Chapter Nineteen
Kemara
“Channing!” I cried out in horror as he went down. The tears sprung to my eyes as I sobbed and tried desperately to pull my arms away.
Channing’s father and brother were still there. His father dropped the gun and stared at the lifeless form in front of him. “Son,” he said in almost a whisper.
Damon started to look frantic as the sirens drew closer. “Dad, we have to get out of here.”
“You’re not going to get away with this,” I said, staring them down.
“Shut up!” Damon ordered. He reached down and grabbed the gun, and I wondered if maybe I spoke too quickly. I feared that maybe I would get shot before the cops could come in to rescue me. The sirens were right outside the door and they knew it. “Let’s get out of here,” Damon said. They ran towards the door and I let out a breath that I didn’t know I was holding.
“Channing…wake up baby…please…” I mumbled, sobbing as the tears were now raining down my cheeks. I heard rustling outside the room and hope flourished inside of me. “We’re in here! Help!” I called out.
Two cops, followed by a stretcher and paramedics, came running into the room. We were saved. One cop came over to me and helped to get my wrists undone. I was at a loss for words, but needed them to know that both men were on the loose. “They left…someone needs to find them,” I said, barely able to catch my breath.
“It’s alright, ma’am. We have two officers with them now. They tried to escape, but it’s over.” I fell into his arms, relieved to hear him say that. I started sobbing as I looked past him and saw Channing being loaded up on the stretcher. He looked so helpless. He looked like he was already gone.
But the words, we’ve got a pulse, echoed through my mind and I was hit with relief. They pulled the stretcher, with Channing on it, out of the room and I had to go with him. “I have to go to the hospital,” I said.
“Of course! We’ll meet you at the hospital, so we can get an official statement. Can we call someone for you?” the officer asked.
“I’ll do it!” I said. “I just need to go.” With that, I hurried out of the room and made it outside, just as they were about to load him into the back of the EMS. “Wait!” I called out. “Can I come with him?” I asked.
The paramedic nodded. “You’ll need to get checked out too.”
“No, I’m fine. I just want you to make sure he’s okay,” I argued.
They put him in the back and I got up after them. I sat down on the bench beside him and grabbed his hand. “I’m here, baby. Just stay strong.” I felt the faint thread of his pulse as the EMS turned on their sirens and pulled away from the building. He was going to be fine. He just had to be.
***
By the time I got to the hospital, I agreed to be looked at, but not until Channing was in the room and being worked on. A doctor checked me out and came back with me being fine, but I could have told him that anyway, other than the fact that nerves were working hard on my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about how my life would be if Channing wasn’t alright.
When I got to the waiting room, my parents were already there. I ran over to them, throwing my arms around their neck and started sobbing. “He looked so lifeless,” I said. “I was so scared.” I had moved past me being scared for my own life. The truth was that Channing came in to save me. I was here, because he had stepped in the way of the bullet and I would never be able to forgive myself if he didn’t make it.
“What happened?” My mom’s soft and soothing voice asked.
We went over to a group of chairs and I sat down. My legs were wobbly and I needed to have a rest. I started to tell them the story, saying just that Channing’s father and brother didn’t like me, and I was caught in the middle. “So, in other words, Channing put you in this situation?” My dad asked. He looked upset and I had to quickly diffuse the situation. I couldn’t have him upset by this, when Channing was fighting for his life.
“Dad…this isn’t Channing’s fault. He loves me and it’s because of him that I’m sitting here right now. He jumped in the line of fire, and he can’t help who his father does and doesn’t like. I should have been more careful, so this was partly my fault too,” I said.
“This is not your fault, sweetheart.” My dad’s face softened. “But I’m just so grateful that he was there for you,” he said. He hugged me and I fell into his strong hold.
“I’m scared, Dad,” I admitted.
“I know honey, but we have to have faith that he will be fine.”
My mom reached out and touched my knee. I looked up at her and she was looking away from us. I looked to where she was staring and standing at the open of the waiting room was Channing’s mom. She was looking at us. Her face was red and for obvious reasons, she’d been crying. I got up and hurried towards her. I wrapped my arms around her and we hugged.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Holloway,” I said.
“Dear…” she said, her breath brushing against my ear. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I’m sorry about the way my husband reacted to you.” She pulled back and tears were streaming down her cheeks. “I’m just glad that my son got to you in time.”
I had questioned how he had found me so quickly and I thought about it. “Was it you? Did you tell him I was in trouble?” I asked.
She smiled through the light tears. “Let’s not think about that now,” she said. “We need to be a strong and united group, so that we can get through this together.”
