Page 31 of Obeying His Rules

Absolutely nothing helps.

I see the red lights first, flickering against the tree leaves and reflecting in the wet pavement and pools of water that have collected on the sides of the road.

And then I round the corner and see them: emergency vehicles. An ambulance, two cop cars at least with their lights flashing.

And beside them on the side of the road, Jenny’s car.

My heart cracks and the pain fills me.

“No…”

I screech to a halt behind them and leap out. There are men on the bridge, and two cops turn and see me as I sprint toward them. They snatch me up like a couple of linebackers, stopping me from passing. I struggle to push past them, my whole body feeling as though it were on fire.

“Whoa, take it easy, this is the scene of an accident,” one of them says.

“My girlfriend!” I roar. “Jennifer! Is that–did she?”

I point at the river as my emotions begin to rip through me.

“We don’t have any information yet, but you need to stand back over there.”

Another officer comes up from behind the two men. He looks like he’s older and holds a higher rank. He’s walking slowly and comes over to me with a somber look on his face.

“What’s your name?” he asks.

“Marlon. Marlon Carnell. What happened here!?”

“There was an…accident,” he replies. “A girl went over the bridge.”

“Oh God,” I groan, feeling as though I’ve been shot in the gut. I’m right on the edge of losing all control.

“It was Jenny, wasn’t it? Jennifer Everly? She’s my girlfriend!”

The officer says nothing. He looks down at a notebook in his hand, then back up at me. He’s about to say something, but it’s right then that the EMTs come up from the side of the road, four of them pushing and pulling a gurney with a body on it.

“Get off me!” I scream, throwing elbows like I’m in a fight for my life. I hear one of the cops groan as I connect with his ribs, and I tear myself away and run over to the gurney.

As I do, I feel my legs threaten to give out.

I feel tears burst from my eyes and fall down my cheeks.

I feel my skin go hot as though I’m on fire despite the cold.

I feel my heart shrivel up inside my chest as I look down at the gurney and see Jenny lying there, her face cold and white, her eyes closed…

…dead…

“Oh God!” I cry out as I collapse into the wet, fallen leaves beneath me. “Jenny, no! Jenny…”

7

RAIN

“Do we really have to go here again?” I moan. “We were just here like a few nights ago.”

Taylor makes a sound that’s something between a whine and a groan but is definitely filled with disapproval and looks down his nose at me as we all climb out of the Uber.

“Oh, you did not just say that, girl. I’ll have you know this is one of the hippest spots in Manhattan right now, okay? And thanks to me, we can get in, because I know one of the doormen who will totally let us in!”

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