Falling - On the Banks of Lake Saint Clare (Falling - Book One) (28 page)

I faintly heard someone say,
“
Is she dead?”

“
Yeah,
I think so,” he said, breathless, covering my mouth.

“
Don’t waste your time.
She’s pathetic.”

I tried to open my eyes, hoping he was gone. I was so cold, “I am so sorry, Michael. I tried to fight. I really tried to fight. Oh my God, I’m going to die.”

“
Abbie
! Call 911!” I heard my friend,
Kaitlyn
screaming.

I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on but I couldn’t move. My body was completely frozen..

“My friend needs an ambulance fast!” I heard
Abbie
screaming hysterically. “We’re In the alley! In the alley! Hurry! Please Hurry! Alex, please tell me you are alive!.... I don’t know the address, it’s the alley behind the feed store….I am calm!” I heard her scream. “I don’t know…What do I do?....
Abbie
Jackson….Alex Dillard…., she’s 17….I don’t think she’s breathing ….There is so much blood…..I can’t tell where its coming from There is just too much…..She is really bad….I can’t tell….I don’t know….Please, please, hurry…I think she’s dead… I hear the ambulance… they are here….Thank you!”

A man said. “Alex? My name is
Kent
. I’m a first responder. I’m here to help you. Can you open your eyes? Alex?
She’s not breathing.
”

I felt bright light shining in one eye and then the other.

“Pulse is really weak. She’s lost a lot of blood. Turn her over. Back over,” the man said. “Lift.”

I heard another siren and a door slam. I wanted to know what all the excitement was, but I couldn’t move. I kept thinking it had to be a dream

“Is she going to be ok,”
Kaitlyn
was crying. “We let her leave alone. It’s out fault! Where are you taking her?” I heard
Kaitlyn
crying harder. “Alex, we are so sorry!”

“Sir, you are going to have to stand back.”

 
“Please, just give me one second with her, please,” I heard a familiar voice say, “Alex, you have to fight for me. You have to do this for me. Don’t you dare stop fighting.

Chapter 16

I heard a beeping noise. It was faint but very irritating. I opened my eyes and saw Michael’s head next to my hand. He was sitting in a chair but leaning forward, his head resting on the bed. He was asleep. I raised my hand and touched his check, causing him to jump. “Sorry I woke you,” I said.

He took my hand and squeezed it. I could feel it shaking as he squeezed it tighter. He smiled, “Oh damn girl, you scared me.”

“I know. You jumped.”

“No, not then. Overall scared me.” His eyes were bloodshot and he looked exhausted.

“What’s wrong? You look upset.”

“I’m
wonderful
,” he nodded.

I looked around the room. “I’m in the hospital, aren’t I?”
             
“Fraid so,” he shrugged. “I need to get your mom. She’s right outside.”

“No!” I said, grabbing his hand harder
.
“Don’t leave me! Please stay here, Michael. Please, don’t leave me alone” I felt tears burning my eyes. I had no idea why I was scared
,
but I starting shaking. My side started hurting like someone was turning and twisting my body into a knot. “Oh
,
God Michael, it hurts so bad. Help me! I can’t breathe.”

“Alex,” I heard Mom’s voice. “Can you wake up? Alex?”

I opened my eyes and saw my Mom had noticeably been crying.

“What’s wrong?” I asked. “I’m awake.”

“Awe! There’s my sweet angel,” she said.

I looked around, “I’m in the hospital? It wasn’t a dream?”

“Sorry, sweetheart, it wasn’t a dream.”

I took a deep breath. “I really hurt. It hurts to breathe. And my head is pounding. Was I in a car wreck?”

Mom took my hand, “No, you weren’t in a wreck. But you will be fine.”

“Where’s Michael? I think he was here earlier.”

“He
’s here. He’s asleep
.”

“Can you give me a Tylenol? I really hurt bad.”

“You have a morphine button that we push for you but it will be a couple of minutes before you can get anything.”

“I just need a Tylenol now. My head
really hurts
.” I reached up and touched the back of my
head and felt a bandage on it.
             
“What happened?”

“You have quite a few stitches. It’s going to hurt for a little while. You don’t know what happened, do you?”

“I don’t think so. I think I was in a car wreck. Oh Mom it hurts. Please see if I can have something.” The pain was so unbearable I started holding my breath to fight it. “Mom, please,” I felt my ribs and stomach feel like they were being twisted together and sharp jabbing pains kept shooting through my side. I held on to the bed rails feeling my entire body shaking so hard I couldn’t control it.
             
I could see she was crying looking sympathetically at me. She walked over and pushed a button and I fell asleep.

I heard Michael’s voice and another voice. I was so tired I couldn’t open my eyes.

“She called me and I could hear the fan I had heard from earlier when we talked. She had said she was by the feed store because I asked what the noise was. I kept saying her name and I could hear her and a man’s voice. I couldn’t tell what they were saying because the fan, but she sounded like she was scared or upset. It wasn’t the voice I hear when I talk to her. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah,” the other
man
said. “And where were you?”

“I was at the Anderson Ball field practicing. I called her friends to go check on her, because I knew it would take about 20 minutes to get back over here. I kept trying to call her back but it went straight to voice mail.”

“Do you have any idea who could have done this to her?”

