Tethered Hearts | ✓ | Books 1 & 2

Episode 40| Where to go from here...

Bryce's P.O.V.

The sequence of events unfolded at a rapid speed. Everything was a blur as the realization of Kelsey getting shot sank into me like an anchor, troubling me to the fiber of my being. I had to dull the scene down, numb the fire that threatened my ability to stay calm.

A gun –and the bullet that was fired from it—was all it took for Conner to morph from being the heroic boyfriend into a babbling, hyperventilating mess of a person.

Mister Santiago's wasn't the only person who had pulled the trigger. Two bullets were sent out: one entered Kelsey, and another went into her attacker. The shot Mr. de la Torres sent went into Mister Santiago hit him from the back and through his chest. His shell casing rattled, bouncing off of his shoe and on to the floor.

I watched, without talking, as Conner silenced his dislike toward Sophia's father long enough to ask him to use his helicopter. He wanted to get Kelsey to the nearest hospital. Mr. de la Torres gave him the O.K., saying that he could have access to the chopper.

Sophia, Conner, a disoriented Kelsey, and I made our way to the helicopter on the roof. Sophia's dad stayed behind so Nicolas could board with us. He instructed his pilot on where to go. When he finished, he went to Sophia, sharing a few final words before the helicopter took off into the cloudy sky.

Conner talking to Kelsey, and no one else dared stole that time from him. It was an unsaid agreement that he would be the sole person that shared what could definitely be her last moments alive. I thought it felt intrusive if we tried to cut into their moment.

He lulled into to her ear, speaking softly and praying she didn't completely shut her eyes and drift off. None of us directly looked at him, hunching in front of her with his hands clenching hers. Muffled by the noise of the helicopter, none of us could hear what he was exactly saying to her –word for word.

I couldn't look at them.

To look at Conner, and to witness him break apart at the seams and cry to point where he couldn't see straight, meant I was taking something from him. Taking away something that was exclusively theirs.  From my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of him kiss her hand and ease his head to her chest. Eyes red from the tears.

"I love you," he seemed to have mouthed, "I love you - in every sense of the word."

I glanced at them, briefly, and saw a weak, pale lips crack with a smile as her brown eyes closed.

Even in her last moments, she finds a reason to smile. That's just the kind of person she is, I thought to myself, sullenly, as the helicopter reached the coast of California.

•••

I didn't know the laws around landing a helicopter on top of a hospital parking garage, but there was something about it that made it seem illegal. Nonetheless, the pilot did it anyway and we got Kelsey out. She had stopped groaning in pain –like she did while leaving Mister Santiago's house—and had resorted to silence.

Which wasn't a good thing.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Sophia asked when two of the nurses put Kelsey on a stretcher they had prepared for her. Apparently, someone had called in ahead of time and warned them, saying that we were coming. "She hasn't been making any noises since we got here."

"She's in good hands." I said, touching the small of her back, and we entered the waiting room - unsure of what the ending verdict would be.

- T H E E N D -

The story continues after this chapter. Simply keep turning the page and please read the author's note that explains why there's two parts.