Supernova

I jumped in my car, ignoring Beth and Chris. I had to find her before she started hanging out with Jenny. I got stuck in traffic and I yelled.

“Damn construction!” I shouted and looked around.

I hesitated then sped down the shoulder, ignoring the honks and praying a cop wasn’t nearby. I got to the exit and peeled down. There were a ton of clubs in Bricktown. I was bound to find her eventually. I hoped.

I went to the one Jenny went to the most. I pushed my way up to the front and ducked under the bouncer’s arm, running in before he could stop me. The club was already packed to capacity and throbbing with music and strobes. I scanned the crowd of dancers but I didn’t see her red hair anywhere. I ran to the bar and waited impatiently for the bartender.

“What can I get ya, hon?” the woman asked and I swallowed thickly.

“H-Has a woman with long red hair come in? She’s wearing a skirt and halter top with fishnet,” I breathed.

She frowned. “No. Haven’t seen anyone like that. Why?”

I groaned and got out one of my cards. “Call me the second you see her,” I said. “She’s in danger.”

She blinked. “Sir, what’s-”

I ran out, ignoring the bouncer again. I got back in my car and went to the second. And the third. And the fourth.

She wasn’t at any of them. I was starting to panic more and called the first club.

“I need to speak with your bartender,” I said to the man who answered the phone.

“Hold on.”

I waited impatiently. I could hear the music in the background and bit my lower lip.

“Hello?”

“This is Ethan,” I said. “Did you see her!?”

“I was about to call you. She was here but she walked out with a group of men and some women. I guess you missed out on your date.”

“It wasn’t a date! It was-”

She hung up and I slammed my hand on the horn. I sped back to her house and knocked on the door.
Beth began to cry at the defeated look on my face. Chris let me in and passed me an ice pack for my face.

“Forget it,” I said when he apologized.

I sat down in their living room and put my head between my knees, shaking and taking deep breaths.

“She-She left her phone behind,” Chris said, sitting beside me.

“This is all my fault,” I groaned. “If I hadn’t been such an asshole she would’ve been at lunch with me and my mom.”

“What happened?” Beth asked, wiping at her tears.

I shook my head. “A guy was flirting with her and I thought she was flirting back.” I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Tell her if you want but I’m still in love with her. I got insanely jealous. Now she’s in danger because I can’t keep my big fat mouth shut.”

Beth fell onto the couch beside her husband.

“Maybe-Maybe it’s nothing,” she whispered.

“A bartender saw her leaving with a group of men, Mrs. Harrington,” I said into my hands.

She sobbed. “What do we do!?”

“We can only wait,” Chris said in a heavy voice.

-

I poured everyone another glass of scotch. It was nearing three in the morning and still Nova hadn’t come back. I lost count of how many times Beth had thrown up by now. Now she was curled on the couch, not speaking. Chris was sitting next to her, stroking her hair, and trying to talk to her.

That’s when I heard the sobbing. I dropped the cup. It shattered but I ignored it as I ran for the door. I threw it open and nearly fainted.

Nova was on the driveway on her hands and knees, sobbing. Her outfit was in tatters and her hair messy. I ran to her.

“Nova,” I breathed. “Oh God, Nova.”

“Ethan!” she sobbed.

Before she could speak, she fainted.

“Chris!” I shouted. “Chris, call an ambulance!”

-

I paced in the waiting room. Beth still wasn’t talking. Chris was sitting next to her with his head in his hands. Finally, a doctor came out. He cleared his throat and we looked up at him.

“Sit down,” he told me and my heart dropped. “Miss Harrington will be okay but… she’s in rough shape.”

“What does that mean?” Chris asked in a hoarse voice.

“She has a concussion,” he began, “two fractured ribs, her ankle is broken again, and all her scars had been reopened.” I shut my eyes as tears spilled out. “She woke up long enough in the ambulance to tell us that whoever did it cut them open. We don’t know anything else, though. She’s back under.”

“C-Can I see her?” Beth sobbed.

“Yes,” the doctor said. “Only one person can go in while she’s in ICU, though. When she’s well enough to be in a regular room then all three of you can stay with her.”

“Go Beth,” Chris said. “We’ll wait out here.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to go first?” she whispered.

“Go,” I said.

She followed the doctor through the doors and I put my head between my knees and sobbed. Chris put his hand on my shoulder and I looked at the time. It was nearing 8:30.

“I need to call Elias,” I said in a thick voice. “I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.”

I went over to the window and dialed his number, trying to stop crying.

“A bit early for a Sunday phone call,” Elias said in a sleepy voice.

I cleared my throat a few times. “Look, Elias, Nova-Nova won’t be in-in the office for-for a while.”

“Why not? Ethan, what happened?” he asked, all trace of sleep gone from his voice.

I leaned my head against the window. I took a few deep breaths.

“She was…. She got beat up pretty bad, Elias,” I whispered.

“Was it another car accident?”

“No.” I cleared my throat. “We’re not sure who exactly did it yet because she’s under but… she was raped and beaten.”

Silence.

“If you’re lying to me, you’re fired,” he snarled.

“I’m not lying.”

“Fuck. What hospital is she in?”

“St. Anthony’s.”

“Is she in a room or ICU?”

“ICU.”

“All right. Let me know when she’s in a regular room.”

“I will.”

“And stay with her,” he added. “I know you care about her.”

I sighed. “Okay. Do not tell James and Michael.”

“I won’t. Keep me updated.”

I hung up and sat down by Chris again. He was holding a cup of coffee and I leaned back, staring dully at the TV. It was showing some stupid cartoon. It reminded me of how Nova and I would watch cartoons on Saturday mornings even when we got to high school. Her favorite was Invader Zim. I could never figure out why; that show was weird.

At some point, I must have dozed off because when I opened my eyes, it was Beth sitting beside me.

“How is she?” I asked but Beth shook her head.

“She’s not good, Ethan. I’m not sure you’re going to want to go see her.”

I frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

She sighed. “You’ll see.”

Chris came out an hour later, pale as a sheet, with a sick bag in his hand. The doctor nodded at me. I felt like I wasn’t in my body. I followed him to her room, my mind blank. I barely registered the nurses and beeping machines around me. The doctor opened the door to her room and I hesitated. I gulped and walked in.

The doctor caught me before I fell to the floor. Her left side was facing the door and I shook my head, finding it hard to breathe.

Not only had they reopened the wounds on her right side, they had made identical cuts on her left side.