The Pursuit

Thirty-Three

⬻Damien⤖

The car wasn't going fast enough. The sirens blared and the lights flickered but the police car wasn't moving fast enough through rush hour traffic.  I held my hands in my lap knotting them together over and over again. Please be alive, Maggie, please.

For the past few hours I've been monitored, patched up, and transferred from hospital to holding area and now back to the hospital to see Maggie. All the officers said was that they found Maggie and were moving her to the hospital but they couldn't tell me if she was hurt.

I shifted the brace over my shoulder and scratched under the strap and adjusted it. I was shot twice in the shoulder by Sam as he went after Maggie in the stairwell. I was lucky enough none of his  shots hit me where it could have done damage. A third bullet would have taken out my artery if it wasn't for Agent Kenyon who took one last shot that hit Sam in his arm. That was the last thing Kenyon did before he died there outside my door. I was overwhelmed with shock when I realized I was shot, blood pouring out of me.

The last thing I remember from the struggle was the fire alarm going off and trying to sync my heart beats to the buzzing of the alarm. I woke up in a hospital bed delirious but stitched up properly. By the time I regained my attention I refused to stay in the hospital. I refused to sit there  while Maggie was fighting.

We pulled into the emergency driveway and I bolted out of the car and run into the building.  I surveyed the area for her but I couldn't  find her in the sea of people. I walked to the desk and asked for her, "Excuse me I'm looking for Maggie Roberts", I said to the nurse . She looked me up and down and smiled with forced politeness.

"I'm sorry sir, there is an ongoing investigation in progress and I cannot provide you with that information", she looked around the room and then back to me with an edge of irritation. "If you aren't here for emergency services then you should wait for the patient to make contact with you".

My frustration was sky high now and I put my good arm down and balled it up. "He's with us", I heard a familiar voice say and saw Agent Dias waving me back towards the hallway, leaning on the door frame.

I got closer and he started walking down the hallway. "She's in room five, her father's on his way, should be here in a half hour", he said without looking to me and I tried to place his bluntness.

I walked towards the room and pushed the door open. She was sitting there with her knees to her chest in her clothes from this morning. Her hair looked ravaged and her arms were covered in bruises. She didn't hear me move closer. Her shoulders slumped in defeat.  Her head rested on her knees. She's stared at the wall in front of her as I sat down on the bed next to her, my free hand almost touching her foot.

She turned slowly to me and I smiled at her. I saw her eyes are bloodshot and her eyelids swollen. The fresh tears ran down her cheeks and I wiped a few away. We sat there in silence just looking at each other. I wanted to hold her in my arms so badly, mold  her in my embrace and take every ounce of pain away from her.

"I'm pregnant", she said as she locked her eyes to mine. It's not mine, I sadly admitted to myself. It's his, will she keep it? I looked away from her to the window besides us and her hand clutched mine posessively. Her body trembled and she lets a sob out. I moved myself closer and kissed her gently on the cheek and held her loosely. She sobbed again and her whole body rocked forward. She sniffled and sucked in a deep breath.

I tried to soothe her slowly with my hand on her back. "I'm not keeping it", she said sternly and looked down at her feet. I kissed her temple and hold her there in the moment. "I won't  keep it, the doctor, he did a blood test and said it was too soon to determine how far long, but I know. I know its his. I won't have it.". She looked back to me and I nodded understanding. "He's dead", she whispered almost in disbelief. "I can't have his baby, I won't", she said as if she needed to verbalize it again to make it true.