Josh kicked him again, and Hayden fell backward, hitting his head against a chest before he landed on his back on the floor. Josh raised his knife and aimed at stunned Hayden with a ferocity in his gaze that meant only one thing— death .
No, I couldn’t let him do this! I couldn’t let Hayden’s life be in danger because of me, again!
I couldn’t let him die...
I rushed in between them, facing Hayden as I stopped in the path of Josh’s knife —
I flinched when Josh stabbed me, feeling the punch in my back, and looked right back into Hayden’s shocked eyes. For a moment, I wasn’t able to comprehend what had just happened. Random thoughts twirled in my mind.
I got stabbed.
There is no pain.
Hayden looks so horrified.
I saved him.
Several seconds passed as Hayden and I looked at each other, frozen and lost in our own eternity. His painful, dark eyes revealed the abyss of despair and tragedy, and all suppressed emotions came down on me. It felt like a dam had been opened. Love, relief, need, grief, and want... Everything imploded inside of me.
I saved him. He won’t die because of me like Kayden did.
Something warm trickled down my back. At the same time, police sirens sounded in the distance.
In a quick movement, Josh pushed me and fled toward the back door. Hayden barely had any time to catch me before I crashed over him, and it was in that moment that the agonizing pain exploded inside of me, blinding me with its intensity.
I screamed and closed my eyes, becoming unaware of what was going on around me. I could feel Hayden’s body against mine, but I couldn’t process anything but the merciless pain.
So much pain.
“Sarah?” The voice sounded far away.
My eyes still closed, I inhaled and exhaled as a buzz filled my ears. Oh God, there was no way I would be able to withstand this pain...
“Sarah... Listen to me...”
There were some footsteps... Too many of them, actually.
“Open your eyes...” I felt too weak. When would this torture stop? “Open your eyes, dammit!” Too exhausted, I opened my eyes with immense difficulty and met Hayden’s gaze. He was holding me upright against him, and I noticed he was shaking like crazy. “Stay with me, Sarah!”
“We have two injured people here,” an unknown male voice said, but I couldn’t care less. All I could see was a devastated Hayden through my fading vision. He was crying .
“H-How is your arm?” I managed to ask.
“You idiot.” He closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened him, they burned with longing and adoration, and despite the confusion and surprise, it made me so warm inside.
“Why did you have to be so stupid?” His voice completely broke, sounding raspy and foreign to me. “Why did you jump in front of that knife to save me? You were supposed to run away...” I watched his tears slide down his cheeks, mesmerized. Suddenly, I felt another pair of arms around me.
“Miss? Stay with us! The EMTs are here...”
I was already falling into darkness as I looked at Hayden for the last time. Nothing mattered anymore.
I smiled sadly. I’ll miss you . I tried to say something, but nothing came out of my mouth.
My eyes closed against my will.
And I finally drowned in the welcoming darkness.
Chapter 28
THE PAIN. THE DISTANT sounds. The utmost confusion. The pain...
Where was I? Everything was white. A blinding, endless whiteness... All I felt was pain.
I heard some distant murmurs, but where were they coming from?
“H AYDEN, GO HOME.”
I could hear remote voices. Why couldn’t I see anything?
“She probably won’t wake up in the next few hours, so you should go home already and get some rest.”
Was that...? Ugh, I didn’t remember her name. I didn’t even remember her face...
“No. I’m not going anywhere.”
Hayden? I looked around, but all I saw was the unlimited whiteness. It spread everywhere . I was sure this wasn’t right. If Hayden were really here, there would be some blackness looming...
Ugh, this pain would never go away...
I OPENED MY EYES TO a foreign sight. Everything was blurry and so light that my eyes hurt. I wanted to remove this fog, but blinking didn’t help at all. I felt beyond weak and hurt.
I tried to keep my eyes open and focus on my surroundings. There was no strange whiteness, just the white walls and the hospital furniture. The hospital? I moved my head to look around, but it hurt so I closed my eyes, hissing.
“Sarah?” Hayden? I snapped my eyes open, flinching when the light hit me too hard. Why was the fog everywhere?
“Sarah, you woke up,” I heard his relieved voice. “I thought I lost you too.” An unfamiliar, gentle touch on my hand made me wonder if this was all a dream.
Everything was a daze, and I felt like I wasn’t really here. Everything hurt.
I wanted to open my mouth and say something, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t voice my thoughts.
Where was I? Was this Hayden real? Why did he look like he hadn’t slept in days? Why was his arm in a sling and his face covered in bruises?
The pain and sadness on his face turned into tenderness.
“I’m here. Nothing bad will happen to you anymore.”
What did happen? Ugh, why couldn’t I remember anything?
This fogginess was everywhere...
Seconds or hours had passed as I fought to stay in this world...
In the end, something dragged me away—away from this foreign room and this strange Hayden that looked tender and worried.
The last thing I felt was a numbing kiss on my lips... But then again, it could’ve been only my imagination...
I WOKE UP FEELING LIKE someone had smashed me into pieces and then patched me up. Everything hurt, and I couldn’t move without going through harsh waves of pain. Seriously, what was going on?
I blinked a few times to adjust my eyes to the bright morning light in the room and stilled when I saw I was in a hospital bed. The medical equipment, which produced regular beeping sounds, stood on my right side, and I was attached to an IV drip. I groaned. I hated those IV things.
“Sarah? You woke up.” My mother got up from the couch on my left, looking exhausted. I was actually surprised to see her here.
“Ugh. I feel terrible. What happened?”
She clasped her hands together in front of her. She looked sober, but she was stand-offish as always. If I hoped for her to touch me or show me any sign of comfort, I was wrong.
“Wait for a sec. I will call Mrs. Black.”
“Mrs. Black?”
“Yes. Carmen Black is in charge of you.” She went out of the room and returned a few minutes later. “She will be here soon. How are you feeling?” she asked, stopping next to my bed.
“Groggy. My whole body hurts... So what happened?”
“You got stabbed in the back.” My memories were a bit fuzzy, but I did remember Hayden...
Oh God, Hayden!
“What about Hayden?” I was sure my voice revealed my panic, but I didn’t care. He’d actually come to my house and fought Josh, only to get stabbed in the end.
“He’s all right, and he received treatment, so you don’t have to worry about him at all. His shoulder wound wasn’t serious because that knife didn’t hit anything vital, so he wasn’t required to stay in the hospital.” She narrowed her eyes at me. “He was here with you all the time.”