“HARLEIGH?!” I yell and take off running, practically ripping Brian’s arm out of his socket as I drag him with me.
One good thing about being on the football team is the speed the practices give me. No one wants a three-hundred-pound fucker plowing into them as they run.
It fucking hurts.
“Who the hell are you?! Put her down, asshole!” I run toward him as he stops and just lays her on the ground. He leans down, kissing her forehead before he runs into the woods and disappears.
What the hell?!
“Harleigh! Wake up, baby.” I sink down on the ground beside her, lifting her up to feel a bump and some slight blood on the back of her head.
“Who the hell was that?” Brian asks as he drops down on the other side of her. “Is she bleeding?” He looks at my hands, and a slight panic runs across his features.
“A bit but not enough to cause real damage. She’s going to probably have a concussion and a major headache, but she will be fine.”
He looks at me incredulously, and I sigh.
“My mother is a nurse,” I explain and he just nods, picking her up and making her groan.
“Don’t worry, beautiful, we will get you back to the room with some pain killers, and you can get some rest.” He soothes her all the way back to the dorms while I hold her hand and try not to panic.
A lot of questions about tonight need answering, but we won’t get them out of her tonight.
Harleigh
When I wake up, I’m in my bed with a pounding headache, and wince when I move my hand to the back of my head.
Okay, so that wasn’t a dream.
Looking around the room, I wonder how the hell I got back here and try to piece together what happened.
I remember waiting for Addy at the park, feeling pain and then I think I saw Darren carrying me before everything just went black. But that doesn’t make any sense. What could Darren have possibly been doing there last night?
I go to move off the bed, but get dizzy and groan before laying back down.
“Hey, beautiful, you’re awake.” I hear Brian move in behind me.
“What happened?” My voice cracks when I talk, and he hands me a bottle of water that I eagerly take.
“Not one hundred percent certain. What do you remember?” he asks me, and waits patiently for me to gather my thoughts.
“Umm, I woke up to missed calls from Addy after the three of us had an amazing night.” I try to smile, and he beams at me. “I remember going to the park and leaving you guys at the building, then sitting on the swings.”
“Okay, that’s good. Anything else?”
I wince trying to sit up, and he helps me to lean back against the headboard.
“I remember a sharp pain and then being carried by someone that looked a lot like Darren.”
“His dad?” he questions.
I shake my head and place my hand on my stomach to calm it down. “No. Like he was either Darren or I was hallucinating.”
I look around the room wondering where Colten is while Brian wraps his head around the new information.
“Where’s Colt?” I ask him, and he gives me a small smile.
“Class. We’ve been taking shifts to watch over you today, so you weren’t alone when you woke up. Painkillers?” He gives the bottle to me when I nod.
My head feels like there are a million little hammers going inside my skull at the moment.
“Thanks,” I say after handing them back to him. “Can you hand me my phone?”
Brian reaches over to unplug my phone from the charger and hands it to me. Opening it up I start shaking and crying as I drop the phone on the bed.
No. This can’t be happening.
“What is it, Harleigh? What’s wrong?” Bry asks concerned, but I can’t find the words to answer him as I break down into more tears.
This cannot fucking be happening. It just can’t.
I can vaguely hear Bry on the phone with Colten telling him to get here, but the tears won’t stop.
We were three days away from the end of the year, and we would be together all summer. This has to be a dream. A nightmare. It’s not real.
Colt bursts into the room and climbs onto the bed, grabbing my shoulders to look at me.
