Never Say Goodbye (Rebel Walking #6) (12 page)

Chapter Two

Kimber

The pain is unlike any I've ever felt before.  I'm so nauseated and I can hardly think. 

"Have they cleared out yet?"  There's no way I can just walk out of here with him.  I was so close to leaving tonight.  My Jeep is packed and I even have my hotel room reserved a few hours out.  This is the furthest I've ever come to finally leaving this hell. 

"I didn't see anyone out there, but that doesn't mean they're not just around one of the corners.  Just walk with me and we'll get out of here."

"You don't understand.  We can't just walk out of here."

"Why not?"

"For one, I'm not sure I can walk right now and two, if Greg sees me leaving with you, I'll never get away."

"Where are you parked?"

"A couple of streets to the west."

"Why the fuck are you parked so far away?  You can't just be walking the streets by yourself at night." 

"Yeah.  It seemed like a good idea at the time."  The cramping hits me again with a vengeance.  I steady myself on the table and try to focus through the pain.  I know what each cramp means.  I'll never forgive myself for not leaving in time. 

He lifts me into his arms and begins to carry me out of the room.  If I could just concentrate enough to resist, I would.  My only focus is trying to stay conscience and keeping the sharp pains from causing me to throw up again. 

"Where do you think you're going with her?"  Shit... it's Lou. 

"Old man.  Don't fuck with me right now.  I'm not in the mood."  I turn just in time for Lou to miss my face and make sure he witnesses me wrapping my arms around this guy's neck.  I'm hoping he'll think it's a hookup and leave me alone. 

He knows me better than that, so when I see him following us close behind, I have no choice.  We need to lose him.  If Lou thinks I'm hurt, he'll never let me go.

I pull my face up close to the mouth of the huge guy carrying me.  Wrapping my hands around his head and running my fingers through his hair as he continues to walk seems to cause Lou to stop following us.  After I see him retreat, I collapse back into this man's arms.  Really strong arms. 

I notice the look on his face when I lower myself and it confuses me.  I can't tell what he's thinking.  The only thing I know is he's not struggling to carry me and I thank God at least ten times before we reach my car. 

"What color is your car?"

"Blue Jeep."

"Okay.  I see it.  Almost there.  Where are the keys?"

"In my pocket."

"I'm going to set you down.  Let me put my hoodie down on the seat for you."  I watch him remove his jacket and I'm instantly drawn to the sleeve of tattoos running down both arms.  I'm sure if I would've seen him like this inside, my beating would've been worse.  This guy is hard to look away from. 

He helps me in and slides the seat belt over my waist slowly.  I'm not used to this kind of attention and that felt a little awkward, but I don't have time to deal with it now.  Another round of cramps put me in tears before he has the chance to pull away from the curb. 

"Hang in there just a little bit longer.  We're almost there."

"I'm pregnant." 

"I was afraid of that."  His voice is low and I almost miss his response. 

"I'm losing the baby."

"You don't know that.  Be strong and we'll see what the doctors say."  I notice the 'we' in that sentence and can't help but feel relief that he plans to go in with me.  I'm scared to death and I don't think I can be alone right now.  I try to do what I've been trained to do and hide all of my emotions.  This situation is too much for me to hide them completely, but I find some shelter when I put myself into the numb zone as far as I can possibly go. 

I watch the lights go by and everything begins to blur.  There's a peace when I come here.  Nothing can touch me. 

Luke

I pull into the closest spot and waste no time going around to get her.  She must be going into shock.  Her face is frozen in the same lifeless expression it has been for the past few miles.  She has no reaction to me opening the door and pulling her out of the car. 

I carry her straight to the desk and try to answer the questions coming at me.  The looks of accusation would piss me off if I wasn't truly concerned about this girl. 

"Sir, you need to fill out this form."

"Can't we just get her to the doctor first and then I'll fill out every fucking piece of paper you want me to?"

"Sir, you have to fill out the paperwork first."  I glance over and notice the emergency doors open as someone walks out.  There isn't a single hesitation that runs through my body as I make it through the doors just before they close. 

"Sir.  You can't go back there...."  I'm met in the ER by a couple of doctors and the same naggy sounding bitch from the desk.

"What's going on here?"  A female doctor is the first to walk up to me.

"She was punched in the stomach and she's pregnant.  She's losing blood and I'm not sure if she's going into shock or what, but she needs your help."

"Follow me."  I pass by a few judging assholes.  I get this a lot when I'm wearing a tank top.  Closed minded bastards judge me before they know anything about me all the time.

"We'll do an ultrasound and see what we can find out."  I watch the doctor order a few nurses to help before I lay her down on the bed.  She grabs onto my hand as I begin to pull away.  She closes her eyes and doesn't open them when the ultrasound machine is moved closer.  She doesn't open them when they rub some sort of jelly over her and she doesn't open them when they begin to run the sensor across her stomach.

I don't know whether to watch her face or the screen.  It's almost like she knows her fate already.  A tear runs down her face as the tech continues to struggle to find a heartbeat.  

"I'm having trouble locating the heartbeat.  I'm going to let someone else try."  Kimber doesn't open her eyes.  I use my thumb to catch her tears and she places her hands over mine and holds them against her face.  Her inhale of a few rapid breaths in a row tell me she's beginning to break down. 

I lean in to her ear and place my arm around her.  "I'm so sorry."  Her cries become louder and she holds me tighter.  I don't even know this girl and I'm hurting for her.  This is a terrible situation and there's nothing I can say to make it better.

