Chapter 10: Genna

Her screams stopped. The room was still filled with screaming, and shounting. I could hear the wailing cries of women. Just not her screams or cries. I could not hear her at all. My body lost all its strength. Crew's grip around me loosened. I felt numb, and cold. I lost her. She was gone. Tears flooded down my cheeks. Leaving stinging streaks of wetness in their wake.

I let my weak body collapse into Crew. Crew wrapped his arms around me, trying to comfort me. He was whispering something in my ear, but I did not hear it. Thoughts were running through my head. Even though I felt empty inside.

"She..she..is…..gone," I croaked, the tears pouring down my cheeks in a constant flow. I choke back a sob.

"She is probably fine. Elijah most likely has her," Crew whispered in a low soothing voice. His words rang through my hollow head. I kept repeating them in my head. To the point where I started repeating the words to myself in a mumble. Sucking my knees tight to my chest, I start rocking back and forth slowly. Crew pulled me into him tighter. Resting his chin on my shoulder, he made a low shushing sound that was barely audible in the loud room.

A sound of a door being kicked open echoed through the room. Shots of a different sounding gun bounced off the walls. Until the room fell silent.

"Find anyone that still has a pulse! Rush then to the abilances! Most of all find Prince Davis and Prince Garcia! Including their fiances!," a man shouted through the room. What sounded like twenty men shouted back, "sir yes sir,".

We did not move. Crew whispered into my ear,

"We will wait here, they will find us,". I just nodded. The empty feeling still has not dissipated. We sat there in silence for about ten minutes, before the table cloth in front of us flung up into the air. A man poked his head under the table. He made eye contact with us. His eyes looked us up and down.

"Sir Davis are you in there?," he asked looking at us.

"Yes I am," Crew responded. Nudging me forward Crew crawled out in front of me. Turning around he reached a hand out for me. Taking it, I crawled out after him. Pulling me into him. He held me close, hugging me tight. Resting his cheek on the top of my head, he rubbed my back.

"They will find her, I promise," he said into my hair. I nodded numbly. Pulling away from me he rubbed my head. "Lets go get you checked out,".

He walked ahead, but I did not follow. The room was full of men in black uniforms with guns on their hips. Walking around checking the countless bodies on the ground. Some are covered with black plastic sheets. Most of them are not recognizable. I did not see her, but she could be covered with a bag. My heart sank at the number of bodies around.

"Let's go," a soothing voice murmured to me. Looking into Crews eyes as he grasped my hand. He had tears forming in his eyes. I looked around again. I saw a black sheet covering a tall figure. From the top of the sheet poked out some short black hair. My chest tightened as I looked at Crew again. His gaze fixed on the body. His head dropped. Eyes squeezed tightly closed, a single tear rolled out.

I wrapped my arms around his core. Pulling him into me tightly.

"That can't be him. There is no way," I choked, my face buried in his chest. I could feel his chest raising in and out. Slowly and deeply, as he fought to keep himself composed. Pulling away arms still wrapped around him. I looked up into his sparkling green eyes. They were full of hurt, worry, and pain. "Let's go to the ambulance," I said, clearing my throat. Taking his hand we started walking. Trying not to search the faces on the ground as we passed by.

Outside was a circus. Police running everywhere, talking to sobbing women and men. Some people had dried blood caked down their faces. Some had blood on their hands, and others were covered in it. Ambulances were rushing around back and forth. In and out of the parking lot, sirens wail. I scanned the crowd. I still did not see her, or Elijah. Looking up at Crew tears starting to build up again.

"Where is she?" I choked out holding back a sob. He looked at me, remorse filled his eyes. "Arianna!! Arianna!!," I screamed, while breaking down in hysterical sobs. Sinking to the ground. My knees hitting the asphalt hashly. I could feel the skin on them scrape open. Agonizing sobs and screams tore through my body. Ripping my chest apart.

Slamming my fists on the ground as hard as I could. Acting as if it was all the grounds fault for this. Not feeling a thing as the skin started to rip open and bleed. Someone grabbed my hand, preventing them from hitting the ground. The arms pulled me into a hard chest as I screamed and sobbed. A hand stroked my head as I sobbed. Crew helped me make a quiet cooing sound as I cried all my remaining strength out.

Men came running up to us, carrying bags with red crosses on them. They spoke to Crew. Not hearing a thing over my whaling sobs. I could feel Crew's head shake back and forth, then up and down. He pulled away and scooped me up into his arms. Tightly wrapping my arms around his neck, I continued to cry. Soaking his shirt with my tears.

