Wicked Mercy

by Mae Doyle

  “I know, I just…” Falling silent, I tried to hold onto my thoughts, but before I could say anything else, we heard the screech of tires behind us.

  I twisted around in my seat, trying to see what was about to happen. It sounded like someone was going to have an accident somewhere behind us. The thought gave me chills and I immediately thought back to the night that I lost my dad.

  That night was terrible, but at least I didn’t see the car coming. I didn’t tense up my body and try to protect myself. Today was different. I heard the car, saw the car, and there still wasn’t anything that I could do about it.

  The screeching turned into the sound of a gunning engine and I whipped back around to stare at Brett.

  “Brett!” I screamed, but the sound was ripped from my throat as a car slammed into the back corner of our, crumping up the trunk and sending us jolting forward. The terror of our car being slammed forward was worse than I had felt before.

  I knew what car accidents could do and who they could take from you when you were least expecting it.

  He reached for me, or at least I thought he did, but before he touched me, our car flew away from the side of the road, spinning in a circle as we slid down the embankment. Gravel spun up and under the car as we slid, banging and knocking against the undercarriage. Bits of rock spun up from under us and showered back down into the open convertible. Throwing my hands up, I tried to protect my head while at the same time I tried to keep my eyes on the trees as we got closer and closer to them.

  “Rose!” The sound of Brett screaming out my name pulled me away from staring at the trees. I turned to look at him, surprised at how wide his eyes were. I remembered seeing the same thing with my dad before he died, and I felt my stomach twist as I fought the urge to throw up. It was the look of a man who knows that he is really and truly fucked and there is absolutely nothing that he can do about it.

  The sound of twisted metal slamming into trees silenced him and he was thrown forward, his face smashing into the airbag that burst from his steering wheel at the same time as I raised my hand to block mine from hitting my face.

  The rough fabric smashed into my arm, propelling it back into my face. I heard the sickening crack of my wrist as it smacked my forehead and I cried out, breathing in the gunpowder smell as the airbags deployed.

  Just then, everything seemed to slow down. The car was still smashing into the trees and I heard the grinding of bark being peeled off of the trunk as it rained down on us. Small branches and twigs fell onto our heads and I lifted my arm to shield my head, but cried out at the pain that shot through it with the movement, dropping it back into my lap. Everything in my body hurt. There was shooting pain up my legs and into my hips and my arm felt like it was on fire, but even though I thought my body was dying, I still needed to make sure that he was okay.

  I had to check on the man that I loved.

  “Brett!” Even though I screamed as loud as I could, I didn’t think that he could hear me. Brett was resting with his face on the airbag and he didn’t move when I called him again. A loud ringing in my ears made it hard for me to concentrate, but I reached out for him, ignoring the way my hand hung limply from the end of my wrist. I couldn’t control my hand to lift it, but I needed to see if I could touch him – could try to bring him back to me.

  My hand rested heavy on his shoulder but he didn’t open his eyes. His head was turned to look at me, resting against the pillow of the airbag, but even though I was screaming, he didn’t look at me. He was breathing, though. I saw his cheek rise and fall once. Twice. Three times. Good.

  For a moment, he was the only thing that I could see.

  Then I remembered the truck that had hit us and run us off the road.

  Throwing my head back, I looked up the embankment, noting where our car had slid down over the rocks and through the weeds to rest against the trees. There wasn’t a guardrail where we had pulled off the road, which is probably why we’d slid so easily and so far.

  I squinted against the early sun, my eyes searching for the truck, but it had driven on.

  They’d known that they hit us – there was no way that they couldn’t have known.

  But they kept driving.

  There was something about that fact that was going to nag at me, but I pushed it away so that I could focus on Brett. No matter how bad it seemed that we’d been in a hit and run, the man I loved wasn’t waking up.

  I’d just spent the most amazing night with him.

  I wasn’t about to lose him now.

