Chapter 49: Chapter 27: Disorient

JOCELYN

I slowly lower my head from exhaustion. It gets pulled back so I have to look at Ricardo. I hear the officiant start talking, but my head is spinning so much I am not even paying attention.

I get snapped back to reality when I hear gunshots start to ring outside. It’s so loud with the screaming from the room, outside the room, the gunshots going off, the officiant yelling in the room... I just cover my ears, crying as I drop to the floor.

Surprisingly, Marco lets go of my hair, and I see him run over to the window to peek out. The next thing I see is him dropping to the ground with a bullet in his chest.

I can hear gunshots ringing out from the front of the house and from the back. I curl up in a fetal position while I try to block out all the noise.

Then Ricardo grabs me and drags me toward a back door along with the officiant. All the while, the officiant keeps performing the ceremony.

We end up in a dark back room, where the officiant gets to that one part. Ricardo yells out, “I do.” He looks over at me. I just stare at him while he screams at me. The noise of gunshots starts to die down and it becomes eerily quiet.

“Say it, Jocelyn! Say you take me as your husband!”

I shake my head, which earns me a smack across my face. I still flat-out refuse as he looks at the officiant. He looks back at me and punches me hard in the side. I buckle over from the pain and fall on the floor, covering my ears.

Ricardo screams in my face, “SAY IT!”

I turn my head toward his voice since I can no longer see. Both eyes are now swollen shut. It seems everything is going in slow motion. I hear the door fly open and feel Ricardo turn toward the noise.

I hear a gunshot ring out and he flies off of me. He lands right next to me while a leg is still on me. He doesn’t seem to be moving anymore, and I am praying it’s all over. I hear someone quickly stepping over and they start screaming.

“I told you, fucker, she is mine! My goddess! My girl!”

I just lie there until I feel a hand on my arm. I scream and quickly try to crawl away. I don’t know where I am going since I can’t see anything.

They all must have stopped and stared at me on the floor because it gets very quiet. Someone slowly approaches and drops to their knees next to me. They seem to reach out to try and touch me, but they pull back, afraid to do so.

I feel them near, but no one says anything until the officiant speaks up. “Thank goodness you showed up. I dunno how much more she could take.”

“Jocelyn, baby, it’s Jessie. Is it going to hurt a lot if I pick you up? I don’t want to hurt you.”

I just start crying and screaming when I hear his voice—the voice I had prayed to hear over the last week.

“It will, but just do it, Jessie! Get me out of here, please.”

I grimace and scream when Jessie scoops me up and carries me out of the house. When we make our way out into the light, I can hear people gasping and cursing.

I can hear my dad trying to comfort Nate, I think, while we all load up to head to the hospital. I just snuggle into Jessie, shaking and crying.

Nate tries to touch my leg, but I scream and try to get away. Jessie quickly hugs me, trying to calm me down.

“What the fuck did he do to her, Jessie?” Nate asks. “I don’t know, Nate. I am sure she will talk when she is ready. By the looks of it, though, she has been through hell this last week. Let’s just give her some time to rest at the hospital.”

We seem to drive forever as I snuggle into Jessie, just taking in his scent. I can feel him kissing my head, and I just cling to his shirt with a death grip.

I feel the car start to slow and then park. As Jessie starts to move, I grab him, starting to scream. He tries to talk to me to soothe me.

“Jocelyn, I am not going anywhere, I promise. I won’t leave you, okay?”

I nod my head and he slowly gets out of the car while holding me. He carries me into the hospital and gently sets me down. He slowly pries my hands off, and I start to panic, trying to grab for where I think he is.

He moves my hands so he can hold them while everyone starts to work. They let Jessie stay as they start stripping me, but I scream out for Jessie.

He places his head next to mine and starts talking me through everything that is happening so I don’t freak out. I feel his hands start to tighten on mine which reassures me he isn’t leaving.

After a moment, they get too tight and I let out a whimper. He quickly loosens his grip and puts a hand to my cheek. I flinch under his touch, and he moves back to my hands, quickly kissing them.

The doctors give me some meds to knock me out while they assess all the damage. I just see darkness take over so I don’t feel any more pain.

JESSIE

Once she is knocked out, I make my way out of her room and head to a private waiting room. I quickly find a chair and collapse in it, crying. I start shaking and can feel the bile start to rise up.

I look around for a trash can and immediately start vomiting in it. I see about nine sets of shoes all standing around me waiting for me to talk. Nate hands me water which I drink, then I lean my head back against the wall.

“You guys are going to need to sit down.”

I see everyone start to sit. I see all the guys, her friends, Mandy, and her mom around the room.

“They have sedated her so they can get a better assessment of all her injuries. What I am about to tell you will not be easy to hear, but it’s better from me than the doctors.

“Aside from the bruises you saw on the outside, it’s worse under the dress. Most likely she has broken ribs and…”

“Out with it, Jessie!” Nate demands.

“Nate, her crotch is red and has dried blood. There are bite marks around her breasts and under the hair on her neck.

“The doctor doesn’t know if she has had sex or not but will check to see if Ricardo did…you know. He sees some tears at her opening but hasn’t looked inside yet.”

Nate jumps up and Frankie grabs him as Jocelyn’s dad grabs her mom, who is beside herself. I didn’t know how to break it to them. Either way, though, she is mine and I don’t care.

We all just wait in silence for any news from the doctor. After about an hour, he comes in and sits down to update us.

“Okay, so the bloodwork came back and is normal. The X-rays came back, and she has a few broken ribs, a fractured cheekbone, and a fracture to her wrist.

“We also noticed blood down on her crotch area. She has some tears, but looking inside, she is still intact, so there was no penetration.

“Now, as far as some marks, it seems like she fought. For some, though, I am thinking she was knocked unconscious, because she wouldn’t have allowed it otherwise. If you want to go back, we can let three in at a time.”

The air everyone has been holding in is released, and now everyone can breathe. I point to Nate and his parents to go in. His mom grabs me and drags me too.

The doctor allows it as I will be staying here with her until she leaves. I want to be here when she wakes up so she will have a familiar face.

When we walk in, her mom grabs her dad, sobbing, as Nate clenches his fists. I walk over and sit, holding her hands and kissing them. My goddess will never have to be afraid again.

Now we just need to get her home to rest. Get her better so she can get back to her normal life. I watch her sleeping and promise myself I will never let anything happen again. The thought of what she went through and how hard she fought makes me love her even more.