by Green, Maree
Hushed voices ahead had me slowing my steps, and when I rounded the corner, I stopped short, immediately drawing in a sharp, ragged breath. My body went on immediate alert.
The gathered crowd of school outcasts all turned to look at me, weariness and anger creeping into their gazes. I tried to will myself to back away, but the warning glare in some of their eyes seemed to be freezing me to the spot. My mouth opened and closed silently, and my eyes darted between their harsh gazes and the pile of deflated basketballs at their feet.
Shit, shit, shit. What do I do?
The outcasts, a.k.a The Grunge Guys, were the school’s biggest blemish. All of them were problem kids that didn’t really have a chance at getting anywhere in life, so they did whatever they could to make themselves stand out. Obviously, this was one of those things.
I watched them begin to shift, moving slowly outwards to…what?
“What do we have here?” One of them said, taking a tiny step forward.
I swallowed, my eyes flickering nervously between them, catching a flash of glinting metal in one of their hands. A knife. One of them had a freaking knife! Oh crap.
I immediately took a step back. The guy with the knife frowned and narrowed his eyes. My throat immediately went dry. I could feel the panic stirring inside me. I tried to push it back down, but it refused. It was fight or flight time.
I focused on my limbs, willing them to unlock, but the panic was rising quickly. I could feel it building like a ticking time bomb, waiting to go off. I needed to get out of there. Like now. I didn’t know any of these guys, and I had no idea how they would react to me catching them doing whatever it was they were doing.
Using every strength I had, I forced my body into action and turned to leave. I almost didn’t see the bench beside me, stumbling awkwardly as I sidestepped it. I’d only taken a few steps when I heard the sound of angry voices outside the gym doors. I froze again, my heart rate instantly going up to yet another level.
The voices grew louder and closer, coming this way. They were coming to the gym. I just knew it. I clenched and unclenched my hands, my breath quickening even more, making me sound like I’d just run a mile.
The sound of the approaching voices felt like the equivalent of a jet engine preparing for takeoff. I could feel the tension mounting, gaining strength, building into something explosive. It was almost unbearable. The Grunge Guys could feel it too. They spread out, waiting, smirks oozing across their faces.
By the time I could hear the gathered crowd outside the gym doors, there was so much tension in the room, it felt like the air had been sucked right out of it, and when they finally burst open, I found myself faced with two full teams of wild and livid looking basketballers.
They took one look at the defensive stances of the Grunge Guys and the destruction they’d caused, and they lunged forward, shouting and grappling with whoever they could reach and shouting abuse.
The Grunge Guys met them head on, the looks on their faces telling me they were more than willing to go at it, and I suddenly found myself stuck smack in the middle of a war with no way of getting out.
I flinched, the yelling and shouting sending shivers down my spine. They shoved at each other, shouting and grabbing at each other in angry clinches, pulling at shirts, and throwing punches. My breath began to elude me. I simply couldn’t catch it. I gasped for air, feeling the air rushing in and out so quickly it did nothing to relieve the ache that was starting to clench around my lungs. Oh god, please, no!
The sound of the anger in their voices was terrifying. The ache in my chest intensified. I pressed my hand to it, willing the pain to go away, but it wouldn’t. It just gripped there like someone had my lungs in their hands and was squeezing the life out of them, crushing them. I needed someone to help me, to take me away from this madness.
In my mind my memories swirled, mixing past and present together, and I could suddenly smell the acrid tinge of smoke in the air and hear the sound of gunshots reverberating around me. I whimpered.
A sickeningly familiar lightness came over me. It confused my panicked brain. I gulped for air again, but it still didn’t ease the burn in my chest. My lips started to tingle. Then my face. It spread down my arms, reaching my fingers, freezing them until all feeling was gone.
The noise around me grew louder. More bodies pressed in around me. The room started to sway like the floor was in motion. My vision blurred and I realized I had tears in my eyes. A body went flying past me, connecting with another body, sending them both crashing to the ground where they continued to wrestle with each other. My stomach crawled.
