Pregnant | F.W.

45.

I blinked several times, trembling, not a single part of me was still. Faith's piercing cries echoed in the room, and with every moment they grew into white noise.

My gaze rose to Danielle. Her gray eyes were tear-filled and wide, but the gun remained in her trembling grip. The floor creaked beneath her dark boots with every step she took backwards until she was leaning against the window. She looked at the weapon in her hand, almost as if she was in disbelief that she actually pulled the trigger.

Even a small part of me . . . I couldn't believe it.

I wasn't experiencing denial. Denial is a coping mechanism for when something horrible happens, in this case, horrible would've been my ex-fiancé getting hit by the bullet.

I kept my gaze above ground, I didn't want the confirmation.

Maybe Danielle missed the shot and whatever wet drops I felt on my face weren't really drops of blood, because Finn couldn't possibly be—my mind wouldn't finish the thought. I forced my eyes to shut, not allowing them to land anywhere on the man lying in front of me. They did anyway, and an involuntary whimper escaped my lips.

A crimson pool grew around a motionless Finn. He was flat on his back, but his head was tilted in my direction—I turned away.

The room became smaller by the moment, allowing less oxygen to come in. I couldn't stay upright with the floor swaying beneath me. Every object in sight blurred together. My eyelids grew heavier.

Everything went black.

-

Several sets of footsteps vibrated through the floorboards, making me suddenly aware of a throbbing pain enclosing my head. Different voices blended in the room, and the distance, yet one was more prominent than the rest.

"We have a female over here, aged somewhere between eighteen and twenty-two . . . " He continued profiling me when his freezing fingers made contact with my neck—I shuddered. "She's still alive!"

Behind me, my wrists fell away from each other once the zip tie snapped apart. My eyes fluttered partially open, the blinding lights filling the room made it impossible for them to open completely; however, they didn't miss the blurry uniformed figure kneeling over me.

He questioned me as my wandering eyes darted across the room. A large smear of blood covered the ground where Finn's body once lay, Faith and her kidnapper were nowhere in sight.

What if that psycho took Faith before anyone got here? I immediately wondered.

I pushed myself to sit upright and almost regretted it when the ache behind my eyes intensified.

The paramedic placed his hands on my shoulders. "Hey, hey, slow down—"

I'm fine . . . Where are they?  My mouth repeated the words running across my mind, however, they came out slower than intended.

I didn't catch the paramedic's facial expression, but he didn't answer my question. "Ma'am, you have suffered some head injuries—"

"Head . . . is . . . fine," I mumbled, "need to . . . find . . . "

One of the uniformed officers in the room quickly made his way over to us. Before he could even open his mouth to speak, I was already questioning him on the whereabouts of the other three who were in the room with me.

"Miss, what's your name?"

"Aida . . . where are they?"

"Get her to the hospital," he commanded before waiting for me to finish.