Joey's POV
When we turned around the corner we found ourselves in an alleyway that ended in the parking lot of the convention center. It was getting really dark now, but I could still see clearly enough.
Joe held out his arm to stop us. He pointed at two people that were standing halfway the alley, near some dumpsters. They were too far away to see their faces, but I could see it was a man and a woman, clearly in the midst of a fierce argument.
"I think we're good, they're just fighting," Dylan said. We all agreed.
"Yeah, let's get back to the girls," Brian smiled. God, he could be such a sappy guy sometimes, when it came to Meredith. I could only hope I wasn't like that with my girlfriend.
We turned and headed back to the bus, discussing if we should have a little party to celebrate the oncoming start of our new tour. Me and Joe were all for it, every reason is a good reason to party if you ask me. Our friendly banter was interrupted by a crashing sound that came from the alley.
We all looked at each other and ran back towards the alleyway. To my surprise – or then again, I should've known – Joe and Clark were running like mad, speeding up when we heard the woman screaming again. They were around the corner before we got there. When I finally arrived, I heard my friends yelling at the guy to let her go, and saw them chasing him when he dropped her to the ground.
Dylan, Brian and I started running after him as well, so we could be there if Joe and Clark needed help.
When we got to the dumpsters, I saw that the girl was still lying on the ground. I halted immediately to see if she needed any help, so did Dylan, but Brian just kept running.
When I got closer, I recognized her.
"Oh my god… Anna!"
Anna was lying in a heap on the ground, blood slowly dripping from her head on her cheek. I dropped on my knees beside her, but I didn't dare touch her, afraid I would hurt her even more.
I looked behind me towards Dylan, silently asking to help me. I didn't know what to do. This was all my fault; if I didn't sang to her at the concert, if I didn't talked to her after the autograph session, if I didn't hug her, … if I… if I… If I wasn't such an idiot, she would've been okay.
"Anna, can you hear me?" Dylan asked her. She had closed her eyes. Was she unconscious? Besides the wound on her head, which was still bleeding, I couldn't see any other visible injuries. I took a clean handkerchief out of my pocket and started wiping the blood of her face as softly as I could. That seemed to bring her back a bit, because she whispered, "I am… tired."
This is not good. She could have a concussion, and if she had, she needed to stay awake.
At that time, the others came back, arguing amongst each other.
"Where's the guy?" Dylan asked. Brian shrugged his shoulders.
"He was too fast, he drove of before we could catch up on him," Joe grunted. He was obviously not happy that he didn't get to him on time. "How's the girl?"
"I don't know, I'm no doctor," Dylan answered, getting back to his feet.
"I think she might have a concussion or something," I said. "She needs to stay awake, just to be sure." I noticed she opened her eyes again, but they didn't focus. When I got closer to wipe the rest of the blood, she panicked. She tried to move, and cried no doubt from pain. Maybe she fractured something too? Oh god, I really messed it up this time.
"No, don't move. Just… try to stay still, okay?" I looked at the guys for help.
"We got to call the authorities. She needs to go to a hospital," Brian suggested. Of course, yeah, call an ambulance. That was so obvious; I mentally kicked myself for not thinking about it first. When you see a person who is badly injured, the first thing you do is call for an ambulance. Everyone knows that.
And yet when he found himself in that exact situation, he didn't even thought about that.
Anna opened her eyes once again and groaned.
"Anna, talk to me. Where are you hurting?"
"My head… Shoulder…" Her voice cracked, I could barely understand what she said. She must be in a lot of pain, and all because of me.
"I am so sorry, Anna. This is all my fault," I said to her. She didn't react.
"Joey, Brian already called an ambulance. Clark and Joe are heading back to the bus to tell the girls what happened. I will stay here with you until the ambulance gets here, okay?" Dylan patted my shoulder. I nodded in response.
"I just feel so guilty…"
"I know Joey, but you don't need to feel guilty. You didn't do anything wrong, it's her boyfriend that did this to her, not you." Dylan comforted me.
After a while the ambulance arrived, and at the same time I saw Anna's head fall sideways.
"Anna?" I patted her cheek. "Anna, are you still awake?"
Dylan grabbed me by my shoulders, urging me to make room for the paramedics.
"Can one of you tell me what happened?" A police officer came towards us. We explained everything, but we didn't have much to tell since we didn't exactly saw what happened. We gave a description of her boyfriend and what I saw during the concert.
I saw Anna lying on the stretcher when they rolled her in the back of the ambulance.
"Can I… Can I go with her?" I asked one of the paramedics. Dylan looked at me, silently questioning what I was doing.
"Are you family, sir?" he asked me. I shook my head. "Boyfriend?"
"Oh, no… I uhm… I'm just a friend." I rubbed my neck. I wasn't even that, but I didn't want to explain everything.
"I'm sorry sir, but only family can ride along with the ambulance. We're going to St. Mary's hospital if you want to visit her." He closed the ambulance doors and with the wailing of the siren the ambulance took off.
"Come on, man. We're going back to the bus. They're probably wondering what's keeping us," Dylan pulled my arm.
We walked back towards the bus, and before I even got on it I was being engulfed in hugs from all the girls.
"Are you okay?" Jaime asked.
"This is NOT your fault, you hear me?" Lauren assured me. She knew me too well.
"Joey, girls, sit down. We're leaving. We had to be at the hotel like one hour ago." Julia interrupted. She took the seat next to me.
"You're good?" she asked. I nodded.
"Yeah… just a little shocked that this all happened because of a stupid hug. I know I shouldn't feel guilty but I can't help it that I still do…" I put my head in my hands and tried to calm myself.
"She's in good hands now, you know that. You and the guys were there when she needed help. That's what matters," Julia tried to comfort me. She was right. I wouldn't dare think of what could have happened if we didn't agree to check on the noises.
When we arrived at the hotel, Julia spoke once more.
"Now, all of you up to your rooms. It's the middle of the night and we have the interview in the morning. I want you all downstairs in the lobby dressed and fed at 9 am. No exceptions," she looked at me.
"I'll be there," I murmured.
When I went up the stairs, sauntering after everyone else, Lauren stayed behind to catch up with me.
"If you want to go visit her tomorrow, I'll come with you," she suggested. "We're free in the afternoon; our flight doesn't leave 'till 10 pm."
As tempting as that sounded, if only to make sure she was going to be alright, I couldn't.
"I can't, Lo. I don't even know her last name. They will never let me in. What can I say? Hi, I'm the guy that caused all this to happen to her?" I snapped.
"That's not true and you know it. Fine, then don't. Whatever you want," she said, clearly irritated. "Good night, Joey."
"Lo, I'm sorry," I shouted after her, but she closed her door to her room she shared with Jaime without another word.
Great, now I have to make it up to Lauren as well.
When I entered my room I saw Joe already in his bed, snoring loudly. Yup, this was going to be long night…