  “Brett!” Screaming, I reached back out again, gritting my teeth against the pain that shot through my wrist. A bright light flashed before my eyes when I dropped my hand onto his face to try to wake him up. The pain was so bad that I knew I could pass out, but I had to stay awake.

  I had to try to wake Brett up.

  Again and again I yelled his name and hit him with my hand, the bright flash of pain growing more and more intense each time. I knew that one of the times that I did it, I wasn’t going to be able to wake back up.

  The pain was all-consuming.

  My entire body screamed at me for rest.

  Chapter 18

  There was a soft beeping sound that was beginning to drive me nuts. Every time that I thought I was going to be able to fall asleep and ignore it, it sounded again. It was just loud enough to pull me out of a restful sleep, but so soft that it was almost like a lullaby.

  Except that some part of me knew that it wasn’t a sound I wanted to hear.

  Where had I heard that beeping before?

  The answer hit me as I was beginning to open my eyes.

  The last time I heard those beeping noises I had been in the hospital. That was the day that I had woken up…but my dad hadn’t.

  I gasped, sucking in a huge breath of air as I threw myself up from the bed. Immediately there was a stabbing pain that launched through my entire body, almost pinning me back to the bed, but I fought against it.

  I was in a hospital. I knew that I was.

  I just had to find out where Brett was and make sure that he was okay.

  My eyes were blurring and I raised my hands to rub them. My right hand and arm were fine, but lifting my left one felt like lifting a bucket of lead. Pain throbbed from my wrist and the huge brace put on it was itchy.

  I’d broken my wrist.

  Slowly, the memory of our car accident began to come back to me, but the one thing that I couldn’t remember is whether or not Brett had ever opened his eyes. If he’d answered me when I was calling him.

  If he had survived the accident.

  I gasped, sucking in a huge breath of air and trying to rub the blurry look out of my eyes. I had to see where I was. It had to be a hospital. That was the only thing that made sense with the beeping.

  But when I finally cleared my eyes enough to see, I wasn’t in a hospital.

  Mrs. Dimitri was standing at the foot of my bed, smiling at me.

  “Oh, Miss Bennett, it is so good to see you moving around! We thought that you might be out for a little while longer.” She reached down and lightly touched my foot through the blankets. I jerked back, unable to help myself, but it didn’t erase the smile from her face.

  “Where’s Brett?” He was all I could think about, but while I waited for her to answer, I became very aware of tubes taped to the back of my hand. I was getting fluids, and the tape on my arm was suddenly very itchy. I reached over to scratch them, but the heavy brace on my left hand suddenly weighed me down.

  I hadn’t realized just how exhausted I was.

  Suddenly it hit me that I should probably be in a hospital. It didn’t make any sense for Taylor Prep to bring me here, rather than to professionals, after that accident. I was surprised that I walked away from the accident.

  But had Brett?

  Mrs. Dimitri hadn’t answered, and I forced myself to swing my legs out from the bed. The covers were tucked in tightly under the mattress and I had to fight against them, but I finall
y managed my way out. She rushed over, grabbing me by the elbow to force me back onto the bed.

  “Miss Bennett! What are you doing? You need to be resting, young lady, not trying to get up to galivant around.” Her hands were firm on my arm and she pushed me back onto the bed. I wanted to fight her, but I was so very tired.

  “I just need to see Brett.” Even as I spoke, I realized that it was getting harder and harder for me to form words.

  Mrs. Dimitri looked past me and nodded to someone. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a needle enter the IV tubing that led into my arm.

  “What is that?” My tongue felt thick and suddenly I had to fight to keep my eyes open. The more I fought, though, the heavier they felt. I wasn’t going to be able to stay conscious for much longer. There was no way for me to know what they had put in my IV, but whatever it was, it had a kick.

  I asked one more time for Brett, but as far as I know, I didn’t make any sense. My speech was slurred, and even Mrs. Dimitri did answer, blackness engulfed me before I heard what she had to say.