I smiled at her. “Thank you,” I whispered. She nodded and we headed over to where my parents were seated. “Mom…Dad…I want you to meet Channing’s mother.”
They both looked at her with ambivalence. I knew that, once everything came out about the Holloways, my family would understand that his mother didn’t hold the same beliefs. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” she said as she reached out to shake my parents’ hand. Then slowly they both accepted her hand and she took a seat next to them.
They started to talk and their hushed voices were drowned out by my own thoughts and concerns for Channing. I turned away from them and stood several feet away, my eyes staring down the door that Channing was behind. As I was watching it, willing for it to open, I spotted one of the officers heading over towards me.
I turned to him and he nodded and tipped his hat. “Ma’am…we have some questions that I need to ask you. Will you give me ten minutes of your time?” I looked at his name badge, then up at him.
“Officer Prescott, I can appreciate that you need answers and that right now I’m the only one that can provide those answers. I am willing to help you out in any way I can, as long as they stay behind bars for a very long time. But I can’t do this right now. I need to focus on my prayers and direct only positive energy on Channing right now. I hope you can understand and respect that.”
He slowly nodded and stepped back away from me. I looked back at the door, thoughts plaguing my mind about how I just wanted to go to him and smother him with kisses, thanking him for saving my life. But I didn’t know what was waiting behind those doors. I didn’t know if he survived and I didn’t know if he would be a changed man, if he did survive. I just needed some answers.
***
I couldn’t sit still. Between standing and staring at the door and moving to sit closer to his mom and my parents, I just felt useless. It seemed like forever that he’d been in the hospital room being worked on, when finally the doors opened. The doctor walked out and I shot to my feet. I reached out and grabbed my mom’s hand as he got closer to me.
“We have him on some high medication, so he’s really drowsy right now, but he’s going to be fine.” The minute the words came out, I felt a sigh burst from within me. “He took the brunt of the damage to his shoulder and he lost a lot of blood. He’ll need some therapy, but we expect a full recovery.”
“Oh, thank God!” I said. I turned to my family, and we all started our celebration. It was a huge relief to know that Channing was going to be fine. I hugged Mrs. Holloway and she started sobbing against me, but the tears now were of relief and happiness. I pulled away from the embrace and turned to the doctor. “When can we see him?” I asked
“A nurse will come out once he’s settled in his room, but no more than two at a time.”
I nodded. “Understood. Thank you so much, doctor,” I said.
He smiled. “It’s my pleasure. He’s a lucky man.” He nodded and left us to continue our celebration. However, the celebration was short-lived, when no more than fifteen minutes later Officer Prescott was walking back our way.
“That’s very good news,” he said. I waited, knowing that he would soon inquire about the statement again and sure enough he did. “So, once I get this statement I’ll be gone and out of your hair. How about right now?”
My dad jumped to my defense. “My daughter has been through enough today. Surely your statement can wait a day,” he said.
I reached out and touched his arm. “No! Now that I know Channing is going to be okay…I’ll give you the statement that you want. I want to put them behind bars and that means going over this with you. So, have a seat.”
Officer Prescott sat down next to me and I started by telling him everything, realizing that my parents would hear it all too, but I couldn’t hold back.
“Channing’s father and brother have always held the belief that white people should only partner up with other whites and blacks were nothing but low-lifes that deserved nothing out of life, especially happiness. Channing, along with his dad, and brother belonged to this Neo-Nazi hate group that supported the killing of blacks.” Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my dad’s face get distorted as he grabbed my mom’s hand and they stared at us. I kept talking. “When they found out about me, they both would have done anything to keep me away from Channing.” I heaved a sigh, before continuing. “I came home to a note and I thought it was from Channing, so I went to find him. I got kidnapped by his brother and father and they took me to that building.”
I closed my eyes as the memory was so vivid. I felt like I was under a ton of weights. I continued to tell the officer what happened blow by blow, including how they tied me up, threatened to kill me and his father trying to kill me.
“If it wasn’t for Channing getting to me in time, then I know that they would have killed me. Those two men deserve to rot in jail for putting me through this and I believe that the group needs to be closed and the hate needs to be stopped once and for all.”
Office Prescott nodded, jotting down his notes. “And do you know where we can get ahold of this group?” he asked me, looking up.
“I’m sure I can assist in bringing them down,” I said. “But mostly…I just really want to keep Mr. Holloway and his son, Damon, behind bars, so they can’t hurt Channing anymore.”
“Of course,” Officer Prescott said. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “Keep in touch, if you can think of anything else, but this statement should help to make sure they aren’t able to bother you or your boyfriend.”
