Pinky Promise

Twenty

"Dad!" I screamed. As soon as the first shot was fired, both sides sent bullets flying through the air. I didn't care; I tore out of Alex's grip and rushed over to Dad. I shook his arm gently but he didn't respond. He was bleeding badly and the sight made me sick. I couldn't stand seeing him hurt.

"Oh god, Vic? Vic, man, wake up!" Alex pleaded from beside me. I was all choked up and couldn't breathe. I was shaking uncontrollably and rocking back and forth, begging Dad to wake up.

"Get him out of here!" One of the officers called. They were in front of us shooting at the other men.

"Nate, take care of Audrey, I'll get Vic. We're parked down the road." I heard Alex say. I didn't even process his words as he picked Dad up and walked towards the door. Nate held out his hand to me and helped me stand up and rushed me out after Alex.

All this happened in a matter of seconds and I could barely keep up. One minute I was locked in a cage, and the next I was safe in a cop car.

"Oh my god, oh my god..." I kept saying under my breath. Nate squeezed my hand but I couldn't focus on anything other than the fact that Dad was dying in the seat next to me.

"Shit, we can't wait for them. We gotta get to a hospital." Alex said. "Where are the keys?" He asked no one in particular. He leaned forward and looked through the miscellaneous items in the front.

"Wait, here they come." Nate pointed out. The two officers--one limping--jumped into the car and started it up.

"Everyone in?" One asked. He did a quick head count and then sped away.

"We need to get to a hospital." Alex demanded. The officer nodded.

"We will; don't worry kid your dad's going to be just fine." He said to me. "Just do the best you can to stop the bleeding and we'll be there soon."

After the longest twenty minutes of my life, we finally pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. We all jumped out and Alex carried Vic into the emergency room. Immediately we were surrounded by nurses and a bed was wheeled to us.

"What happened?" One of the nurses asked.

"He was shot." Alex replied. They started wheeling Dad away on the bed and I started to follow. I was held back though. "Audrey you can't go with him." Alex told me, holding my shoulder. I shook out of his grip.

"Let go!" I snapped. When I was free I turned to chase after the doctors but I ran into Nate. He wrapped his arms around me and held me in place.

"Audrey, please stay with us? They're going to take good care of your dad and you'll be able to see him soon." He said calmly. I looked up at him and he smiled as he wiped my tears away. "Come on, let's sit. You need to see a doctor too." I nodded and he led me to a chair where we sat for a few minutes before a doctor came over to me.

"Audrey Fuentes?" I nodded and she brought me into a room. I sat up on the bed and Alex sat in a chair next to me. I glanced at him and looked away, not wanting to bother with him.

"I'm sorry to hear about your father. We'll take good care of him and I'm sure he'll be just fine in no time." The doctor told me.

"When can I see him?" I asked. She gave me a sweet smile and patted my knee.

"He's in surgery right now so it may be a few hours until he's ready for visitors. I'll be sure to let you know when he's out. But for now let's just worry about you." She explained. I nodded and let her do whatever she needed to. She cleaned and bandaged all my cuts and sores, wrapped my wrist which I must have sprained while struggling with the cuffs. I got meds for the sickness I got, something to help me gain some weight back, and something else to keep all my cuts from getting infected. Mostly what I needed was a shower, food, and rest at least according to my doctor, but I really just wanted Dad to be okay.

Once she finished, she left Alex and I in the room to go run some tests and help other patients. Thinking about Dad again, I almost started crying, but I really didn't want to in front of Alex. I was still mad at him for cheating on me with Tay. I never had gotten the chance to talk to him that day, but honestly I didn't want to. I didn't care what Dad thought or what Alex had told him. After spending months in a cage, I had had plenty of time to come up with all the possible lies he could have told Dad to convince him he was innocent.

"Hey." Alex said, resting a hand on my shoulder. I looked at him, glaring slightly. "Are you hungry? How about I get you something to eat?" He offered. As starving as I was, I didn't want anything from him. I was too tired anyway. The whole day has been such a rollercoaster that I just wanted to sleep. I shook my head and looked away from him. He tilted my chin to look at him.

"Audrey you need to eat. Don't tell me you're not hungry, I know you are. Just tell me what you want and I'll--"

"You know what I want?" I asked, shoving his hand away from me. "For you to leave me alone. That would be really great right now." I snapped. Alex looked confused and stepped back.

"I...Audrey..." He started. I rolled my eyes.

"Just...just give me some space okay? I'm tired and I want to sleep." I said, calmer than before, although no less bitter. He sighed and nodded.

"I'll uh, come check on you later, okay? Let me know if you need anything." He said softly as to not set me off again. I turned on my side away from him and didn't respond. I heard his footsteps walk out of the room and the door close.

Once he was gone I sighed in relief and let myself relax. It hadn't even sunk in that I was finally out of that place. I don't even know if it even ever sunk in that I had been in that place. I was so sore and tired. I could still feel the heavy metal cuffs locked around my wrists, weighing me down and keeping me in place. I knew they weren't actually there, but it felt like they were.

I thought about Dad. His nearly lifeless body lying limp on that bed, covered in blood. I finally had him back and I could lose him again now. The doctors told me he would be fine, but I didn't believe them. How could I? It's not their fault if he dies, just like it's not Dad's fault I got kidnapped. He probably blamed himself. I knew he did. It's how he's always been; he blames himself for everything that happens to me. But I don't care anymore. It happened and now it's over. I just didn't want Dad to die thinking anything was his fault. He's been everything I could ever want in a father. He's as perfect as he can be, just gets hung up on things.

I sniffed and realized I was crying again. I curled up in the blanket and Dad's sweatshirt. It was his rainbow thrasher sweatshirt--my favorite one. It was huge on me so I shrunk into it and covered my face. It smelled like Dad and provided the only comfort I had right now. I tried to force myself to stop crying, but it did nothing to stop the tears from falling. I pulled Dad's phone out of the pocket on his sweatshirt and started playing music. Ode To Sleep by TØP started playing and I felt myself begin to fall asleep as I remembered how easy life was before all this happened.