As promised, here is the next chapter.
I was the one to call the ambulance. The bullet had just grazed Uriah's arm but there was a lot of blood and it could get infected. Four had taken off his t-shirt and ripped off a bit to bandaged Uriah's arm. He had a nice torso, I may have blushed.
The sobbing had stopped. Hector had become quiet in the arms of his oldest sister but tears were still rolling down his face. Looking at him, I felt guilty because I hadn't even realised he was with us before he started crying at the blood. Blood, blood everywhere now.
Will was looking intently at the top window of the building opposite us. That was probably where he thought the bullet had come from, and he was rarely wrong.
We tried desperately to keep Uriah awake. Marlene was forcing Uriah to talk to her while Zeke kept pinching his brother's good arm. I doubt it did much good. I could nearly feel Uriah's consciousness slipping into the dark but welcoming realm of unconsciousness.
The ambulance arrived under ten minutes after I called 911, a few police cars behind it Only family was allowed in the ambulance, so Zeke stayed with him. He was calling somebody, probably his mother.
"Okay kids" said the police officer "We're taking you all to the police station.
"Why?" asked Lynn, defiantly.
She was standing with her arms crossed over her chest. A defensive position. Four was standing in the same way, his jacket zipped to the top, probably to hide the fact that he didn't have anything underneath.
I couldn't agree more with Lynn. I just wanted to go home and get all of this shit, pardon me for my language, over with.
"Don't worry, you're not in trouble!" the officer said quickly. "I just want to ask you a couple of questions and then we'll call your parents to let you go. Okay?"
We didn't answer. I hopped in one of the police cars, setting the example. The others followed me, more or less reluctantly. Will and Christina sat in the back next to me, they were holding hands. Marlene sat next to a policewoman in front. She was wearing a deadly glare. At this moment, I didn't want to be the one who shot Uriah, or the tree she was staring at. My hands had begun to shake badly, now that the action had stopped and I didn't need the adrenaline anymore.
The policewoman who was sitting in the driver's seat had flaming red hair. She put on the radio, electro music, probably trying to look cool to us. I hate electro music.
The sun was starting to disappear when we arrived at the police station. My parents will start worrying if I don't call or come back soon. But I didn't have enough battery left. I think I was the only one worrying about my family, the others didn't even react when their mobile phone kept buzzing.
We joined the Howard family -Hector, who had a lollipop sticking out of his mouth, Lynn, Four and Shauna- and the police officer led us to a room.
There were enough chairs for everybody to sit. The police officer took a piece of paper from a file and asked us our names and our parents' phone number. He paused when he heard Four's but wrote it down anyway.
"So, like I said, I'm gonna ask you a couple of questions and we'll call your parents, okay ?"
We all nodded.
"Please don't talk all at once. Why were you in that street when your friend was shot?"
Shauna answered.
"Someone was stalking Tris-Beatrice I mean. We were going to ask him why but he ran away, so we ran after him"
"What did he looked like?"
"Quite tall, I think, muscular, had long greasy black hair, pale complexion, dark eyes I think, piercings all over his face, tattoos on his arms" I answered, rattling my brain for more information.
"What kind of tattoos?"
"I don't know, didn't see"
The officer scribbled words on his paper. I had the impression he knew something
"You have a British accent, am I wrong?"
I shook my head.
"I'm from Leeds"
He nodded.
"Why do you think your friend was shot?"
"He was the closest" Marlene answered "He was going to catch that ...man" disgust for the stranger filled her voice. It's the first time I heard anything mean coming from her.
"And did you see who shot him?"
"No"
"Thank you for answering my questions" he said "If you remember anything you saw or heard, please tell us immediately. You can wait for your parents in the entrance hall"
I looked at Four's direction. He standing a few feet away from the rest of the group trying to avoid all eye contact, even with his adoptive family. He hadn't said a thing to the officer when he had been the closest after Uriah. I didn't know how but I knew he was hiding something, something important. I ignored this feeling and waited what seemed like hours but were really just a few minutes in the entrance hall with Will and Christina.
My dad arrived first. He looked panicked, more panicked than I ever saw him before. When his blue-grey eyes met mine, his shoulders sagged in relief and he let out a sigh.
"Beatrice! Are you alright?"
He hugged me, a sign of affection he didn't do often. My heart clenched, I must have scared him very scared.
"I'm fine, don't worry" I reassured him
He nodded. Regaining the calm composure I was used of. His eyes ran through the room, meeting the eyes of everyone, his gaze lingered on Four. Four leant back in the chair he was sitting on, seemingly burying himself in it, like he wanted to disappear.
I said goodbye to everybody and followed my father to his car.
"How's your friend?" My dad, selfless as ever, was probably talking about Uriah.
"He'll hopefully recover quickly" I say "The bullet just grazed his arm"
He continued to drive without a word being uttered between us.
"Who's your friend, the one with dark hair and blue eyes?" He asked suddenly
"Four Howard, why?" I asked, intrigued.
He hummed in response.
Before I realised it, we were parking in front of our house. Before I even reach for the doorknob, Caleb opened the door and crushed me in a hug.
"We were so scared" he whispered into my ear.
I wanted to reassure him but I couldn't speak because of a lump that had been created in my throat. I was afraid that if I tried, I would burst into tears. The events of the day were finally crashing onto me.
My mother was hugging me now, whispering soothing words into my ears.
I went to bed without eating, afraid that if I took anything, it would come back up in record speed.
I piled up blankets onto my bed, just to stop my body trembling. I could hear my parents talking in the next room. I turned off the light and embraced the dark and sleepless night.
Hope you liked it!
Please leave a review and remember my SYOC contest of chapter 4 !
