Page 103 of Defect
Crushed and lying on the floor.
I fell to my knees beside her and let out an excruciating roar.
My heart was bleeding on the floor. I put her head in my lap and smoothed back her beautiful dark hair. “Solana, please wake up, baby.” I put my hand on her chest and felt for her heartbeat.
I felt nothing.
I pressed two fingers to her wrist and felt the faint thump of her pulse.
She was alive. I patted my pockets for my phone but it wasn’t there. It was in Amaris’ car.
Shit.
I didn’t want to leave her for a second. I had to call for help though. I leaned down and kissed her bloody forehead, staining my lips with her life force. I didn’t care. I slid from under her and took my shirt off to cushion her head. I rushed out to the car and nearly yanked the door off when I opened it. I felt around inside until my hand connected with my phone. When I closed the door, I heard sobbing coming from the bushes on the side of the house.
I quieted the thundering of my heart echoing through my ears and turned on my phone’s flashlight. I jogged over to the side of the house and searched the bushes to find Vince sitting on the ground with his head hung low. When the light brushed against his hands, I saw blood tinting his knuckles.
“I killed her. I…I killed her,” he sobbed. Tears and snot dripped from his face and soon blood would be added to the list. He didn’t need to know that she was still alive. If I had my way, he wouldn’t be.
I dropped my phone and lunged for him, dragging him from the bushes and onto the lawn. I took my sorrow and pain out on him throwing heavy blow after blow to his face until I couldn’t feel my knuckles anymore. Until my shoulders burned and my fingers ached. I stumbled backward only when I realized I needed to get help for Solana.
I found my phone lit up in the grass and grabbed it. It slipped out of my grasp because my hands were wet with Vince’s blood. It caked crimson under my fingernails and swirled in the grooves of my fingerprints.
I grabbed it harder the next time I picked it up and called for an ambulance. I was sick and fucking tired of ambulances. Then I called the police to report an attack. I went back to Solo’s side and held her in my arms, resting my forehead against hers.
“I love you,” I told her quietly. “You’re my sunflower. I’ll never leave you so please don’t leave me.” My salty tears dripped onto her beautiful face and I shut my eyes. “I can’t do any of this without you. You gotta hold on.”
Red and blue lights flooded the entire street but I still didn’t budge. I couldn’t leave her. She’d never leave me. I held on to her hand and skimmed my finger over the red string tattoo.
“Sir you need to stand up now!” I didn’t care if cops yelled at me. My heart was broken. I stood up slowly, resting Solana’s head on my shirt for support then I held my hands in the air.
“I’m the one who called you,” I said quietly.
“Hands behind your back, now!” I followed directions and told them where they could find an unconscious Vince.
“I live here. That’s my fiancé on the floor. I came home and found him attacking her.” I lied a little bit but so the fuck what? I knew if I said anything about me dragging Vince from the bushes and fucking him up, they’d throw my ass in a cell. I had to be there for Solana and Malachi.
The paramedics put Solo on a stretcher and immobilized her neck then loaded her in the back of the ambulance while I answered a ton of fucking questions. “Am I under arrest?” I asked, frustrated. The ambulance was pulling off and I wanted to be in there with Solana.
“No, Mr. Fredericks.”
“Then I need to go be with my fiancé.” I stood up and grabbed my shirt off the floor, pulling it on over my head. “If y’all wanna question me more you can follow me to the hospital.” I stood in the hall while the officers begrudgingly cleared out of the house. Before I locked the door, I made sure to grab the files Solana intended to get. I hopped into Amaris’ car and peeled away from the house.
I didn’t give a fuck what they did to Vince. They could lock him up. They could take him to the hospital. As long as he wasn’t anywhere near Solo or Malachi I didn’t care. He’d done enough damage for one night.
…
“Oh my god, Ezra. What the hell happened to you?” Amaris rushed over to me, patting me down for injuries. “Is Solana okay? Where is she?” She was hurling questions at me faster than I could answer them.
“Vince got to her. I don’t know how but he beat her…bad. She was unconscious when I got there.” Amaris’ knees went weak when my words sank in. She grabbed the nearest chair and fell into it.
“Is…is she okay?”
“I don’t know. She’s alive but they took her in the ambulance while the police were still questioning me.” I looked over at Malachi and sighed. He was sound asleep. I walked over to him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Has CPS been here yet?” I asked.
“No. His caseworker is on the way though.”
“Okay.” I sat down and handed Amaris her keys. “I know you want to go find, Solo.” I ached to be at her side but I knew family came first. Amaris reached over and rubbed my shoulder.
