JAE • POV
I didn't get to Jeremiah as quickly as I'd have liked, but all the yelling and money in the world couldn't convince the unfortunate taxi driver I'd ambushed, to hit the gas pedal like this was a grand theft auto simulation.
Ten minutes after leaving a manic Ezra and a freaking out Evan, the taxi driver pulled up alongside Evan's abandoned car parked on the side of the highway. I chucked a wad of cash through the sliding glass separating him from me, and then threw myself out of the back door, running urgently across the grass the remaining few meters to Jeremiah.
When I reached the driver's side door and pulled it open, Jeremiah was there, sitting in the seat, his eyes closed, his head tilted limply back against the headrest. "Holy shit!" I couldn't help but exclaim, horrified at the sight of all the blood.
It was gushing from his temple, caking the side of his quickly swelling face with thick, dark red blood. The liquid was staining his locs and the leather seats, and then my hands when I pressed one against the wound and used the other to gently shake him awake.
"Jerry, babe, shit, open your eyes, talk to me!" I called loudly, looking around for something I could fashion into a tourniquet. Jeremiah groaned, but his eyes fluttered open, blinking slowly at first and then more rapidly as he seemed to become more aware of his surroundings.
I yanked the glove box in front of him open, almost ripping it off its hinges, causing random objects to roll and clatter together. There had to be napkins in there at least! There was no way Evan wasn't the type of down to earth rich guy who collected napkins and sauce sachets from fast food chains, even if he was loaded with money!
Yes! I knew he wouldn't let me down! I grabbed a wad of crumpled napkins, pressing them against Jeremiah's temple, grabbing his floppy hand and pressing it there. "Hold this here babe! I'm gonna drive you to the hospital! If you die, I'll be very, very disappointed in you and you don't want that, do you?! Hmm?! Stay alive please!" I begged, trying to use humor, although I was shaking with adrenaline and fear.
The absolute absurdity and terror of the situation was getting to me, but I knew I wouldn't be of any help to Ezra or Jeremiah if I let it take over. I felt as though I'd been transported into a Hollywood action movie and was now the main character having to hold everything together.
This was either my amazing debut where I saved my friend and the stolen baby. Or my downfall, where the stress took over and I failed the mission only to be swamped with guilt for the rest of my miserable life, and die in an armchair with a cat and a sign that said 'sorry' fifty years later.
Yeah... no. I'm motherfucking Jaemin. I was about to make this plot line, my bitch.
"I'm not dying," Jeremiah moaned softly, but he managed to hold the napkins up to his head on his own, although his arms were shaking like weak noodles. The pressure wouldn't last very long so I needed to hurry. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Let's go get Ollie, he... he was crying," Jeremiah's voice broke and I knew that if I looked over at my best friend, I'd see tears rolling over his brown skin, mixing with the blood.
I was on the verge of sobbing deliriously myself, but I had to be strong and determined right now. It was time to be that superhero dad I always saw Ezra being. I understood now, the need to push down your own fears and emotions in order to be the superhero for the ones you loved.
I scooped Jeremiah out of the driver's seat, gently but swiftly moving him around to the passenger side instead. I strapped him in, pulling his seatbelt securely over his waist. He was going to need it. Now that I was behind the wheel, I fully intended on doing what my taxi driver couldn't, traffic laws be damned.
It took six minutes tops to get to the hospital. I may have hit close to one hundred on the speedometer during the rare empty straights and there were multiple flashes of cameras as I whizzed past, expertly weaving in and out of cars, like a pro racer. Driving a rich person's powerful car really helped too. If I was being completely honest, driving like a lunatic was more fun than it should've been.
The tires squealed dramatically as I parked in front of the accident and emergency department automatic doors and I ignored the many disapproving looks I received from other visitors and staff.
Hopping out of the car, I dashed around to Jeremiah once more, flinging open the door and helping him out. Once his bloodied head was on full display, I received some more urgency from the staff, who helped me get him on a gurney and wheeled him inside.
I ran through the questions hurled at me, although most of them were personal healthcare questions I couldn't answer. After the staff determined, unsurprisingly, that I wasn't Jeremiah's family or his husband, I wasn't allowed to follow in after him anyway.
"I'll be back as soon as I can!" I rushed to tell him, squeezing his hand tightly as he was wheeled away down long white corridors. "Don't worry, take care of yourself until I get back! You'll be okay! I love you!"
