Page 91 of Kept in the Dark

That’s when he realized he had been shot.

And then, Trey Harbor took his last breath.

July 2, 2011

10:30 am

Hailey studied her reflection in the mirror, distressed by what she saw. Her cheeks were blotchy from crying and stained with makeup she had yet to wash off. Her eyes were red and puffy- much like her lips- and her hair desperately needed to be brushed.

Every time she closed her eyes, her mind replayed that horrific night at Bobby’s. The gunshots, Trey collapsing to the ground, blood seeping from his abdomen and all over her hands as she tried to save him. She had heard screaming and later realized it was her own cries of terror.

And then Bobby had gone down in a huff, bleeding from his chest, vacant eyes staring into her soul.

She physically shivered and rushed to the toilet where she dry heaved, her body trying to rid her of the horrific memories that haunted her.

She would never forget seeing Trey slip away, his eyes slowly closing as she watched him slip from consciousness.

Hailey sobbed into her hand. There was so much left to say, and she hadn’t said it. They were getting a second chance to love each other…

A voice on the other side of the bathroom door drew Hailey from her thoughts. She rubbed water on her face and wiped it with a paper towel, put her hair into a clip that Sara had brought, and walked out of the bathroom.

The nurse was checking Trey’s vitals and Hailey smiled at her. “Do we have an update?”

She shook her head, black curls bouncing as she did. “Not yet. We’re just waiting for him to wake up. His vitals have been stable so it should be any day now.”

“Hasn’t it been too long, though? Don’t people usually wake up quickly after surgery?” Hailey pleaded. She wanted to pretend she wasn’t scared, but the nurse saw through her facade. They both knew Hailey was terrified of losing the love of her life.

Trey’s surgery had been hours long. And though the surgeon was able to remove the bullet, they hadn’t been completely out of the woods until early this morning. And now it was simply a waiting game, something Hailey wasn’t good at.

The nurse looked at her sympathetically. “Mrs. Harbor, please don’t worry yourself just yet. His body is recovering from a serious trauma. If the doctor isn’t worried, you don’t need to be either. Why don’t you go get breakfast in the cafeteria?”

Hailey almost protested the name but stopped herself. It somehow brought her comfort that the nurse assumed she was Trey’s wife.

She knew one thing for certain, if and when Trey woke up, she was marrying him. No doubt about it. She knew she needed to spend the rest of her life with him.

“No, I'm fine. I want to be here when he wakes up,” Hailey said.

The nurse nodded simply to appease Hailey and left the room. Hailey sighed and stood in front of the chair she had been sitting in since Trey got out of surgery. She had pulled it up to his bedside so she could hold his hand. She would lay her head on his arm, hoping to get some sleep, but sleep never came. All she could do was worry.

Not to mention the nightmares that plagued her.

She could still hear the explosion of the gunshots that had pierced her ears. Trey had collapsed and it was only a moment later that blood had pooled around him, staining the pavement. Somehow, in all the panic, she had been able to apply pressure to his wound. Then he had passed out, sending her into near hysteria as she called out for him over and over, trying to wake him.

Her cries of grief had echoed into the night sky as they collided with the sirens that wailed in the distance, her very own lullaby of anguish. Even the animals and crickets had stopped their song, allowing for Hailey’s to be the only one heard.

She had laid across his body, begging him to come back to her but he hadn’t. He had remained lifeless and all she could do was think about the second chance they never got, and the father Trinity would no longer have.

Her heart had shattered, pain tearing through her body as tears had fallen to the ground, mixing with his blood. Her heart was trying to die along with him. Even her lungs had refused to gather breath. Her body didn’t want to live if he was no longer in this world.

The paramedics had jumped out of the ambulance, one of them dragging her away from his body as she shrieked and fought against him. She had hated that they were taking her away from Trey. All she had wanted to do was be with the love of her life. To hold him and kiss him one last time, even if he was no longer there to feel her touch.

An EMT had held her upright as her knees buckled. She had gasped for air and clung to the man, terrified she may die right alongside Trey. Part of her wished she did.

“I’ve got a pulse! It’s faint, but it’s there,” someone had yelled.

Hailey’s heart had nearly stopped. “What did she say?”

Then everything blurred together. She had ended up at the hospital and was now standing by his bedside after surgery, praying he woke up.

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