chosen

Chapter Three: The Scratch

It feels as if all the air is sucked out of my body and I can't breathe. Liam is in trouble, deep trouble, I can feel it. The line stays scarcely quiet between us.

"Brin are you alright?" Maddox asks concerned at the top of the stairs with Tasha, a worried look on his face. Probably mimicking the same worried look on my own face.

    Sudden heavy breathing travels through the line. A whimper of utter pain sounding from Liam.

Oh my God, he's hurt. Something happened to him! This is all my fault.

"Liam!" I shout into the phone walking towards the front door, keeping my eyes on Maddox.

No answer.

"Okay. Liam if you can hear me just stay on the line, okay?" I say opening the front door, grabbing Mother's Chevy Malibu car keys from the small coffee table next to me.

"Maddox let's go. It's Liam," I shout frantically taking my first step out the door, "Come on before Mother questions where we are."

Another heavy breath trails through the phone line. Sending chills down my spine.

"What about Tasha?" he asks confused of where to bring Tasha, who stands innocently beside him.

"Just send her to go get changed," I say grabbing the umbrella and the extra brown coat next to me, "We have to go now."

    Maddox nods rushing Tasha up into her room, hopefully convincing her not to tell Mother of where we are going and why we are missing her "extremely important" dinner.

"...Brin...." Liam croaks through the line, his voice tense and dry.

    Quickly I run towards the red Chevy Malibu fear pumping through my veins. I rush into the driver's seat starting the car as fast as I can. Maddox running into the passenger's seat. The same worried look sweeping across his face.

"Liam, Liam, listen to me," I say my own voice croaking as I pull out of the driveway, not even knowing where I am going. But to Liam. Wherever he might be.

"I need you to tell me where you are, okay?" Maddox and I both helplessly begin to drive to nowhere.

    Liam huffs and I can hear him struggling for breath. I need to know what's happening, what happened at that. If any of the Rich Mouth's did this to Liam, I don't think I will ever be able to forgive myself.

    A tear gently trickles down my cheek. I'm scared. Not the same scare that I get when I go to school, that's just pity fear. This is literal gut fear, A fear that I can lose my best friend.

"Liam...please.." I croak slamming the break on the car. My body and my mind both shutting down in front of me.

    Gently Maddox brushes his hand onto my right shoulder.

"Brin it's okay, we'll find him," he says sternly to give me some sort of hope.

    I just want Liam to answer. Why can't he answer, just give some sort of reminder that he's okay besides his constant breath through the phone? For all I know he could be dying somewhere.

"Liam," I say once more burying my eyes into my left hand, bawling my eyes out.

    Just a location. All I need him to tell me is a location and I can go to him. I can help him. I can make sure that he's okay. I can hold him in my arms and cry my eyes out with happy tears because I'll know he's okay.

"Father," Maddox says frantically into his own phone, "It's Liam, we don't know where he is, and he's injured. And Brin is freaking out."

    I hold my phone tighter to my ear sitting up from my crouched position.