Chapter 25
His Nerd
Hunter
I wake to the blaring of police sirens and the red-and-blue flash of their lights. The crimson reminds me of blood dripping from Drewâs knife, of his psychotic smile as he pulled the trigger.
I want to kill the bastard with my bare hands.
Right now, I sit in handcuffs in a police car. Itâs early in the morning, only a few hours since ~it~ happened, but it feels like an eternity. Iâm restless. I canât stay here.
More than anything, I want to see Ava, to know if she is alive. When I saw the chair Drew had strapped her in, it was empty, but no one would tell me anything because Iâm not family. I have to know that sheâs okay.
I donât notice Liam and Declan walking up to me until theyâre right outside the police car. They knock on the window, and a policeman tells them that they can have five minutes to talk to me before they take me to the police station. He then backs up a little, giving us space.
âYou alright, man?â Liam asks. He speaks quietly so the policeman canât hear what weâre talking about.
I sigh. âYeah, I guess, but I really just need to see Ava. I need to know if she is okay. It was horrible what happened, and I need to know she will be okay.â
My friends share a look I donât like.
Shaking his head, Liam says, âWeâll get you out of this, okay?â
I nod just as the policeman comes over, saying our time is up. Liam and Declan get in their own car to follow us back to the station and bail me out.
As the policeman drives away from where I last saw Ava, I slump back as far as I can.
At the station, the policemen have endless questions, which makes processing take forever. By the time Iâm placed in a cell, my bail set at $300,000, I know I wonât get out of here tonight. Even Liam and Declan donât have that amount of money on hand.
Iâm just glad that Drew is in another cell. It gives me peace of mind knowing that he will almost certainly be charged and sent off to prison. I will do everything in my power to make sure he stays there for the rest of his life.
Ten minutes after being put in a cell, during which time I prayed Ava was okay and planned to kill Drew if she wasnât, an officer comes to my cell and lets me go. I am surprised, to say the least, but now I can go to Ava.
I rush out of the cell and make my way to the front of the station, where Liam and Declan are waiting for me. I nod my respect to them, which they accept graciously, and then they drive me straight to the hospital.
Everything is going so quickly and yet not quick enough. All I want is to see her.
~I shouldnât have pushed her away. I shouldnât have hurt her. I should have kept her safe. I should have warned her right from the beginning.~
I just donât understand why Drew went after Ava specifically; since Jasmine, Iâve slept with many other girls. But after what sheâs been through because of me, I wouldnât be surprised if she hated me forever.
Realizing that she might reject me, I feel even more anxious to get to her, to tell her Iâll never let this happen to her again. That I should never have let this happen in the first place.
When we finally pull up to the hospital, I jump out of the car before we even park. I sprint through the hospital doors, getting a few startled looks, but I donât stop to apologize or to see if Declan and Liam are behind me. I just rush to the front desk.
When I slam my hands down on the desktop, the nurse behind the counter jumps in fright, so I try to swallow my urgency and slow my breathing. Using the calmest tone I can muster, I say, âI need to see Ava Darling.â I notice that my voice sounds strained, and I cough slightly to cover it up.
Her name sounds so nice when it rolls off my tongue.
I sense Declan and Liam come up behind me, but I ignore them as the nurse looks up Avaâs room information. When she tells me room 76, I dart off again.
When we find it, Liam places his hand on my shoulder and gives me a reassuring nod. Declan gives me a little shove, which says everything. I take a deep breath, preparing myself for the worst, and push the cool metal of the hospital door handle down.
It is quiet in the room, apart from the relentless beeping of monitors, and the walls are a burning white. I turn away from them, finding a small, frail body lying in bed under white sheets.
Avaâs skin is pale from the amount of blood sheâs lost. Her lips, once plump and red, are now thin and blue, and I canât take my eyes off them. If it wasnât for the heart monitor, I would have thought she was dead.
Iâve been staring at Ava for a few minutes when her heartbeat starts slowing and the monitor goes crazy. Panicked, I stand there, frozen, as Liam and Declan rush into the room and press the emergency button, as doctors and nurses shove us out. I stand outside the door, frozen, as they take out defibrillators, as her body spasms on the bed.
My knees buckle under me, and I feel tears fall like a river as her life slips away. I am losing her once again.