Heartbeat (16 page)
It’s a little after three o’clock in the morning as I cautiously inch open my bedroom window.
There isn’t a sound inside the house. Dad is fast asleep, and he won’t get up for work for at least a few more hours. This is my chance.
A cold breeze hits my face as it moves the curtains. I carefully remove the screen, tilting it all the way inside my room.
Next, I hold my breath as I drop my duffle bag on the shrub below. It rustles a bit, but it barely disturbs the penetrating silence.
I hoist one leg over, peering into the stillness. It’s now or never. I ease myself out, gripping the window with my already numb hands. My fingers slide, squeaking slightly on the glass. I listen, my heartbeat racing.
Nothing.
No one heard a thing.
I turn, slipping my other leg through. Sitting on the ledge, I push off, dropping next to my duffle bag. An indentation of my body will be visible in the morning, but it’s sturdy enough to break my fall. I disentangle myself from the branches, hoist my bag over my shoulder, and start to run.
If I’m going to make it, I’ll have to move as fast as I can before the sun comes up. Dad can easily hop in his car and track me down in minutes if I don’t hustle. I have to take advantage of remaining on the road while I’m still hidden by the dark. No one is hot on my tail…
yet
.
The nearest payphone is outside a gas station about two miles away. Since Dad confiscated my cell phone, it’s my best chance to call Adam and get him to pick me up.
I’m no jogger, and it’s not long before I’m winded. I draw sharp, frigid breaths that burn as they enter my lungs. Since my winter coat was left at Adam’s, I’m wearing two sweaters on top of two t-shirts. The added bulk makes it hard to move quickly.
But I press on.
Sweat starts to form on my brow as a dog barks in the distance. The headlights of a car envelope me, approaching from behind. But after a brief pause, it keeps going.
I round a corner, trying to stay in the shadows and away from the glare of the streetlights. I don’t want to arouse anyone’s curiosity. I want to fade into the surroundings.
Up ahead, I see the lights of the gas station. I’m almost there.
My bag keeps slipping off my shoulder, so I adjust it across my chest as I increase my pace. It jostles awkwardly against my hip as I try to run.
As I get closer, I see the payphone attached to the wall of the building. It’s like a mirage that will disappear the closer I get to it. My breathing is ragged…just a few more feet.
I slam my hand down onto the receiver, knocking it off its cradle. I rummage through the pocket of my jeans for the change I painstakingly collected after foraging my bedroom for every spare nickel and dime I could find. I drop the coins into the slot as a dial tone echoes in my ear. I punch in Adam’s number and try to breathe. I don’t want to startle him when he answers.
One ring…two rings…three rings…please don’t let it go to voice mail.
“H…hello?”
“Adam?” I cry. I nearly lose it. After not hearing his voice for so long, the sound of it tugs at my emotions.
“Katie! Where are you? What’s wrong?” Instantly, he’s awake.
“Adam, I’m at the gas station up the road from my house, the one next to the car wash. Can you come get me?”
“Sit tight, I’m on my way.”
“Adam, hurry. I don’t know how much time I have before Dad finds me.”
“I promise, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Just wait there, okay? I’m coming.”
“Adam?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
I speed around a sharp curve, nearly losing control of the Neon. I have to slow down. Ending up in a ditch isn’t going to do Katie any good.
I barrel down the country road reaching the highway in no time. There are hardly any cars to get in my way, and most of the traffic lights remain green. I floor the accelerator. I have to get to her before her father realizes she is gone.
So he
was
holding her hostage. I should have known. He’s a brute, capable of anything.
Yet Katie managed to escape. I don’t know how she did it, but she’s still fighting back. I won’t give up on her.
Not now, not ever.
I drum my fingers on the steering wheel. I’m almost there, but the closer I get the more nervous I become. I’ll only relax when she’s by my side.
I see the gas station up ahead. It looks completely deserted. There’s no one around. I pull into the parking lot and drive up to the payphone.
The convenient store portion is in total darkness. I look around.
Where is she?
