TIME SUCKED FROM me like a vacuum in a quick whoosh. From the moment I held her limp body on, everything whipped in a mindless cyclone. Simultaneously, I could hear everything around me and also nothing but the faint wisps of air struggling to come out of her mouth. “Breathe, baby. Breathe. She’s fucking turning blue!” I yelled, frantic as I spread her body back down against the tiles, the blue-gray tinging her skin telling me how critical she was.
“What!” The cry that tore from Abby’s throat was punishing, but I needed her quiet so I could focus.
I placed my ear to Eva’s chest, simultaneously pressing two fingers to her throat. Her pulse was weak, but she was there, my little fighter. My body rocked as Abby dropped down beside me, knocking into me in her haste. But, just as quickly as she was on me, she was being dragged away with a yelp, her legs flailing.
“Come on. Give him space. Let him help her,” Eric soothed her.
“Eva!” Abby’s cry choked amidst her tears. “What happened to her? Eva, get up!”
“Let me in. I’m trained for this,” Drew demanded. When my eyes met his, there was nothing but confidence in his stare.
I held her body tight, wanting her to feel me with her, not wanting to let her go. I had made her a promise to never let her down, and I intended to keep it. Had I not needed to back-off Damon, I’d have been to her side sooner . . .
“I got her. I’ll fucking breathe for her as long as I have to.” My body shook so violently I thought I’d be sick as my quivering mouth met hers. Instead of the warm, supple lips that normally greeted me, I was met with a dry, lifeless response. I squeezed my eyes shut, not allowing myself to dwell on that so I could take care of her properly. Pinching her nose shut, I began to blow into her mouth, rescue breathing for her.
In between counts and small breaks, compressions and breaths, I rested my forehead on hers, begging so low no one else could hear me, but praying somewhere inside her motionless body she could. “Come on, breathe my air, baby. Breathe me.” I puffed into her mouth once more, my lips feeling dry to the point of cracking from the repetition. I dropped my forehead to hers again as unrecognizable sobs ricocheted all around me from people that loved her. People counting on me to make her okay.
“You’re doing good, man,” Drew coached. “You need a break?”
“Never.” I cupped my hands over her heart, working through another set. “Come on!” I yelled, frustration clawing at my throat that she wouldn’t open her eyes and see me. Gag, any-fucking-thing! “Angel.” My voice cracked, a tear leaking between the seams of our joined lips as I covered hers once again. A swelling burn coiled in the pit of my stomach at the thought that she might not make it out of this. That I might not be able to save her.
“Fuuuuck!” I sobbed, defeat slipping in despite my attempts to keep it away. “Fuck,” I whispered, cradling her face and licking my dry lips, tasting the salt that lay there. Sirens blared in the distance.
A small relief began to bloom until I heard Drew’s voice beside me. “You gotta get outta here. You don’t know if he’s gonna make it.”
I stopped the CPR just long enough to follow his line of sight to the floor where Damon lay with Abby hovering over his chest. “I’m not leaving her.”
Abby’s head snapped in my direction. “For all we know, you did this to her. You’re not going anywhere near her after this.”
Heat rode my spine in crackling sparks, bubbling over my neck in a hot wave, and I fought to remain rooted on my knees and not lunge at her. I jabbed my finger in her direction. “You have no fucking clue what you’re even saying. He did this to her!” I bellowed.
At her wide-eyed response, Eric spoke for her, his own face reddening. “Hey, don’t talk to her like that. She’s innocent in all of this.”
I was barely hanging on to my frayed endings. “Well, she needs to put her sister first for a change. You want to talk about who’s innocent in all this?” I bore my gaze into Abby’s. She was lucky Drew stopped me before I could finish that motherfucker.
Drew stepped forward. “Look, I didn’t see anything.” He looked around. “I’m sure no one else did, either.”
Slow nods began to bob around the room. Eric spoke next. “Nah, man. I didn’t see a thing.”
All eyes turned to Abby.
“You guys can’t be serious!” she screeched.
