl absolutely hated Roxy. She called her every racial slur about Latinos imaginable and even tried to say that she was a whore. “Um…. Thanks.” I looked over my shoulder at Charles who was issuing orders like a veteran drill sergeant. “If you want to help I’m sure Charles can find something for you.”
She gave me a timid smile and patted my arm before heading over to him.
*****
Drez
The past few days I have run myself ragged. I picked up all of Beau’s shifts so he could be with his family and so I could keep my mind occupied and off of Marie. After work Saturday, I visited Roxy at the hospital with Jess. The little bit looked horrid hooked up to all those machines and covered in bandages. I could only imagine the pain Luke felt each time he looked at her. If that had been Marie…. I quickly shook my head to dispel the thought.
I couldn’t, no wouldn’t think of her like that again. She’s not mine; well she never really was to begin with. Doesn’t mean that it didn’t feel like someone was clawing at my heart any time I thought of her though. I closed my eyes trying to collect myself before school.
Beau had to ride with me since Charles went to school early and Luke went to pick up Roxy. I waited by Grace looking down at my reflection in her window. I looked worn out, my hair was a mess and I had bags under my eyes from my restless nights. I had deduced Wednesday night that her room was right above mine. That was purely by accident.
When everyone but Nate and Luke came home from the hospital, I went to my room grabbed fresh clothes and took a shower. I saw her enter the last room before the attic stairs on my way out of the bathroom. I fought the urge then to go to her. Later that night when everyone had settled down I heard her soft sobs through the ceiling. I knew it was her and not her mother only because Eva was in the study on the phone talking to Nate.
Every night since, I could hear her moving up there and talking to herself. That conjured up way too many fantasies of what she might be wearing, saying or what she would do if I just went in there. I ran an agitated hand through my hair and climbed in Grace. Beau had better hurry up. I needed to get my mind on something else.
*****
By the time we arrived at school I could have strangled him. All he wanted to do was discuss Marie. What do you think Marie and Charles are doing? She’s been unusually quite since Roxy’s attack. I wonder what’s going on in that head of hers. Have you noticed that she’s not wearing those short ass skirts anymore? If I heard one more word about her from him, I swear I didn’t know if I would punch him or cry lik
e a bitch. With how my throat was constricting I was afraid it would be the latter.
I parked a space away from his truck and quickly got out of my baby. He rounded her and stood with his hands shoved in his pockets. “I take it you don’t want to talk?”
“Not about her.” I grumbled before spotting a cherry ride pull up.
A black on black Audi R8 Spyder convertible pulled in between us. I slapped Beau on the chest and tried not to drool on myself. From the sound of it purring, it sounded like it was the V10 with the seven-speed Audi S Tronic dual-clutch transmission. It had to be at least £120,000 easily.
Roxy slowly got out of the car laughing at us. “Don’t drool on the paint you two. My dad just had it detailed.”
Beau flinched subtly when his eyes settled on her, taking in the injuries. “Damn, ya should be home restin’.” He gently gave her a hug and held her out at arm’s length looking her over. His eyes narrowed and lips thinned out. “Dat damn cooyon gonna git wat’s comin’ ta him. Dat’s f’true.”
Roxy gave him a feeble smile. “He’s not worth it, Beau. Let’s just let your dad handle it in the courts. Okay?” She grimaced slightly holding her hand to her stomach. Her lips twisted up in an evil smirk. “Just enjoy the fact that he is a very pretty young boy in gen pop right now. I’m sure he will be able to add a whole new group of names to that book by the time things are said and done.”
I let out a long whistle and started to chuckle. “That’s cold, little bit. So who does this beauty belong to?”
“It’s my dad’s. Mom got it for him for his birthday.” She shrugged looking over her shoulder at the car. Her parents could drop that kind of money for a birthday gift? Damn!
I walked around the car and looked inside. It had black with silver diamond stitching on the leather seats, carbon fiber sigma inlay and illuminated aluminum doorsills. I reached out to touch the bonnet but changed my mind when I spotted the dirt under my fingernails. I quickly shoved my hands in my pockets. “How does she handle?”
Luke looked down at Roxy checking her out from head to toe and smirked. “Like a dream.”
Lost in the Moment (A Savioe Family Novel) Page 23