Hope Is What We Crave (#Wattys2016)

Chapter Fourteen- Wait, What?!

Luke's POV
We all turned, and Rachel choked down a sob when she saw who it was. Her dad. My older brother. Joel. I didn't think either of them had moved, but half a second later, they were in the middle of the room, and she was in his arms. I smiled, watching them reunite. I heard her crying, and he closed his eyes, letting the tears trickle down. Courtney and I hugged Lucy, and Moriah went over, and he stood, Rachel refusing to let go. I could see that she was about to cry, but she was trying not to. He kissed her, and it looked like for once, Rachel didn't mind. We started to head out, and Libby still didn't have cell phone service. We started getting people into the two cars so we could leave. Soon, it was just me, Moriah, Rachel, and Libby. Then, Rachel let out a strangled cry, and slumped. Joel and Moriah caught her, and the gunshot wound in her back was visible. I spun around, seeing Mr. Unicorn leaning against the door, a shotgun in hand. I hurried over, helping Moriah and Libby get Rachel into the car. I saw something in Joel's eyes that scared me, and I didn't realize why until I turned around. He let out a roar that almost seemed inhuman, and was over there, wrestling him for the gun before any of us could move. I ran over, ready to stop him, but Joel had him pinned. Then, I heard Joel's voice, quiet but threatening.

"I should kill you for what you did to my family." I heard the fear in the other man's voice.
"You- you're not going to, right? You're a Christian. You wouldn't." Joel dropped the gun, letting him up.
"I'll let the police handle you. But don't come anywhere near my family again. And revenge isn't mine. It's God's. He'll deal with you accordingly." Then, he knocked him out, coming back over to the car. As we started driving, he broke down.
"I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking, I just....I just got my daughter back, and then that happened...." His voice trailed off, and Rachel weakly grasped his hand.
"I....I never say it enough. I love you, daddy. I love too, mama." Her eyes were slowly closing, and Joel grabbed at her wrist.
"Libby! Can you go any faster?! We're losing her!" She took a deep breath.
"Alright. Back road. Imma go a little fast, and it'll be bumpy, but we'll get there faster." I made sure that Rachel and Joel were buckled in, and slapped her on the shoulder.

"Hit the gas!" She nodded.
"Hang on!" She commanded, and we sped up. Like, a lot. Two minutes and half a million bumps later, we pulled into the hospital. Moriah and I took her arms, and Joel and Libby followed. We hurried into the ER, and the nurse looked up, startled.

"What happened?" It was empty, and she shot up, her hand on the phone.
"She was shot! In the back!" Moriah gasped, and the nurse hit a button, snapping into the phone.
"I need a full team, now. Teenage girl. 16 years old?" I nodded.
"Yes. Get down here, now." A minute later, four nurses in scrubs ran in with a bed, lifting her on.
"Mom?" Rachel whispered, and Moriah grabbed her hand.
"I'm right here, baby. I'm right here." Joel and Libby came in, and Joel broke down again. A few minutes later, Moriah came back and told us she was in surgery. She was playing with something small and silver, and I finally saw what it was. Rachel's promise ring. It was a simple silver band, with I Am Fully His engraved on the outside, and Haven't Even Kissed on the inside. She clutched it to her chest, sobbing. Joel went over, hugging her and trying to comfort her.

"We just got our baby girl back, and now we might lose her. I don't think I can lose another child." She whispered, crying. The first two times she'd been pregnant, she miscarried the first baby, and the second time, their baby girl, Gracia Blaire had been stillborn. When she discovered she was pregnant with Rachel, she was prepared to lose her as well. A couple hours later, we had all been checked out by a doctor, and we're waiting again. Then, Rachel's doctor came in.

"Well, she's going to be okay. No vitals were hit, and the bullet was fairly close to the surface. She's a little dehydrated and fairly malnourished, but she's going to be okay. She's in the recovery wing, room 102." Moriah burst into tears again, and as soon as the doctor left, Libby broke into Snoopy's happy dance. We all laughed, heading up there. God was taking care of us, and things were looking up. Maybe God was telling us our hearts didn't need to stop beating.

Author's note- Voila! Another chapter! I'll try to repost with the song soon, but YouTube isn't liking me tonight. What did you guys think?! There will be a sequel, and it is going to be called Oh So Priceless. Also, on IG, For King and Country posted that they are going to debut the music video for Priceless soon!! This calls for a Snoopy happy dance!! 😜😜😜 Love you guys!!- Craver_Priceless