Chapter 25

 

As Sammy ran off, another car pulled up to the scene.  Nick saw the flash of the headlights and tried to lift his head so he could see who it was.  But a pain ran through his chest, and he lay back, gasping for air.

 

“Nick!” he heard a voice call.

 

Even through his agony, Nick recognized that voice.  “Brian!” he screamed.  “Bri, over here!”

 

“Oh, God, Nicky!” Brian gasped, catching a glimpse of Nick, whose still form was illuminated by the headlights. 

 

“Bri?” another voice called.

 

“Over here, Jules!” Brian yelled, his voice shaking with fear, as he saw the large bloodstain on the front of Nick’s shirt.

 

Seconds later, I appeared before Nick.  “Oh, God, Nick!” I cried, kneeling beside him.  “What happened?!”

 

“Justin,” Nick moaned weakly.  “And… and Britney.”

 

“Britney?” I asked, my mouth dropping open.

 

Nick nodded slightly.  “She was with Justin.  She shot me,” he whispered, briefly closing his eyes and opening them again.

 

“Just hang, Nick,” I said soothingly.  “Brian, do you have your cell phone?  We need to call an ambulance.”

 

“Sammy’s doing that,” Nick interjected.  “She… she went to get her phone from her car.”

 

“Where’s her car?” Brian asked, looking around. 

 

“Down the road,” Nick mumbled softly. 

 

Brian squinted down the road and could make out the shape of a car not far away, illuminated by the moonlight that streamed down upon them.  He then noticed a strange lump lying on the side of the road a few yards away.  He went to inspect it and gasped when he realized what it was.

 

“Hey, Julie, come here,” he said.

 

I had my hands resting on Nick’s chest, applying pressure to his wound.  I pulled off my jacket and lay it across his chest.  “Nick, I want you to hold your hands on top of my jacket,” I instructed, placing his hands on his chest.  “Keep pressure on it, ok?”  He nodded, his eyes wide with fear.  “I’ll be right back,” I promised and ran over to where Brian was crouched.

 

I gasped when I realized what was lying beside him.  It was Britney.  She was lying unconscious, and I could see that she had also been shot, for there was sticky blood spread across the front of her black top.  She had also been beaten, for her face was covered in blood as well, and I could see bruises starting to form.  The bullet wound was in her chest, and I feared it had gone into her heart.  I grabbed a hold of her wrist and felt for a pulse.  She had a steady pulse. 

 

“She breathing,” Brian remarked.

 

I nodded.  “Do you think Justin did this to her?” I asked him softly.

 

He shrugged, his expression pained.  “I don’t know,” he said.  “Probably so though.  Nick and Sammy don’t carry guns.”

 

I sighed.  Suddenly, Britney’s eyes fluttered open, and she stared up at me.  She looked confused at first, but then she recognized Brian.

 

“What are you doing here?” she asked him, her voice low.  Then her gaze focused back on me.  “And which one are you?”

 

“I’m Julie,” I said, staring levelly at her.  “And I happen to be a doctor.  Do you want me to help you or not?”

 

“Did Justin leave?” she asked, rolling her eyes to the side to look for him.

 

“Yeah,” I said. 

 

She suddenly gasped.  “My chest hurts,” she murmured.  “I hurt, like, all over.  Please, make it stop.”

 

“Where is Hope?” Brian suddenly asked, before I could say anything to her.

 

“Huh?” Britney asked.

 

“Yeah, where’s Hope?” I repeated Brian’s question. 

 

“I don’t know,” she said, but I could tell she was lying. 

 

“Listen, you slutty little bitch,” I began, my voice low, my eyes narrowed coldly at her,  “you’re hurt bad.  I’m a doctor, and I can help you, but not unless we know where Hope is.”

 

Britney’s eyes widened at my tone.  She looked up at Brian and saw the cold look in his eyes, as well as mine.  But she saw something else in his eyes that affected her, something behind the anger in them.  She saw a look of worry and fear.  This was the father of the little girl she had helped Justin kidnap, and he was obviously sick with worry over his child.

 

Something inside Britney snapped, and she softened.  “She… she’s in the basement of Big J’s,” she said softly.  Brian and I exchanged confused glances.  “It’s… it’s, like, you know, a strip club,” Britney specified.  “Justin used to own it for awhile, and I worked there, but it, like, went out of business about, like, eight years ago.  It’s been, like, abandoned since then.”

