Page 14 of Love Fire

Between my panic and the heat on my back from Brent's presence, I was ready to crawl out of my skin. I can feel his eyes taking a mental picture of everything. I don't know if I just made this worse or better for myself but it doesn't matter. Maria needs me. I’ll just have to deal with the consequences later.

“Maria!” I shout again and again.

Where was that fucking loser who called me? Did he just bail after placing the call?

Clearing the front we head to the back room. Maria is lying face down on the floor and I try- Brent had a grip on me like a pitbull- to rust to her before dropping to my knees beside her. He finally lets my cuffs go and I bend over her listening and watching for any signs of life. Her chest moving just enough to know that she's still alive, for now.

“Maria” I call loudly, trying to rouse her.

She doesn't respond so I call her again and again. She is not moving, except for the small shuttering of her chest every few seconds.

My voice is sharp and commanding, edged with the fear creeping into my mind. “Brent, the cuffs,” I shake my arms as much as I can manage from this position- angrily. “GET THEM OFF NOW!” I feel her life weighing down on me, he’s not moving fast enough. “ SHE COULD DIE!” I shout.

A second later the pressure eases from my wrist and my hands fly around her small frame. I push her body to the side making sure she won't choke on her own vomit if something starts coming up.

I pick up her arm pressing my fingers to her wrist. I have to fight the noise in my head to calm myself enough to focus on the beating. It feels like I'm waiting forever before I count the first weak pulse. I hold my fingers there a while longer and count the sluggish seconds between each one. My entire body feels as if it were dipped in ice. Her pulse is as faint as her breathing.

She doesn't have long.

The hot streams of my treat turn Brent's face blurry as I turn to him. “We have to get her to a hospital. Now.”

Brent's large frame is suddenly beside me, his knees brushing mine. “We’ll get her there, okay,” he promises.

The concern in his eyes gives me pause. It feels like safety, like that moment when you know everything will be alright. I shouldn't trust him and I don't, not completely. But I trust him with this.

He makes a motion for me to stand. “I’ll carry her,” he states, shifting her small body into his arms effortlessly.

14

BRENT

In my arms, Maria feels like nothing. She has hardly moved at all, even to breath. I can barely even feel her body warmth. We need to hurry.

“MOVE!” I burst out of the house as the addicts outside the door scatter out of my way. Erin follows close behind me.

“Let me drive,” she says into my back.

“What? No!” I shoot a glare towards the addicts loitering around my car and they quickly back away.

“Do you know the best hospital to bring her to? Or how to get there quickly?”

I look back at Erin and she seems changed. She has wiped away the tears that were in her eyes a moment ago and is giving me a stern look. She’s all business now, no time to cry.

“No, but–” I look down at Maria. Somehow it looks like she has gotten even paler and smaller since I picked her up. I don’t think she has long, her life is on the line. “Fine, front right pocket.”

As I take the final steps towards my car, I feel Erin’s tiny hand slip into my pocket. In a less serious moment, that might be exciting. But there is no time to fantasize about what she could do with that hand. She grabs my car keys and pulls them out.

Erin wastes no time starting the engine as I load Maria into the back seat and climb in with her. I hold Maria still as Erin slams her foot on the gas.

I have never seen anyone drive the way Erin does. She drives like she’s in an action movie. We whip in and out of traffic. Pull off into side roads, only to swerve back onto a main street moments later.

It takes all my focus and strength to hold on to Maria. Otherwise, her limp body would be sliding all over the back seat. I’m almost too distracted to notice Erin take a turn leading us away from the closest hospital.

“Why’d you take a right? It was a left to St. Vincent’s!”

I can see Erin roll her eyes in the rear-view mirror. But she doesn’t respond any further. She just looks back at the road and tightens her grip on the wheel.

“Fine, just drive faster!” I check Maria’s pulse and it has slowed down significantly. Her breathing has also almost stopped completely.

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