Finding Ford

chapter twenty seven

guys i lied about five chapters being left. this is the last chapter of Finding Ford :') I love you all so much. enjoy! :)

"The cries of the strangers out at night, they don't keep us up at night, we have the curtains drawn and closed." -Imagine Dragons, Dream

I'VE NEVER SEEN SO MANY PEOPLE FROM MY SCHOOL IN THE same room without an argument breaking out. But I guess that's the thing with Cailbridge; it's small, sometimes too small. Secrets get around scarily fast, reputation can either build a person up or tear them apart, but at the end of the day, we're a community.

The hospital of Cailbridge is small. Considering the size of our town, I'm surprised we even have one, but since we're so isolated we kind of have to. The waiting room is packed: Mr. Wilson, Molly, my mom and dad, Jas and her parents, Lucas- even Luke are all piled in. The workers haven't bothered to tell us to leave; after the whole thing with Ford being missing for almost two months, I think it's understandable why such a crowd has been drawn.

The silence in the room is crazy tense. For the past couple of hours, there have been whispers exchanged in between people, but other than that, we've stayed quiet. My mom and dad don't know the whole story: all they know is that Ford got shot, and I was there. I haven't said a word to them since the police showed up.

They arrested James, since he had pretty much given himself up. I don't know about his dad, but Mr. Wilson and Molly are here, safe and sound (actually, not exactly sound, since Molly is shaking and softly crying while Mr. Wilson is pacing the room) so either James was bluffing, or they managed to get him too.

A police officer peeks his head in the room, catching everyone's attention. He smiles softly, leaning against the doorframe. "Ava Jackson?"

My mom gives my hand a quick squeeze. I exhale slowly, nodding and standing up. My parents stand up as well, following me out of the room.

"We'd just like to talk to Ava on her own," the officer says to my parents once we're in the hallway. "But if it's okay, there's another officer wishing to speak with you."

My parents nod, following another officer who appears after both giving me a quick hug. The officer gives me a warm smile, putting a hand on my shoulder and leading me to the first floor of the hospital. We stop at the café, where there's little crowed (thank God). The officer tells me to take a seat while he goes to get in line.

I'm still sort of in shock from what happened, and a little blurred on the details. Last I remember, Ford had dropped to the floor around the same time James' gun had dropped from his grip. James had started cursing, but all the while, I had just dropped to my knees by Ford, watching the way the blood pouring out of him wouldn't stop.

The police sirens didn't register until someone was pulling me off the ground and trying to get Ford into an ambulance. They let me ride with him. All I remember from that ride is holding Ford's hand as they tried to get a hold on the blood pouring out of his stomach.

The details may be blurry, but I remember one thing clearly: Ford had took a bullet for me.

There's no denying that that bullet was supposed to hit me, and that the person who pushed me aside even though they knew they were going to get shot was Ford. It still makes me shake with the thought that it could be me in Ford's position. At a time like this, though, I'm not sure what would be worse.

Last anyone has heard, Ford was in surgery for a couple of hours. He's no longer in critical condition, but he's not stable enough for any sort of visitors, either. The doctors have said that he hasn't woken up yet, and if he doesn't by tonight, that could mean trouble.