Be Mine - Joel Pimentel

Chapter 34

Maya's POV

By now, a lot of people were surrounding an unconscious and injured Natasha. Chris had straight away called the police and an ambulance. I looked up to see no one other than Joel making his way out of the car.

"Oh my gosh" I say under my breath and stare at him in just plain shock and confusion.

"Is she ok?" He asks leaning down and checking her pulse.

The police and ambulance had finally arrived and were asking everyone to step away and leave the area except for a few witnesses. The water from the rain was now washing away her blood down the road and into the sewer drain. Paramedics were rushing Natasha into the ambulance and began observing for any possible vital signs of consciousness. A female had jumped out of the ambulance van and was making her way towards me.

''I'm so sorry sweetie. Your friend isn't going to make it. We tried everything to gain back her consciousness but she's already bled to death" one of the female paramedics informs me.

"What? No that's not possible. She's going to make it I know she is" I was in denial.

"Maya come here" Chris pulled me into a hug as tears began to form in my eyes.

The paramedic had told Joel the news and he was in a much worse state than I was. Eyes red and puffy while his hands were covering his face trying to stop tears from escaping his eyes. Chris now went over to Joel while also trying to comfort him. There were a couple of police officers who had pulled a few witnesses aside for questioning. I had no doubt that Joel would be next and would definitely be questioned the most. I was still in shock and disbelief when I keep remembering that a potential friend of mine had died right in front of my eyes in a matter of seconds; and that too, by my own ex boyfriend. It just seems too unreal.

"Maya, we have to go" he says approaching me and putting his hand on my lower back.

"What about Joel? What about Natasha's parents? Who's going to tell them?"

"The police will handle everything else and he still has to stay here for questioning"

I look over at Joel and see him anxiously talking to the police while the officer had a notepad in his hand and was jotting things down while nodding his head. All I wanted to do was run to Joel and embrace him in a long and meaningfully hug. I can understand how the poor guy must be feeling. But, I also knew I had no choice; he had to be left alone with the police. I agreed to go home with Christopher but the whole ride there was silent.

"Do you want me to stay with you?" Chris asks stepping out of the car with me.

I just shake my head no in silence.

"Hey it's ok" he pulls me in for a hug.

Everytime I think about it, I start to shed tears. This is unfair; all we were trying to do was have a good time. I guess life is unfair for everyone. When we finally pulled away, I began to walk towards my door as Chris jumped back in the car. As soon as I entered the house I explained everything to my parents and after that, I was in no mood to interact with anyone at this point. All I wanted to do was sleep away the pain and wake up hoping that this was all just a bad dream.

*3:17pm*

I was woken up by my mum entering my room and shaking me lightly as my eyes slowly flutter open.

"Maya you have an appointment with the doctor at 4. Sleep when you get back"

Crap. I forgot about that. Quickly jumping out of my bed, I check my phone and see endless missed calls from Erick. I decided to call him back and he picked up after three rings.

"Hello?" He speaks into the phone.

"Hey it's me. You called?"

"Oh hey, yeah um I heard what happened. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine I guess but it's Joel I'm worried about"

"I guess we will find out tonight. The rest of the boys and I are going over to his house tonight to check up on him. Did you want to come?"

"I don't know, wouldn't it be awkward? Plus, I have a doctor's appointment I should be getting ready for"

"That's perfect; maybe I can take you there and we can go to Joel's place afterwards? That's only if you're ok with it, I didn't want to forcefully invite myself if you don't want me to come"

I figured it wouldn't be that bad if he came along. Erick and I have a lot to talk about anyway and this may be the only time we would be alone to talk everything out without being interrupted. He said he would be here soon before hanging up. I started to get dressed and made my way downstairs while informing my mum that Erick would be coming along. Time had passed and the doorbell finally rang. That must be Erick. My mum let him in as we all headed out into the car.

"Are you guys going to be ok or do you want me to come in?" My mum asks as she had parked the car.

"We will be ok" I smiled before Erick and I headed into the main entrance. "You know, you didn't have to do this" I tell him after we had checked in at the reception and took a seat.

"I know but I guess I'm just trying to make up for some stuff. I know I haven't exactly been a good friend lately" he looks down.

"Maya Francis?" Before I had a chance to reply, a nurse calls my name to follow her. Erick also comes along.

"Good evening Maya. So, it says here you're here for a wound assessment of your ankle. Am I right?" The doctor asks while looking right into the computer screen.

I nod my head yes and he asks me to lay down on the bed I carefully lean backwards so my head was now resting on the bed. Erick stood right beside me and I must say, I was quite nervous about what was going to happen next. The doctor had put on some gloves and slowly began to peel off my bandage. I winced in pain because of the pressure he was putting on and Erick grabbed my hand tight as I squeezed his hand. My bruise was slowly starting to disappear and the doctor kept asking me questions regarding pain and if I have trouble walking long distances. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready to be free from my crutches yet. I still had to put up with it for a few more days. After my check up, we headed back to the car where my mum then dropped us off to Joel's house.

"I'll call you when we need to get picked up" I tell my mum as we stepped out.

Erick and I then made our way towards the door and he knocked on the door. Joel opens up and that is when my heart began to race at a hundred beats per second. It was the good kind though. He had a sad look in his eyes. Seeing him like this just made me more miserable. He greeted us then moved aside for us to enter before closing the door. The rest of the boys were already there and sitting in his main lounge while I also took a seat on the couch. I stayed silent while the rest of the guys were doing the talking. Joel was looking down the whole time; not making any eye contact with anyone. However, he had no trouble replying to our comments and questions. I couldn't keep my eyes off him, all I could think about was how much I wanted to hug him right now so all the regret and pain would flood away from his body.

"Will you be facing jailtime?" Chris asks in the politest way possible.