Things Change

Chapter Nineteen

***Kayleigh***

"Beau!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as I heard the sound of a loud splash. I picked up my cell phone off the ground and punched in '911'. I raced along the side of the bridge and down towards the river as fast as my legs would take me as I held the phone up to my ear.

"Hello, 911 emergency." The female dispatcher answered.

"Hi, my um, my friend was just attacked and pushed into the river."

"Alright," She said calmly. "Where are you?"

"I'm down the walking path on main street, where the bridge crosses the river."

"Can your friend swim?"

"Yes," I nodded. "But I don't see him anywhere. The water's flowing too fast." I began to sob as I squinted helplessly into the darkness.

"Sweetheart, just stay calm, I'm sending the paramedics now. Can you tell me what your name is?"

"Kayleigh. Kayleigh Williams." I wailed.

"Okay, Kayleigh, just stay where you are. Don't try to go into the river, alright?"

I sniffed, "Okay."

After what felt like a century, I finally heard the sound of sirens. Everything seemed like a blur as they set to work shining flashlights everywhere and taking my statement.

Officer Meredith, the same officer who'd primarily been helping tackle my case against Colby, wrapped me in a blanket and began to lead me towards her squad car.

"No," I pulled away. "I want to stay. I need to know that he's okay."

"There doing their absolute best to find him, Kayleigh. It's not safe for you to stay here with Colby so close by."

I reluctantly gave in as she led me towards the car. Tears streamed down my face as I climbed inside and was carted away from the scene. Meredith took me home and I reluctantly climbed out of the car and followed her into the house. I could feel my parents' eyes on me as I trudged past them and up the stairs without a single glance.

I could hear the sound of Meredith's voice explaining what had happened as I laid on my bed and sobbed uncontrollably. Everything that had happened ran through my head. All of the abuse, all of the pain, everything. Through it all, my only hope—the beacon in the night had been Beau.

Somewhere in the back of my head, whether I'd admitted it or not, I'd always allowed myself to believe that there was a possibility that Beau and I would be together again. Now, the thought that he could permanently be gone, that I may never see him again was too much—way too much. I felt more tears fall until I'd cried myself to sleep.

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I awoke with a terrible headache as the sound of my mother's voice pulled me back to complete consciousness. I rubbed my eyes as I glanced up at her.

"He's okay,"She spoke softly.

"What?" I asked groggily.

"Beau. They just found him and they're taking him to the hospital, but they expect for him to be fine."

"And Colby?"

My mother sucked in a breath as she shook her head, "The river was so rocky, that Beau's lucky he survived. They think there's a possibility that Colby could've died upon impact and his body floated downstream with the heavy current, but they don't know. They're still searching." I nodded slowly as I bit my lip.