I gasped, looking out through the bodies, trying to blink away the blurriness and the darkness that was quickly closing in around the edges of my vision, hoping, praying I would find a safe haven. Jace. Please let me find Jace.
I didn’t.
The room swayed again. Voices roared. Someone beside me was shoved, and I was jostled.
Then I was falling.
And the darkness took me.
Chapter 38
Jace
Being in the recording studio was the most surreal experience of my life. It was the first real taste of what was to come, and I fucking loved it.
We spent the first few hours being introduced to everything and everyone, and learning what was involved during the whole recording process. Then we set up our equipment and did all the necessary sound checks and testing.
That was when the real fun began, and before we knew it, we’d recorded our first two songs. It was fucking unreal.
I’d had my doubts whether we could get the whole album cut in one week. To me, that sounded impossible, but after recording the first two songs after only a few run throughs, all my doubts were gone. Thanks to our rigid playing routine over the last few months, we found we could play every song we were cutting as close to perfection first time around.
We were halfway through the second take of our third song when Aiden froze. His hand slipped on the strings of his guitar, making the chord blare out loud and highly off key.
We all stopped and stared, confused. Aiden rarely made mistakes. His hand went to his head and he squeezed his eyes shut tight like he was in excruciating pain.
“What the fuck, man?” Matt said, sounding a little pissed.
Aiden looked up, his eyes finding mine. The look of panic in them scared me. “Mia-” was all he said, and my world stopped spinning.
Two seconds passed as I processed his words then I bolted from the room like a man on fire. I grabbed my phone, seeing eight missed calls from Ryan. Fuck!
“What’s going on?”
I heard Mr. Thomas’ voice but I couldn’t focus.
“Jace?” he said again.
I was just about to hit call when it began to ring again. I answered immediately. “Ryan-”
He cut me off. “Mia’s been hurt man. You need to get here.”
His words had me walking for the exit before I knew what I was doing, Aiden fast at my heels. “What the fuck happened?” I yelled.
Looking back at Aiden, I saw him repeatedly dialing someone and holding the phone to his ear while he got no response. Mia. My stomach dipped. Nausea hit me hard. “What’s going on?” Aiden demanded, still panicking.
Ryan’s voice barked in my ear. “A huge fucking fight broke out in the gym. I don’t know how Mia ended up in there, but she was right in the fucking middle.”
I jumped in the car and cranked the engine, barely waiting for Matt and Dean to jump in the back with us before peeling out onto the road. Aiden snatched the phone off me and glared at my livid expression “You fucking drive. I’ll talk.”
“Ryan,” he said into the phone. “What the fuck happened to my sister?!”
I drove like a fucking maniac. I hoped the police weren’t around because I wasn’t stopping for anyone. I kept glancing over at Aiden, trying to gauge how bad things were. His jaw was clenched and his eyes were hard. My stomach roiled.
A phone rang fro
m the back and Dean picked up straight away. As soon as I realized it was his dad, I tuned out. If it wasn’t anyone who could give me any information on Mia, I didn’t want to fucking know.
We were almost to the school when Aiden ended the call. He looked pale.
“Well?!” I barely refrained from yelling the words.
“Ryan thinks she got knocked over.” His voice was scary fucking calm. It caused a chill to go down my spine. “She hit her head on the corner of a bench on the way down. She’s unconscious.”
My hands tightened on the wheel. Unconscious. The word echoed through my head like a motherfucking nightmare.
I turned into the school parking lot with the car almost sideways, and pulled up in a no parking zone. What the fuck did I care if they towed my car?
The school was in fucking chaos. People were scrambling everywhere, teachers flustered and angry, forcing everyone to stay away. We ran straight for the gym, pushing past anyone who tried to stop us.
The second we burst through the doors, we froze. It looked like a fucking warzone. People were still fighting, and it looked as though every male teacher in the school was there, trying to break them up.
