Page 71 of Saving Tracey
I couldn't let her leave me. Fuck, the thought of losing her was almost unbearable. Blood was pouring from her back, quickly forming a puddle around her. She was fading in and out; I could see it in her eyes. I barely registered her blood seeping through my jeans as I fell to the floor next to her. All I could do was stare at her face, begging her not to leave me.
Fuck, I loved this girl. I fucking needed her.
"He's down!" I heard someone shout.
Paramedics rushed in at the same time as the gunshots stopped, pushing me out of the way to get to her. I collapsed against a bench, sobbing into my hands. She was unconscious, and they needed all of the room they could to make sure she was okay.
I was fucking helpless. I didn't know what the fuck to do. I felt like my fucking chest was being ripped the fuck apart inside.
I could barely fucking breathe through the pain and fear.
"Hey, Trevor, come on, man," Kaleb murmured from beside me, shaking my shoulder gently. I blinked up at him, trying to make out his face through my tears. He was crying, too, but nowhere near as hard as I was. "The paramedics are on their way to the hospital, and they're doing everything they can for her. Come on, man. Let's go to the hospital,” he coaxed, trying to get me to get me on my feet.
He stood up, holding his hand out to me. I grasped it, letting him pull me up to my feet. He clapped my shoulder comfortingly. "Come on, man. Tracey needs you to be strong for her,” he reminded me.
I turned my head to look at the commotion of the paramedics across the courtroom, but Kaleb shook his head at me. "He's dead. He wouldn't release the gun, and he shot two officers, one of them dead. He's done with, Trevor. Tracey will never have to worry about that bastard ever again.”
I shook my head, bringing myself out of the nightmare in my head. I had fucking dreamt of her unconscious body on that floor every time I had fallen asleep. It wasn't something I would ever forget easily, and it definitely wasn't something that was going to go into the back of my brain anytime soon.
"Are you okay?" Tracey's quietly asked, breaking through my thoughts.
I looked up at her. She reached forward, wincing as she did so, and brushed a tear off of my cheek. I scooted my chair closer to her bed, shooting her a disapproving look for hurting herself. She gave me a weak smile, making me smile at her as well.
There was that beautiful smile I had missed so fucking much.
"I'm fine, baby girl," I murmured, leaning over to kiss her.
Her heart rate sped up on the heart monitor, and I grinned against her lips, loving the effect I still had on her. I hoped these powerful feelings never faded.
She opened her eyes, smiling up at me with the smile I had missed so fucking much—a smile she reserved solely for me. "I'm okay now, you know that, right?" She reached up with her hand to run her fingertips over the stubble on my jaw.
I nodded. "I know, baby.” Sure, she still had a lot to work through, but that bastard was out of her life for good, and she could finally begin to heal like she should have been all along.
She gripped my shirt in her fist, pulling her lips back down to mine.
Fuck, I had missed this girl.
Epilogue
Four Years Later
TRACEY
Iscowled deeply at Trevor when he put way too many packs of birthday cake cookies in the shopping cart. He sent me a sheepish smile, almost making my scowl disappear, but I kept it in place. "What? I know you've been craving cookies, baby." He wrapped an arm around my waist and kissed me gently.
"That doesn't mean I need them!" I snapped at him.
He pouted at me, making the scowl drop from my face instantly. I hated when he gave me that look. I could never stay aggravated with him. "I just wanted to make you happy."
I sighed, my eyes watering, my emotions way too damn close to the surface these days. I bit my bottom lip to try to keep it from trembling. Trevor sighed, pulling me against him as much as he could with my protruding belly sticking out so far. "No,don't cry, baby,” he begged me, pressing a kiss to my temple. “I'll put the cookies back."
I sniffled. "I want the cookies," I admitted. "I just don't want to look like a whale."
Trevor laughed a little, pulling back so he could kiss me softly. "Baby, you're not a whale.” He shook his head at me. “You're eight months pregnant. If you want cookies, eat cookies. Besides, you heard the doctor—you’re not gaining enough weight."
I had just come from the doctor a couple of hours ago, and my midwife had informed me that even though my baby was at a very healthy weight, I still wasn’t gaining the correct amount of weight for how far along I was. Honestly, I didn’t understand how because I ate all of the fucking time.
"Trev, what did you do now?" Lucas asked as he walked up with his backpack slung over his shoulder.