Then out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement. I look in the rearview mirror and see her running toward the car from the back of the building. Before I know it, she is opening the passenger side door.
“Adam, go!” she implores, completely out of breath.
She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I floor it, screeching the tires in the process. I race back the way I came, not looking back.
She’s breathing heavily, her eyes wild. She looks absolutely terrified gripping the door handle, silently willing the car to move faster.
I don’t speak. I don’t know what to say. I concentrate on getting her as far away from her father’s house as I can.
As we approach the highway, she begins to visibly relax. She leans back in the seat closing her eyes.
“Adam…thank you,” she says, her voice returning to normal.
“No need, Katie. You know I’d do anything for you,” I respond, meeting her eyes for the first time.
She gives me the most heartbreaking smile as she reaches up to touch my bruised face.
“I’m so sorry,” she whispers as tears begin to stream down her cheeks. “I’m so sorry he did this to you…to me…”
“Well, he’s not going to do anything to us anymore,” I say, leaning into her touch. “He can’t harm us now.”
She looks at me like she’s seeing me for the last time. A sorrowful expression crosses her face.
“I got my job back,” I relate, trying to encourage her. “Charlie and Tommy helped me bring down Chuck.”
She gives me a wistful smile, as if to comfort me.
“But don’t you see, Katie? Everything’s going to be okay. We made it,” I enthuse.
Why isn’t she convinced? What is holding her back?
It’s like I’m losing her. It’s like her presence is flickering as we move beneath the scattered illumination of the streetlights. One minute she is with me, the next she appears faded, indistinct.
What the hell is going on?
“Adam, I want you to know how much I love you,” she implores, her face wet with tears. “And how I’m so grateful for everything you ever did for me.”
A sudden urge to cry overpowers me, but I refuse to give in.
“Just know that your love gave me the strength I needed,” she says, willing me to understand how much she means what she says. “I couldn’t have done it without you.”
“Oh Katie, don’t…” I moan as my tears start to fall.
“I love you, Adam, and I’ll always love you.”
Those words are the last thing I hear as a blinding flash rips through the car. I lose control as it tumbles, rolling down an embankment. Instinctively, I reach for Katie’s hand, and she squeezes my fingers with all of her might.
I can feel someone squeezing my hand, desperately calling my name. I concentrate on willing my eyes to open in order to see who it is.
Through my snow-encrusted lashes, I see a guy leaning over me. He has longish blonde hair, but despite his scruffy appearance, he has the kindest brown eyes.
Eyes I could get lost in for a lifetime.
His lips meet mine as he exhales air into my lungs before resuming compressions on my chest.
He counts out loud while saying my name, urging me to stay with him.
I tilt my head to the side and see Grandma looking as if her heart is breaking. Snow swirls around her as a female police officer urges her to back away from the scene.
I move my head in the opposite direction and see Grandma’s car crushed beyond recognition. Grandma seems okay…but how can anyone walk away from such an accident?
The cold from the pavement seeps through my back. My coat has been stripped away and the young paramedic continues to work on me as my eyes start to glaze over.
As it turns out, someone isn’t walking away…
“C’mon, Katie. Breathe. I’m not giving up on you,” the young paramedic roars.
For a split second, he cradles my face, begging me to stay.
But the choice isn’t up to me.
All the images that flashed through my mind as the SUV slammed into the passenger side door of Grandma’s car seemed so real, like I lived a lifetime in that brief moment. The possibility is so tantalizing, I yearn to know what happened next.
But at least, Grandma’s not hurt; she will survive.
And this young paramedic is a part of my life, if only at the very end.
“Adam…” I manage to say.
He pauses, looking at me in amazement.
“How do you know my name?” he asks, bewildered.
But I don’t have the energy left to answer him, so I simply smile.
He will always be there for me when I need him the most.
My heartbeat stops as he holds me in his arms, my forehead pressed to his.
I really hate talking about myself. My goal is to have the shortest author bio imaginable. I would much rather have a conversation with my readers.
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