One Moment (The Little Hollow Series Book 1) (26 page)

I continued to do this as Sammy ran back onto the dock and threw herself beside his body.

“
Tommy!”
She sobbed and rocked back and forth beside us as I continued the CPR.

Nothing was happening. “Connor, why isn’t he breathing! Do
something!
”

I pumped furiously, trying to rid his lungs of the gunk infested water. “
Come on!
” Tears were making tracks furiously down my face and falling onto his as I blew some more air into his lifeless body.

“Tommy, you need to get up now, bud, come on, it’s time to stop playing around!” I pumped his chest furiously, not daring to stop. If I stopped, it would all become real. Hearing sirens in the distance, my head swam but I refused to stop.

“Tommy! No no no! Wake up…
Wake up
...Connor,
help
him!
” Sammy knelt beside him, stroking his hair.

I looked up into her grief stricken face, my heart constricted upon seeing her. Figures in uniform running towards us caught my eye and I looked over her shoulder. I moved back as the paramedics started where I left off.

“How long was he under for?” One of them aimed the question at me and I just stared as he waited for my answer. “I know this is hard, kid, but I need you to talk to me.”

I shook my head and looked down at Tommy.

“Almost ten minutes.” I stifled a sob. “I tried to get to him...I…“

The paramedic pushing on the pump over his mouth nodded to me knowingly while the other pumped on his chest.

I ran my hands through my hair before going to Sammy’s side. Medical jargon was being thrown between the two paramedics and it just made the situation seem all the more real.

“He’s not breathing, Connor, he’s not
breathing.
” A torturous wail came out her mouth and I pulled her back into my chest. Stroking her hair, I didn’t take my eyes off the scene that was playing out in front of us.

Each paramedic stuck their fingers to the side of Tommy’s neck and checked his pulse before looking at each other with wide eyes, the one who had been pumping his chest shook his head.

The world started moving in slow motion. Sammy slipped from my arms and picked up Tommy screaming into his hair as the paramedics stepped away.

It was chaotic.

People started to crowd around the edges of the beach the police were cornering off. I looked down into Tommy’s lifeless face and a huge sob finally escaped me.

It all went by in a blur, I was numb with a mixture of emotions.

Wrapping them both into my arms, we cried together.
This wasn’t happening, this wasn’t happening,
I repeated the mantra in my head and then it was time.

The paramedics explained that they needed to take his body to the hospital.
His body.
Tears streaked down my face.

“You’re not taking him!” I pried Sammy’s hands away to let them intervene. “No! They’re not taking him! Connor, get off me,
get off me.
” She hit at my chest as I pulled her away from him.

“Sammy, stop it! Sammy! Please, just stop it!”

She froze and looked into my eyes before crumpling into a little heap on the dock. I knelt down in front of her and took her hands.

“Sammy. I... I’m here for you. Please tell me what you need.” As I was trying to instill some comfort in her, I noticed two police officers making their way over to us and stood up with Sammy tucked up against my side.

One was a woman in a cop uniform and I noticed she had a solemn look on her face compared to the stiff faced man in the suit who spoke first.

“My name’s Detective Chapman and this is Deputy Lee. I know this is hard for you both but I really need you to answer a couple of questions.” I nodded at them while Sammy stayed silent, tears running down her face. We were given foil blankets from two other officers and I watched Sammy hug it to herself.

Deputy Lee spoke next. “I’m very sorry but we’re going to have to do this separately.” She put her hand on Sammy’s arm. “I promise it won’t take longer than ten minutes hon.”

She looked to me when Sammy wouldn’t budge and I turned her in my arms.

“I’ll be right here; I’m not going anywhere. Answer what they need you too and then we can get you home.”

She sniffled and nodded quickly before we followed them onto the beach. Deputy Lee took Sammy a little way further down.

“I understand this is a sensitive situation but if you could just answer these next questions without hesitation, then it’ll be over before you know it.” I nodded stiffly as I watched the paramedics lift Tommy’s body onto a stretcher. “If you could give me all your details; name, date of birth, address and your relation to the boy”

The boy?

“His name’s Tommy.” I clenched my jaw as he gave me a look. “Connor Hartley, May seventeenth, nineteen-ninety-one, three seventy-one Teespark Avenue, Little Hollow.” I waited for the next question.

“And your relation to the b- to Tommy?” My relation? I wished myself not to cry as tears stung at the back of my eyes. How did I sum up my relationship to Tommy?

“A good friend. He’s my best friends little brother.
Was
my best friends little brother.” I corrected myself, I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer so I let them go freely.

I raised my hands above my head and linked them together behind my neck letting the blanket drop to the sand.

“And can you tell me what happened from the beginning. Don’t miss out any little details.” He was thorough and quite cold, I wanted to be far away from this guy so I told him what had happened.

