Don’t Let Me Break by Linda Verji

 

 

CHAPTER 3

 

Sebastian was on his way to his car when he heard the first scream. Instinctively, he knew it was Marley’s because he’d just watched her leave the office. His feet started running even before his brain could process the action. Heart thumping like a rogue drum and footsteps thundering on the tarmac, he raced in the direction of the screams.

The sight that met him when he got there was as shocking as it was terrifying. Marley was on the ground between two cars. A man in dark clothes was hovering over her, one hand holding her by the collar and the other hand raising a hammer.

“HEY!” Sebastian yelled before that hammer could fall. “HEY!”

Startled, the assailant turned to look at Sebastian. Immediate surprise filled the man’s gaze, and he let go of Marley’s collar. The moment Sebastian moved towards him, the assailant hopped over Marley’s supine body and started to run.

Instinct guiding his feet, Sebastian chased the man. As he ran, he kept shouting, “HEY! HEY! HEY!”

The shouts were for the benefit of the security guards, and they worked. In seconds, two guards spilled out from the About It building. No questions were asked. Yelling at the assailant to stop, they too joined the chase. But it was in vain.

The assailant was fast… really, really fast. Sebastian was pretty fit and fast, but this guy was on another level. It almost felt like he was a bullet being chased by humans. Within seconds, Sebastian realized that he was wasting his energy. His time was better spent checking on Marley.

Leaving the security guys to chase the attacker, Sebastian turned around and headed back to the spot where he’d left Marley. She was still on the ground with her eyes closed.

“Marley,” he called, his breath rugged because of all the running. “Marley!”

But she didn’t open her eyes.

He got on one knee down beside her and touched her cheek. “Marley.”

No response.

As far as he could see there was no injury on her, but she might’ve hit her head or something. First, he checked her breathing. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he confirmed that she was breathing fine. Still kneeling by her side, he reached into his pocket and took out his phone. In seconds, he had nine-one-one on the line.

“You have reached the Philadelphia emergency line,” a male operator picked up. “This is Martin Curry speaking. How may I help you?”

“Hi, Martin.” Despite the panic racing through him, Sebastian stayed calm. “Please send an ambulance here.”

“What’s going on?”

“One of my coworkers was attacked in a car park,” Sebastian explained. “She’s unconscious.”

“Are there any injuries?”

“None that I can see, but she’s not waking up.”

“Okay, give me your address.”

While Sebastian was rattling off the address, a security guard appeared between the two cars. He waited for Sebastian to finish his conversation with the dispatcher before starting with the questions.

“What happened?” the guard asked.

‘The guy you were chasing attacked her.” Without taking his eyes off Marley, Sebastian asked, “Did you catch him?”

“No.” The guard shook his head. “Too fast.”

Sebastian wasn’t even surprised. “But CCTV caught him, right?”

“Yeah, but I don’t know how much it will help,” the guard said. “The guy was wearing a mask.”

That was a damn shame because that guy needed to get caught. The way he’d wielded his hammer left the impression that he wasn’t just a garden-variety thief or rapist. He was a killer or at the very least on his way to being one. It was terrifying to think that someone that dangerous was hovering around About It.

It took about ten minutes for the ambulance to arrive. When it did, Sebastian rode in it with Marley.

 

 

THE E.R AT Thomas Booker Hospital was a hive of activity. A boy with an axe in his head being wheeled into a private room by several medics. A drunk man with a broken arm hollering for a doctor while his pregnant wife tried to shut him up. Two nuns and a priest by the counter demanding to know how another priest was doing after his heart-attack.

Sebastian felt like he’d entered the scene of a movie he’d seen many times. However, what caught his attention was the smell that permeated the place. Disinfectant mingled with sickness, desperation and medicine to create a stench that was stomach-churning. He hated that smell. It brought back memories of his past with hospitals, and made him want to walk right back out the door.

But still, he stayed because Marley needed him.

He settled in the waiting room with Marley’s purse while the doctors checked on her. Barely fifteen minutes into their arrival, a doctor came to explain the situation.

“It doesn’t look like she’s in critical condition,” the doctor said, “but since she hasn’t woken up, we’re a bit worried.”

Sebastian proposed, “Could it be a concussion?”

“Might be. Might not be. For now, we don’t know,” the doctor hedged. “We’ll wait an hour to see if she wakes up on her own. If she doesn’t, we’ll have to do a CT scan to check what’s going on. But it’s pretty expensive.”

‘That’s okay,” Sebastian reassured. “Our company will foot the bill.”

“You don’t have to sit out here while we wait for her to wake up.” The doctor offered, “You can sit with her.”

“Thank you.” Sebastian followed the doctor to the Observation Unit. The two men wound their way past several curtained cubicles before stopping at one. The doctor drew the curtain open to reveal Marley lying on a hospital bed.

If Sebastian didn’t know better, he would’ve thought that she was sleeping. She was so peaceful in her unconsciousness. Her pretty features were relaxed and her chest rose and fell evenly with every breath.

“You can let the nurses know if she wakes up by pressing that.” The doctor pointed to a red button at the head of the bed.

Sebastian nodded. “Will do.”

The doctor started to leave then remembered, “Are you her official guardian?”

“No, I’m just her boss.”

The doctor frowned. “Then we have to find her guardian because we’ll need their approval in case we’re doing a CT scan.”

“Let me see if I can reach them,” Sebastian offered, but that was easier said than done. Since this was his first day at About It, he didn’t have HR’s number on speed-dial. Worse, it was already ten which meant that getting people to pick up their phones took more time than it should have.

Omar’s phone was off. Ben’s phone rang several times but he didn’t pick up. Eventually, Sebastian was forced to call the security office to have them find the head of HR’s number for him. That took a while. When they found the head of HR, Nora Buckley, they had to wake her up. Getting her to shift from sleep-mode to work-mode took several more minutes.

Sebastian was still waiting for Nora to go through the company’s personnel files and find Marley’s next-of-kin when he heard groaning from the bed. His gaze immediately shifted to Marley. Though her eyes were closed, her lips were parted and a frown now marred her brow.

“Ugh!” she groaned again and her eyelashes fluttered.

“Marley!” Sebastian scooted closer to her bed. “Marley!”

The fluttering of her eyelashes became more fitful. Another groan emerged from her lips, and she shifted slightly in the bed. Then her eyes opened.

“Marley,” he called again. “Are you awake? Can you hear me?”

Her unfocused, hooded gaze followed his voice and found him. She studied him for a second or two before her lips parted again.

“Who-” Her voice emerged in a hoarse croak. She cleared her throat then tried again. “Who are you?”