Beautiful Pain

Chapter 14

Deacon

I shake Sawyer awake and drag him out to his jeep, with Nova trailing behind. Sawyer still has a look of despair on his face, I'm pretty sure he hasn't heard a word I've said.

"She's downtown Sawyer. You've got a manhole cover bruised onto your back." I shake his shoulder roughly to make sure he hears me this time. His head slowly turns to me with a blank stare.

"I do?" There is the slightest bit of hope in his voice, and I smile while I speed through traffic, trying to get to the historic district.

"You do. Remember when we got really drunk back in college? And we were walking around 16th street mall and I couldn't hold myself up and face planted in that alley?"

"Yeah," he nods his head and his face starts to clear and set into determined lines. "You sat there for an hour ridiculing it."

"Exactly. They're only in the historic district. It's only 43 buildings, if we are fast and only focus on the alleys out of the way that could hide an attack for that long, we should be able to find her." I try to sound as sure as I can. Sawyer is my best friend, he's been there for me through everything. I would hate myself if I didn't do everything humanly possible to help him like he's done for me.

"Thanks, man." Sawyer whispers and looks out the window, obviously trying to hold himself in check. We finally make it to Arapahoe and enter the start of the historic district.

     We each take a window and crane our necks to see into the alleys as we drive down the road as slowly as possible. I take us down 17th street to avoid the traffic on 16th, and we all focus on the alleys between the building desperately.

"She has to be here..." Nova reaches forward and places a hand on Sawyer's shoulder in an attempt at comfort, but he's so tense it makes no difference.

"There!! Stop!" Sawyer screams and leaps from the car before I can stop. He bolts into an alley between a sporting goods store and an Italian restaurant where I can see a form huddled against a dumpster.

     I park illegally and Nova runs after him and helps to gather the woman's purse from the street. Sawyer bundles a tiny woman into his arms and puts pressure onto her stomach to stop the slow leak of blood. As he comes closer to the car, I see that what I thought was red hair is actually a golden blonde soaked in blood. Her body is covered in it.

    He climbs into the back seat as Nova hops into the front and calls 911 for directions to the nearest hospital. As I follow her instructions, I see Sawyer in the back stroking the woman's hair with tears running down his face.

I drive faster and soon enough I'm pulling into an emergency room. Doctors rush out with a gurney and quickly take the woman from Sawyer's arms. Novalee hands a nurse the woman's purse and then takes Sawyer's hand and leads him to the doors to the waiting room. She turns her head to meet my eyes and I wave before driving off to park the car.

When I finally make it back to the waiting room, Nova is sitting in a chair against the wall watching Sawyer pace back and forth. He keeps pulling on his hair and chewing on his lip, adding that to all the blood and the crazed look in his eyes, and it's no wonder the other people in the waiting room have huddled on the other side.

"Have you heard anything yet?" I go and pick Nova up and sit in her seat, settling her in my lap with her head on my shoulder. After what I just saw Sawyer go through, I really need to hold her right now.

"They haven't told us anything because we aren't family. The nurse said that once they contact the family they will see if they can inform Sawyer, since they are obvious mates." She sighs and her eyes follow Sawyer's pacing worriedly. "I checked her ID before I gave it to them, her name is MerryAnne Jackson. I couldn't unlock her phone though, so I couldn't call anyone."