Page 147 of Shattered

“What the fuck is going on?” Drew came bursting down the stairs at the commotion. Melanie was right behind him.

“Sam’s in the hospital. I’m not letting Callum drive. I need Mel’s car so the four of us will fit.” That seemed to be all the explanation they needed, and without a word, Melanie was digging in her purse and tossing Micah her keys.

“What happened?” Drew asked as they all headed for the door.

Micah looked to Kristin who was still listening too intently to the person on the other line. “I don’t know. I’ll call you as soon as I find out.”

*******

Callum was shaking.

It took three tries and they were already on the main road before he was finally able to click in his seat belt.

“Go to Baptist.” It was the first utterance Kristin had made, and Callum could tell her voice was breaking.

His mind raced through a thousand questions at once. “Is she okay? Did she have a wreck? What happened?”

“No” was Kristin’s only reply.

“No, she isn’t okay, or no, she didn’t have a wreck?” Callum raised his voice, earning a sideways glare from Micah.

“She didn’t have a wreck. She is at Baptist. Go there.”

“Damnit, Kristin. Tell me what happened!” He reached out and grabbed the headrest as the broken words left his mouth.

“Calm down, Callum,” Micah all but yelled back at him. “Or I’m dropping you off on the sidewalk.”

“Stop. Everyone. Just stop,” Kristin was crying now which wasn’t good. “It’s not fair. She is too good for this shit. She doesn’t deserve this. Not again.”

Callum opened his mouth. He wanted to yell at her to stop speaking in codes and tell him what the hell was going on, but he caught Micah’s warning glance in the rear view mirror.

It took significant restraint to lower his voice. “Kristin, hey. Turn around and look at me.” He almost wished he hadn’t asked. The look on her face caused every possible horrible scenario to race to the forefront of his mind. “Is she okay?”

Kristin nodded. Tears still streaming down her face. “Yeah. I think so. She is now.”

“Thank God,” he whispered into his hands as he tried to calm every bubbling emotion that threatened to burst free.

They were halfway there, but it was taking too long. If Micah hadn’t taken his keys, Callum knew he would already be with her.

“What happened?” Micah asked Kristin, much kinder than Callum would have.

Kristin turned to look back at Callum and then to Micah. He wasn’t sure why she hesitated, but he knew it couldn’t have been good. She couldn’t quite seem to formulate what she wanted to say. She then took a deep breath as if mustering up all her courage to get it out.

“Sam went to Christian’s house.” She looked back to Callum just as his jaw tensed. “I don’t know everything. The girl, Amanda, I think was her name, didn’t know all the details either. But, they think Christian drugged her.”

Callum punched the seat.

“I’m going to kill him.”

His mind began to race. This wasn’t happening.

Not again.

Not again.

Please, not again.

If he had just kept his mouth shut and not told her, then she wouldn’t have gone. She would be back at his house sitting beside him instead of inside of a goddamn hospital.

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