hospital security on his computer as I track her phone on mine. My heart is in my throat … Where are you Tash?
Ben comes rushing in as I crack the security code and he starts to watch the replays of the last twenty minutes on all doors of the hospital. I send the immediate visual to Adrian’s laptop. Once again I try to text Natasha:
Natasha please.
We need to talk.
It’s not how it looks.
I love you.
Why isn’t she returning my call? What if she is in danger? She is so trusting. She would go with anyone to try and get away from me without any money. I should have told her about the attack. I should have told her about Amelie. Regret slices through me … she deserves better. Amelie. What a bitch, she has turned this totally around to make Natasha think that I am in love with her. It looks as though I have been sleeping with Amelie all along. I close my eyes and put my hand over my mouth as I wait for the track to kick in. My god, please be ok, please come back to me.
Ben gasps from the other side of the room.
“What is it?” I ask.
“We have a bigger problem,” he says.
I frown. “Not possible. Natasha running off takes the cake.”
Cameron walks over to Ben and watches his screen. “Hell! Joshua get over here.”
I walk over to see what they are looking at and watch the footage that Ben is replaying. Two men walking into the hospital. One with short dark hair and an arm cast, the other a man with red dreadlocks and two black eyes entering the hospital. Horror dawns.
“How long ago was this?” I rub my hands through my hair.
Ben pushes some buttons and the tape rewinds. “Thirty minutes.”
“What! Holy shit. They have her. That’s them, two of the dudes from Friday night.”
“Calm down, you don’t know that. This could be coincidental,” Ben asserts.
Adrian runs back into the room. “Any sign?”
“It is not fucking coincidental. Call the police, Adrian,” I yell frantically
“Huh, what’s going on?”
“The guys that attacked Joshua on Friday night are in the hospital. We just saw them on the CCTV footage. Call the police,” Cameron stammers.
Adrian’s mouth drops open. “They are here now to … hurt you … Like in this hospital? Do these kinds of people do this kind of thing in a public place?” he stammers, wide-eyed.
Ben shrugs as he continues to watch the screens.
Adrian dials the police. “Hello, I would like to speak to Detective Johnston please. Hurry it’s urgent.”
“Josh, I have her,” Ben snaps.
We all run back to his screen and he hits replay. It’s a fire escape, the door bursts open and she runs out. She’s crying … actually she’s hysterical, gasping for air. She looks around frantically and runs for the road. Our eyes are all locked onto the horror opening before us. My heart sinks again. Look at her. She’s openly devastated … what have I done? She runs in front of a cab and it stops and she dives into the back seat. It slowly drives away. My head drops in shame as my heart rips in two. The only woman in the world I love is the only woman in the world that I hurt. What in the hell is wrong with me?
My computer beeps and I rush back to it. It’s an aerial shot and a red cross shows where her phone is. I quickly scribble down the address. “She’s at McDonald’s just two blocks away. Hurry.” Ben, Cameron and I run for the door.
“What will I do?” Adrian asks while still waiting on the phone.
“Wait here for the police. Keep the door locked.”
“What if the hit guys come and get me!” he shrieks.
I shake my head in disgust. “It’s hit men, not hit guys. Wimp. Keep the door locked.”
“This isn’t funny, Stanton,” he yells as I run down the hall.
I sit in the back of the bus shelter, curled in a ball in the corner chair, my legs tucked under my body. I know if Max has betrayed me and Joshua turns up, I will have no choice but to go with him. But what choice do I have? I don’t know who to trust anymore.
Ben comes rushing in as I crack the security code and he starts to watch the replays of the last twenty minutes on all doors of the hospital. I send the immediate visual to Adrian’s laptop. Once again I try to text Natasha:
Natasha please.
We need to talk.
It’s not how it looks.
I love you.
Why isn’t she returning my call? What if she is in danger? She is so trusting. She would go with anyone to try and get away from me without any money. I should have told her about the attack. I should have told her about Amelie. Regret slices through me … she deserves better. Amelie. What a bitch, she has turned this totally around to make Natasha think that I am in love with her. It looks as though I have been sleeping with Amelie all along. I close my eyes and put my hand over my mouth as I wait for the track to kick in. My god, please be ok, please come back to me.
Ben gasps from the other side of the room.
“What is it?” I ask.
“We have a bigger problem,” he says.
I frown. “Not possible. Natasha running off takes the cake.”
Cameron walks over to Ben and watches his screen. “Hell! Joshua get over here.”
I walk over to see what they are looking at and watch the footage that Ben is replaying. Two men walking into the hospital. One with short dark hair and an arm cast, the other a man with red dreadlocks and two black eyes entering the hospital. Horror dawns.
“How long ago was this?” I rub my hands through my hair.
Ben pushes some buttons and the tape rewinds. “Thirty minutes.”
“What! Holy shit. They have her. That’s them, two of the dudes from Friday night.”
“Calm down, you don’t know that. This could be coincidental,” Ben asserts.
Adrian runs back into the room. “Any sign?”
“It is not fucking coincidental. Call the police, Adrian,” I yell frantically
“Huh, what’s going on?”
“The guys that attacked Joshua on Friday night are in the hospital. We just saw them on the CCTV footage. Call the police,” Cameron stammers.
Adrian’s mouth drops open. “They are here now to … hurt you … Like in this hospital? Do these kinds of people do this kind of thing in a public place?” he stammers, wide-eyed.
Ben shrugs as he continues to watch the screens.
Adrian dials the police. “Hello, I would like to speak to Detective Johnston please. Hurry it’s urgent.”
“Josh, I have her,” Ben snaps.
We all run back to his screen and he hits replay. It’s a fire escape, the door bursts open and she runs out. She’s crying … actually she’s hysterical, gasping for air. She looks around frantically and runs for the road. Our eyes are all locked onto the horror opening before us. My heart sinks again. Look at her. She’s openly devastated … what have I done? She runs in front of a cab and it stops and she dives into the back seat. It slowly drives away. My head drops in shame as my heart rips in two. The only woman in the world I love is the only woman in the world that I hurt. What in the hell is wrong with me?
My computer beeps and I rush back to it. It’s an aerial shot and a red cross shows where her phone is. I quickly scribble down the address. “She’s at McDonald’s just two blocks away. Hurry.” Ben, Cameron and I run for the door.
“What will I do?” Adrian asks while still waiting on the phone.
“Wait here for the police. Keep the door locked.”
“What if the hit guys come and get me!” he shrieks.
I shake my head in disgust. “It’s hit men, not hit guys. Wimp. Keep the door locked.”
“This isn’t funny, Stanton,” he yells as I run down the hall.
I sit in the back of the bus shelter, curled in a ball in the corner chair, my legs tucked under my body. I know if Max has betrayed me and Joshua turns up, I will have no choice but to go with him. But what choice do I have? I don’t know who to trust anymore.
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