Caught In The Way You Got Me (Book One)

Your Regular Decorated Emergency

Brendon:

I try calling her a few times but she won't pick up. I don't want her trying to go home by herself. It's late and it's dangerous. I rush out the door and try following her. This is what you should have done before she left my subconscious scolds me. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know if I even deserved her. That's what I needed to tell her.

I decide to go back the way we came, hoping to run into her along the way and hoping she stayed in well lit streets. I'm terrified for her by the time I get back to David's apartment. I ring the buzzer repetitively until he answers.

"Hello?"

"David it's Brendon!"

"Again? Do you guys know what a date is?"

"I can't find her!"

"You fucking moron!" Okay. I deserved that. Much faster than I expected, man of steel is opening the gate with a pair of shoes in his hand.

"What did you do?" He grabs me by the shirt and I'm actually terrified. "What did we just talk about?! Huh?!"

He drops me and starts putting his sneakers on. I start to explain while he does so but once they're tied he interrupts me.

"Look I don't care right now and I really don't feel like hearing you talk because I'm fighting the urge to choke you, okay? We have to fi-" he cuts himself off and he looks just about as scared as I felt when he grabbed me.

"What?"

"Fuck...we have to go this way...I hope to God she wasn't dumb enough to try to get back to my house through here but she doesn't think when she's emotional." We start walking through a street with very little light and it doesn't seem so bad at first, but about five minutes later it starts to look more and more like the ghetto.

"Okay you can tell your story. I need a fucking distraction. I'm losing my shit." I explain to him what happened and he shakes his head. "Were definitely going to find her here. I just hope she's okay...she's overly cautious but if I knew that it was like that when you guys had your lunch I wouldn't have let her leave with you."

"She has anxiety doesn't she?"

"Psh. Look man, she has a lot of things. Depression, GAD, and PTSD."

"PTSD?"

"We're not talking about that right now okay? My only family is missing and she could get hurt." I nod. I really fucked this one up. We see a large figure coming toward us, one bug enough to make David a little scared.

"We'll get you help, missy. You just gotta stay awake okay? I'm here witchu. We gon' get through this ya hear me?" We look at each other confused but that confusion turns to panic when we see silver hair shining. We run to the man holding her and David breaks. He's crying before he can even say anything and I didn't realize it but I am too.

"This is my sister," David chokes out to the man. He hands Asteria over to me. She let's out a groan.

"You be careful wit her ribs. I think they broke." He grabs David the way David grabbed me and shakes him. " Man what the hell you doin' lettin' your little sister run around this late at night by herself?!"

"What happened?!"

"I was walkin' down the street and I heard these guys arguin' but then I hear a girl's voice and I start walkin' toward this fight and this girl's gettin' beat and I realized that it was Asteria! So I run up and I grab the guy grabbin' her and throw him down! He gets all stunned and shit because he hits his head on the ground and the other two take off and I'm rushin her to the medical center and I run into you!" David cries harder as the man tells us what happened and the man is crying too. "We almost there."

"You know her?" I ask.

"She my only family," the man tells us. I realize that this is probably who the homeless person that approached her earlier tonight was talking about. "Everybody on our street loves Asteria. We call her Riri. Her hair turned white like sugar 'cause she so sweet that's what we all say. She always looking out for us."

He pats her head gently. She let's out a small smile but I can't help but notice how shallow she's breathing.

"We're almost there Asteria." When I soak her smile fades and she groans. David laughs.

"You're not getting a second date with her. I hope you realize that." She groans louder.

"You was on a date with her?" I nod. "If you wasn't holding her I'd be teaching you a lesson, son."

"I know...this is all my fault."

"Nope, you don't get no pity party from Clarence. You lucky you even holding her. Here's the hospital."

We open the door to the ER and once the receptionist sees us she panics and calls for help. Medics are rushing to us with a stretcher and it all becomes surreal. I hardly feel them take her from me. I hardly feel Clarence hand me her purse. It's hard to process his threat as he squeezes my shoulders and reminds me that I don't deserve this woman. David cries as he watches her be rushed through a doorway. I start to finally realize what's going on when I look above the doorway and see a sign that says "Surgical Unit".