Christian (The Mitchell/Healy Family #3)(45)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Chapter 28

Ethan

As impossible as I thought it would be, staying away from Christian wasn’t just painful. Every moment of every day I regretted walking away from her.

Despite the fact that I knew she was just a phone call away it hurt too much to imagine hearing her voice, and being drawn to someone that had pushed me away.

It was my fault. I’d been an asshole and let one mistake dictate my own selfish actions. Chris needed positivity in her life, and it was clear that I was only bringing her down. I didn’t blame her, but I certainly couldn’t agree with it, not when I knew that my love had always existed.

Two days turned into two weeks. I spent my time focusing on finals, and tutoring other’s so they could pass their courses. When I went home alone at night I was reminded of all of the times she’d sat on my couch, or laid in my bed. I pictured the way her hair felt between my fingers, and how her eyes captivated me, even after all these years.

I’d started running in the middle of the night to make myself tired enough to rest. If it hadn’t been for that then I probably never would have come face to face with the angel who would change everything for us.

It was after midnight, and I’d been lying down for nearly two hours, staring at the ceiling, counting sheep, and doing everything the internet said to help me sleep. Nothing worked.

I hated doing it, because it was pretty cold out, but I put on a jacket and a pair of shoes and headed out. Usually I ran this one course, but since they were decorating the campus for the homecoming I took another route around the older side of the property.

The brisk air hit my face, making me regret the decision to come outside in the first place. It almost hurt as the wind ripped through the air and slapped against my face. I kept my eyes squinted to prevent them from burning.

As I made it past another row of houses I came to the corner of where the abandoned one sat. An instant reminder of Chris was standing right in front of me. The last time I’d been there was with Seth, and thankfully I hadn’t seen him since the incident. Even if we passed by each other I wouldn’t have noticed. My mind was fixed on staying focused when I was out and about. I hardly ever made eye contact with people when I walked around in fear of what they might be thinking.

Since it was late, and I was alone, I felt like it would be okay if I stopped for a moment and ventured inside. I don’t know why I wanted to drudge up the past. I suppose a part of me wanted to feel some kind of connection to Chris, as messed up as that seemed.

Once inside I noticed the mattress was gone. The police had taken it a long time ago. Though still drafty, I felt warmer once I’d made it into the large living room.

“I don’t know what I was thinkin’,” I said to myself.

Right before I could turn around to head back out I heard someone sniffling. The room was dark, but I knew I wasn’t imagining it. “Hello? Is someone in here?”

I heard something clank, and then it repeated again and again. Finally my vision adjusted and I saw someone slowly coming down the stairs. I could tell it was a female, but that’s about it.

“Please don’t go.” I could hear that she’d been crying.

“Are you okay?” I went to walk toward her, but she froze in place. I halted and put my hands up in the air. “Whoa! I won’t hurt ya. I was takin’ a run and stopped for a minute. Somethin’ bad happened to a friend of mine here. I don’t know why I came inside. I guess I was curious.”

“She’s not the only one he brought here. I guess what I heard was true. How could I have been so stupid?”

She started to collapse so I ran to catch her before she fell down the last two steps. Once I had her in my arms I carried her outside, looking up and down the road for a car. She was in high heels, and there wasn’t a house or a vehicle in sight. She had to have been left there by someone. Since it was the middle of the night, and I couldn’t carry her all the way back to my apartment, I pulled out my phone and dialed for an ambulance.

While sitting there on the curb waiting for them to show up I felt something wet going through my clothes. That’s when I saw where the liquid was coming from. This female had slit her wrists, and she was bleeding out.

As my heart rate thumped like it was shooting out of my chest I looked down the road hoping to see the emergency vehicle headed in our direction. Finally, in what seemed like forever, I saw the lights and stood up to wave them in. They jumped out, immediately asking questions I had no answers to. An officer showed up as she was being lifted onto the stretcher. I greeted him and explained that I’d been out running and found her. I didn’t mention that I’d gone in the abandoned house.

I watched as they drove away, trying hard to save the poor girl’s life. I wasn’t thinking about the blood, or the fact that I’d discovered a dying woman in a condemned home. All that kept repeating in my mind was the fact that she’d said other women had been taken there and that intrigued me. Was she talking about Seth? Was this a place where other guys from that frat brought girls for ass? I had to know the answer, and the only way I was going to find it was if I was able to talk to her again.

I ran back to my apartment as soon as the officer pulled away. While shaking profusely I managed to change my clothes and get in my car almost as fast as the speed of light.

I lied to the ER nurse, telling her I was the brother of the victim. She was reluctant, but finally led me back to the waiting room. I was told that ‘my sister’ was being worked on, and that as soon as I was able to see her, they’d come and get me. Lucky for me I had a triage nurse that didn’t ask any questions, like what ‘my sister’s’ name was, because I didn’t have a clue.

The waiting room was empty, and unlike at home I fell asleep sitting up in a chair. A nurse shouted out a name, Amber Borella, and it took me a second to realize that she assumed it was my last name too. “That’s me. I’m her brother.”

“You can come back to see your sister now, but only for a second. Visiting hours are over, and she’ll need to be observed for the next seventy-two hours.”

I knew well enough to be aware that the seventy-two hours pertained to the mental ward. This girl had tried to commit suicide, and I needed to know why.

I thanked the nurse and went into the room, finally seeing the female in the light for the first time. She was blonde with a pretty face, even though she’d been through hell. At first I thought she was sleeping, but as I was about to sit down and wait, she opened her eyes. “You saved me.”