Page 104 of Dare You to Run
I lunge for the guy and hear Dagen screech, “Hendrix! No!” But it’s too late. I’ve already got my hand wrapped around his throat while the other is punching his face. Malik and Danté jump in, beating up a guy of their own, and fists start flying.
One guy doesn’t join in on the fight and walks over to Dagen who is now crying. I don’t hear what he says, but when I see him touch her arm I see red. I break free of the guys who are throwing fists at me, and kick one in the gut.
“Don’t touch her,” I roar just as Dagen takes a step back.
And in slow motion, I watch as my world falls apart. Dagen’s foot gets caught in the chair behind her and she loses her balance. The ground is wet and her other foot slips, unable to stabilize her. Her arms flail as I lunge for her, searching for something to grab onto. I hold my breath when her head slams onto the wrought iron patio table then crashes to the hard tile below.
“Dagen!” I scream and drop to my knees beside her. “Open your eyes. Wake up. Wake up!” Her eyes are closed and her body is limp.
Malik and Dantè come running over and the other guys stand around silently, the fight forgotten.
“Call. Call 9-1-1. Hurry!” Danté reaches for his phone and Malik stays kneeling beside us.
“Don’t touch her, Henny. Don’t move her neck. Keep it still, okay.” Mal talks calmly to me but all I can focus on is her pale face, void of its usual glow.
Malik continues to talk to me, and the guys we were fighting with are now offering support. Sirens wail as they draw near and the world around me grows blurry. It’s hard to see and I can’t understand what’s going on.
I rub my eyes to clear my vision and realize I have tears falling.
EMT’s rush over and begin wrapping her head with something to keep it from moving, but her eyes don’t open.
“She’s pregnant. Please be careful.” One of the emergency techs looks at me with a nod. “Call her parents.”
I grab my shirt and pull it on, then take my phone and pass it off to Malik. He unlocks it with the code and scrolls through my contacts.
“Sir, what hospital are we going to?” I ask, slipping my feet into my sneakers and grab Dagen’s shirt that still sits on the chair.
“Baylor Medical,” he tells me and Malik confirms he heard.
She’s hoisted up onto a gurney and buckled in. They move her to the waiting ambulance and lift her into the back. I climb in after them, sitting out of the way so they can work on her. The doors slam shut and I jerk when we drive away. My hands shake with the need to touch her, the words I said to Vaughan ringing in my ear.
I promise to always take care of them. I promise to always take care of them.
Never make a promise you can’t keep.
FORTY-TWO
Vaughan,Camille and I sit silently in the Dagen’s room, each of us with a hand resting on her. It’s like we need to feel her to know that she’s okay.
The doctors are keeping her sedated as they continue to evaluate and monitor her. They tell us she has a severe concussion but will do additional testing once she’s awake. For now, we wait for an obstetrician to come in and check on the baby.
We thought that the doctors treating her would tell us, but they just said that someone would be able to talk with us soon. I don’t understand why we have to talk to so many different doctors when they’re all in the same place and can relay messages. They really make it much more difficult than it needs to be.
“I wish they’d hurry already,” I mumble.
“I wish you would’ve taken better care of my daughter.”
“We’re not doing that, Vaughan. Hendrix told you it was an accident.” Camille’s eyes are both hard and soft at the same time.
“An accident that could have been avoided if you had kept your temper in check.”
“She was hit by a football that some asshole threw at her, Vaughan. Did you expect me to just sit there and shrug it off? Jesus Christ. Do you want me to protect her, or ignore her?”
“Stop it. Both of you.” Camille’s voice is terse and silences us.
We all go back to staring at Dagen, listening to the clock tick. It’s just before midnight. Malik told me that Vaughan and Camille were about halfway home when he called them. They turned around immediately and were running into the hospital an hour later. They found me in the waiting room, my head hanging between my shoulders and guilt sitting on my back.
A light knock on the door draws our attention and a new doctor comes walking in.
