Chapter 29 Callum
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Callum
I run the bloody hockey stick under the shower head, scrubbing it with dish soap.
The water that drains turns pink.
Fucking Jax. He unleashed everything he could on those guys. Every ounce of pent-up rage he’s been holding back for weeks.
Fuck those guys.
My ribs ache. My cheek is swollen like a golf ball. I don’t know if my nose is broken—probably is from how much it’s bleeding. Her dad’s fist landed on me too many times.
I sniff, tasting blood at the back of my throat.
If Tiger can survive his punches, so can I.
Poor Tiger.
Fuck, I need to get to her tonight.
I finish cleaning the stick and hop into the shower to wash the blood off my hands, my arms, the back of my neck where it splattered. My car seats need a good scrubbing too.
When I get out, I get dressed and gather supplies to clean the car. I grab my phone to put on some music.
That’s when I notice the missed calls.
A bunch of them. All from Zephyr.
Fuck. The calls weren’t going through while I was in the shower.
I call him back immediately.
“What’s going on?”
I hear yelling in the background.
“Zeff?”
“Get over here.”
“Where?”
“Tiger’s.”
My stomach drops. “On my way.”
I race to her house like a maniac, blow through a stop sign, nearly clip a parked car.
Then I cut the corner on her street and see an ambulance blocking the road.
There’s an idiot parked in the middle of the street. I swerve to the side to get a better look.
Zephyr runs out of the driver’s side. Jax’s car.
I throw mine in park and step out.
“Zeff!” I call.
Then I see Tiger.
Limp in his arms.
She isn’t moving.
Her black hair falls over his arm. Her mouth is open. Her eyelids aren’t completely closed.
What the fuck.
Is she dead?
Is Tiger dead in Zephyr’s arms?
I run toward the back of the ambulance. My legs feel like lead. My chest is tight.
I can’t fathom a reality where Tigerlily dies.
What the fuck happened?
The ambulance doors close with Zephyr inside. They take off, lights flashing, sirens blaring.
Jax’s car is still blocking the stop sign.
That’s when I see Jax stumbling out of the black Honda Pilot parked behind the ambulance. He looks like he was beaten with a bat, face swollen and moving like every step hurts.
He doesn’t notice me. Just races after the ambulance on foot until he realizes it’s pointless. Then he gets in his car as police race around me.
Then I see her dad trailing behind in the Honda Pilot.
What happened to Tiger?
I stand there frozen while the police race to wherever they’re going. Tiger’s house. Shit. The cars behind me are honking at me to get off the road.
The ambulance has her now. There’s nothing I can do.
I get back in my car and do the stupidest thing possible.
I turn around. Right there in the middle of the road.
And a car plows into my side.
The impact jolts me forward. My head hits the steering wheel.
I’m dizzy for a second, but I can handle a hit. I’m fine, but the car’s not.
Shit.
I look at the other driver. A woman. Alone, thank God.
I jump out and run to her window.
“Are you okay?”
She rolls down her window. “Are you fucking crazy? You can’t just turn around in the middle of the road!”
I check her car. Some damage to the front bumper. Nothing major.
“I’m very sorry. I’m sorry.” I rattle off my phone number as fast as I can. “I can’t stay. I need to go.”
“What? The police are right fucking there! You can’t just leave!”
I put my hand on her car door. “My girlfriend is dying. She just went in that ambulance you saw.”
“Bullshit!”
“I need to go. That’s my number. I have insurance. It’ll cover everything.”
I get back in my car as she starts honking at me. She’s screaming out her window and flipping me off.
I race off and get caught in traffic immediately.
When I reach the hospital, I find parking and call Zephyr.
He answers right away.
“Where are you?” His voice is tight.
“Is she dead?”
The line goes silent.
Tears fall from my eyes before I can stop them.
“Is she?”
“I don’t know,” he mumbles.
“I’m outside.”
“I’ll come out.”
“You’re not with her?”
“No. They kicked me out.”
Zephyr finds me five minutes later.
Seeing him soaked in blood makes my gut twist.
He gets in the passenger seat and looks at me. He doesn’t say anything at first.
I eye the fresh blood on his shirt. His hands. “What the fuck happened?”
Zephyr huffs out a breath. “We went to her house after dropping you off.”
“Why the fuck wasn’t I invited?”
“Jax wanted to go alone.” He shakes his head. “Thank God I insisted on going because her dad was beating the living shit out of him. But that’s when I saw Tiger on the ground in the living room.”
I blow out hot air, running my hands through my hair.
“She was knocked out. Zinnia woke her up. Tiger insisted I take Zinnia out of there, so I stepped out with her, and then—” He pauses. “The next thing I knew, her dad was pointing a gun at Jax.”
My stomach drops. “No.”
Zephyr looks down at his hands. At the blood. “She took the bullet for Jax.”
I run my fingers through my hair and hit the dashboard. “Fuck. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!”
Zephyr looks around the parking lot. “They’re probably in the other waiting room. I should go check.”
“Me too.”
His hand hits my chest. “No, dude. You stay out here for a lookout. Her dad won’t expect you. Just in case something goes down. I already have the cops on the way here, so I should go in. You just stay out here and watch.”
“What the fuck do you want me to watch for?”
“Just stay clear. Look, I’ll text you if there are any updates on Tiger. But we’re just sitting in the waiting room not knowing what they’re doing anyway. I’m assuming surgery. Blood transfusion. She lost a lot of blood.”
“The second you find out—”
“I’ll text you.”
He opens the door and steps out.
Then he turns back. “I think you were right.”
“What?”
“About Tiger liking you the most.”
He shuts the door and walks off.
I’m left in silence.
Tears prick my eyes.
My chest has never felt this pain before.