  ***

  It was dark outside. At first, I thought that I hadn’t opened my eyes all the way. My eyelids were so heavy that moving them took a lot of effort, and by the time that I figured out that the lights were off and the sky was dark outside, I’d opened and closed them a dozen times.

  Doing that was exhausting, but I needed to find Brett. Without Mrs. Dimitri here then I may be able to get up and look for him. Slowly I turned my head from side to side, looking for someone who may stop me, but I was all alone. Taking a deep breath, I pulled the IV from the back of my hand, letting the tubing fall uselessly by my bed.

  Next was my covers. I had to lift them back to swing my legs out. Someone had put huge fluffy socks on my feet so they weren’t cold when they hit the tile floor, but I shivered in the hospital gown I was wearing.

  It didn’t matter.

  Finding Brett was the only thing that mattered.

  I’d been in to see the nurse a lot since I came to Taylor Prep last year, but I’d never explored any of the rooms off of the main area where I’d been treated. Now, though I was in a back room, and I immediately when to the door to try the knob.

  It was still in my hand. Someone had locked me in.

  Panic rose in my chest and threatened to consume me, but I took a deep breath, trying to focus. Okay, I was locked in, but that didn’t mean that I couldn’t find a way out. I was smart, but more than that, I was driven to find Brett. There was wire running through the glass in the door’s window, so I knew immediately that I wouldn’t be able to break it and reach through to unlock it.

  But that didn’t mean I couldn’t get out a regular window.

  Shuffling back to the window as quickly as possible, I unhooked the latch and leaned on it, forcing it up. It opened with a groan and squeak so loud that I froze in place, terrified that someone would come.

  Nobody did, and after I counted to 100, I leaned out the window. I was on the first floor of Taylor Prep, which meant that if I were careful, I should be able to climb out the window without getting hurt.

  Now wasn’t the time for me to try to figure that out, though. Now was just the time for me to get out of here and try to find someone who could answer my questions. Mrs. Dimitri made it obvious to me that she wasn’t going to come clean on what was going on, so I had to find my own answers.

  Taking a deep breath, I swung one leg out over the windowsill, carefully balancing in the window before swinging the other up and out. All I had to do was jump, land a few feet down, and I’d be free to walk around campus and look for Brett.

  Something stopped me.

  Whether it was a sound that I really heard, or just something that I thought I head, I froze in my spot. The moon was out, but I was completely hidden in shadow. Out of the darkness across the quad, I saw three figures walking.

  The night was still and clear, but I still strained my ears a little to try to hear what was being said.

  “At least she wasn’t with your cousin. Can you imagine the stink that your family would raise if he had died? This is bad enough, but if it were Jackie I think that your aunt would have an absolute shit fit, don’t you?” It was easily to tell Kelly’s nasally voice even from a hundred yards away.

  Amelia answered. “Yeah, she would have killed someone, I think. Brett was just so hot, you know? Just a damn shame.”

  Was hot? My stomach dropped and I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick. The harpies walking across the quad were talking about Brett like he was dead. The thought made my stomach twist and I dug my fingers into the frame of the window, bits of wood ramming up under them, but I barely felt the pain.

  They couldn’t be serious, could they?

  “No.” The word leaving my mouth was a whisper. As much as I hated the harpies, hated everything about them, I had to know if they were telling the truth. Taking as deep a breath as I could, I jumped.

  My feet hit the wet grass under my window and immediately slipped out from under me, sending me landing back on my ass. I struggled to my feet, gasping as I hit my left wrist. The pain radiated out, making me dizzy enough to lean against the building for support for a moment.

  I had to fight through it.

  “Wait!” Yelling loudly was out of the question, but I tried to make my voice carry across the quad.

  The harpies were all walking away, their arms linked together. They hadn’t heard me, or if they had, they didn’t care. Pushing off of the building, I stumbled after them. With their huge head start on me, I knew that catching up to them would be hard, but I had to pray that it wasn’t impossible.

