I hear a siren. I taste blood.
"Cory," I try to whisper but I can't find my voice. My eyes flutter open slowly.
"Please, please." Hunter is rocking me. I'm resting in his lap. I can feel his sobs running through me.
I move my hand to his. It's so heavy. I pull it across the fabric of his pants. "Hunter." My lips move but I don't hear anything. "Hunter."
He jumps when my hand touches his. "Sadie, sunshine."
"Cory," I try to say louder. "Where is he?"
"Sadie." He only repeats my name, his body still rhythmically rocking back and forth as he cradles me in the grass.
I try to push away from him but I have no strength. My body is so heavy. There's more blood. I can taste it. It's bitter. I try to reach to touch my face but my hand doesn’t move. It's resting against Hunter's.
"Sir, please." There's a woman's voice now. She's close. I can feel her touching me.
"I can't let her go." Hunter's voice is filled with so much sadness. He's crying. I can feel it through me.
"We need to look at her." She's insistent. I see the flash of a glove as her hand reaches to cradle my wrist. She's taking my pulse. I'm fine I want to tell her.
"Let her be okay, please, let her be okay," Hunter's voice cracks. "Is she going to be okay?"
"We need to take her in." She's trying to pry Hunter's arms from around me but he won't let go.
"No." He struggles to stand while he's holding me. "I'll take her."
"Sir." Her voice is more insistent now. "Let her go."
I try to squeeze his hand. I need him to know I'm okay. Everything is spinning so fast though. I close my eyes again.
Chapter 22
"I made you this picture." Cory climbs onto the couch beside me and hands me a purple hued painting.
"Is there a giraffe in it?" I try to smile but my face doesn't cooperate the way I want it to.
"Just you." He taps his hand on my leg.
I glance down to see a stick person with a very large face and an enormous purple mark on their cheek under their right eye.
I have to pull my hand up over my mouth to control my need to giggle. "This is very good. It's lifelike."
"You got that thing there." He tentatively touches the welt under my left eye. "She's got that thing too." He points to the paper.
"It's brilliant." I reach to pull his head into my chest. "I love it."
"You saved me." His words are barely more than a whisper as he pulls my hand into his. "The stranger was going to steal me. You saved me."
My eyes well with tears. It's been three days now and I haven't talked with him about it at all. This is the first time I've seen him since the attack in the park. I didn't want Hunter to bring him to the hospital. I couldn't subject him to that.
"You would have saved me if he was trying to steal me." I work to keep my voice at an even temper. I know he has to be traumatized by what happened. Even though my mother scooped him up and ran from Peter, I know that he still must have been terrified by what he saw.
He finally looks up at me, his brilliant blue eyes resting on the bruise on my face. "You're a ninja."
I laugh out loud at the proclamation. "A ninja? That's cool, right?"
"The coolest." He nods before leaping from my lap. "I'm thirsty." He runs into the kitchen.