Run To Me | BAK sequel

9.

It felt like hours before the ambulance arrived, but in reality, it was only minutes. Those minutes consisted of Tom quivering and sitting hunched over on the concrete, rainwater soaking his black pants.

The car that had collided with your daughter had taken off at a fast pace, not even bothering to follow the basic road rules when turning the corner and Tom wasn't even able to make out the licence plate, though he'd admit that it hasn't been on his mind as he crouched down by his daughter, words scratching and clawing at the back of his throat.

Something about the situation didn't sit right with him- of course a lot didn't, but the car itself.

Rosie looked shocked, obviously terrified but her eyes didn't move from the sky, dark grey clouds moving much slower than the heaves and grunts of pain that left her lips.

Her hands were grazed, little stones digging into her palms where she fell and fingernails slightly bloody and covered in mud dirtied her dress even more as they shook, right arm twisted at an odd angle and it made Tom screw his face up- despite having seeing this type of thing many times before. Her cheeks were stained with tears both old and new, a visible sign of the obvious pain that she was in and Tom wanted to scoop her up but couldn't move- he felt frozen, like the rainwater was cementing him down and all he could do was watch as her mouth opened and she began to cry.

Rosie swallowed, the back of her throat burning as she tried to speak but it was a struggle. She wanted to look around frantically but everything hurt. Her back was hard against the concrete road, dress sticking to her skin but she licked her lips gently, tasting something warm and crimson.

She let out a choked sob, eyes squeezing shut. "Mommy."

Tom shushed her, pushing a strand of curly brown hair away from her eyes, feeling her warm tears against his fingertips.

"Hey, she's coming okay? She's going to come soon." He whispered to his daughter, trying to drown out the words of the lady from emergency services that he'd been talking to for the last two minutes.

"Mo-mommmy." She sobs, eyes stricken with fear. She recognised the man, of course she did. He was the one that was nice to her and called her a badass but he most definitely wasn't her mommy.

She lifted her right arm, wanting to reach out and grab something but she didn't know what, she just knew she needed to hold something- only she was struck with pain, crying out as it somehow hurt even more.

Tom could no longer tell the difference between her tears and raindrops as he clenched his fists. He bit down on his lip at the sight of hot, red blood seeping through her teeth. He moves his phone, blocking out the speaker as the lady continues to speak to him.

"Someone help!" He screeches, scaring the girl slightly. His throat burned which was something the two shared. It ached and begged him to stop but he only continued yelling until two pairs of footsteps came out.

Cars pulled to the side and looked at the scene, some getting out of their vehicles and collecting around the pair and Tom hated it. He hated people viewing his daughter like she was some kind of- some kind of damn circus animal. They gaped and cried and whispered, and Tom wanted to tell them to stop it, but he couldn't.

He should've scooped her up and put her on the sidewalk, resting her broken figure on a bed of grass instead of concrete but he feared that if he even touched her incorrectly then she'd break, entire body fall apart beneath his fingertips as she shattered like a piece of glass.

Rosie cranes her neck and spots her twisted arm, gasping for air that didn't seem to be making its way into her lungs, Tom places her head back down on the concrete, putting his hand beneath her head so that she had something soft to lay on.