Page 30 of Further To Fall

“Hey, Firecracker, what’s up?”

A voice that wasn’t Carter’s filled the line, and a chill skittered down my spine. “Austin? It’s Taylor.”

Her sniffling sounded across the line, and my muscles locked up as I gripped the phone hard. “Taylor, what’s going on? Is Carter okay?”

“They say she’s going to be fine, but she was attacked in the parking lot this morning.”

My whole world slowly ground to a halt, and my ears began to ring. Images flashed in front of my eyes of Carter’s devilish grin as she switched the car radio to a country station, knowing I hated that shit, her eyes twinkling as she shut my car door to head into school. Why didn’t I fucking walk her to her classroom? That thought jarred me back to the reality in front of me. “Where is she?” I barked.

“We’re at the school, with police and paramedics. I can’t leave, but I didn’t want her to go to the hospital by herself. I tried calling Liam, but there was no answer, and I didn’t want to leave something like this on his voicemail.”

“I’m on my way.” I punched the end button on my screen and fought the urge to throw my phone against the wall. “I gotta go, Mel. Carter was attacked at school. I don’t know what the fuck is going on.” I didn’t wait for an answer, I just charged out of the gym and towards my car. All I could think was that I had to get to her.

I slammedthe door to my car and took in at least three cop cars and an ambulance, lights all flashing. I elbowed my way through the crowd of onlookers as I made my way towards the ambulance. Carter was sitting on the edge of a gurney, staring off into space with what looked like an ice pack pressed to her neck, an EMT taking her pulse.

It was as though she sensed I was there because she suddenly looked up. When our eyes connected, she dropped the ice pack and tried to stand, but the EMT pressed her back to sitting. When the ice pack fell away, I saw a hideous string of reddish marks around her neck that I knew would soon turn purple, and the side of her beautiful face was clearly swollen. By the time I reached her, I couldn’t seem to take a full breath. “What happened?” I choked out, my voice raw. I fought the instinct to pull her to me, to touch her anywhere because I didn’t want to cause her any more pain.

Carter reached out and grabbed the side of my shirt, fisting it and pulling me closer to her. “Michael’s dad,” she said. Her voice was so hoarse, it sounded like someone had scoured her throat with steel wool.

I silently cursed and moved even closer to her. I gently and so very cautiously began to rub my hand up and down her back. “I should have walked you in.”

She pushed her weight into my side. “Not your fault.”

“Why the fuck wasn’t he in jail?” I fought to control the level of my voice. Struggled to breathe evenly. With every slow pull of air, I could hear the blood roaring in my ears.

A nearby police officer heard my outburst and turned to walk over. Taking in my proximity to Carter and her clearly leaning on me, he started to speak, “He was out on bail, but he’s back in custody now. His bail’s been revoked, and he won’t be getting out anytime soon.” I clenched and unclenched the fist that wasn’t touching Carter, trying to take comfort in the fact that this monster was behind bars. The knowledge did nothing to calm me. “You should be proud, though. Your girl here did a number on him. Kneed him in the balls and broke his nose.”

I tilted my head down to meet Carter’s eyes.

“I remembered what you taught me,” she said in that same hoarse whisper that made me what to murder someone.

“You did real good, Firecracker.” I turned back to the cop, jaw working. “What happens now?”

“Like I said, he violated the terms of his bail by even being on school grounds, so he’s in jail. At least until his trial. We’ve put an order of protection in place for Miss McCarthy, and he’ll be charged with assault on top of the abuse charges he’s already facing.”

As the cop finished speaking, the EMT chimed in. “We should get her to the hospital now to get checked out.” He looked at Carter. “Is anyone riding with you?”

Before Carter could answer, I jumped in, “I am.”

“Okay, let’s get going.” He laid her back on the gurney, buckling her in place with what looked like three seatbelts.

I cringed as she was loaded in. I fucking hated seeing her like this, all weak and helpless. But I reminded myself that she wasn’t either of those things, she had defended herself and had taken that bastard down. I inclined my head toward the cop. “Can you do me a favor and give my car keys to the receptionist in the office? Tell her I’ll be sending someone to pick them up.”

The officer extended his hand for the keys. “No problem. Listen, man, I see that look of rage in your eyes. Don’t do anything stupid, okay? Just be there for her.”

I swallowed words that I wanted to hurl at the cop and instead said, “Yeah, man, I got it.” And with that, I hauled myself into the back of the ambulance.

The ride was a quick one, and we were swiftly ushered into an ER exam room. I stayed close by Carter’s side, bending down to gently brush the hair back from her face. “I texted the guys to let them know what happened and ask them to pick up my car from the school.”

Carter blanched. “Tell Liam not to call my parents.”

“You sure about that?”

She started to nod but then stopped herself, the action clearly causing her pain. “I’ll call them tomorrow when my voice is back to normal.”

A nurse bustled in, taking Carter’s vitals and prepping an IV. Carter’s eyes widened a bit at the sight of the needle, and I took her hand in mine. She squeezed it as the nurse inserted the IV. “We’re just getting some fluids in you now, but once the doctor examines you, we’ll get you some pain meds,” the nurse said as she hurried back out.

Turning back to Carter, I saw that her eyebrows were pinched together in pain. “Your head hurt?” I asked.

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