Eric put a hand on her arm just as Jace burst over the threshold, knocking him to the side as he ran past.
“None of us understands anything right now,” Eric spoke as calm as possible. “But something brought this on, and we’re not going to have any answers without all the players.”
“What did he do to her?” Jace interrupted, slamming to his knees beside me. “I didn’t know he was fucking here!” he yelled again, agony crackling through each syllable as he gathered her in his arms. “Baby girl? Wake up!”
“Jace?” Abby’s voice held no weight, but her tear-soaked eyes spoke of her uncertainty, glistening under puckered, heartbroken eyebrows.
Jace’s gaze locked on Abby, his whole face crumpling as he pulled Eva into his chest. His eyes held the key to all our unanswered questions—heavy, regretful, all-knowing, and finally, remorseful.
A gasped, “Oh my God,” floated from Abby’s lips before it was muffled by her palm. Her eyes watered further, one stray tear falling over her lower lid as she looked to Damon. Then the rocking began. “Oh my God. Oh my God,” she half-wailed, half-swore as the bubble of shock worked its way around her. Eric was quick to wrap an arm around her, concern etched on his face as he soothed her with gentle hushes.
“Help her,” Jace begged, lowering Eva back to the floor so I could continue breathing for her just as the clicks and clanks of paramedic equipment rang out from the front door. “Where is everyone?” a deep baritone called out.
“Kitchen,” a bunch of voices replied at once.
“Everyone back, please. What do we have here?” A young, built man, who looked to be in his early thirties, dropped a bag beside Eva.
“We’re not sure. They got into a fight. This is how we found them,” Drew spoke first. His back was straight as a tack, his face stoic and unreadable as he looked at the paramedic square in the face.
The man looked around the room, and when no one offered anything more, he looked at Drew from a disbelieving side-eye and lowered beside Eva. “What do you have over there?” he called over to his partner, a woman with her brown hair twisted in a bun, who looked like she could kick my ass if she wanted.
“Unconscious male. He’s breathing on his own, but not well,” she replied, setting up the tools she would need to aid him.
“Bag him and let’s get them out of here,” he said as he bent beside me. “Sir, you’ll have to give us room.”
With a tight nod and a hard swallow, I spoke against the kiss I placed to Eva’s hairline. “Come back to me, Angel.” I kissed her once more and backed away.
Moving to a squat just a foot away, I rested my elbows on each knee for leverage, and pushed my hands to my lips, watching the paramedics assess her. I’d never felt as helpless as I did right then. Having to stand back and watch someone work to save my reason for living, not knowing if she would come out of this all right.
“Oh, god.” I dropped my head, rocking on the balls of my feet as the notion that she might not ricocheted through me. As I stood here watching her strain for her next breath, I prayed that I had done enough. Given her enough of my air to save her.
I was defenseless. Powerless. Suffocation clawed at me, seeming to close my throat as the world stopped. I raked a hand through my hair, sending all my prayers up to God. Please, don’t do this to her.
Small cries caught my attention, and I looked up to find Jessie in the corner with her hand covering her mouth. Beside her, Jeremy rubbed circles on a bawling Sandra’s back. Less than a year ago it had been her in this very situation, and I was sure that this hit a little too close to home for her.
Another set of paramedics rushed to their aid as oxygen was supplied to both Eva and Damon. Gurneys were propped up, machines turned on, things beeping and flashing. The whole thing happened in a matter of minutes, but it felt like hours as they moved about my kitchen.
Once Eva was secured on the bed, they began to roll it toward the door.
“I’m going with her,” I said, rushing to their side. Though I could feel the weight of everyone in the house following us through the foyer, I didn’t dare remove my eyes from her for one second.
When we reached the door, Drew called out, “I’ll wait here for the cops.” But the paramedics didn’t stop moving, and neither did I. My focus was trained on the guy’s hand and every squeeze of the bubble that was taking my place and blowing oxygen into her.
The gurney lifted into the ambulance and, just as the door was about to close, Abby slipped inside. “I’m coming with you.”