“Maybe her father?” Michael said. “I am not for certain but he was really angry with her the night before and slapped her. I walked in on them this morning in an argument. He looked like he could have knocked her around without hesitating. I know him pretty well thou. It just doesn’t seem li
ke something he would do to this
extreme.”

I opened my eyes and saw Michael sitting on the bed beside m
ine,
and a policeman was sitting in a chair writing things in a note pad.

The police looked over at me,” She’s awake,” he pointed.

“Hey Baby,” Michael said, walking over to the bed.

I was too tired to talk. I felt like I was paralyzed. I couldn’t move anything but my eyes.

“You feel like talking?” he asked, holding my hand.

“Let me close my eyes for a few minutes, Ok?”

“Sure,” he smiled.

He walked back over to the policeman and sat on the bed.

“You really think her father could have done this? You know she was sexually assaulted, don’t you?”

“Yes, I know. I saw her in the alley. I have no idea who could be capable of doing that to her. Hopefully she will know who it was.”

I opened my eyes and saw the policeman walking to the door, Michael following him. “I’m going to go get him and take him in for questioning. Keep me posted on anything that you might think of.”

Michael turned around and saw me awake. “You feel any better?”

“I think so. I’m not really sure. I am so tired.”

“It’s the morphine, it
’
s making you sleep.”

“I don’t want to sleep. I want to talk to you. Can you tell me what happened?”

“Sure,” he smiled. “You want me to raise your head some?”

“Yeah,” I felt the top half of the bed rising.

“Let me know if it hurts. That good?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. It hurts, but nothing like earlier.”

He sat down on the bed beside me and it felt so great to have his warm body against mine.

“What do you remember?” He asked, kissing the top of my head.

“I don’t remember anything.”

“Well, just think. You were talking to me on the phone. You were walking by the feed store, remember the fan? I asked you about the noise
.
Who was in the alley with you?”

“I don’t know. I really don’t. I’m sorry. I’m just so tired.”

“Ok, it
’
s fine, Alex. No hurry.”

“You look tired,” I said, noticing how red his eyes were.

“I’m pretty tired,” he smiled. “I haven’t been able to sleep much since this happened.”

“Was it yesterday?”

“Um no,” he kissed my hand. “It’s been a week.”

“Dang, Michael. Was it that bad?”

He nodd
ed.
“Yes. It was bad. I thought you were dead. I really thought I had lost you. I have never felt so lonely and scared in my life. Oh
g
od, you scared me to death. You were so lifeless and covered with blood. I have no idea what I would have done if I knew who did that to you. I probably would have killed him.”

Chapt
er 17

“I am so glad I get to leave this place,” I said
,
getting into the wheelchair. “I know I slept almost the entire time, but it’s just going to be nice to be home.”

“Amen,” Mom said, gathering up the rest of my things. “A week in a hospital is like a year in real life.” We got into the car and started to pull out of the parking lot when I saw my dad’s car pull in front of us blocking us in.

He ran over to the car and started pounding on the window, “You little fucking bitch! You accused me of raping you?
I never touched your sorry ass!”

“Mom, I didn’t say anything. I swear,” I cried. “I don’t know who did it!”

“Get away from the car! I swear
,
I will call the police, Ted!”

“Call em!” He yelled, “Call em and tell them that the low life bitch is a liar!”

“Mom, Go!”

“I can’t. I’m blocked in.”

I saw a security guard walking toward the car and when my dad saw him, he got back in his car and peeled out. The guard knocked on the window
,
“You okay?”

“We are fine,” she said, not sounding convincing at all. She put the car in gear and we drove off. “We are going to get you a restraining order. This has got to stop.”

“Why is he so mad? I didn’t say
he
did it.”

“Michael mentioned to the police that you two had an argument the night before and that morning. They took him in to question him and take
DNA
samples. They let him go. It wasn’t him, but he was furious. You are not to talk to him, period. Do you understand?”

“Mom, was I raped? He said I was raped,” I could feel my body shaking.

“No, you weren’t. Thank goodness,” she sighed.

We got to my grandparent’s cabin. I saw
Abbie
’s car in the driveway.

“Mom, I look like crap. I don’t want company.”

“Hush, you need friends right now. They could care less what you look like.”

We walked in and I immediately zoned in on
Kaitlyn
and
Abbie
’s sad puppy eyes.

“Okay girls, I am fine, no guilt trip, no pity-case-Alex-looks. Just act like it never happened and move on.”

“She’s such a trooper,”
Abbie
cried.

I rolled my eyes. “I really need to sit down. That was a hell of a walk. Where’s Michael?” I asked, noticing he wasn’t there. I immediately got scared that he decided my life was too much of a drama for him.

“Hey Sweetie,” Grandma came over and kissed me. “I sent him to the deli to grab some goodies. We have a hungry crowd.”

“I don’t get the whole production,” I said, sitting on the couch.

“We missed you,”
Kaitlyn
said, giving me a hug
.

“What’s been going on with my best friends?”

Abbie
sat down beside me. “Erica isn’t here because she is with
Monty
. Oh Alex, he is so weird!
She doesn’t even act like she likes him. When they are together she ignores him. I’m not sure if she
just
likes the idea of having a boyfriend that’s in college, if they are even boyfriend girlfriend.
And that Lloyd is even worse than I thought. He told
Monty
that we went to second base. He poked my boob, Alex. Remember? I told you that!”