Jeremiah smiled weakly, his lips wobbling as he cried.
"Bring Ollie back with you," he whispered hoarsely and I nodded determinedly. He eventually disappeared and I didn't waste anymore time as I ran back outside to the car, dialing Ezra with one hand. He picked up after the first ring of the dial and relief made me shake as I spoke swiftly into the phone.
Hold it together Jae!
"I got to Jermiah. He's okay, but pretty banged up. Tell Evan he's being looked after in the hospital now," I demanded, knowing that Evan must have been going out of his mind with worry for his own boyfriend's wellbeing. Car horns blared in the background of the call and I assumed they were still chasing after Renee.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Ezra's distressed rasp tore at my heart as it vibrated against my ear. I wanted to teleport beside him and wrap him up in my arms, show him that I was here to support him. For now, I could only reassure him through the phone and I tried my best to calm him down from my seat, miles away.
"Okay, baby. Tell me where you are and I'm coming now," I said just as I hopped back inside Ezra's car and revved the engine, peeling out of the hospital entryway. I stayed on the phone with Ezra as he kept me updated on their location.
They seemed to be heading through the city, towards the outskirts, not so far from where Ezra used to live with Renee. Perhaps she had a new property in the area? I didn't know and I didn't care... as long as Ezra wasn't ambushed by a hitman or some stupid shit like that.
"It's Pete's house, that motherfucker-" Ezra suddenly exclaimed and I noticed that he seemed to be getting further away from traffic, the noise dwindling dramatically as though they'd entered a residential area.
"It's who now?" I asked, confused as I jerked the steering wheel to avoid a truck in my effort to make the next yellow light before it blinked red.
"Renee has this friend, Ophelia - you've seen her before at the club. Her husband's a cop. I should've put it together sooner," Ezra spat and I heard a loud thump, as though he'd punched the dashboard.
"Renee probably asked him to take Ollie, knowing the judge wouldn't rule the way she wanted in court today. He's always been a bit dirty, I bet he couldn't wait. Fucking asshole!!" Ezra's voice became muffled all of a sudden, as though he'd dropped the phone. I could hear car doors slamming and Evan yelling his little brother's name.
Shit, shit shit.
EZRA • POV
I was out of the passenger side door before Evan could fully bring the vehicle to a stop. The car Renee had been riding in had just parked and Renee stood there across the front lawn, staring back at me with wide blue eyes, as though she was shocked I was there.
Her gaze darted back and forth nervously between me and the front door and I knew. I just knew Ollie was in there, because it was written all over her face. She looked guilty as a thief caught red handed.
Rage consumed me as I turned away from her, jogging up the path to the grand house I wasn't so familiar with. It belonged to Renee's friend Ophelia and her husband Pete.
I'd never liked the pair, had never made an effort to interact with either of them, repulsed at the thought of the double dates and couples' weekends away, Renee had always begged me to go on with them, as though I was her personal monkey she could parade around in front of her friends.
The point was, that I didn't know or like this couple, which made it ten times easier for me, when I lifted my foot and kicked in the front door.
"Jesus fuck, Ezra! Don't lose control!" I heard Evan yell over my shoulder. He was aware that he wasn't doing the job Jae had tasked him with very well, but I didn't care to listen to him. I was prepared to go to prison for Ollie. I stopped caring one second after seeing Renee's face with that guilty expression. All bets were off at this point and not even Evan would be able to hold me back.
That promise increased tenfold when the door splintered off its hinges, clattering to the floor, allowing Ollie's screaming cries to ring out onto the front porch. They were distressed, SOS screams and I could hear him choking violently from somewhere deeper within the house. It didn't take me long to find him, my heart thundering along with my footsteps across the hardwood floors, as I searched the rooms for my son.
I slammed one of the doors off the long hallway open, Evan and Renee chasing me down as I thundered into a reception room of sorts. Inside, Ophelia was trying to rock Ollie in her arms but he was having none of it.
My baby's golden, curly hair was disheveled, his eyes pink and swollen, his face a shade of red so deep, it was almost purple. He was screaming so hard that I could see the veins in his forehead bulge as spit trailed from the sides of his mouth, giving him a rabid appearance.
It was the most heartbreaking sight I had ever witnessed in my entire thirty-two years of life. Bursting into that room was like bursting into my own personal hell itself.
~•~