Page 114 of Heart of The Night

‘What’s happened?’ I asked, my chest tensing in alarm.

Her eyes grew shinier. ‘It’s Will.’

My heart skipped a beat, then seemed to stop altogether.

‘He’s been attacked in the gents,’ she said. ‘Andy told me to fetch you.’

I surged from my seat, the world around me shattering into disjointed shards of reality. Her words echoed through the chaos of my mind, a relentless drum that beat with no rhythm nor reason. I couldn’t grasp them, couldn’t make sense of their terrifying implication as they spun around me like a dark cloak of mist. I was a ghost in my own body, a spectator to my own nightmare, every sensation felt through a veil of thick, suffocating fog.

Driven by a visceral, primal instinct, I rushed toward the gents, my heart thundering against my ribs like a wild thing caged. The corridor seemed to stretch endlessly before me, each step a battle against the tide of fear rising within. A cluster of security guards were stationed outside the toilets, barring entry. My gaze locked onto Andy, who stood amongst them, his features etched with lines of sheer panic. Seeing him so unravelled sent a shockwave of dread straight to my core. My heart, already pounding, catapulted to my throat.

‘Andy,’ I called. His gaze slid to mine, and the anguish written across his face was like a blade to my heart.

‘Cara,’ he choked out, his voice a broken sob, his form sagging as if he might crumble to pieces.

Never had I felt fear like this – raw and consuming. Seeing Andy so utterly undone magnified my own horror. Tears carved silent paths down his cheeks, his gaze barely holding onto mine.

‘No,’ I breathed, closing the distance between us in desperate strides. ‘What’s happened? Tell me what’s happened. Where’s Will?’ I stared at the blood staining his clothes, an icy chill creeping into my marrow. Was it William’s?

‘Miss,’ a security guard intervened, ‘we’ve got the situation under control. The paramedics are on their way.’

But his words were a cold comfort. I searched his brown eyes, my own pleading for more information.

‘Please, tell me what’s happened,’ I begged. ‘Is the blood William’s? Is he all right?’

He turned to Andy. ‘Do you know who she is?’

Andy’s gaze flickered to me. ‘Yes, sir. It’s his girlfriend, Cara Darby,’ he said, sealing the dreadful truth – it was William in there.

The security guard faced me again, his features transforming into a mask of sympathy I didn’t want to see, didn’t want to need. ‘Cara,’ he said gently. ‘May I call you that?’ His softened tone confirmed my worst fear. In that moment, I knew – the blood on Andy’s shirt was indeed William’s.

‘Please, tell me he’s going to be all right,’ I choked out.

‘He’s got a pulse, but he’s unconscious. That’s all I can say for now.’ He moved closer, his arm a band of strength around my shoulders, guiding my reeling form to slump against the cool wall of the corridor.

‘Please, may I see him?’ I begged, gripping his uniform.

‘I’m afraid I can’t let you in.’ His tone was gentle, yet it fell on my ears like a verdict. ‘We’ve got someone trained in first aid tending to him till the paramedics get here.’

Despair washed over me, threatening to pull me under. The world tilted, reality blurring at the edges as panic clawed at my throat. The uncertainty was maddening. Yes, he had a pulse now, but what of the next heartbeat? What if it faltered? He was already unconscious.

Has his head been struck? Was that why? Then, what if his brain had been injured? What if he woke up changed, or worse, didn’t wake up at all?

Numbness crept through my veins, a cold, paralysing tide that left me hollow. My gaze fixed on the wall ahead, seeing nothing.

Who would do this to him?

Time seemed to warp, each second elongating into an eternity as I sat frozen. Then, abruptly, the police appeared, pulling Andy aside for a hushed, urgent exchange. Moments later, a rush of paramedics swept past.

As they dashed into the gents, I saw William’s legs, eerily still amidst a pool of blood. He lay there, face up, his body unnervingly limp as the paramedics swarmed around him, probing for life amidst the chaos. The sight ripped the breath from my lungs. I trembled uncontrollably, the world spinning around me.

Andy moved to sit beside me, his arm a comforting weight around my shoulders. ‘He’s going to be all right, Cara,’ he murmured.

‘I don’t understand,’ I whispered, my gaze fixed on the unsettling stillness of William’s legs. I wished they would move. I wished he would show some sign of life, no matter how small.

‘He’s going to be fine,’ Andy repeated, and I wondered then who he was really trying to convince.

‘Who did this to him?’

---