Their Girl: The Hunt

Chapter Thirty-Four

Alissandra's (POV)

Everything happened so quickly one minute we're strolling through the car park laughing and the next thing I know  there's gun shots and screaming and Freddie's shoving me to the ground. My hands and knees scrape along the concrete as I go down with so much force.

I hear the car leaving and the gun shots have stopped so I finally sit myself up looking at the exposed flesh on my hands and knees. Over the commotion it takes me a moment to realise that somethings not right with Freddie. He tries to stand clutching his side, then he pulls his hand away and that's when I see the blood at the same time he does.

He's been shot.

He struggles to get his balance and then he on the ground clutching his side again.

I just freeze I don't know what to do. I need him to tell me what to do.

I place his head in my lap begging him to tell me what to do but he doesn't say anything. He's a horrible shade of grey and no matter how much I try to stop the bleeding with my hand the blood keeps gushing out making my hand slip away from the wound.

"Someone please help me" I scream over and over again but there isn't anyone coming. My throat is dry and burns every time I scream but I needed someone to come and help me. 

Why isn't anyone coming to help?

"It's okay it's going to be okay" I tell him but he's still not saying anything back, he's just staring up at me gasping for air.

All of a sudden Garrett appears hauling Freddie off of me. "Get in the car" he grunts trying to hold Freddie's weight and nods towards the SUV that's idling right next to us with the door open.

I scramble up off the ground in an attempt to climb into the back seat but my legs are like jelly underneath me barely able to hold me up.

"Go" Garrett shouts and shoves me to hurry me up into the car.

I manage to climb into the back seat and help Garrett get Freddie in as well. At first all I can do is start at him whilst his eyes lock on to mine. He's not okay. I know it, Garrett knows it and from the look in Freddie's eyes he knows it as well.

The Garrett's shouting at me, he's shouting and shaking me trying to get me to listen to him.

"Alissandra I need to fucking listen to me okay" I nod a couple of times to give him confirmation that I'm listening because I can't speak I can't get any words to come out. Garrett places some kind of item of clothing into my hand and makes me put it over the bullet wound. "Put as much pressure on the wound as possible and do not lift up your hand" I do exactly what he says with one hand but with the other I cradle Freddie's head in my lap.

Garrett jumps into the drivers seat and skids off out of the car park. The whole car ride I'm looking down at Freddie trying my hardest to keep it together but he's still just staring up at me gasping for air and coughing up blood. The fabric in my hand is absolutely saturated in blood and I don't know what to do.

All I can do is keep talking to him. "You said we were going to spend the rest of the day in bed" I sob trying my hardest to keep it together. "This isn't part of the plan Freddie"

I don't know if he's understanding what I'm saying but I just stroke his face and keep talking. If I keep talking he'll stay. He'll stay and everything with be okay.

"Hold on man we're nearly there" Garrett calls from up front.

I literally look up to him for not even a second but by the time I look back down at Freddie his eyes aren't open anymore. "Freddie?" I tap his face lightly but there's no reaction.

His eyes don't open and he's not gasping anymore. He's not breathing.

"No Freddie please wake up" I plead slapping his face harder this time but it's not working. He won't wake up.

I don't realise we've stopped until the door swings open and there's doctors and nurses pulling Freddie out and placing him on a stretcher. I scramble out of the car after them, they're all shouting things that I don't understand.

They wheel him into a bay and everything is happening so quickly all I can do is stand there and watch as they cut at his clothes exposing the bullet hole that's still gushing out blood. They're attaching wires to him and putting a tube down his throat.

And then they start the compressions, thrashing down so hard on his chest I almost cry out from them to stop or they'll hurt him. Then they switch the machine on and that's when everything around me seems to go silent, the only thing I can hear is the constant sound of that machine is making, I can see the line not moving as the nurse stops compressions and I know exactly what that means.

His heart isn't beating.

"Clear" a nurse shouts and everyone steps back. His torso lifts of the bed. There's a slight pulse on the machine and then nothing.

"Clear" the nurse shouts again and they repeat this over and over again but then they stop.

Everyone just stops and the nurse shakes her head. In that moment I lose it.

"No keep going" I scream at them and hurtle myself forward in an attempt to get to him but someone is holding me back "you don't stop" I'm clawing at the arm holding me but they won't let go "KEEP GOING"

I don't know if it's pity the nurse looks at me with but she does it one more time. His torso rises again and there's a momentary silence. Then there it is that little beep beep that starts out into a rhythm. I didn't even know that I was holding my breath but in that moment I suck in a deep inhale air.

"Get him into surgery" someone says and all of a sudden they're wheeling him off away from me. I try to follow behind them but I'm stopped by a nurse and told I have to stay where I am.

They go off down a corridor with the doors closing behind them and I'm just standing there alone. I have no idea where Garrett is. I don't have my phone or Freddie's.

I don't even know anyone's numbers to call. I'm just alone staring at the doors they took Freddie through.

The corridor is quiet with no one around I just slip down to the floor and bring my knees up to my chest wrapping my arms around them tight. And I just sit there cradling myself for god knows how long.

Then there's a hand gently rested on my arm and when I look up I'm met with those beautiful blue eyes staring back at me.