Chapter 24

I lost track of time. I was stiff, sore, and hungry. My arms ached from the position they had been in. My back burned from the strain and Little One was kicking up something fierce.

The sun was up, or maybe it was setting again and I was not with it. My father’s head rested at the end of Ray’s bed, while my mother was opposite me. Both of them were asleep, exhaustion finally taking over, but neither of them was willing to leave me alone.

I had suggested that my parents go and sleep, but they just shook their heads.

We knew the first twenty-four hours were critical; those were the words that I recalled and each time he twitched or the machines beeped a little more rapidly, I panicked. And when I panicked, they panicked. The cycle was endless.

My father said Sheriff Thomas was coming by today; he needed my statement. I had to relive the nightmare. I had to recall every second of what I remembered from the shooting as it unfolded, in slow motion, right before my eyes.