Carrying me over to an ambulance he set me down on its tail gate. He crouches down in front of me. Whipping my tears away with his soft hands he said, "these men are going to check you over,". I nodded, coughing out a sob. He sat down next to me. Wrapping an arm around my shoulders and pulling me close. So my head rested on his shoulder.

The men came up to me. They took my blood pressure, checked my pupils and addressed my wounds. My eyes stayed focused on the door waiting and watching people going in and out. The men left. We sat in silence, watching the door. Tears rolling down my face.

Lots of shouting came from the doorway. People ran in and out. Men pushed the doors flying open and held them. A tall shirtless man came walking out carrying a limb form, in his arm. Blood covered every inch of him. My blood ran cold when I realized who the man was and who he was carrying.

"WE NEED AN AMBULANCE IMMEDIATELY!!," Elijah's voice echoed through the air. Perimetics sprinted a stretcher in toe. I sprinted the direction of Elijah. The sobs resurfacing, and making their way out my mouth.

"ARIANNA!," I screamed sobbing as I reached the stretcher. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!!," I choked. Her leg was covered in blood from gash on the top of her thigh. Above the gash was a red tie. It was tied so tight it caused the skin around it to bulge. Her arm was bloody as well. A deep gash also stretched horizontally across her arm. Elijah's shirt was tied above the wound. She had a black eye and a huge goose egg next to that eye. Her eyes were shut. She was not responding. She did not appear to be breathing.

Tears streamed down my face. The stretcher was pulled away hard as the parimetics rushed her to the nearest ambulance. Knees hitting the ground, I lost every shred off hope left in me. Bolting up I thundered in Elijah's direction. Staring up in his blue eyes I felt rage. Felt the heat of a thousand fires burning through my body, fueling my pure anger.

"YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!!!," I screamed at him pointing an accusatory finger in his direction. Tears filled my eyes to the point my vision was only a blurr. I ran at him and started beating his chest with my scrapped fists. Still streaming I bellowed, "IF YOU WERE NOT ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ROOM!!!! FLIRTING WITH THAT OTHER GIRL!!!! THIS…..THIS…..WOULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED!!!! YOU FUCKING ASSHOLE!!!! SHE TREATED YOU WITH ONLY KINDNESS!! SHE TRIED TO GET TO KNOW YOU, AND YOU TREAT HER LIKE SHE IS DIRT!!!! NOW SHE IS DEAD!!! IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!!!!!"

Strong arms wrapped around me. Pinning my arms to my sides. Pulling me away from Elijah. I kicked and struggled trying to break free but it was to no avail. Crew's shouting voice rose among the commotion,

"GENNA SETTLE THE HELL DOWN!! THIS IS NOT HELPING THE SITUATION!! YOU NEED TO CALM DOWN,"

"NO, LET ME GO!!!," I screamed at the top of my lungs.

"NOT UNIT YOU CALM DOWN!!," he yelled back. I kept kicking and screaming trying to break free. So I could make Elijah hurt like I was.

"SHE IS ALIVE!!!," a voice yelled. I froze, eyes wide I looked up. Elijah's face was contorted into a wince. His eyes shut as his head hung low. "Her pulse was weak and so was her breathing!," Elijah said as pain gripped his voice. Crew let go of me. Falling to the ground, I was silent.

A slow winded laugh escaped my mouth as tears rolled down my cheeks.

"She is alive," I said, my laugh stopping abruptly. Jumping up I ran to Crew. "What the hell are we waiting for? Let's go," I said, grabbing his hand and running to the nearest officer. "Where are all these ambulances heading?!,"

"Meadowview North Memorial Hospital," he said.

"I will drive," Crew said without a moment's notice. He dragged me to the limousine and we climbed in. He hopped into the driver seat, me in the passenger seat. The back door opened. Looking into the back seat. Elijah was seated, his face a hollow shell of emotion. Scowling at him, I turned back around.

It took ten minutes to get to the hospital. I had never been so anxious in my life, other than that ride. Pulling into the hospital lot I did not even wait for Crew to park the Vehicle, before jumping out and running to the main doors of the ER. The front desk was so busy, but I did not care. I pushed through the crowd of people and shouted at the woman behind it, "Where is Arianna Smith?,". She glared at me.

"There are other people in line," she said very snarkily.

"Please, i am her best friend and she came in an ambulance barely alive. I need to find her." I pleaded with the woman barely able to hold back the sobs.

"You are going to have to wait your turn," said to me, turning to dismiss me.

"TELL HER WHERE SHE IS, THAT IS A DIRECT ORDER!," my bellowing voice shouted behind me. Turning around, Elijah came marching up to the front desk, worry and anger chiseled on his face. Looking back at the secretary. Her face was white and she stuttered to say,

"Yes….. your….highness,". She typed away at her computer for a few seconds. Elijah was swaying back and forth. "She is in surgery as we speak getting her wounds patched up,".

