I snapped back like I'd been yanked out of water and I screamed. I fell to the ground, back in my room, shaking as I began to sob loudly, my blood pumping faster than usual, my veins pulsating.
In a couple of seconds Levi was in the room.
"Hey, what's going on?" he said as he looked around the room, then squatted by my side and tried to lift me up, "Noa, are you okay? Did you hurt yourself?"
I wasn't listening. I scrambled for my phone, my fingers trembling so hard I almost dropped it.
Dial 911.
"911, what's your emergency?"
"There's a woman…," I said, my voice shaking as I involuntarily bit my nails in anxiety, "she needs help, she's being attacked. He has a gun. He's going to kill her!" My words were a breathless rush and my mind moved faster than my mouth could keep up.
"Ma'am, can you confirm the location?"
"Noa?" Levi said, almost whispering, walking closer to me, reaching for my arm.
"No. 15, Supreme Club Street," I didn't even question how I knew the address, I just gave it.
"He has a criminal record, he's been in jail a couple times," I added, "please, hurry, send someone now."
"Units are on their way. Please stay on the line as we …"
I hung up.
Levi was holding my arm, and I could hear the chaos in his voice, "Noa, what the fuck is going on?!"
"Come with me," I said, reaching out for a grey hoodie which lay on a small couch just beside us.
He blinked slowly, raising his eyebrows at the same time, "What?"
"I can't explain right now," I said, as I slipped my arms into the sleeves, "but I have to be there. Levi," I held him arm and looked him in the eyes, "please, trust me."
He hesitated for a second then sighed, muttering, "Fucking hell."
We walked hurriedly to the front door and I grabbed his car keys from the stool beside the couch he was sitting on.
"Woah, woah," he stood in front of the door blocking me, "what do you think you're doing?"
"I'm driving."
"Noa, you don't—"
I shoved him aside, the remaining words he said drowning with the rhythm of the song that was playing on the still switched on TV, and ran downstairs.
********************
The drive to Club Street was a blur. I kept tapping on the steering wheel impatiently, as though the car was too slow. l My foot was heavier on the gas than it should have been, and my mind was disoriented; I lacked focus and pressed on the horn unnecessarily.
"Noa," Levi said, "Slow down."
We finally got to the street, and we saw the residents, some on their porches, some outside their gates and some peeping from their windows. I slowed down as I got closer to the house, my hands shaking faster, my palms getting sweaty.
As I saw the red and blue lights that painted the street, I pulled into a hidden spot and gripped the wheel so hard my hands ached.
I exhaled shakily as the scene before me unfolded.
The bastard was in cuffs. He had a deep fresh cut on his arm, and more shallow cuts on his face.
He was being shoved roughly into the back of a squad car as he yelled, his voice venomous, his body fighting against the officers holding him back,"I'll be out soon, you know that right?! I always get out!"
I walked out of the car and walked discreetly closer, then saw Giselle in the back of an ambulance.
She was wrapped in a blanket, as an officer spoke to her. Her face was battered and her hands trembled in her lap. She was trying to look confident, nodding as she ran her fingers through her tangled hair futilely.
As I stood there, another car drove maniacally past me and parked in front of her house, then her friend from last night came out the driver's seat, without even turning off the car's engine. He ran towards the ambulance; towards her. He crouched, holding her face in his hands asking too many questions at the same time.
And then she broke down, sobbing. She leaned into his arms, without saying anything, and she just cried.
A forensic scientist then walked out of the house with a ziploc bag in his hand containing the gun.
All of a sudden, I felt like a huge weight was pulled away from my back and I felt her safety. Her relief.
I sighed deeply and sucked in a sharp breath, but it caught in my throat. My hands trembled as I walked back to the car, and I saw Levi staring at me as though I was a ghost. My chest felt tight, like I was being crushed.
Oh my god. They made it in time. How did they make it in time? I asked myself.
There was a unit nearby.
I felt overwhelmed, as I sat in the car and shut the door. I tried to exhale and with it came the tears. Fast and uncontrollable.
Levi slowly reached out and pulled me into his arms and I didn't resist. I let him hold me as I sobbed too, my body shaking against his.
As we huddled there together for what felt like hours, I eventually cleared my tears on my hoodie and said, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine," Levi replied, still staring at me awkwardly.
I turned the key in the ignition and the engine roared to life.
"Noa," Levi called my name silently.
"I know," I said, "I'll explain what happened to you when we get home, I promise, I just…"
"Noa," he cut me off.
"What?" I looked up, confused.
"When did you get your driver's license?"
I stopped for a moment, then hurriedly turned off the engine.
"I… I didn't."
Levi exhaled sharply.
We looked at each other for an awkward thirty seconds, when he put his hand out, beckoning to me, "you should probably let me drive."
"Of course," I said as I dropped the key into his hands like it was hot coal.
As I walked out of the car and towards the passenger seat I wondered, what the hell was that?