Emptiness stretches and grows inside of me, consuming every part that makes me human. What’s the use of having dreams and hopes when my will to live is being crushed.
“Fuck!” Someone shouts. It’s familiar, and I try to latch onto the voice. “What the fuck are you doing?!” And then Justin’s weight is dragged off of me, and he’s flung to the side.
The sound of punches and pain-filled grunts seeps through to me, and I manage to weakly turn my head in the direction of the fight.
My sight focuses on Jase, where he’s beating up Justin, and it makes a suffocating relief bleed through me. My throat tightens until I can’t suck in any air. Tears blur my vision as I watch Jase deliver punch after punch, pummeling Justin into a bloody mess.
Through my tears and the consuming fire in my chest, I gasp for air. The sound makes Jase’s head snap in my direction, and our eyes lock for a moment.
I want to tell him how relieved I am that he found me.
I want to tell him I’m sorry I didn’t stay to fight with him.
I’m so sorry.
Jase lets go of Justin’s unconscious body and darts over to me. He sinks to his knees as he pulls his phone from his pocket.
There’s a buzzing in my ears, and I can’t hear what he says. When he drops the phone next to me, I begin to struggle to focus on his face.
The most beautiful face I’ve ever seen. It’s been the reason for my every heartbeat the past three years.
Those golden-brown eyes. God, those golden-brown eyes give me life.
Jase’s trembling hands hover over me as his face distorts with emotion I’ve never seen before. It almost looks like he can feel my pain.
I keep my eyes locked on his face until his features begin to blur, and they fade into the dark night around me.Chapter 11JASEA frenzied rage takes over my body as I repeatedly slam my fist into Justin’s face. I can feel the skin over my knuckles tearing, but there’s no stopping my furious craze.
I hear a wheezing breath, and it yanks me out of my moment of madness. My head snaps to the girl Justin was attacking, and then all the air is sucked from my lungs. I rush to her side and drop to my knees as all life flows from them, my body numb with shock and horror.
Mila.
My Mila.
I somehow think to call 911 for help before the phone drops from my hand. Leaning over her, my hands tremble, and I don’t fucking know what to do.
“Mila,” I choke on her name. Frantic, my gaze sweeps over her body, and my heart fucking shatters as the realization sinks in like hot lava.
Justin hurt Mila.
Despair seeps through every part of my body as I watch her gasp for air, every breath sounding painful.
My eyes take in the torn fabric of her dress, exposing a peach-colored bra with red stains bleeding into the silk. The dress is pushed up, and her panties are torn, bunched around one thigh.
Anguish and horror darken every part of me as an unspeakable thought shudders through me.
Justin raped Mila.
Oh, God.
I pull her dress back down and shrug out of my jacket so I can wrap it over her, not wanting anyone else to see her like this.
For an instant, there’s a faint hope that I might have found Mila in time and that Justin didn’t manage to…
My eyes take in Mila’s state, and one thought drowns out all the others.
The one moment Mila needed me most, I wasn’t there for her.
White-hot anger rages through me. “Where the fuck is the ambulance,” I growl. I glance around us, a desperate feeling mixing with uncontrollable fury. I have to do something.
My gaze goes back to Mila’s, and when her eyes drift closed, my world fucking explodes into a million distorted pieces.
“Mila!” I gasp through my panic. “Baby, stay with me!”
Her breathing becomes slower, and the bleakest emotion I’ve ever felt paints what remains of my world in black.
“Mila,” I groan. I carefully move my hand under her neck, and with my other, I take hold of her shoulder and lift her limp body to me. I press her face into the crook of my neck as the air begins to explode over my dry lips.
I feel her weak breaths fan over my skin, and it shreds my soul into an unrecognizable mess. My heartbeat speeds up as my vision blurs, and when I still can’t hear any sirens, I shout, “Fuck!”
My breaths explode in white puffs into the dark night as I struggle to my feet, and I raise Mila’s body against my chest.
I can’t fucking wait. I have to do something.
My legs are drained of their strength, but I force them to move.
I have to get her help.