Holden

The police finally show up.

   I don't know if it's been an hour or three hours since I pulled into Nella's driveway with Maya beside me, in my truck. I thought I'd be going into her house to talk down some crazy guy who thought he was Maya's boyfriend. No, that is not what happened.

   Oh, no. Well, he was crazy. I could tell as soon as I stepped into the room where Nella and Willow were sitting. He said he wasn't going anywhere until he had Maya with him. All of my instincts kicked in and I attacked him, charged at him. I punched him in the face and told him he would never touch Maya again. Then I yelled for Nella to get out of the house, and I felt a bit better when I saw her run outside, holding her daughter.

   The fighting kept on for a few minutes, and I was mostly winning. This guy was jacked, though. Like, huge. He was taller and broad with muscular, strong arms that seemed bigger than my head. But I was fast and kept getting in more hits. But then he pulled out a pocket knife and swung hard and fast, and stabbed me in the stomach. That fucker. I fell to the ground and watched helplessly as he bolted out the door, looking for Maya.

   I feel like closing my eyes, but I don't. I know Maya's in danger. I army crawl across the floor to where my phone is - it went flying out of my hand when I ran at the guy. I'm barely conscious as I dial 911. I notice that I'm bleeding onto the hardwood floor.

   But I don't think help will get here in time. Even though I think I say that he stabbed me and that he's going to take Maya, I don't trust they'll arrive before he gets her in his car. So, I get up. It's hard. It hurts so bad and I'm bleeding. A lot. But I get to the kitchen and grab a heavy frying pan from the cupboard. It's the first thing I see, other than a kitchen knife, but I know better. Killing him won't fix this. I can't ruin the rest of my life over this asshole.

   I'm hobbling, but I get to the door and down the steps. I'm moving slowly and quietly and somehow I manage to sneak up behind them. He's got the same knife that he stabbed with me up against Maya's back and they are almost it at his car. I yell for Maya to run and then I use what strength I have left to hit the asshole over the head with the frying pan.

    He goes down. It's been at least ten minutes since I called 911 and I finally hear sirens in the distance. They are finally here, and I fall down to the ground, too. I've lost a lot of blood and I'm light headed. The world is starting to fade away.

   The asshole is laying face down, knocked out, as two male officers approach me. I checked that he was breathing already, so I tell the cops what happened. It feels like it all happened so fast. It feels like I watched it happening in a movie, or to some other people.

   "Where's the girl?" Officer Carlson asks me, after I explain about the phone call and the fight and how I hit him over the head with a frying pan.

   I start looking around. Where did Maya go? Nella is still sitting in her car with Willow. I can just barely see her. I can't breathe. Maya's gone. I feel I'm going to pass out.

   "I told her to run," I manage to say to the officer.

   "Okay, we will find her," he says to me, and then tells his partner to start looking around the area.

   "He's her ex. She ran away from him, from Albany, a few months ago. Somehow he found her here and -"

   "You knocked him out?" Officer Carlson seems humored by this, in a way.

   "I... he stabbed me." I say, moving my hand away from where I was holding it, on my wound.

   "Shit." He is talking into his radio now, "Get an A car out here to my location ASAP."

   "Why didn't you tell the 911 operator you were stabbed?" he asks me, reaching out to hold up my body. He must know I'm not doing well.

   I still can't think straight. The pain is too much. I start to wobble but the officer grabs for me. Didn't I tell them on the phone that he stabbed me? Didn't I say that I needed help? Or did I just tell them to get here fast?

   "I just... I just wanted you to get here before he took her," I finally say.

   He's a big guy with a goatee and strong arms, and as walks me over to Nella's house and sits me on the steps, it's like he's carrying a child. Another police car pulls in the long driveway. Two cops get out of the that car and walk over towards us. One hand cuffs the guy on the ground - at this point I don't even know his name - and I notice that he's starting to come to. They say he's under arrest for the attempted abduction of Maya and for assault on me. I focus on Nella, who's perfectly still in her car. She's crying. Then I look around and finally see another police man walking back onto Nella's property, with Maya. 

   She's okay. Thank god.

   The cops get the asshole into the back of one of the police cars before bringing Maya back over  towards the house.  I really feel like I'm about to pass out, now. The adrenaline must be starting to wear off. My vision is blurry. I'm glad I'm sitting down.

   "Holden, oh my god," Maya cries, rushing towards me. Her hair is a mess and she's shaking. I just want to wrap my arms around her, but I can't. 

   I hear the ambulance pull in the driveway just as the police car with the asshole drives away. He's gone. We are okay. Maya's okay. Somehow I manage to breath a sigh of relief, but I'm still not sure if I'm okay. 

    "Maya," I say, but I can't really talk. I'm still losing blood and I feel so dizzy.

    "Hey, you're okay," she tells me, reaching out to touch my arm. She's giving me a warm smile even though I can tell she's still terrified.  

   And then, about two minutes later, I'm being carried to the stretcher and pushed into the back of the ambulance. I'm strapped down. I want to talk to Maya more. I don't want to be separated from her. But now I'm laying down on the stretcher and I'm going to close my eyes. Sleeping seems like the right thing to do at this point.

   "Hey, stay with us," one of the paramedics says to me, shaking my shoulder. His voice seems so far away.

   "Can I go with him?" I hear Maya ask, and I somehow smile, because I can't believe she wants to go with me, to wherever they are taking me.

   "No, ma'am, we need you to answer some questions, if that's okay? I'll have someone radio me where they take him?" Officer Carlson tells her. "You'll be able to go see him in a little bit."

   Maya shakes her head. I can still see her even as the paramedics are cutting off my shirt and looking at my wound. I force my eyes to stay open so I can see Maya for another minute before they take me away.

   "I want to go with Holden," she says again. "He saved my life."

   But then the ambulance doors close and I'm on my way to the hospital.