“I know! My name is Maria.”
I’d seen her a bunch of times coming and going, but we’d never actually talked.
“Come sit down. I’ll make you some tea.”
As I crossed over to the plaid couch, I got a look at her place. It was the same layout as my apartment, but of course it looked different with her furniture in it.
She had a television going with a Spanish channel on it, and on the bookshelf next to the TV were pictures of Maria with a young boy I’d seen with her before, and had assumed was her son.
My apartment hardly had any furniture and felt bare, but hers felt homey and lived in. “How long have you lived at Banner Manor?” I asked.
“Oh, about five years. I came right after Mario was born.” She nodded to some photos on the fridge. “He is with his Tia this weekend. His dad may have run off on me, but his family has been good to us.”
My heart rate was starting to calm down as she handed me the tea. “Thank you.”
“So what happened to you?” she asked, sitting down next to me on the couch.
“I was…attacked in the Southgate parking lot.”
Her eyes flew open wide. “Ay dios mio! Are you all right?”
“Yeah, he just scared me. That’s all.”
“You should call the cops. Or see a doctor?”
I didn’t need a doctor, but I did wonder if I could call the police. Then again, it had been about half an hour and I wasn’t even sure I would be able to recognize the guy. On the other hand, there might be cameras in the parking lot of Southgate.
“I don’t know. Maybe…”
Just as I took my first sip of tea, some breaking news interrupted the show that was on the TV. I didn’t understand what they were saying, but there was a reporter standing outside the La Playa Convention Center. There were a ton of cops and firetrucks and ambulances there.
“Oh my god.” My heart started pounding again. “My sister is there.”
Maria looked at the TV and grabbed the remote to turn up the volume.
“What are they saying?” I asked. It appeared to be sheer chaos.
“They are saying that there was a shooting at the concert. They don’t know how many casualties there were but that the shooter has not been captured.”
I started shaking uncontrollably. “I have to go. I have to get to my sister.”
“You are in no condition to drive, Paige.”
I had my phone out and my hands were shaking as I tried to text Bailey. The message didn’t go through, so I tried to call and it went straight to voicemail.
I was full on panicking now, so I tried to call Ryder. Same thing. It went straight to voicemail.
“I’m sorry, Maria. I have to go.” I stood up and was patting my pants to find my keys. “Where are my keys?!”
“Paige. Look. If you must go, let me drive you. You really are too upset to drive. You were upset when you got here.”
She was right. “Okay, thank you. But please, let’s hurry.”
* * *
What a terrible night.I’d insisted on listening to news radio on the way downtown. Maria had a Toyota truck and I was in the passenger seat, flipping from station to station trying to get news on the shooting. Every station had a different story.
One station was saying that it was a gang-related shootout. Another was saying it was a lone shooter. A third station said that there was no evidence of a shooter at all, that no one had been reported at local hospitals with gunshot wounds and it was likely all a hoax.
