Page 86 of Muse (Fighting Fate)

m the back and Dean picked up straight away. As soon as I realized it was his dad, I tuned out. If it wasn’t anyone who could give me any information on Mia, I didn’t want to fucking know.

We were almost to the school when Aiden ended the call. He looked pale.

“Well?!” I barely refrained from yelling the words.

“Ryan thinks she got knocked over.” His voice was scary fucking calm. It caused a chill to go down my spine. “She hit her head on the corner of a bench on the way down. She’s unconscious.”

My hands tightened on the wheel. Unconscious. The word echoed through my head like a motherfucking nightmare.

I turned into the school parking lot with the car almost sideways, and pulled up in a no parking zone. What the fuck did I care if they towed my car?

The school was in fucking chaos. People were scrambling everywhere, teachers flustered and angry, forcing everyone to stay away. We ran straight for the gym, pushing past anyone who tried to stop us.

The second we burst through the doors, we froze. It looked like a fucking warzone. People were still fighting, and it looked as though every male teacher in the school was there, trying to break them up.

Aiden saw her first. The second he darted off, I saw where he was headed and my heart fell into my stomach. All I could see was blood. There was so much blood.

We both slid down to the ground beside her.

“Don’t touch her!”

Aiden and I both looked up at Miss Waters who was positioned at Mia’s head, holding a blood soaked towel over her forehead. She had another towel, also blood soaked, resting under Mia’s head.

Aiden looked ready to explode, but Miss Waters gave him a hard stare. “I’m not trying to be mean,” she said. “She just shouldn’t be moved right now. The paramedics should be here any second.”

That was when I heard the sound of wailing sirens outside. They were loud. Close. I looked down at Mia. She looked so pale. I didn’t think I’d ever seen anyone look that pale before. Her skin almost looked translucent. A lump formed in my throat. I wanted to fucking kill whoever did this to her.

I reached out and softy took her hand. I don’t know what I was expecting, but I sighed with relief when I felt its warmth. I heard Aiden talking to her softly, saying reassuring words, encouraging her to hold on, but I couldn’t. Everything inside of me was locked in tight. It was scary. All of a sudden I felt so fragile, like I could crack and fall apart at any moment. My fucking life was lying on the floor, bleeding.

The paramedics arrived the same time as the police, shoving Aiden and I out of the way as they swept in. I moved like I was no longer in control of my body. Dean and Matt lingered near us, their faces set with the same dread and concern.

I glanced over at Miss Waters, standing beside Aiden, Mia’s blood all over her hands and shirt. My eyes stung and my chest ached.

I forced myself to watch the paramedics. I needed to see their faces as they assessed her. I needed to see that they weren’t too concerned. All around us I could hear the sounds of the police calling everyone to order. Students were being escorted outside, some willingly, some in handcuffs, but I didn’t care. I was only concerned about Mia.

With my fists clenched at my sides, I watched the paramedics work. Determination was the only emotion on their faces, making it impossible to get a read on the severity of her injuries. They worked fast to check her vitals and bandage her wound, then they quickly fitted a brace to her neck.

One of them pried each of her eyelids open in turn, shining a torch in her eyes before giving his partner a bleak look and muttering something under his breath.

I tensed even more. What the fuck did that mean?

The cracks of my fragility splintered with each passing second, spreading inside me like tiny spider veins, ready to shatter at any given moment. I didn’t know how to stop it. I didn’t know how to make this better. Turning away, I clasped my hands together on the back of my head and paced, squeezing my eyes shut tight. I wouldn’t look at Aiden. I couldn’t. If I saw once ounce of lost hope in his eyes, I was done for.

“All of you need to vacate the premises immediately.”

I opened my eyes to see a police officer standing before us, scowling menacingly.

I saw Aiden glare at him from the corner of my eye. “I’m not leaving her,” he said through clenched teeth, looking down at Mia.

“Neither am I,” I said, looking him in the eye to show him I was serious. I was surprised by the roughness of my voice.

The officer’s glare grew icier. “If you don’t leave now, you will be forcibly removed.”

Aiden looked ready to explode again. “I don’t care. I’m not leaving my sister.”

Miss Waters stepped forward. “Officer-” His gaze swung to hers with surprise. “These boys had nothing to do with what went on here today. In fact they only arrived two minutes before you did. This young girl here,” she said, gesturing to Mia. “Is Aiden’s twin. I’m sure their mother would feel better if she knew he was with her.”

The officer’s expression softened a little, but his resolve didn’t waiver. “I’m sorry Ma’am, but we have protocol to follow.”

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