Life Changes

Chapter 16

After Harrison gets the text from Jess, Hoppo and the rest of the lads load up into the car and start driving towards Hoppo's neighbourhood. Meanwhile, Whippet and Mouse are back at the bar asking Sarah questions about the car which she recently purchased.

Whippet's POV:

"So Sarah, this buddy Jared that you keep mentioning, you must be pretty close to him no?" Taking another shot tequila, Sarah looked at me with her red-shot eyes and laughed, "Ya; we met each in college and we bonded over a whole bunch of different subjects. Right now, he's my closest helper in anything I need, which definitely came in handy lately." When she said that, I looked at Mouse, and knew right away that Sarah would have a hard time fighting this case in court with all the evidence pointing at her. Mouse took over and asked her for some advice on what type of car he should get, as he is driving a motorbike right now but wants to get a car. "Sarah, what kind of car do you drive? I'm in the market looking for a car, but I have no idea what to get." Pulling out my phone to see if anyone texted me, I clicked on Hoppo's name and started composing a message, while listening for what Sarah would say. "I recently bought a black Dodge caravan that I absolutely love! It's big enough to hold lots of stuff; my licence plate has the cutest design on it! It has my initials, and then around the border is a pink glittery frame that says "Queen of Down Under". Cute right?!" Mouse nodded and motioned to the bartender to give her another round, while looking at me and giving me a sign to text Hoppo.

Hoppo's POV:

My phone buzzed and as I read Whippet's text, I relayed it to the boys. "We're looking for a black Dodge caravan with a pink glittery frame license plate." As we pulled up to a block a couple blocks away from my house, we went out of the car and started looking. I reached in my phone and saw that Chappo was calling me. "Chappo, did you find the car?" "Yeah I think so, but what did the licence plate frame say?" "Whippet told me it should say "Queen of Down Under." "Then we got the right van." "Where are you?" "We're three houses down from your place, right in between a white pickup truck and a red car." "Ok, hang tight. We'll be there in 2 minutes. They found the van guys; let's go!" We loaded back up in my car and quickly drove to the house where Chappo was at. Once we pulled over to the side of the road, Harrison jumped out and ran towards the van. "Jess? Jess?" Chappo pulled him back and said, "Harrison, she's not in the van. Whoever took her did a good job of making sure we wouldn't be able to find anything from her." When I got to the van, I hugged Harrison as he was starting to break down. I didn't know what to say anymore at this point; I motioned to the other boys to give Harrison and me some time alone. "Harrison, I just want you to know that whatever happens, you will always be family to me. Jess is a strong girl and very determined. I'm sure you've witnessed that many times throughout your relationship!" Harrison chuckled and wiped his tears away. "It's just, I honestly thought that Sarah would've changed! When I saw her at the beach, I honestly thought we could make it work and be friends again; I just can't believe she would kidnap Jess to get my attention!" When I was about to say something, I heard Chappo yell, "Harrison! Hoppo! Over here!" We ran to a bushy area and found some of the lads huddled by something lying on the ground. I pushed the guys aside and knelt down beside this lump covered by a blanket; when I pulled the blanket away, Jess's bloody and bruised face greeted me.

Harrison's POV:

As soon as I saw Jess's body lying there, I crumpled to the ground and fell down beside her. "Jess, it's me. Please wake up. Please squeeze my hand if you can hear me." Looking down at her hand, I looked for a squeeze but I didn't feel anything. I couldn't hear Hoppo tell Chappo to call an ambo and have the police come as well. I then heard Hoppo call Whippet and told him that we found Jess, but there was no sign of Jared. I sat down on the hard ground and held Jess in my arms until the ambo came to bring her to the hospital. Once the ambulance and police arrived, Hoppo and I relayed the story about what happened and explained that Whippet and Mouse were with Sarah at the bar. The police dispatched two officers to the bar to pick up Sarah. When the ambulance was getting ready to drive off, I quickly ran to the ambulance and asked if I could ride with them. The medic nodded and moved over so there was room for me as well. "Is she your girlfriend?" "Yes; we've been dating for a couple months now and she means the world to me." The medic smiled and continued to monitor Jess's readings. "Your girlfriend is lucky she survived the attack; she is breathing, but she has a very weak pulse." Hearing that, I broke down again. I felt the medic comfort me by putting her arm around me and saying, "I know it's tough right now, but Jess needs you now more than ever. Even though she isn't conscious right now, you need to be there for her whenever you can; talk to her, share stories with her." I nodded and held Jess's hand, praying that everything would be alright and that she would recover.

Jess's POV:

The last thing I remember is seeing Jared round the corner, until something hard whacked me on the face. I remember closing my eyes, but then opening them and seeing Jared lean over me, and whispering, "Sarah was right, you are a bitch. You don't deserve Harrison; she does. Have you any idea what you've done?" Before I could say anything, he punched me a couple times and kicked me hard in the stomach. I groaned, but not before saying "Harrison loves me, not her. They will find me, and you both will have a heavy price to pay." As soon as I said the last word, I saw Harrison in my mind, and I felt myself slipping away into a dark slumber. When I was sure all hope was lost, I heard a voice in the distance calling my name. How I wanted to react and talk back, but I couldn't. It was like my mouth wouldn't open and I couldn't make a sound. I felt something cover me and I heard footsteps walking away. How I wanted to kick the blanket off and yell for help; but darkness greeted me. And it would stay that way for awhile. How I wanted this situation to be a dream; but it wasn't. This was reality.

Wow! What a chapter! Now that Jess has been found, will she be ok? How will the rest of the lads adjust to the new situation? What will happen to Jared and Sarah? Will Harrison be able to keep himself together and be there for Jess in this trying time? Keep reading to find out..... ;)

Cheers,

Trishi