"Where is surgery or where can we wait for her," he said. Crew came up behind me clasping my hand in his.

"Down the hall to the right. The second door to the right," she said, her voice shaking. All together we went to a waiting room and waited.

We sat there for what felt like eternity. I spent most of the time pacing back and forth. Tears slowly trickled down my cheeks. Crew sat in a chair next to Elijah and watched me pace. He also tried to talk to Elijah a few times. Elijah never responded. Elijah's face was empty of all emotion. He just sat there staring at a wall the whole time.

Then finally a doctor came out.

"I am looking for someone here for Arianna Smith," the doctor announced. I ran up to him.

"What's going on? Is she okay? Is she alive…..," I started to ramble on. He looked at me. One furry eyebrow raised. "Sorry," I said.

"She is alive and fine. She lost a lot of blood and had to get a substantial amount of stitches, but she should make a full recovery. Follow me," he said, leading us to a small room further down the hallway. Arianna was laying in a bed, propped slightly up by pillows. She wore a white hospital gown. Her face paile. Two I.Vs leading into her arms. One was full of blood, the other full of some clear liquid. "She will be here for a few more hours and then she will be free to leave. She needs to finish her I.V of fluids plus medication and the Blood transfusion. Then she is free to leave. She will also be on pain medication for a few weeks while her wounds heal. When she wakes up she will be a little out of it because of surgery but she will be fine. It's temporary and will wear off by tomorrow. Have any questions?," he said. I shook my head. Walking up to the side of the bed sitting down. Crew thanked the doctor before he left. Sitting here was all to fimilary. I hated the feeling. The last time I sat in a hospital with Arianna in it, was the night of the accident. The thought chilled me to the bone.

That night when Arianna was asleep in the bed. The doctor came and gave the grave news about her father. Everyone cried. I had made a promise to myself that I would never let this situation happen again. I had promised to keep her see and never let her see a hospital again. I had failed. Here we were again different people, different hospitals, but all the same. She was in the bed again, and I was standing safe. She was not. A silent tear rolled down my face.

I heard a scraping sound. Elijah pulled a chair up next to the bed and sat watching her. His eyes were full of guilt.

"I am sorry," I said looking at the ground. He looked at me. "This was not your fault.. Even if you were with her the whole night. There was no way you could have stopped the bullets from hitting her,". He just nodded and looked at Arianna's asleep face. I should have seen that reaction coming. We sat in silence for a minute or two. Before Eliajh said,

"I should have stayed with her. I should have not walked over and started talking to that girl. If I stayed where she left me, when she went to the bathroom. This would not have happened. She would have never crossed that dance floor trying to get to me,". He took a pause and gulped loudly. His face contorted in frustration as he was trying to remember something. "I saw the look in her eyes when she was crossing the dance floor," he said, pausing again. Turning he looked me in the eyes. Regret filled his. "She was scared, and she was on alert….," he looked so sorry, but yet mad at the same time. Was he mad at himself? "I saw the pain in her face, when that bullet hit her arm. Then she fell. Her eyes closed. I…. i…. Thought the bullet hit her in the side. I thought she was a goner. Until that man came up and started dragging her. At this point I was watching from under a table," his gaze drifted past me, as if he was reliving the moment all again. "That man grabbed her by the scalp. She was screaming in so much pain. She was kicking and fighting to break free with every step he took. I should have jumped out and helped her, but I was scared," his voice was filled with so much pain, regret, and anger, as he told us what he saw. "That man threw her against the wall. He threatened to kill her if she did not tell him where I was. She knew i was nearby i saw it in her face, but weather she knew i was alive and watching. I could not tell you that. Her expression on her face was pure fare and pain. The man struck her across the face. She screamed so much. Then he put the gun to her head. I was about to jump out from under the table, when she thrusted a knife in his neck. On his fall to the ground, he shot. I felt my blood run cold. She sank to the ground. I could see the blood oozing from her leg. It was like a river. She was so scared, she started to panic. She was losing it. I ran to her. She was in the middle of a panic attack. She was bleeding a lot. I did my best to address the wounds. And took her under the nearest table with me," he stopped his story and looked at me apologetically. "I am so sorry I should have done something soon,".

I looked at him, shock plastered across my face. Someone cleared their throat behind me. Looking back at where the sound came from. Crew stood in the doorway of the room. He had an expression on, that seemed to say 'don't even dare to yell at him,'. I rolled my eyes at him. Turning around, looking at Elijah, I put on my best fake 'everything is okay,' smile.

