Page 169 of Love Undiscovered
So stupid, Remi.
Something rolls into the road.
A tree? Is that an animal?
“Oh God,” Kat says. “Is that—”
“That’s a body,” Trevor says.
It’s Chance. It has to be.
I run faster, but it still takes forever to reach him. My lungs burn, my eyes are watering. The fire is so close. I just want to get to Chance. I need to get to Chance.
He’s not moving.
Oh God, please don’t be dead.
Please.
I’m so sorry.
I just want to try this with him one more time.
I stumble, nearly falling to my knees, I crawl the last few feet toward him.
“Chance, baby, are you okay?” I palm his face, trying to get him to respond. He’s covered in dirt and blood. His beautiful face cut and starting to bruise. His eyes remain shut.
“Oh God, Kat, he’s not responding. He’s hurt! We have to help him.”
Trevor uses a pocket knife to cut the twine binding Chance’s wrists and then looks him over. “He’s been shot. We need to stop the bleeding.”
“I’m trying to get through to 9-1-1,” Lexie says.
Chance’s wrist wounds are filled with blood, dirt, and rocks. Trevor takes off his dress shirt and cuts off the sleeves, wrapping one around each of Chance’s wrists. Then he uses the rest of his shirt to tie around the gunshot wound in his thigh.
“Chance, please wake up, baby, please. I need you. Don’t leave me. Please. Oh God. I’m so sorry. I’m such an asshole.” Tears pour down my face. Real tears that make me sob.
Chance opens his eyes slightly. “This you not crying, beautiful?”
I half laugh, half sob and throw myself over him. He flops an arm over my back and attempts to hug me.
“Don’t go, baby, please. Don’t go. We have so much to do together, still.”
I hear him whisper, “Date questions,” but I can see in his face when he slips back out of consciousness.
“I got through!” Lexie cries. “An ambulance is on the way.”
“We’ve got to get out of here and closer to the edge of the park,” Trevor says. “Ladies, do you think we can carry him?”
“I can help,” Kat says.
“That’s good, Kat, ‘cause sorry to say but you and I are closest in height, so you’re going to get the brunt of it with me. Lexie, Remi, let’s get him up and drape his arms around Kat and my shoulders. Then you two can assist in supporting him by helping to hold him in place.”
It’s a struggle to get him up and draped around Kat and Trevor’s shoulders. I know it has to hurt. Each time we grab his wrists for traction, we dig into the wounds even more. Dragging him down the road is near impossible. With each passing second, I feel him drifting farther and farther away.
The sound of sirens in the distance is a welcome relief. I just wish I knew if they were fire trucks on their way to the fires, or an ambulance on its way to save him.
Relief floods through me as I see a vehicle approaching.
