30
Anthony
Alone – Nathan Gray
J olting awake from the loud banging on the front door, I hear both Noah and Mateo shouting. “Is anyone home? Let us in! We are freezing out here!”
I look at the clock on the wall, and it is almost 5:00; Ashlynn still isn’t home. I, for some reason, get a sinking feeling, but she is with Neha. I shut down any negative thoughts.
Going to the front, I open the door. Noah and Mateo knock me out of the way to get inside with the heat. “Dude, we were banging on the door for a good 5 minutes!” Noah says.
“Yeah, sorry, I ended up taking a nap after looking over some of the tour footage.”
Mateo’s eyes go wide. “You have the tour footage. Can we see some of it?”
I shrug my shoulders. “Yeah sure, it’s not done with editing yet, but you can watch what we have. Did you guys have fun snowboarding? How did you even get back?”
Noah sighs and throws his head back to rest it on the back of the couch. “I don’t think I’m going to be able to walk for a week. That shit is harder than it looks. They have buses that go from Keystone to Frisco. We just hopped on that.”
Mateo starts laughing at him. “You’re just not a natural athlete!”
Throwing a dirty look over, Noah says, “Dude, you ate shit just as much as I did!”
“Yeah, I know! Where’s Ashlynn at? Still hanging out with Naha?” Mateo asks.
“Yeah, I figured she would be back by now. Let me call her and see what they are up to.” Grabbing my phone, I see too many missed calls and text messages; one or two is normal, but this is multiple. I see Ashlynn’s message and open it first.
6 Unread Messages
10 missed calls
Sent at 4:
When I see the timestamp, I get an even worse feeling. Continuing to the other missed texts I see that three are from Neha, and three are from a number I don’t recognize. All Neha’s say is, “Where the hell are you? Answer your fucking phone.”
And the number I don’t know only says, “This is Heath, and we really need you to answer your phone, man. Please.”
I look at the missed calls next: all Neha and Heath. What the fuck happened? I go to tap on Neha’s name to call her when my phone starts to ring. I answer right away. “Neha, what is go–”
She interrupts me before I can finish my question, and my heart sinks with what comes from her end. “Ashlynn was assaulted outside the coffee shop. Someone found her laying by her truck. Her head was all bloody. You need to get your ass here now!”
I am trying to process what she just told me. My words fly out of my mouth, harsher than I intend them to. “Neha, what the FUCK do you mean she was assaulted?”
Starting to cry on the other end, she says, “I don’t know; they haven’t really told me anything, just get here. Please.”
“I have to get an Uber, I will be there as quickly as I can, okay?”
With a shaky voice, she says, “Heath is coming to get you, be ready.”
As soon as I hang up, I look over to Noah and Mateo, who both now have worried looks on their faces. “Heath is coming to get me; Ashlynn was fucking attacked.”
No one knows what to say. “We are coming too. Ashlynn has been good to us; we need to be there for her.” Mateo says.
I run and change, and all three of us go and stand in the cold to wait for Heath, though it doesn’t feel cold with every emotion I have coursing through me.
As soon I spot headlights coming down the street and Heath is driving like a bat of hell, but his car handles the snow just fine. We are at the curb before he even stops and all jump in to waste no time. As soon as he starts driving, question after question is flying out of me. “Heath, do you know what happened? Is she going to be, okay? What the FUCK?”
Tapping his steering wheel, he says, “I wish I could give you answers to all of that, but we haven’t been talked to yet.”
The drive didn’t seem to take long to get to the hospital and the whole ride, all I kept thinking was she better be okay, please let her be okay. Walking into the entrance, I ask Heath, “What floor?”
Hitting the up button on the elevator, he says, “Third floor.”
I don’t wait for the elevator and run up the stairs faster than I thought possible. Once I swing the door open and rush into the hall, I see Neha at the end, sitting in a chair. Rushing down to her, I ask, “Neha, have they said anything yet?”
She shakes her head at me. I pull her into a hug because I can tell she needs one right now. Neha pulls slightly away. “Where have you been? Why didn’t you answer our calls?”
I pull her back into a hug, “I fell asleep while reviewing the footage from the tour and put my phone on silent.” At that time, the guys are getting off the elevator. We all sit and wait for the doctor to come and talk to us. After about forty-five minutes of waiting, a doctor finally comes over.
“Are you all here for Ashlynn Black?” All of us jump up from our seats at the same time and say, “YES.”
