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“JUST HOLD STEADY.”
She recognized the man. She knew if it weren’t for her splitting headache, she would be able to place him.
“We’ve met before. It’s Ian McAlister.” The Good Samaritan held out a bottle of water. “Are you thirsty? I don’t want to move your head right now, not until the ambulance gets here, but I could try to get you a small sip.”
Ian? Pulses of pain shot through Kennedy’s gray matter as she tried to connect his face to the name. She squinted up at his head of red hair, which she recognized from their few encounters last semester. “You’re a journalist, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah. You feel ok? Any dizziness? How’s your head?”
“It hurts.”
“I’m not surprised. Try not to move too much before the paramedics get here. I’m sure they’ll want to check you out.”
“Where’s Reuben?” She struggled to sit up, but Ian and a wave of dizziness both prevented her.
“Someone’s with him right now.”
Kennedy wished she could see what was happening.
“Don’t touch me.” It was Reuben’s voice. She’d never heard him sound so angry. They weren’t arresting him, were they?
“What’s going on?” she asked.
Ian frowned. “He’s pretty agitated. There’s some nurse who pulled over, but he won’t let her near him.”
“Leave me alone!” Reuben yelled.
Kennedy had to get to him. Had to see what the problem was.
“Sir, I’m trying to help. The back of your head is bleeding. I just want to ...”
“Stay back. All of you.” Reuben’s voice was tense, almost as if he were trying not to cry.
“Is he ok?” Kennedy asked.
“I don’t know.” Ian glanced at his watch. “The ambulance will be here soon. You’ll both get all the attention you need.”
“There was a cop,” she tried to explain. “He was ...”
Ian frowned.
“Did you see anything?” she asked.
“Just you and your friend lying on the asphalt.”
It didn’t make sense. Where had Bow Legs gone? She shut her eyes and did what she could to assess her injuries. She could breathe normally. None of her limbs hurt. Aside from the headache and a general achy feel all over, nothing deviated too far from baseline. She took a deep breath and worked through the dizziness until she could sit up. Ian held out his hands as if he wanted to catch her if she fell. “Are you sure you want to be doing that?” he asked.
Kennedy was too focused on keeping her balance to answer. She gritted her teeth and reminded herself she had been through worse pain than this.
Much worse.
She didn’t shrug off the journalist, who wrapped his arm around her while she attempted to stand. She let him support her as she worked out her tight muscles and made her way over to Reuben. He was lying on the rocky pavement, no longer cuffed, his head resting in a small puddle of blood. Kennedy untangled herself from Ian’s hold.
“Get away from me,” Reuben snapped when he saw her.
Kennedy nearly lost her balance. “I just want to ...”
He clenched his teeth. “Get back.”
She didn’t argue, and she didn’t resist when Ian tucked an arm around her waist and led her to his car. “You can rest here until the paramedics come.”
Kennedy winced as he eased her down into the driver’s seat. “What’s wrong with him?” She hadn’t been asking about Reuben’s injuries so much as his attitude.
Before Ian could answer, a whining ambulance sped toward them and parked. The onlookers dispersed, and three paramedics jumped out the back. Ian pointed at Reuben. “Check him out first.”
Kennedy let out her breath and allowed her body to relax a little. Reuben would get the medical attention he needed. Everything would be fine now.
Or would it?
She recalled the cop’s roaming hands on her body. She had never felt so violated. Her ears rang with the echoes of his curses and slurs. If she didn’t have the entire encounter recorded, she wouldn’t believe half of it.
The recording. She reached for her phone in her blouse pocket. The screen blinked with a message. Memory full. Video failed to record.
“Everything ok?” Ian asked.
No, it wasn’t. After everything they had endured, all the indignity, all the shame, now there wasn’t any proof. Memory full? She wasn’t sure if she wanted to cry or throw her phone in front of the oncoming traffic.
But maybe it wasn’t that bad. Arlington was as crowded as the courtyards of Willie Wonka’s chocolate factory the day he reopened his doors. Somebody would have seen. Several somebodies. They could corroborate Kennedy’s story.