  Each step was harder than the last. I counted six steps then stopped to breath and call after them, but they didn’t turn around.

  “Amelia!” My voice didn’t sound like my own and I wondered, for just a moment, if I’d damaged it in the accident, but I couldn’t worry about that right now. Who cared if I couldn’t sing if I didn’t have Brett?

  Six more steps.

  I called her name.

  Nothing.

  Six more.

  This time I sank to my knees as I called after them, watching them slowly get farther away.

  It was beginning to look completely helpless.

  “Please.” My plea was almost silent, but at that moment I felt strong arms lift me up from behind. They hooked under my arms, lifting me effortlessly and then turning me so that I was tucked against someone.

  Someone big.

  Strong.

  “Brett?”

  No answer, but the person carrying me started walking. We were headed away from the quad, away from the harpies. Normally, I would have been happy about that, but I needed to know if Brett was safe.

  If he was alive.

  “Please,” I begged. The tears streaming down my face were salty when they reached my lips, but my arms were too tired to lift and wipe them away, so I let them pool against my mouth. They ran in when I breathed and when I tried to speak, the salty taste ripping me out of my thoughts.

  “Please, I need to know. I need Brett.”

  The person holding me let out a sob, and that was the last thing that I heard.

  Chapter 19

  “Rose? You here with us?” The voice was kind and gentle and I fought to open my eyes. I knew that voice and I wanted to see the face that went along with it. Seeing the face meant seeing Kaleb, and that sounded pretty damn nice to me just then.

  “I’m here.” My voice sounded clearer and stronger than it had before, and I forced my eyes open. Kaleb was leaning over me, sitting so close to me on the edge of my bed that I could feel the heat from his body. He leaned over me and grinned, gently running his thumb along my cheek to my chin.

  “Holy shit, Rose. You had us running scared.” Keeping his hand on my chin, he looked up across the room. “Jacks,” he called, “come see our girl.”

  Footsteps got closer to me and then Jackie was at my side, gently taking my hand and squeezing my fingers. “Rosit
a, my Rosita, it is so good to see you awake. How are you? Do you hurt? We can get you some medication?”

  Shaking my head, I cut him off. “I’m fine, but where’s Brett? I need to see him. I need to make sure that he’s okay.

  Jackie and Kaleb glanced at each other and I caught the unease in their looks. There was something that flashed between them – a look that I couldn’t quite read, and I didn’t like that.

  “Guys.” Ignoring their protests, I pushed myself up to a sit. My left wrist still ached incredibly badly, but I wasn’t attached to an IV any longer, and that was nice. “Is he okay? The accident…it was bad, you guys. Really bad. I need to know that he’s okay. Please.”

  Jackie blew out a breath and ran his hands through his hair – a gesture that was so unique to Brett that my breath caught in my throat. “Rosita,” he began, but his voice got thick and he couldn’t finish.

  Kaleb took my free hand and squeezed it to get my attention. “Rose, he wasn’t brought here after the accident. He’s…dead. He didn’t make it, Rose. The truck that hit you? It slammed right into the driver’s side of the car and he was killed instantly.”

  “What? No, that’s not what happened at all. The truck didn’t T-bone us – it hit us from the back.” I shook my head, remembering the way it had slammed into us, how the car had spun and slid down the embankment. “No, it hit the back.”

  “Oh, Rose.” Kaleb stroked my cheek then looped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me so that I leaned into him. “No, honey. They told us that he was probably dead immediately, so he didn’t hurt. You, though…” He took in a shuddering breath and squeezed me tighter. “We know that you’re hurt. We know that this has go to be hard for you, especially after your dad.”

  “They told us that you may be in denial, Rosita, but we should expect that, especially after what happened with your dad. You’re okay, though, and that’s what matters. Kaleb and I are so thankful that they pulled you out of the car before it burst into flames.”