The Detective and the Rockstar

Chapter 13

           There was an unnatural cold surrounding her that she summed up as fear. It was strange to not hear Rio's voice. To watch him lay unconscious and helpless on a gurney was an intolerable punishment. She wished she could be listening to one of his crazy stories about his many experiences in the music industry. She wanted him to look at her. She wanted to see him smile sweetly at her again, but Rio was presently fighting to stay alive.

          She looked at the blood on her hands and clothes as the ambulance raced toward the hospital. The staff had already been alerted about who the injured victim was, and the hospital was now under police protection.

          Annika wasn't sure how this would unfold. She imagined the media was also already present and ready to pounce. Stories must be buzzing around the city. None of it mattered to her, though.

          She jumped from her thoughts as she felt pressure from Rio's hand on hers. She looked down at his hand in hers with a soft smile. She shifted her gaze to his face and waited for him to open his eyes, thinking he squeezed her hand because he was coming around. She waited, her heart racing wildly in her chest.

"Rio," she called his name after becoming impatient. There was no response. His grip grew slack again, and she exhaled deeply to calm her nerves. She looked at the paramedic, a dark-haired guy with a well-groomed beard. "Is he doing okay?" she asked.

"He's losing a lot of blood, but the wound is in a superficial area. As long as we get him to the hospital, he will be fine."

She nodded, and the guy gave her a sympathetic smile.

"You a friend of his?" he asked.

She considered the question. She wasn't sure what she was to Rio anymore. She toyed with the idea that they were more than friends, but the part of her that rejected the notion battled her heart into surrender. She may wish to be his as much as she wanted, but circumstances were not on her side.

"Yeah. I'm a friend." She answered.

"Nice," the guy said while bobbing his head.

Annika gave him a dry smirk and turned her attention back to Rio. Her heart was breaking, and she wished she could cry, but Annika was supposed to be strong.

         She squeezed his hand, hoping he would respond. Giving up on that dying hope, she tried to wipe the blood spatter off his face but only managed to smear it. She sighed, wishing he would wake up and give her one of those smiles that promised her she would be alright. There was something about Rio that always made the world seem less unfriendly. His warmth had tricked her into believing that she could survive without Eric around to hold her hand and guide her.

✵✵✵✵✵

           It was pandemonium when they arrived at the hospital. Annika was shoved out of the way like she didn't matter as the hospital staff took over. They swarmed around him like bees around a honeycomb.

"Let us do our job, officer," a nurse said to her after recognizing the badge hanging from the waist of her jeans.

Annika stepped back in surrender. The last thing she wanted to do was become a problem.

             Her eyes were glued to his face. She couldn't look away, and she didn't want to. He never seemed so breathtaking to her before, or maybe it was fear that she was about to lose him that caused her to realize how perfect he was.

             She watched as they cut his tee shirt from his body. Time slowed; she was frozen while the world continued to move. Her eyes were fixated on his face as memories of their short friendship played in her head. They tormented her and reminded her of how much she cared about him. She prayed, her lips moving as she begged for his life to be spared. She wished he would open his eyes and look at her.