The medical school is not located near the main campus buildings. It’s further down Broad Street, but I can see it from here.
I just have to reach it.
Jake is right behind me now.
He extends his hand to grasp any part of me that he can grab.
I’m so tired, I feel like I can’t run any faster, and that’s when Jake makes his move. He grabs a fist full of my jean jacket by the collar, and then I feel a harsh tug backwards. As I slide down and back, across the concrete, I notice Jake is sliding backwards too. A much stronger force is yanking the two of us in reverse. I look for the reason why and am stunned at what or rather who I see.
It’s Knox.
He pulled Jake so hard to the ground that it had a domino effect and we both went tumbling. Jake lets go of me and has his arms up in a defensive stance as Knox pummels him with punishing blows of his right fist.
The bone crunching sounds of Knox’s punches landing across Jake’s face are enough to make anyone cringe, but not me.
I don’t look away.
I don’t scream for him to stop.
I don’t say anything but a prayer of thanks to God for sending Knox to the right place at the right time.
The relief I feel overwhelms me and I start crying like a newborn baby as a few random bystanders start to gather and watch the melee.
“Get off her, dude,” a random stranger says to Knox. “You're killing her.”
“Oh, snap! That’s not a woman, that’s a man,” another bystander says.
“Someone call the police.”
“Ooh, Mom, that man is going to jail,” I overhear a little boy tell his mother.
I can see the rise and fall of Jake’s chest and know that he is very much alive but I still think that Knox should get out of here. He’s never admitted to it, but I bet he’s got some sort of record with the police and this doesn’t look like something we can explain.
I stumble over to him and pull him by the arm. “Let’s go.”
A stormy rage fuels Knox’s blue-black pupils, and he doesn’t seem to understand the gravity of the situation.
“Knox, we have to go. The police will arrest you.”
“He was abducting you,” he says flatly.
“I know but–“
A slight warmth suddenly slides over Knox’s face and he brushes his hands all over my face, my neck, my arms, my back.
“Are you all right?” he asks with great trepidation.
“Yes, Knox, I’m fine.”
Then, after a moment, he falls to his knees and holds his head in his hands. I don’t know if he’s sobbing or praying, but whatever is going on inside his head and heart right now, I know he needs me.
“I’m okay, Knox.” I cover him with my body and whisper into his ear. “So now we need to take care of you.”
Knox looks over at Jake in horror, who is still unconscious and covered in blood, as the crowd around us swells.
“No, Gigi, call your father and then we’ll wait for the police… and the ambulance.”
Twenty-Six
