Barely Breathing (The Breathing #2)(157)

"And I'm sure she had it coming," she responded, unaffected. "I don't care. I'll just run in, get it, and leave."

"You were warned. Call me if you need to, otherwise just come to Evan's."

Evan raised his eyebrows when I hung up. "She's going in?"

I shrugged. "Guess so."

"Wow," he grimaced. "This should be interesting."

Before we reached Evan's, my phone beeped. "Uh oh," I uttered when I saw Sara's name on the screen.

"Emma, you need to come back to the house," she spewed urgently.

"Sara, what's wrong?" Fear paralyzed my heart.

"Rachel. She's not moving," she said in a rush. "The ambulance is coming but... Oh God."

"Sara?" My eyes flickered as I listened, but it was silent. I pulled the phone away from my ear to find that we'd been disconnected. "Evan, we need to go back."

Without me realizing it, he'd turned around as soon as he heard the stress in my voice.

The car sped up. "What did she say?" he asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"That Rachel wasn't moving, and an ambulance was on its way. But then... then something happened and I lost her. Evan, if anything happens to Sara..." My mind was racing, fearing that the drug dealer had returned to collect the debt, despite his injuries. Or maybe someone else was doing it for him. I couldn't sit still, wanting us to drive faster, despite Evan's acceleration through the vacant residential streets―easily doubling the speed limit.

"We'll be there soon," he assured me, as I gripped the handle above the door.

My chest hurt from holding my breath as we turned onto the street. An ambulance, fire truck and two police cars were out front―their lights flashing brightly against the black backdrop.

"Oh no," I breathed. A thousand horrifying images rushed through my head, making me falter on weakened knees when I jetted out of car.

"Sara!" I yelled, rushing toward the house. I was intercepted by a police officer, demanding that I stay outside. He questioned me about the people who lived there. I wasn't listening. I tried to see around him, frantically searching for her, but I was restrained and couldn't move forward.

I just about collapsed when I saw the paramedics exit and rush to the ambulance to retrieve a stretcher.

"What's going on? Please, you have to tell me if she's okay!" I pled in a desperate sob. "Sara!"

"Emma?" I heard her rasp. She sounded like she was right inside the door. I tried to get to her, but the police officer held up his hand, and I was pulled back.

"Miss, you need to stay outside until they've removed her."

"What?!" I demanded frantically. "What do you mean?!"

The paramedics and firefighters came into view through the open door, carrying a board.

"No," I gasped, tears pouring down my face. "No."

But then I saw the dark hair, not Sara's fiery red. I froze.

I watched unblinking as they transferred her onto the stretcher and wheeled Rachel by me with an oxygen mask over her face. All of the emotion drained out of me. I stared after her in shock.

"Emma?!" Sara called, rushing out of the house. Her face was red and streaked with tears.

"Sara!" I exclaimed, hugging her tight. I knew my ribs were supposed to hurt. They should have hurt a lot today, but I couldn't feel anything. Sara sobbed into my shoulder. That's when I realized Evan was behind me. He'd been holding me back, helping the police officer contain me. "Sara, what happened?"



       
         
       
        

"I found her in her room," she choked. "Her door was open, and she was lying on the floor. There were pills and a bottle of vodka. She wouldn't move. Then she stopped breathing." She took a quivering breath, and burst, "I tried, Emma. I really tried."

"It's okay," I soothed, my heart aching at her distress. "It's okay."

Then the realization slowly began to sink in, and I heard myself utter, "It's okay." But I wasn't really sure who I was talking to. Everything slowed down, and I felt like I was looking through a tunnel.

The police officers asked us to come into the house to answer some questions. I responded without really knowing what I was saying. I didn't even know if I was coherent, dazed the entire interview. They said something about the ambulance and a hospital and I nodded, not understanding.

"Thank you," I heard Evan say, and I watched the police officers return to their cars. There were people outside on the sidewalk. Neighbors gathered to catch a glimpse of my nightmare. That's what this was. I was trapped in a never ending cycle of nightmares. Voices echoed around me, and I tried to focus on their faces.