 

My eyes widened.  Justin owned a strip club?  And Britney “worked” there??  It was almost laughable.

 

“Where is this ‘Big J’s?” Brian asked anxiously.

 

“It’s not far from here… about, like, ten or fifteen miles down the road from here,” she said weakly.

 

He nodded.  “You better be telling me the truth,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Britney.

 

“I am, promise,” she said.  “Just please, don’t let me die.”  She looked up at me, her eyes pleading.

 

“I won’t,” I said.  “Did Justin do this to you?”

 

She nodded miserably.  “That son of a bitch,” she murmured.  “He beat me, and then, he, like, shot me.”  Her eyes became shimmery looking, and I realized she had started to cry.

 

“Listen,” I said, my voice softening.  “Don’t worry.  You’ll be fine.  But you better be telling the truth about Hope, or there will be consequences.”

 

“I am, I swear!” Britney exclaimed.  “I didn’t really want to do it anyway.  Justin made me do it.”  Her tears began to spill down her cheeks.

 

I was unable to feel too sorry for her, and there wasn’t really anything I could do for her then.  I hoped that help would get there soon, not for her, but for Nick.  I could really care less what happened to Britney, but I cared deeply for Nick.

 

Just then, Sammy appeared.  “Julie!” she cried. 

 

“Did you call an ambulance?” Brian asked anxiously.

 

She nodded.  “I just got off the phone with 911.  When did…” Her sentence trailed off as she noticed Britney lying there.  Sammy’s eyes narrowed.

 

I caught her gaze and slightly shook my head, warning her not to say anything to Britney.  “Nick’s over there,” I said, pointing.  “Go stay with him, ok?”

 

She nodded and hurried over to Nick.  A minute later, she screamed, “Julie, come quick!”

 

Alarmed, I leapt up and ran to her.  Brian followed me.

 

“He stopped breathing!” Sammy cried, her eyes wide with terror. 

 

My heart skipped a beat.  I bent over Nick and put my head to his chest.  He was not breathing, and I could not hear his heart beating.  I took his wrist to check his pulse.  I got nothing. 

 

My own heart racing, I moved my now bloody jacket off of Nick’s motionless chest and began CPR.  I could not believe I was doing this again to him.  Why did this have to happen? 

 

I had no answers.  All I knew was that I had to get his heart started again, if it was the last thing I did.

 

“Oh, God, Nick, come on,” Brian begged, his voice filled with anguish.  “Come back to us, please Nick.”

 

Sammy said nothing, just sobbed, her entire body shaking. “Nicky,” she murmured, her voice stricken with tears. 

 

I said nothing, just kept pressing down firmly on Nick’s chest and breathing into his mouth, praying silently that my attempts to revive him would prove successful.

 

Relief washed over me, as I heard sirens approaching.  Moments later, some paramedics were there, and it was out of my hands.  I stepped back to let them work on Nick and watched as some more went over to where we had left Britney. 

 

I stood beside Sammy and put my arm around her trembling body.  Brian came up and wrapped us both in a hug, offering us what little comfort he could. 

 

“Do any of you want to ride with him?” a paramedic asked not long after that.  I saw that they had loaded Nick onto a stretcher.  One of the paramedics straddled Nick on the stretcher, keeping up the chest compressions. 

 

Brian and I both looked at Sammy.  “You go,” I said to her.  “We’ll meet you there.”

 

She nodded.  Then she turned to Brian.  “Leigh’s car is parked down there,” she said quickly, pointing down the road.  “The keys are in it.  One of you needs to drive it to the hospital or back home.”

 

“Okay,” Brian replied.  “We’ll see you later.”

 

“Bye,” Sammy whispered and hurried off to where the paramedics were loading Nick into one of the two ambulances that were parked in the road.

 

Brian and I watched as both vehicles drove off, their sirens wailing. 

 

“I’ll take Leigh’s car, if you want,” I offered.

 

Brian nodded.  “Sure,” he said.  “Wait for me to drive by, and then you can follow me back to the hospital, ok?”

 

“’Kay,” I said.  Then I jogged down the road to Leighanne’s car and climbed in.

 

A minute later, Brian drove slowly past me in the van.  I started the car and pulled onto the road and drove, following close behind him all the way to the hospital.

 

***

 

 

Next

 

Back to index