Saving Her

Chapter 10

As we race down the street, we turn a few corners and stop abruptly at a small, brick faced two-story style house.  A woman and a man are standing outside an all grey house next door.  The man is holding the woman in his arms and they both look scared and concerned, the woman pointing at the brick house.  An officer is taking their statements, while others are trying to get the door open to the house in front of us.

Our commander is shouting for a few more officers to help break down the door.  The three of us race out of the cruiser and no sooner do we have our vests on and guns drawn, the front door opens and we follow our fellow officers inside.  Quickly, room by room is cleared and once downstairs is cleared, we move upstairs.

As I'm helping clear a small bathroom, I hear Connor shout from down the hall.

"Shawn, SHAWN! We need you here NOW!"

Running, I follow his voice and grab the door frame to stop myself.  Looking inside the room, is see something I never thought I'd see.

My blood runs cold and all the breath rushes out of my lungs.  I lunge forward pushing through my fellow officers until I reach the side of the bed.

"Camila.  Oh my god!" I cry out as the horror creeps in.

Laying awkwardly on the bed, her arms are tied to the headboard, she's got bruises on her neck in the shape of hands, her right eye is swollen shut and she's completely naked. Her hair is a wild mess, covered in blood and her make-up is smudged all over her face.  I notice small cuts and bruises in places no one should ever have them.  Blood soaks into the pillow below her from the open gash at the back of her head.

I can't breathe, I literally can't breathe. My eyes turn red and all I see is fire.

Andy did this to her. I can feel it in my bones. This is his house. Son of a bitch.

"Camila?....Mila honey, it's Shawn. Pretty girl I'm right here. Can you open your eyes for me?! Please...ple...please beautiful, I need you to look at me." My hands curling around her face hoping my touch will magically give her the strength to open her eyes. Tears welling in my eyes as I sputter out the words, surprised I can even talk.

Crime scene detectives enter the room and I know what this means, I can't touch her anymore.  I have to let them take pictures of how we found her; but the protective side of me fights against what's right and before they take another step, I turn to them, still on my knees and very sharply tell them to be quick and don't dare tell me to leave the room.  They nod their heads quickly and minutes later they are done, exiting quickly.  I don't care if I scared them, this is my best friend at her worst and the less know this, the better.

Brian comes up behind me and cuts the tie from the headboard and gently places her arms at her sides while Connor grabs a bed sheet to cover her. Unfortunately we can't touch anything else as it's all evidence, but I see her clothes, torn to shreds and scattered all across the room.

"Banana please! Please just give me a sign, I need you to be okay." My body is shaking, from crying or anger I don't know, but my only focus right now is the girl before me laying bruised and broken on the bed.

Connor places a hand on my shoulder and Brian escorts the remaining officers out of the room for now. Somehow they know I don't want anyone else to see Camila like this.

I hear sirens blaring in the distance and know what's next. It's all too familiar to me. Only this time, it's personal.

My beautiful best friend is the victim.

Keeping my hands curled around her face, I'm praying to God she gives me a sign that's she's alive. I want to shake her and make her smile at me, that same gorgeous smile she always does. I feel myself breaking... I don't know if I can handle this... I need her, and right now, more than ever, she needs me.

In a blur of navy blue and yellow, the paramedics fly into the room and start hooking up machines to her chest and fingers. I can't move, I won't move. They'll have to arrest me like a criminal before I leave her side.

"We have a heart beat, it's barely there, but regular which is reassuring, but based on the head injury, the amount of blood she's lost and discoloration around her lips, we'll need to check her for drugs when we get to Toronto General as well as maybe rush her to emergency surgery" One of the paramedics speaks.

"Detective Mendes, she's okay to transport, we have to move her now." Another one says looking at me.

The words don't register in my brain until they start to remove her body from my hands.

"NO. Everyone STOP! Don't touch her. No one else touches her. I will carry her to the ambulance."

"Shawn...I....". Connor tries to reason.

"No Connor, I'm not leaving her again. I should have been there to protect her. The last image she has of me is me storming out on her last night after an argument." Taking a deep breath, I continue.

"I need to be the first person she sees when she wakes up. Please! I'm begging you. I can't....I can't let her wake up in some big scary ambulance or hospital room and not see anyone she knows. I...I just can't." My eyes are pleading with everyone in the room.

"Okay detective, but you do as we say during transport, you're on our turf now. We understand this is personal and we're gonna do everything we can to help her."

Brian enters the room again with one of my Toronto PD T-shirts that's big enough to fit Camila like a dress. Asking everyone to turn away, I remove the sheet covering Camila and slip the shirt over her head and gently place her arms through the sleeves and pull the shirt down. It reaches past her knees, so she is well covered.

Picking her up bridal style and resting her head on my chest, she lets out a small grunt as I place her gently on the gurney.

"Camila can you hear me?" I ask as we carry her down the stairs. Another whine fills the silence over the busyness surrounding us. Detectives and forensics officers wiz past me to begin further detailing the crime scene. All pass me with a sad look on their faces, but the only face I care about is the one being rushed out on a gurney.

I'm walking as fast as my legs will take me to the ambulance waiting outside as I chase behind the paramedics, my eyes never leaving Camila.  My protective side ready to strike at any moment.

More wires and tubes get attached to her skin once they have her in the back of the squad.  She's still so pale and lifeless. I just want to wrap her in my arms and wake up from this nightmare. Instead I grab her hand as the ambulance proceeds to rush to Toronto General.

Please Mila, please come back to me, I pray as I will the ambulance to move as fast as it can.

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A/n: Shoutout to @ellcamila for supporting me on this book. Nice to know someone is reading :)