“Thank you!” I said.
We stood up and I said goodbye to him. When I turned around, my dad stood up. “What in the hell do you mean that Channing belongs to a Neo-Nazi hate group? He put you in danger on purpose?”
“Dad…stop!” I went over to him. “Keep your voice down. Channing used to belong to this group. He stepped down and denounced the group, because he loves me. He got out of it for me and it was never something he wanted to do. His father forced it upon him,” I argued. I then pulled back, nearly forgetting that Mrs. Holloway was sitting there. “His mother saved me, by telling Channing what was happening. She is a good person, and I don’t want you to put down Channing, because he is the man I always thought he was.”
At that moment, Mrs. Holloway stood up. “I know that this comes as a shock. I’ll admit that my husband and son’s attitude is shocking. If I could have stopped it before it happened, then I would have. I never wanted Kemara or Channing to get hurt,” she said.
My dad and mom turned to her. The waiting room went still and Mrs. Holloway spoke again.
“You have a very special daughter. From the moment I met her, I knew that she would be the perfect partner to my son. I would have done anything to protect her from my husband. Through the years, he has hardened. I can’t even tell you when it happened, but he was a good man. His family has just come up with wrong theories on people, and I’m sorry that your daughter was caught in the middle. You have to believe me when I say that Channing truly loves her. He’s nothing like his father, and I’ve always known it.”
I watched her pour her heart out. I praised her silently for taking the stand. I turned to my parents. “My love for Channing is real and his love for me is too. Don’t blame him, because his father did this to him and he did it to Damon, Channing’s brother.”
“Excuse me!” Mrs. Holloway said.
I turned and saw her heading off to the corner to cry. I could only imagine what was running through her mind. I turned back to my parents. “She’s lost her husband and a son tonight, because of their actions. But she didn’t want this for Channing or myself. She protected us, choosing us over her husband. That says something.”
Dad slowly nodded, understanding that I was right. Mom left us and I watched as she went over to Mrs. Holloway. She was there comforting her and I was thankful for that. “This is a lot to take in. I do like him, Kemara, but you have to understand that my first duty as a father is to protect my family. So, we’re going to have to start over Channing and I, to get an understanding of where his head is at. I can’t stand idly by and let this happen to you again,” Dad said finally.
I nodded. “Thank you! Another chance is all I’m asking you to give him,” I said.
I heard the door open from the outside, and I turned to entrance to find Tameka coming in. Thankfully, she missed the announcement I’d just made about Channing’s past affiliations, or she would still be punching the walls. She ran over to me and hugged me. “I came as soon as I could,” she said. “I’m so glad you’re okay!” She pulled back and looked at me. “How’s Channing?” she asked.
I nodded. “He’ll be fine. I’m just waiting for them to tell me I can go see him.” I held her hand and smiled. “Thank you for coming!” I looked around the waiting room and thought about what I had to be thankful for and that was the love of family. We would get through anything.
***
When the nurse came out to tell me that we could see him, I looked at Mrs. Holloway. She squeezed my hand. “You go see him first. I can wait. I know you’ve been waiting for this moment.”
“Thank you!” I hugged her quickly, then turned to the nurse. “I’m ready,” I said.
She led the way to Channing’s room. She stayed out, while I entered the room. I took in a deep breath, when I saw him lying there. His eyes were closed. I couldn’t tell if he was just resting or sleeping. I sat down on a stool next to his bed, then pulled myself closer.
“Channing?” I whispered. He moved and I reached out and grabbed his hand. “I’m here,” I softly said.
I felt him squeeze my hand, then moan again. I pulled myself up, so I could look down at him. “Baby, I’m here,” I said.
His eyes slowly fluttered. He finally opened them, and I rejoiced in that moment.
“Hey,” he softly said.
I placed my finger to his lips. “Don’t exert yourself by talking. I love you so much, Channing,” I said. “You’re my hero.”
He smiled, and I placed a soft kiss against his lips.
“I love you,” he said, between the kiss.
I enjoyed hearing the words that I wouldn’t deny him the chance to say. I crawled up into bed with him. I wrapped my arm around his good side, and he snuggled against me.
“We’re going to make it, Channing. I just know we are,” I said.
He grunted a sound that sounded like he was agreeing with me. With love, I knew that anything was possible and being with Channing was the only place I wanted to be. I placed a small kiss on his forehead and was careful not to bump his shoulder. I closed my eyes and we stayed in that embrace, because that’s all that mattered. It only brought us closer together.