The doctor looks a bit confused but continues. “Well, I am Dr. Addison. Miss. Black was brought in by ambulance after being struck on the side of her head and right side of her face.” I am seeing red and can hear my heartbeat in my ears; the doctor can probably see my veins in my neck pulsing like crazy with how pissed I am. “We did a scan, and we didn't see any damage, which is lucky. It was the second blow that knocked her out. Luckily, she was by a coffee shop and was found fairly quickly. Whatever she was hit with must have had something sharp on the end because it cut her from the right-side of her forehead, down past her right eye, and turns slightly on her cheek. You all can go in and see her, but we have her sedated for now for pain. When she wakes, she will still have some pain and sensitivity to bright lights. She is pretty bruised up on the right-side, of course, so just prepare for that.”
I tell the doctor thank you and turn to go into the room.
Quietly pushing the door open, my breath hitches when I see her lying in the hospital bed, hooked up to monitors and with an IV in her hand. Walking to the right side of her bed, I remember the doctor said she was bruised, but I didn’t think it was as bad as it is. Her face is purple, her lip is cut, and the bruise goes down onto her neck. She has bandages covering the cut, and her eye is swollen. Everyone walks in after me, and I only hear Neha now. “Oh my god. It’s worse than what she said.”
She starts crying, and Heath puts his arm around her shoulder to console her. I don’t think Noah and Mateo know what to say; both are quiet and are shocked by how Ashlynn looks. Her hair is matted and still has blood in it from where she fell. I take a seat on the chair by her bed and just hold her hand and give her a kiss. “I’m here now, baby.”
Everyone stayed at the hospital that night; usually, they said, they would only allow one person, but I think they saw how none of us were leaving. Everyone fell asleep around the room; I stayed awake all night, thinking about every possible scenario of what could have happened and why Ashlynn; she keeps to herself. Who could dislike her so much?
The next morning, there is a knock on the door and Dr. Addison comes in to check up on Ashlynn. “Everything looks good; she is still just sleeping off the sedation. Should be wearing off today, hopefully.”
Looking at her, I ask, “Hopefully?”
Nodding her head, she says, “Some patients have a harder time with it–waking up from it. Also, there are two police officers outside that would like to talk to you. Mr.?”
She points to me. “Anthony, Anthony Ville. You said police officers?”
Writing something down on the chart and looking back up to me, she says, “Yes, usually, for something like this, they want to talk to everyone she is close to, but they specifically asked for you.”
With that she turns and walks out. I get up out of the chair to walk out and Neha and Heath both follow me. “I want to know what is going on, too.” Neha says. I have no energy to argue with her right now.
Sure enough, once out of the room, two officers are waiting there. We walk up to them, and I extend my hand, “I’m Anthony Ville. Dr. Addison said you wanted to speak to me?”
Each officer shakes my hand. “I am Officer Lorenzo, and this is Officer Coleman. We would like to talk to you about what happened. It involves you directly. Are you okay to go down to talk in the cafeteria? Who are these two?” The officer asks while pointing at Neha and Heath.
“I am Heath, and this is Neha, we are Ashlynn’s emergency contacts–close friends.”
Turning toward the elevator, Officer Lorenzo tells us to follow him. I pop my head in Ashlynn’s room; Mateo took the chair and is now sitting at Ashlynn’s side. “Hey man, I have to go talk to these officers. Text me if she wakes up, please.”
“Yeah, no problem.” Mateo says.
The ride in the elevator is quiet. I keep thinking to myself, how does it involve me directly? We all walk into the cafeteria and get some strange looks from everyone eating. Grabbing some coffees, we find a table that is close to the back and out of ear shot for most people to hear what will be said.
Officer Lorenzo starts talking as soon as we sit, “I am just going to get right to it. Does the name Joanna Whelms mean anything to any of you?”
I try to place the name but can’t. That’s when Neha chimes in. “It does sound vaguely familiar, but I can’t think of from where.”
That’s when Officer Coleman places down a photo, and I know the face. “No fucking way.” Is the first thing that comes out of my mouth. “I’ve seen this girl. My team and I were doing a park tour for my BMX company and when we were in Philly, at FDR, she was there and in Austin, I am sure of it.”
Officer Lorenzo is taking notes, then looks up, “That would be true. She admitted to that when she was arrested after the assault on Miss Black. She stated that she followed the tour you did but stopped once you got into Colorado. She decided to stay behind and keep an eye on Ashlynn.”
