Unbound (The Wild Ride)

I sat staring at the wall of the hospital as I waited for Sasha's doctor to come and talk to us.

I couldn't comprehend where I was right now.

Sasha is in the hospital.

She's lost a lot of blood, she'll probably need a transfusion.

From what I overheard in the ambulance, there could come brain swelling.

I couldn't even explain the terror that flowed through my body and mind as I sat rocking back and forth on my hard plastic chair.

"Babe?" Brian said softly.

I didn't look at him, but kept my eyes fixed on a spot on the wall.

"Cynthia, look at me." Brian said again.

I didn't look at him.

Brian gently grabbed my chin and turned me to where I was looking at him in the eyes.

"Say something please." Brian whispered, his eyes full of sympathy.

I looked at him, still not saying anything.

What was I supposed to say?

One of my best friends in the world is in major surgery because her boyfriend nearly beat her to death.

"What exactly do you want me to say, Brian?" I asked, my tone much more bitter then I expected to be.

"Anything. Tell me how you're feeling. Tell me that you hate me. Say anything." Brian begged.

"My best friend, someone I see as a sister, is laying in surgery, under critical condition because her piece of shit boyfriend got mad and decided to use her as a punching bag. She's lost so much she'll need a blood transfusion. Only that's gonna be difficult because she has a rare blood type. There's also swelling in her brain. So she can develop a brain tumor, fall into a coma, or have permanent or temporary memory loss." I said in a bitter tone.

Brian's eyes creased in worry as he looked at me.

"Want to hear something funny?" I asked in a cynical tone.

Brian didn't answer, just continued to look at me.

"I knew what Chris was doing. I've known since it started happening." I said with hard eyes.

The look on his face was nothing short of shocked.

His eyes were wide and his mouth had dropped open.

"Sasha told me after the first time he put his hands on her. Swore it was an accident and that it would never happen again. She continued to tell me that, each and every time she tried to hide her bruises from me." I said looking down at my clenched fists.

"Why didn't you keep her from him?" Brian asked.

The second the words left his mouth it looked like he regretted it.

My eyes hardened as a shot a glare at him.

"Itried. Sasha is stubborn and naive. She convinced herself that she was madly in love with Chris. That everything he put her through was worth his love. That all of his apologies, and flowers, and gifts were all worth it. I tried, and tried and tried to get her to stay away from him. Every time I thought it was working, Chris would appear and drag her right back in." I said.

Brian stayed quiet for a moment and he reached over and grasped my hand, holding it tightly.

"It's not your fault Cynthia. You can't help someone who doesn't want to be helped." Brian murmured.

"No. It is my fault. I could have kept him away from her. I could have called the police. I could have beat the living shit out of him until he was bloody and broken the way Sasha is now." I said, chocking on my words.

My eyes were quickly filling with water and my voice was tight.

"Honey, you couldn't have changed the outcome even if you wanted to. It was Sasha's decision to stay." Brian said softly, rubbing soothing circles into the back of my hand.

"It's my fault. I could've done more. I was supposed to protect Sasha, and I failed at that." I said, a new rush of anger taking over and forcing the tears from my eyes.