"Reed!" I shouted, finally finding my voice. I tried to sit up and reach out for him but found myself restrained.
"Ma'am, please lie down. You need to relax. We're taking good care of your friend. We need to make sure you're okay."
A sharp pain in my stomach caused me to wince and a throbbing in my head began. I could feel that something wasn't right with me. I kept my eyes focused on the car and watched as the paramedics and firefighters worked to get Reed out. My vision started to tunnel and I could feel the darkness closing in on me. I forced my eyes open, determined to make sure Reed was okay. He had to be okay.
I let my head fall to the side and watched as they pulled Reed's body out of the car and placed him on a gurney. My eyes fluttered. I could feel myself getting weaker. The darkness was coming soon. I wouldn't be able to fight it much longer.
Another sharp pain in my chest took my breath away and the throbbing in my head worsened. The voices of the paramedics filtered in and out. My eyes felt heavy, but I followed Reed until he was put in the ambulance, out of my sight. Tears spilled out of the corners of my eyes.
Please just let him be okay. Please.
His face was the last thing I saw before the darkness pulled me under.
JAKE
I WATCHED as the car swerved off the road. The red taillights grew fainter as the car flipped and bounced down the embankment.
Rico pulled the car over as my eyes remained focused on the car until it came to a halt in an upside down position.
“What do you want to do, boss?” Rico asked breathlessly from the front seat. I couldn’t think of what to do. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do.
“We should probably get out of here pretty quick, boss, or someone may see us.” I could hear the uneasiness in his voice. Even though, I knew what he said was true, I wasn’t ready to leave yet.
There was a good chance Emily was gone—dead—and I was still struggling with how I felt about that. There was a pull deep inside of me, wanting me to get out of the car, run down there and make sure she was all right. Then there was another part of me that didn’t care if she was dead. I was pretty sure I wanted her dead anyway. I would’ve killed her with my bare hands if she hadn’t gotten away from me earlier tonight.
She had betrayed me. She had left me and started a new life. She had caused me more pain than I’d ever felt in my life. I wanted to hurt her. I wanted her to feel pain. But now, as I stared down at the wreckage, I didn’t know if that was how I felt anymore. The past few months without her had been horrible. There were so many times when I didn’t want to go on anymore without her, but I always had the hope that I’d get her back one day. Now, if she was dead, I’d never get her back.
“We’ve gotta go, now,” Rico’s voice interrupted my thoughts again. “A car’s coming up behind us. He’s gonna see the wreck down there and call the cops.”
I didn’t respond, but I felt the car pull forward. My eyes stayed focused on the wreckage until it was out of sight.
We went back to our hotel in the city and I didn’t sleep a wink that night. Rico was on edge the entire drive back to New York and told me, I don’t know how many times, that we needed to get back to Vegas. After about an hour of trying to get me to respond, and me just ignoring him, he finally stopped. I just couldn’t think about leaving New York. Not like this. My whole purpose of coming here was to get Emily. It just didn’t seem right to leave without her.
My mind continued to flash back to the accident and I couldn’t help but wonder if she was dead or alive. When I gave Rico the order to run the car off the road, I was so angry with her that I wanted her dead. But now, I wish I could take it all back. I may have just killed the love of my life. The thought of her lying dead in a morgue somewhere made me sick to my stomach.
The next morning Rico scanned all the newspapers and news stations but found nothing about the accident. I thought for sure since Reed Alexander was such a big name in New York there would be something about the wreck.
“I did what you told me to do, boss. You aren’t upset with me are you?” Rico’s voice was low, cautious.
I raised my eyes to meet his. He was sitting in the corner of our hotel room and it was easy to see the fear on his face. He may have been the one that ran the car off the road and killed my girl, but I gave the order. If he hadn’t done it, I would have seen it as him disobeying me and probably killed him myself.
I shook my head. “It was my call. My decision.”
18
REED
THE HOSPITAL could be eerily quiet at night. With the silence, you become even more sensitive to the sounds of the machines, the whispers and footsteps from the nurses, and the quiet stillness in between. Each beep from the machines was even more painful than the ones before it. Each second that passed and Emily's eyes remained closed, I got more nervous that she would never open them again. With the guilt that had been building up in my chest over the last few days, I thought at any moment it would explode.
It was only a few minutes before the accident when I had promised Emily that I would protect her from ever getting hurt again. Now, as I stared at her, I knew I had failed her. I had lied. I wasn't able to stop him.
I would never forgive myself if she didn't wake up from this. Hell, even if she did wake up, I would still never forgive myself for letting this happen to her. Taking her hand in mine, I closed my eyes and begged her to open hers. It was something I'd done since I woke up in the hospital a few days ago and found out what happened.
I didn't remember much of the accident, and the memories leading up to it were a little fuzzy. After a while, I remembered what Emily had told me. I remembered our dinner and how she disappeared after I got a phone call. I remembered her finally arriving at my place with her hair disheveled, her eyes red and swollen, and marks around her neck.
I pushed the memories from my mind, leaning forward and kissing her hand. My ribs screamed out in pain and I winced, taking in a sharp breath.
The doctors told me it was amazing that I survived the wreck. That either of us had. I had four broken ribs, a fractured left shoulder, and a concussion, but other than those injuries, I should heal up pretty nicely. The doctors told me that Emily was actually conscious when the paramedics got to her, but she didn't tell anyone what happened. The only thing she seemed to care about was making sure I was okay. That only made me feel worse. The doctors told me she had some swelling in her brain and was in a coma. She had two broken ribs, a dislocated hip, and broken ankle. They told me they wouldn’t be able to assess the long-term damage until she woke up. My whole body was still sore from the accident, but it was nothing compared to the pain I was feeling when they described her injuries to me.
The cops had questioned me the moment I woke up, wanting to get all the information they could before I forgot anything. I told them everything I remembered. I told them about Jake Terrell. I told them everything Emily had told me that night. About how she had been running from him. I explained to them how the crazy son of a bitch chased us and ran us off the road. That before that, he had terrorized Emily, and she came over to my place, totally hysterical, scared for her life.
Closing my eyes, I tried to forget the terror in Emily's eyes from that night. Though, truthfully, I would settle for seeing that fear again if she would just open her eyes.
Squeezing Emily's hand, I wished for her beautiful smile. I wished that she would wake up and be okay. I also wished that I would find the son of a bitch that did this to her and make him pay.