The cop was long gone. He must had driven off like a coward, leaving Kennedy and Reuben to heal from their injuries. She didn’t know his name, but with enough witnesses and police logs, they’d find him.
Right?
She stared at the phone in her lap. Betrayed by a stupid piece of technology. It wasn’t fair. None of this was fair. She should have never been pulled over in the first place. And now Reuben ...
“You sure he’s going to be all right?” she asked.
Ian’s eyes were soft. Like Charlotte’s after Wilbur the pig discovered why the farmer was fattening him up. “I’m sure the paramedics will fill you in soon, but I wouldn’t worry if I were you.”
Kennedy glanced over. The ambulance crew was lifting Reuben onto a gurney.
“I should see if he’s ok.”
Ian extended his hand. “Want help?”
“No.” She winced as she stood up and decided she’d take some Tylenol if the paramedics had any to offer, but otherwise she’d rather have them focus on helping Reuben. She kept her eyes off the puddle of his blood on the cement.
She walked to the side of Reuben’s stretcher and took his hand. “Are you ok?”
He pulled away. What was wrong? Did he think this whole thing was her fault? Did he blame her for taking him out in her roommate’s car? She had done what she could to stand up for him. His silent treatment bored holes into her chest the size of test tube stoppers.
She stepped aside to let a member of the ambulance crew by. “Is everything all right?” she asked.
The paramedic didn’t pause to look at her. “He’ll be fine. We’re taking him in to Providence now.” He hoisted himself into the ambulance.
“Are you the girl who was with him?” his co-worker asked. “You really should let us check you out before you start walking around.”
“I’m fine,” Kennedy insisted. “I just want to make sure he’s ok.”
“We’re taking him in right now. You’re welcome to follow and meet us at Providence if you’d like.”
Reuben shook his head. “Just go home. Don’t worry about me.”
Did he know what he was saying? Was this the kind of brain injury that could alter personalities? Why was he acting this way?
“I’d like to stick around.” She wanted to find a discreet way to tell him her dad would probably pay for his medical bills if he was worried about money. All Kennedy had to do was ask.
Reuben jerked his shoulder away when she touched him. “Go home. I’ll text you when I get back to campus.”
A lump the size of the BFG’s big toe had settled at the top of her larynx. “You sure? I don’t mind ...”
He scowled. “Just leave me alone.”
One of the paramedics shot Kennedy a sympathetic glance. Kennedy stepped aside so they could lift the stretcher into the back of the ambulance. She crossed her arms and watched, expecting any moment for Reuben to change his mind and call her to him. Apologize for his behavior. All she heard was the chatter of the crew as they prepared him for transport.
She was still standing in the same spot when they pulled away. They didn’t put on their sirens, which was a good sign. Reuben’s injuries couldn’t be that serious. So why had he acted so strangely?
It was cold. The wind always seemed fiercest around this part of town anyway.
“Hey, you need a lift or anything?”
Surprised by the voice, Kennedy turned to face Ian. She had forgotten the journalist was there. He was the only one left. Everyone else had gone. All those potential witnesses ...
“Can I drive you someplace?”
She cringed when he touched her shoulder. She shook her head. All she wanted now was to be alone.
“No, thanks.” She tried to force a smile to compensate for the shortness in her voice.
“You sure?”
She gave him one more quick glance and nodded. “Yeah. I’m sure.”
He followed her to Willow’s car and leaned down once she was in the driver’s seat. “Is there anything else I can do for you?”
Kennedy buckled her seatbelt and stared at the empty pavement.
Ian sighed. “I’ve had experience with this sort of thing. It can get complicated. So just let me know if you need me.”
Kennedy turned the key in the ignition. “As a member of the press?”
He shrugged. “Or as a listening ear. It’s up to you.” He passed her a business card. Until then, she hadn’t realized anyone younger than her dad still carried those things around.
“Thanks.” Kennedy hoped he didn’t take her brusque departure too personally. She shut the door and managed to drive about a mile and a half before she pulled over into a gas station, where she tried to wash away her fears and frustrations with a series of choking, heaving sobs.