Aiden saw her first. The second he darted off, I saw where he was headed and my heart fell into my stomach. All I could see was blood. There was so much blood.
We both slid down to the ground beside her.
“Don’t touch her!”
Aiden and I both looked up at Miss Waters who was positioned at Mia’s head, holding a blood soaked towel over her forehead. She had another towel, also blood soaked, resting under Mia’s head.
Aiden looked ready to explode, but Miss Waters gave him a hard stare. “I’m not trying to be mean,” she said. “She just shouldn’t be moved right now. The paramedics should be here any second.”
That was when I heard the sound of wailing sirens outside. They were loud. Close. I looked down at Mia. She looked so pale. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone look that pale before. Her skin almost looked translucent. A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to fucking kill whoever did this to her.
I reached out and softy took her hand. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I sighed with relief when I felt its warmth. I heard Aiden talking to her softly, saying reassuring words, encouraging her to hold on, but I couldn’t. Everything inside of me was locked in tight. It was scary. All of a sudden I felt so fragile, like I could crack and fall apart at any moment. My fucking life was lying on the floor, bleeding.
The paramedics arrived the same time as the police, shoving Aiden and I out of the way as they swept in. I moved like I was no longer in control of my body. Dean and Matt lingered near us, their faces set with the same dread and concern.
I glanced over at Miss Waters, standing beside Aiden, Mia’s blood all over her hands and shirt. My eyes stung and my chest ached.
I forced myself to watch the paramedics. I needed to see their faces as they assessed her. I needed to see that they weren’t too concerned. All around us I could hear the sounds of the police calling everyone to order. Students were being escorted outside, some willingly, some in handcuffs, but I didn’t care. I was only concerned about Mia.
With my fists clenched at my sides, I watched the paramedics work. Determination was the only emotion on their faces, making it impossible to get a read on the severity of her injuries. They worked fast to check her vitals and bandage her wound, then they quickly fitted a brace to her neck.
One of them pried each of her eyelids open in turn, shining a torch in her eyes before giving his partner a bleak look and muttering something under his breath.
I tensed even more. What the fuck did that mean?
The cracks of my fragility splintered with each passing second, spreading inside me like tiny spider veins, ready to shatter at any given moment. I didn’t know how to stop it. I didn’t know how to make this better. Turning away, I clasped my hands together on the back of my head and paced, squeezing my eyes shut tight. I wouldn’t look at Aiden. I couldn’t. If I saw once ounce of lost hope in his eyes, I was done for.
“All of you need to vacate the premises immediately.”
I opened my eyes to see a police officer standing before us, scowling menacingly.
I saw Aiden glare at him from the corner of my eye. “I’m not leaving her,” he said through clenched teeth, looking down at Mia.
“Neither am I,” I said, looking him in the eye to show him I was serious. I was surprised by the roughness of my voice.
The officer’s glare grew icier. “If you don’t leave now, you will be forcibly removed.”
Aiden looked ready to explode again. “I don’t care. I’m not leaving my sister.”
Miss Waters stepped forward. “Officer-” His gaze swung to hers with surprise. “These boys had nothing to do with what went on here today. In fact they only arrived two minutes before you did. This young girl here,” she said, gesturing to Mia. “Is Aiden’s twin. I’m sure their mother would feel better if she knew he was with her.”
The officer’s expression softened a little, but his resolve didn’t waiver. “I’m sorry Ma’am, but we have protocol to follow.”
Aiden’s phone started ringing, and he snatched it out of his pocket, blatantly ignoring the officer’s request. “Mom,” he said, his voice not entirely solid.
The paramedics started lifting Mia onto a stretcher.
“I don’t know…” Aiden growled into the phone. “She’s unconscious...Yeah, the paramedics are here...No, they’re loading her on the stretcher now...” Turning back to the police officer, he asked, “Do you know where they’re taking her?”