"It's still not your fault. I probably would not have jumped out to help someone I barely knew either," I said in a nice, calm voice. Screw that, I would have jumped out to save some stranger. Even if it meant risking my life, I did not lead on to my true feelings on the matter. Elijah gave me a little grin and went back to watching Arianna. Curling up I laid down at the foot of the hospital bed. Listening to the beeping of the machines keeping the beat of Arianna's heart beat. Playing with the blanket on the bed I drifted off to sleep.

I woke up to a gentle shaking of my shoulder. Sitting up I rubbed my eyes, looking at who woke me up. Crew's smiling face greeted me.

"We should probably go. Elijah will bring Arianna home, when she is done here," he said in a whisper.

"No!," I shouted. Crew held a finger up to his lips, and gestured his head to where Elijah was sitting earlier. Looking in the direction I saw Elijah asleep in the chair. He was resting his head on his crossed arms, on the bed.

"We need to go home. You need your sleep for tomorrow," Crew said in a whisper. Not looking at him i said,

"I can't leave her here alone. She will be so scared when she wakes up," I paused and looked back at Crew. "I need to be here for her,".

"Okay but as soon as she is done we are going home. Weather she is awake or not," he said as he walked to the couch on the side of the room. I got up and went to sit next to him. Resting my head on his shoulder I yawned.

"What time is it?," I asked.

"Ten o'clock,". We sat in silence for a little bit.

"They would make a cute couple. If he would just open up to her," I said while drifting off back to sleep.

I woke up to people talking in the room, and someone crying. Looking around for the crying I locked eyes with Arianna. She had tears streaming down her face. Running to her, I jumped on to her wrapping her in a hug. She a little yelp of pain.

"Sorry," I squeaked, jumping off of her. "Are you okay?".

"NO, i was fucking shot twice. Now I am in the place I hate the most," she said, her voice starting to grow shaky. I looked over at the machines. The I.V and blood bag were both empty.

"We are free to go, once we get a nurse to take out the I.V," i said, "Crew can you go find a nurse,". I heard footsteps leave the room. I grabbed Arianna's hand giving it a good squeeze. "Everything is going to be fine,".

Not too long later Crew showed up with a nurse. Crew was holding a white paper bag. He stayed in the doorway as the nurse started to unhook Arianna from the machines.

"Now Ms. Smith will be given painkillers to ease the pain. While you heal. You will be able to take out your stitches in your arm in at least fourteen days and the stitches in your leg can be taken out in twenty-one days. If you have any problems please come back for a check up," the nurse said and left the room. I stood up, reaching a hand out for Arianna. She took it and stood up. She was able to stay standing for about a second before her knees started to buckle. Elijah pushed me out of the way, scooping her into his arms. Before she hit the floor. All together we headed to where Crew parked the limousine.

The car ride was extremely quiet. I sat in the passenger seat once again and Crew was driving. In the back Arianna's head was resting on Elijah's chest and his arms were wrapped around her. His chin resting on her head as she was fast asleep.

When we arrived back at the house. Elijah carried Arianna up straight to bed. That was the last we saw of them for the night. I went up to change. Taking off the green dress and throwing it right into the trash. I did not want any reminder of what happened tonight. Crew came in and I was pulling on a shirt. He was on the phone with someone.

"Yes I am fine and Genna is fine. We are both safe and at home. Elijah is safe as well, so is his fiance. Are you guys okay?," he asked and moved to sit down on the king bed. Sitting next to him. I grabbed his hand. He gave it a little squeeze and held it while continuing his conversation. After five more minutes he said goodbye to the person on the other line.

"Who was that?," I asked.

"Mom, she was worried about us," he said, wrapping an arm around me.

"Are they okay?,".

"Yeah, just a little shaken but okay,".

"That's good,". I said getting up and moving toward my bed against the wall. "I am going to bed. I am tired,".

"Okay, good night," Crew said to me. He walked over to the dressers, grabbed some clothes and left the room. Shutting the lights off on his way out.

I laid in bed tossing and turning for what felt for eternity. The Evental Crew came back and crawled in bed. I laid there for five minutes. Before asking,

"Are you still awake?,"

"Yeah, what's up?," he asked in the darkness.

"Is it okay if I slept with you tonight?,".

"Yeah," he responded. Getting up I made my way over to the left side of the bed and crawled in. facing my back in Crew's direction. He did the same for me.

"Good night," I said. He said good night back and I slowly fell off to sleep.

Dear Readers, I am so sorry about this, but the rate at which chapters will be released is going to slow down. This is due to how long it takes to write and proofread these chapters. I am very sorry about this. Although I can promise that at least one chapter will be posted a week. Thank you for your understanding and enjoy your reading.

-Sincerely the Author.