My Record Store Romance

Screaming Bones, Wrapping Tape, and the Drive Home

My Record Store Romance Chapter Nine:

Screaming Bones, Wrapping Tape, and the Drive Home

woohoo for late night updates

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It was all so dark,

and then it wasn't.

My eyes fluttered open as light seeped into my vision, and a weak "Hailey," caused me to turn my head slowly and look over beside me.

My vision was a little blurry, so I blinked a few more times to get adjusted. The ringing in my ears wasn't really helping me concentrate though, and my thoughts were swimming around in my mind as I tried to pull myself together.

I was in the record store.

I was lying on the floor.

It was night time.

Had I just passed out?

Suddenly, the sight of Drew beside me yanked me roughly back into reality. I shot up in shock as a sharp gasp escaped my lips, and my hand went up to my mouth.

"Oh my god! Drew!" I cried, my eyes darting rapidly as I took in his broken figure standing across the room, looking like he was using all the effort he could muster not to fall down.

"Hi," he chuckled smoothly, but his voice caught at the end and his eyes glazed over. He was leaning against the wall and his knees were shaking, and then finally, his legs gave out and he fell to the floor in front of me.

When I was knocked out, someone had beat the crap out of him, and from what I could see, it was pretty bad.

Scratch that, it was a nightmare.

I pushed myself of the floor and attempted running over to his crumpled body, my breathing going uneven with panic. But my mind was still a little scattered and as soon as I got up, the world tilted, sending me back to the floor. Eventually, I made it to his side. I could tell he was in pain, and lots of it. His arms had the outline splotches of blue, indicating bruises that were fresh and starting to form. His lip looked like it had exploded, blood leaking down his chin. His knuckles had deep gashes across them, and his head had a bump the size of a tennis ball.

"Drew!" I yelled again, shaking his shoulders gently, not wanting to hurt him. He hadn't passed out yet, he was just lying on the floor staring at the roof above us, a blank look in his eyes.

I knew I should try to act calm, because he was injured and I needed to call an ambulance, but I was freaking out. And he could tell.

"Hailey," he repeated weakly, shakily outstretching his hand slowly and placing it on the edge of my arm. "Go get the first aid kit."

"The first aid kit? Where is that!" I squealed, kneeling beside him. He wasn't going to die or anything, he was just really beat up. It was just that this was really not my area of expertise, and I really didn't like the sight of blood. At all.

"Underneath the sink-" he started, then stopped abruptly and winced as I accidentally leaned forward and my leg pushed into his bruising arm.

"Ah! I'm sorry I'm sorry!" I repeated, totally flustered and in panic attack mode. He just looked so broken. Had I really been out that long? I had only seen the man slam Drew's head in the register, but nothing else.

"The first aid kit." he mumbled again, trying to get me out of my trance.

"Okay okay!" I yelled, yanking myself off the floor and stumbling with fear as I ran towards the back room. I flung the door open, and it smashed into the other side of the wall, but I could care less. I was concentrating on my foot placement as I dashed into the bathroom and pulled open the bottom sink cabinets. There, pushed in the corner, was a dirty white case with a big red cross on the front. I sighed in relief, snatched it up, and ran back over to Drew in the front of the shop.