Page 72 of Blood Money

Through my phone’s speaker, I heard her take a deep breath before she sighed heavily. Her voice cracked when she admitted, “I did.”

“And he still said that?” I sniffled as my lower lip trembled.

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” she whispered.

“I-I-It’s o-o-okay,” I stuttered. “I’ll call you later.”

“Kendall—” she started, but I didn’t hear anything further because I reached down into my lap and ended the call. I threw my phone in my purse and snapped it shut as the first tear fell. It had been raining, almost like Mother Nature was in sync with my heart.

A sob broke loose, and I blinked away the blur from the tears. The light up ahead turned yellow, so I slowed down and came to a stop at the red. Tears continued to fall, and I felt so alone. I rested one hand on my stomach as my violent crying started to make me feel sick.

The lights rapidly approaching in my rearview caught my attention right before they collided with the back of my car. The deafening cacophony of crunching metal, breaking glass, and the unholy screech of tires registered before another sound broke through—a honking horn, blinding headlights, and another impact. My car seemed suspended, and I was weightless before my head slammed into the side window and I was thrown back and forth. Shards of glass flew around me like tiny missiles, and the world spun.

When everything came to a standstill, I was upside down, my hair hanging in my face, choking me as I sucked in painful breaths and it pulled into my mouth.

Everything hurt, and I was disoriented and confused. My hands were pressed to the roof of the car that seemed much too close to the top of my head. One wrist throbbed painfully and I had to pull it back to my chest.

“Miss? Are you okay?” I heard from what seemed like a tunnel.

Something warm dripped on my hand. Slowly, I turned my head toward the voice. Through my curtain of hair, I could barely make out a young man with dark hair and worried brown eyes. He was crouched to look through my shattered window.

“I’m stuck,” I rasped, fumbling with the seat belt release.

“No! Don’t do that yet,” he instructed. “The fire department is on their way. Can you hear the sirens?”

I used one shaking hand to push my hair out of the way, and pieces of glass fell out of the tangled strands. The movement took my breath away. “I hurt,” I groaned. “So bad.”

The sirens grew closer.

“What’s your name?” he asked me.

“K-K-Kendall,” I told him with a wince as pain shot through me.

“Hey, Kendall,” he kindly returned as he reached in and held my hand. “My name’s Mario. I’m not gonna leave you, okay?”

“Okay,” I whispered as I began to cry again.

There was a commotion, and he slowly released my hand. I cried out and wildly reached for him.

“They’re here,” he explained, but then he was gone, and a man was in his place. Everything anyone else said after that became wordless mumbling, though their mouths still moved.

My head was pounding, and I didn’t feel good. Things seemed to turn black in my peripheral vision, but I was aware of being jostled and then gently but painfully extracted from the car. The sheer agony of each movement was unbearable, and I thought I would pass out.

“No! No! No! No! No! No!” I screamed. Desperation clawed at my throat as I felt like I was being split in two, and my leg was on fire.

Then everything faded away.

I woke up days later in a hospital bed. Stiff and sore, I tried to sit up only to collapse with a shriek. Everything was painful, but my leg was excruciating.

There was a sudden rustle, and then my mom was in my view.

“Baby! Oh my God, baby, I’m here. I’m here.” Tears streamed down her face as she gently cradled mine in her soft hands.

“What…?” My voice was hoarse as I glanced around, trying to figure out what was going on. “What happened?”

“Shh,” she soothed as she pressed the call light thing. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”

But I wasn’t. There was a void in me. I felt hollow and empty. Broken.

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