Inhaling, I let it out and clear my throat. “So … don’t be mad, but in, like, ten minutes, I’m going to head out,” I tell the girls beside me. “I’m tired. It’s been a long day, and I just want to put on my sweatpants and curl up with my blanket.”
“I think I’ll head out when you do actually.” Harley yawns. “We have to be at the field at six a.m., and I need my beauty rest.”
“You both suck,” Haven says, putting a hand on her hip. “But, fine. Summer, you’ll stay and hang, right?”
“I’ve got at least another hour in me.” Summer laughs. “After that, I may turn into a pumpkin.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Haven says with a shrug, moving her body to the beat of the song.
Summer and Harley dive into a conversation as I take another sip from my drink, but that’s when the noise happens. They’re loud popping sounds. And they’re close, making all the girls scream.
“Are those … gunshots?” I try to force the words out, but it’s like my throat is closing on me.
My head grows fuzzy, and my body tenses up. I drop my drink before my body falls to the ground.
Everything fades to nothing, then goes black.
HENDRIX
A few of the hockey players and I walk into The Lookout—another place on our road that also houses some of the athletes here at NEU. People clap for us, some hold their fists up, and some of the women drag their fingernails down my arm, like that’s going to get my attention. I walk past, never giving them a second look even though feeling their touch makes my skin crawl.
Through the loud cheers, I hardly hear the voice yelling. But when I round the corner and see the door that leads to the back patio, I recognize Summer, one of Isla’s teammates.
“Where is Eden?!” she screams as she opens the door to the backyard. “I need Eden! Or another nursing student!”
There’s no mistaking the fear in her voice or the panic on her face. She’s as white as a sheet, and when another girl runs toward her and I hear Isla’s name, I’m sprinting out back to the circle of people and pushing my way into the center without hesitation.
Haven and Harley—two girls from the softball team—hold her, both crying.
“What the fuck happened?” I bark out, kneeling down beside her. “Did someone hurt her?”
“She passed out,” Summer cries. “I was looking for Eden. She’s a nursing student, but she left already. I don’t know what to do. What do we do?”
“I missed when she first fell because the firecrackers distracted me,” Harley sobs. “I don’t know what happened.” Pulling her phone out, her free hand is shaky. “We need to call an ambulance.”
The second I hear the wordfirecrackers, I think back to the conversation when she talked about the few panic attacks she had, and they were when she heard something that sounded like a gunshot. Instantly, I’m fucking irate that someone was dumb enough to light them off next to her. I don’t give a fuck if they are clueless.
“Firecrackers?” I growl, pushing her phone down. “Don’t call the ambulance. I’m taking her home.”
“No, asshole! She’s right; we need to call an ambulance,” another girl chimes in, but I ignore her.
When I move myself between them, gently pushing the girls to the side and putting my arms under her, Harley glares at me.
“Why are you taking her? She needs to go to the hospital, Hunt!”
“No, she doesn’t,” I hiss. “The firecrackers gave her a fucking panic attack, Harley. Because she thought they were gunshots.” I slide my arms under her, lifting her body against me just as her eyes begin to flutter open.
With everyone’s eyes on us, I shift a threatening glare at anyone looking her way.
“If I ever hear of anyone using firecrackers around here, I’ll fucking kill someone.” I growl the threat out loudly, lifting her tighter to my chest. “I’m not fucking kidding either.”
I glance back at her friends when her eyes open up and she looks at me, confused and then mortified. I know they are only worried and just trying to help. I’m glad she has friends like that, but I know Isla is going to hate that this happened. I need to get her the hell out of this place, but I also want them to believe me that she’s all right.
“I promise you, she’s okay. If I thought she needed to go to the hospital, I would take her myself, but that won’t help.” I look from them to her. “I’m getting her out of here though. Now.”
Before they can say anything back to keep me here longer, I turn away from them. Rushing through the crowd, I shield her face as best I can, making sure no one snaps a picture or records a video.
“You’re okay, Nineteen,” I murmur, looking down at her once we’re outside. “Just breathe for me, all right?”