The officer, not looking too sure for a minute, suddenly snapped out of it and rushed to speak to the paramedics. Looking back at Aiden, he called. “Mercy.”
“They’re taking her to Mercy, Mom...Yeah, Jace and I’ll meet you there...”
I watched them start wheeling her out then looked at Aiden, not knowing what the fuck I was doing. It was like my sanity had left on the stretcher with Mia. Aiden looked at the officer defiantly.
“I asked you all to leave. Why are you still here?” he said.
We didn’t need to be asked twice. All four of us ran from the room like our lives depended on it. I actually thought mine did.
Chapter 39
Mia
Darkness.
I was surrounded by it.
It was thick and cold. It made my head feel foggy.
Somewhere in the distance I could hear a muffled kind of beeping.
And voices.
Those too were muffled. It was like I had cotton wool shoved in my ears.
There was a pounding in my head. It throbbed.
I tried to cry, but nothing came out.
I felt lost. Like I was searching for something but I couldn’t remember what.
All I knew was that I wouldn’t be okay until I found it. Or them…
Chapter 40
Jace
Waiting.
It was fucking agonizing. I’d never known such torment. Ever.
The waiting room was packed, almost all of it filled with students from our school. I’d heard a couple of the guys that’d been in the fight had been brought in to be checked over for broken bones, but apparently most of everyone were there for Mia. She had no idea how much people actually liked her.
A lump formed in my throat. God, I hoped she was okay. I needed to hold her. I needed to look into her eyes and see she was still mine. I couldn’t stand this fucking sitting around and fucking waiting!
I pushed myself to my feet and roughly ran my hands through my hair as I paced the length of the floor. What the fuck were they doing? Why was it taking so fucking long?
I looked over to where Lillian sat with Aiden, the both of them hunched over and despairing with their hands clasped together in unity. Kaeli sat a few chairs down from them, an older woman I assumed was her mom holding her as she softly cried.
All of us had tried to get some type
of information out of the staff, but we all got the same answer: She was in the OR and someone would be out to talk to us as soon as they knew what was going on.
That had been two fucking hours ago. The fact that it was taking so long scared the absolute fucking shit out of me. I had no fucking idea what they could possibly be operating on. I tried to brace myself for the worst but it was too fucking painful. She had to be okay. She just had to.
The doors beyond the triage desk opened and a doctor wearing scrubs appeared. His eyes widened when he saw the waiting room and he paused, eyes scanning the seats. Lillian and Aiden jumped to their feet and I joined them in rushing over to him, Kaeli fast on my heels.
“Mrs. Campbell?” he said wearily.
“Yes?” Lillian answered, her voice wavering on the small word.
The doctor’s eyes flashed back to the expectant waiting room. “Can I speak to you in private?”
His words were like knives being thrust straight into my gut. If she was okay, he’d have told us in the waiting room, wouldn’t he?
Lillian looked back at the three of us, determination blaring in each of our eyes. “Yes, but these three need to be with me.” I was so fucking thankful she said that, I wanted to cry.
He threw a brief glance our way and nodded. “If you could come this way…”
We followed behind him at a fast pace. I was fucking glad he seemed to be in a hurry, because I was seriously going to lose my shit if I didn’t find out what was going on this second.
He took us into a private consultation room and closed the door behind us. No one bothered to sit. He turned to face Lillian, choosing to speak to her directly.
“Mrs. Campbell,” he said seriously. “My name is Dr. Sanders. I’m the attending neurosurgeon here at Mercy. I was called in to help the emergency staff stabilize your daughter’s condition when she arrived.” He shifted and lowered the chart he was holding to look at her more intently.
“Mrs. Campbell, Mia has sustained a very serious head injury which has resulted in some minor swelling around her brain. The fact that she hasn’t regained consciousness since the fall is a real concern to me. There has been some signs of responsiveness, which is a positive thing, but I won’t really know what I’m dealing with until the swelling goes down.”