The second tech begins to search and it's the same result. 

"I'm sorry.  There's not a heartbeat.  The doctor will be in shortly with instructions for you."  We're left alone in the room and I just continue to hold her.  I feel helpless again and this time I can't stop my own tears from falling.  This has nothing to do with me, but I can't stand watching someone hurt like this.  A loss like this is unimaginable.      

"I did this.  I killed my baby."  I pull away from her and guide her face to mine.  She won’t look at me. 

"Listen to me.  This is not your fault.  That asshole did this."

"I was supposed to leave yesterday."  Her voice sounds choked and I can see she's completely blaming herself for this.  Guilt is something that takes time to deal with.  I should know, I'm still trying to figure out how to live with myself.

"Where were you going?" 

"As far away as I could possibly get.  I didn't want him to know about the baby."

"I'm guessing the asshole in the alley was the father."  Her nod confirms my suspicion and her life begins to make sense to me.  She's just as lost as I am right now.  Someone who is willing to leave everything behind like she's talking about doing is going through some shit that can't be easily dealt with. 

The doctor comes in and confirms the fate of the baby.  "Mrs. Reynolds, it looks like you were only a few weeks pregnant.  You'll need to check back with a doctor if you have any complications, but I believe you're early enough that you won't require a DNC."  She gives Kimber instructions and handles the conversation much better than I could have.  I guess that comes with the experience of giving bad news to families every day. 

Kimber's tears never stop running down her face.  She's devastated and I wish so badly that I could do something to change the outcome of this night.  I reach to wipe the remaining tears after the doctor leaves the room. 

"Let me take you home."

"I'm not going back there."

"Do you have someone that I should call or take you to?"

"Just take me to a hotel and I'll be fine."  She says this right as she begins to cramp again.  I have no intentions of dropping a woman who is in the middle of miscarrying off at a hotel.  It's apparent that I'm coming off as a real douche bag if she thinks that I'd even consider that.  The nurse comes in with her paperwork and some medicine to help with the pain.

"You need to rest and take it easy for the next few days.  Please call us if the pain gets any worse."

"Can you go to the Jeep and get the small blue bag behind the driver's seat?"

"Sure.  I'll be right back."  I take my time getting her bag because I can tell she wants some privacy. 

The nurse asks for the bag and I wait outside the room until I get some sign that she's ready for company again.  The nurse opens the door and backs out with Kimber in a wheelchair.  At this point she looks numb again.  She's here, but her mind is a million miles away.  The nurse pushes her through the exit doors and I rush to get the Jeep.  We help her in and I know I have only one place to take her.  My one room apartment is getting ready to be invaded.

Kimber

I've done this.  What kind of mother puts her baby in danger before it ever has the chance to take its first breath?  The whole reason for staying an extra day fell through when Greg caught me with the money before the fight.  He of course assumed even worse than he should have when he saw it.  I knew he would win that fight.  It was an easy way to double my money and have a better chance at starting a new life with my baby.  It seemed like a chance worth taking at the time. 

All of that doesn't matter now.  I'm back to square one and depending on my father.  At this point, anything is better than crawling back to Greg.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To my apartment."

"I told you to take me to a hotel."

"Someone needs to stay with you."

"I'll be fine."

"Look.  I'm not sure what to say here.  You need someone and I have nothing better to do, so just let me do this."  I don't quite know how to take that.  It's a good thing he's bored tonight. 

Greg will be furious once he realizes most of my things are packed.  He has a key to my house and I'm sure he went there once he left the fight.  He'll be out for the kill the first time he sees me.

"I appreciate you trying to help, but I don't want to put you out any more than I already have." 

"It's really the only option I'll consider at this point.  You need to rest and I have a place for you to crash."  It doesn't take him long to park in front of an apartment building.  I step out of my Jeep and look up at the building, trying to recognize where we're at.  I should've paid closer attention on the drive over because nothing looks familiar.  Trying to pull my bag from the back seat, I begin to feel very awkward about all of this.

"Where are we?"

"My apartment building.  Come on, I'll take you up."  He pulls the bag out and holds out his arm to guide me.  It takes me a few seconds to give in, but I eventually do.  What if he's a serial killer out to find his next victim?  It's a fine time for me to finally think about something like this, but this night has been out of control. 

"What if you're a murderer?"  He stops mid-step and turns his head to stare at me.  His face is saying everything that I can tell he's biting his tongue over.  Like, 'Are you fucking kidding me right now?'  and 'that's the stupidest bullshit I've ever heard.'  He takes a deep breath and begins to slowly move forward again.

"If I was going to kill you, you'd already be dead.  Now let's get you upstairs and rest like the doctor told you to."  I know he's right and besides, it's not like I have a choice at this point.  It's sad that I'm taking my chances with a complete stranger versus the man that I've been with for years, or even my father. 

I'll stay the night on this guy's couch and then I'll go to see my father in the morning to get my winnings.  After that, I'm out of here.  There is absolutely nothing holding me here.  I'm going to have to figure out how to live with myself after this. 

"Can I at least get your name first?"

"Luke."  He continues to guide me once we're inside the apartment building until we're in the elevator.  The building is old, and this elevator feels unsafe and ancient.  The way this night is going, it'll probably stall out on us between levels.

"Kimber."  He hasn't asked for my name, but under the circumstances, I feel the need to tell him. 

"Nice to meet you, Kimber."  The clanking and creaking of the elevator pulls my attention away from the conversation, but we make it to the eighth floor without it breaking. 

"This elevator sounds terrible."