Sammy was being questioned longer than me so I interrupted them to tell her I would go grab a couple of bits from mine and come pick her up, her eyes widened in panic and I assured her I’d only be five minutes.

But I never made it back to her.

I still remembered every nerve crushing detail as if it was yesterday. I knew why Sammy hated me, I knew why she blamed everything on me, because I did too.

A tear rolled down my cheek and my mom came over to take my face in her hands. “Connor, you’ve got to let this go, sweetheart.” I’d made a promise to Sammy that I’d never go back there again but I still couldn’t let it go that easily.

“No matter what I do, I’ll never be able to let this go. It isn’t something I can just sweep under the rug. A little boy didn’t get to grow up because
I
wasn’t watching him!” I gritted my teeth and then said in a breath, “I wasn’t watching him.”

I hung my head in my hands and my mom rubbed my back.

“Accidents happen. He was a perfectly good swimmer, you knew that.” I did, I taught him myself. He’d asked me to, so off we went on one of our ‘man days’ to the local pool, we started off small at first but he was a quick learner.

“Of course I knew that but I wasn’t thinking that at the time. We were just goofing around; I didn’t mean to leave him by the water on his own. But it happened and that’s on me.”

I wiped at my eyes and looked at my mom.

“Oh, sweetheart, there were three people there that day and neither one of them was to blame. I wish there was a way I could make you see that.”

Well, there wasn’t. Saved by the bell, Pete walked through the front door and into the kitchen.

“Mmm, smells good, guys.” He kissed my mom on the cheek and picked a slice of bread up off the chopping board.

“Hey! You wait until it’s served. I’m dishing up now.” She smiled playfully at him and our conversation was forgotten about. Just like that.

I wish it was that simple for me.

I underestimated how tired I actually was. After five hours on the road, I had to stop at a motel. I was exhausted from the past couple of days and I knew that if I carried on, it was more than likely going to end up with me not getting to my destination safely.

Speaking of destinations, I took out my cell and shot a text to Lewis.

Did he reply? Have I got an address? Sammy.

Before going inside to get a room, I checked in with Keeley too.

Pulling over into a motel, it’s the creepiest I’ve ever seen. If I die, I love you. Oh, and don’t eat my Oreos if I do, I’ll be watching! S x

I chuckled to myself before taking a deep breath and walking into the eerie reception area. There was no one about so I tapped the bell. Out walked a girl around my age and I visibly relaxed.

“Can I help you?” she mumbled in a bored tone. Okay, so maybe she wasn’t the friendliest of people but at least she didn’t look like a murderer.

“Yeah, I’d like a room for the night please,” I said as she popped her gum at me.

“That’ll be forty-six bucks for the night, check out is at ten.” I’d never heard anyone talk so monotone before. I placed the exact bills on the counter and she slid a room key towards me.

“Room seven.” I thanked her and made a beeline for my room. It felt weird being on my own, I’d never been more than three hours outside of Little Hollow before and everything had me on edge.

Opening up the door to my room, I was pleasantly surprised. It had all the necessities and it was clean; that’s all I needed.

Setting my duffle on the bed, I got out some of my comfy clothes and went for a shower. I’d not had time to properly think since I’d left, that was, until now.

Of course, I thought about random things on the drive up but I was too pepped up with excitement and apprehension that I’d forgot to think about the what ifs. What if I got there and his girlfriend opened the door? What if it was all just in my head, the attraction, the crazy sexual tension?

It couldn’t be though, he admitted to loving me or loved? Should that be past tense? Thoughts whirled around my head making my eyes tired so I hurriedly finished washing my hair and got dressed.

As I lay on the bed flicking through cable, one ‘what if’ was more prominent than the rest. What if I’d blew my chances with him and he didn’t want me there? I jumped as a ding sounded from my bedside table and picked up my cell.

I can’t promise anything. Actually, now you mention it, I do fancy a snack. Stay safe, I quite like having you as a best friend, love you. K x

I smiled at the message and clicked reply, telling her she was a big teddy bear. There was another unread message, this one from Lewis. He had an address for me. I sighed in relief, at least I knew where I was going now instead of driving blind into a city I knew nothing about.

It was almost eight and my stomach rumbled reminding me that I hadn’t eaten all day. I looked down at my baggy sweatpants and decided I didn’t care what I looked like and set off in my car to the roadside diner I saw about three miles back.

When I got there I was greeted by a peppy blond haired waitress carrying three milkshakes over to a table of guys.

“Hey there! Pick any table you want and I’ll be right with you.” I smiled at her; she was a stark contrast to the girl from the motel.

I sat down in a corner booth away from all of the other customers. For a Sunday night, it sure was busy. I looked over the menu and decided on a cheeseburger and fries without even feeling guilty, I’d hardly eaten these past few days and I was going to enjoy every last bite.