Chapter 146

Adrian

My heart races inside of my chest. I can’t think straight and I feel so dizzy, having to sit down since my legs feel like jelly. I tried to convince myself that everything is okay, that Stella is not in need in that Clara is just over exaggerating what she said on the phone, but something in my chest I telling me that something is very much wrong.

I pull out my phone and bring it in front of my face, quickly finding my way to Stella's name. I press on it and bring the phone to my ear. My foot rapidly tapped against the ground, anxiety, taking over my senses and body, making me more worried than I've ever been before in my life.

The dial tone echoes inside of my ears. It is deafening, the sound of Stella's silence slowly itching the back of my brain, making me think that nothing is okay.

I stand from the bench and immediately begin to walk out of the garden. When the call goes to voicemail, I put my phone back into my pocket and pick up my pace, passing Clara as she yells obscenities at me in the nursing home lobby. I break free from the doors and rush towards my car, struggling to get my keys out of my pocket before getting inside of the vehicle.

My heart pounds inside of my chest. My body vibrates just like the car engine does and I can't help but feel as if I have failed Stella yet again. My body moves on its own, shifting the car into gear before it speeds away, the sounds of my tire screeches cutting through the noise of my mind.

All I can think about is Stella. I hope that she isn't alone right now, crying for help with nobody to save her. I hope that somebody has found her and that I am rushing towards an empty apartment, a place that has been vacated in a hurry.

I do not know what I would do with myself if I showed up to her place to find her on the ground, still in motionless, unmoving and cold. What would I even do in that moment? What is there for me to do?

I shake my head, trying to get the thoughts out of my mind. I can't let them affect me, not now, not when Stella needs me in a moment like this.

I swerve through the traffic and honk at people to get out the way when they're driving too slow. My car runs through red lights, narrowly missing other cars in the heavy traffic and I can't bring myself to care about their grievances they yell at me.

Stella's apartment is just a few blocks away. If I can just go a little faster, I can reach there in a few minutes. Her elevator is unreliable and slow, so I will have to run up the stairs in order to reach her in time.

My eyes well with tears. The stinging sensation blurs my vision, and I try my best to blink them away, not wanting them to inhibit me from getting to her place faster. The last thing Stella needs is for me to get into a car accident, to be the one to die when she needs it the most. I can't bring myself to do that to her.

I let out a shaky breath and pull my car to the side, parking in front of her apartment building in an abrupt halt. I swiped the keys from the car and exit, slamming the door behind me as I rushed towards the lobby doors. I recognize the man who stands in front of it. He stares at me with a look of bewilderment on his face, arms, race to stop me from pushing through.

“Stella is in trouble! Have somebody get a key to her apartment, unit 521! She's unresponsive!” I yell at him, not allowing him to stop me as I slip my way into the apartment building.

I run towards the stairwell that is tucked off to the side, swinging the door open before lunging up the stairs. I take it three steps at a time, jumping up the stairs as fast as I can, I watch as the floor numbers passed me by, slowly counting them down before I reach the fifth floor.

My hands connect with the metal door, the door slamming against the wall, the sound echoing down the hallway. I run down the hallway as fast as I can, looking at the high numbers of the floor before the familiar setting of Stella's apartment comes into view. My body does not relax, though, and all I know is that she's on the other side of the door, waiting for somebody to help her.

I stop in front of her door and try to catch my breath, my lungs feeling like they're on fire. Pushing through the feeling, I begin to pound on her door, my fist connecting with the heavy wood.

“Stella! Stella, are you in there?! Answer me, Stella! Open the door!” I yell, hoping my voice can cut through the material.

I press my ear to the door. I hold onto the hope that I can listen to some kind of movement on the other side, that she is waiting just beyond the threshold of her apartment, ready to yell at me for causing a scene and embarrassing her all over again. It would've been worth it to hear her voice, to know that she's okay and not in trouble, to know that Clara lied to me instead of telling the truth for once.

I hear nothing, though. There is nothing moving around on the other side of the door. My heart plum into my stomach.

I looked down the hallway, turning to the other side to see if the apartment building has sent one of its managers to unlock the door for me. I don't think that I can wait. Stella's life is too precious to lose, there's too much on the line for us to give up on just because somebody needs to go fetch a key.

My foot connects with the door, kicking right beside the door knob to try and destroy the hinges. After a few more kicks, the door springs open, slamming against the wall of her apartment. I immediately rush inside and look around, her dark hair, catching my attention out of the corner of my eye.

Stella lays on the ground, unconscious. She is faced down with blood seeping out of her mouth, her phone engulfed in her own blood. I gasp been dropped on my knees beside her, rolling her over. Her face is so pale, so cold and white.

“Come on,” I yell at her face, holding her in my arms, “wake up for me!”

She doesn't. She is unresponsive and her body is limp. Without wasting another second, I pick her up into my arms and rest her head on my shoulder. Her blood stains my shirt, but I don't care; her safety is my top priority in this moment.

“It's okay, Stella,” I speak to her as if she is listening in this moment, “everything is going to be okay. I got you. You're going to be okay.”