I look over to Heath and Neha; both look just as confused as I feel right now. “What do you mean she admitted to that? When was she arrested?"
Officer Coleman starts speaking. “She was arrested right away. It’s strange, really. After she assaulted Miss Black, she just sat down next to her on the sidewalk. The gentleman who found them said she was just sitting there, saying, “I’m sorry.”
Neha is tapping her nails on the table, and I have to place my hand over hers because the sound is getting on my nerves right now. “Can you please just tell me what the hell is going on?”
Taking a deep breath and looking over at his partner, Officer Coleman continues. “You went to high school with her. She was a grade younger–came in mid-year–a military kid. She had a hard time making friends. Apparently, you two had an elective class, and no one wanted to partner up with her, but you did. She said that’s when the obsession started–said she never forgot that and how nice you were. Also, said she never understood why you liked Ashlynn so much because she just broke your heart senior year.”
More to myself than anyone, I say, “A stalker, what the hell?”
Officer Lorenzo nods his head. “She has been following your BMX career since you left, apparently, and when you came to Denver for the Extreme Tour in August, she thought it was fate, until she saw you with Miss. Black at a stand.”
I put my hands on the table, “This is crazy. You know how crazy this sounds, right? I am a BMX Rider; I’m not some major multi-millionaire movie star or rock star. I live a normal life.”
I turn to Neha, and she is looking just as confused, “Neha, do you remember her at all?”
She just shakes her head. “Her name is familiar, but I don’t remember her face.”
My mind is still trying to process all of this–a stalker. Is that possible? At that time, Officer Coleman stands and shakes our hands, “We will be back when Miss Black is awake. We will need to question her as well. Chances are she may not remember her either. Also, her father is high ranking in the military they will more than likely want to keep this quiet.”
After that, both Officer Coleman and Lorenzo leave the hospital.
All three of us are sitting at the table, stunned by the information we were just given. Heath places his elbows on the table and runs his fingers through his hair. “Why would she just sit there with her? That doesn’t make any sense.”
I straight do an Ashlynn move and just throw my hand up because I don’t know why she would do that. After sitting in silence for a while, Neha suddenly pushes her chair back, causing it to fall over. I turn to see where she is headed to, and Nick is starting to walk toward her. I think we all completely spaced it out that he was coming back in today. As soon as he wraps her in his arms, she completely breaks down. Once he has her calmed down enough, they walk back over to Heath and me. “Sorry I couldn’t get her sooner. Is Ashlynn going to be okay?” He asks me while still standing with Neha.
“Yeah, she is going to be okay. She is banged up pretty good, though. They have her sedated for the pain.”
Once Neha calms down, the three of them decide to go get Ashlynn’s truck from the coffee shop and drive it back to the hospital. I stay behind and just think about what the officers told us. Ashlynn got hurt because of me–because of what I chose to do with my life. I don’t necessarily live it in the spotlight, but if you are into BMX and follow it, you know who I am and know of the Overbear team. I knew something felt strange when we were in Philly, and now that I think back on it, that was her standing off to the side from the group of girls. Then, in Austin, I tried to convince myself it couldn’t be the same person, but sure enough it was. Now, Ashlynn is spending her birthday and Thanksgiving in the hospital. How can I even face Ashlynn now, knowing it is my fault she got hurt, permanently? She will have a scar down the side of her face to always remind her of the assault. I shouldn’t have been sleeping. If my phone wasn’t on silent–the one time I did that–I would have been at the coffee shop with her, and it all could have been prevented. But no, I failed her. The one person I never want to fail.
I don’t know how long I sit in the cafeteria, trying to process everything. Suddenly, Nick is back at the table, I didn’t even hear him sit down. “Hey, Where’s Neha and Heath?”
Taking a big drink of his soda, he says, “They went up to the room. Do you want to head up there?”
I shake my head at him. “I don’t know how I am supposed to face her, Nick. This is my fault. She texted me to meet her, and my phone was on silent.”
Blowing out a breath, he says, “Man, this wasn’t your fault. It could have happened even if you were there. You can’t blame yourself.”
I just stare straight out the window at the snow that hasn’t stopped falling since yesterday. “Listen, I gotta get out of here for a bit. Clear my head, think about some things. I’ll be back soon.”
I get up and leave before Nick has a chance to say anything to me. I know I should stay here and be with Ashlynn, but the guilt is tearing me up and I walk out of the hospital into the snow, with no direction on where I am going.