Round N Around We Go (Has Cupid Gone Mad?) by Belinda Elkaim Page A

nowhere in sight. “Karina, we
should call 911 now. I’m very
serious. Something is terribly
wrong, we need to call now.”
    Just as Conrad has instructed,
Karina dials 911 and tells the
operator
that
they
have
overheard
multiple
gunshots
firing inside the location and
that people are screaming inside
the condo. She exaggerates the
hysteria and urges them to hurry
then hastily hangs up.
    “Great.” Karina ignites the
engine of her car and moves to
the opposite side of the road,
“I just lied to the authorities.
I’ll be in so much trouble. This
is serious!”
Taylor puts her hand on Karina’s
arm and squeezes it firmly,
“Trouble? Let’s hope that Amber
and
Conrad
are
safe
and
unharmed!”
    Within minutes, they see two
police cars with silent sirens
pulling
up
outside
Neyo’s
building. Two cops storm into
the building and the other two
remain outside to stand guard.
    “Shouldn’t everyone be coming
out already? What’s taking so
long?” Overwhelmed with anxiety,
Karina begins to chew on her
fingernails.
    Feeling distressed and lost
within the chaos, Taylor shares
Karina’s panic and begins to
babble, “Oh my God, is that an
ambulance pulling up?” Turning
pale as paper, Taylor watches
the ambulance park behind the
second police car. Karina gasps
loudly as she watches the
paramedics climb out from the
back of the ambulance and rush
into the building carrying two
folded stretchers.
“Oh no!” Karina mumbles and gets
out of the car.
    Taylor watches her walk over to
the police and follows her,
“Wait for me!”
    One of the cops sees them and
attempts to
stop them from
entering the scene. “Ma’am, you
can’t go in there right now. Do
you live here?” He questions
them.
    “No,” Karina looks at the
entrance of the building and
wonders where everyone is, “but
our
friends
are
in
the
building.”
    As the cop tries to make them
back away, they see Neyo cuffed
and taken into custody. There is
blood on his face and he appears
beaten
up,
infuriated
and
uncooperative. They watch the
policeman shoves him onto the
back seat of the second police
car.
    Taylor gasps and holds on firmly
to Karina’s hand. “Where are
Amber and Conrad?” She questions
the cop. “Where are they?”
    More onlookers
gather behind
them and curiously stare at the
building, gossiping and assuming
stories from their imagination.
Preoccupied with the commotion,
the cop busies himself and tries
to clear the parameter.
    Karina is the first to see a
stretcher coming out of the
building. “Conrad!” she screams,
rushes past the cop and runs
over to her injured friend. His
white shirt is covered with
blood and Karina can see
multiple
stab wounds on his
chest. “Oh my God!” She exclaims
as the cops pull her back. She
watches the paramedics move his
stretcher into the ambulance and
turns around to see the second
stretcher coming out of the
building.
    Taylor
breaks
through
the
blockade and rushes over to find
Amber lying motionlessly yet
awake on the stretcher. “Amber?”
Taylor grabs onto Amber’s arm
and
squeezes
it
firmly.
Ridiculously still, Amber is not
reacting at all.
    She
walks
alongside
the
paramedic and demands for an
answer.
“Why
is
she
not
responding?” She nudges him for
answers. Disregarding the tears
rolling down her cheeks, the
paramedic pushes his way through
and ignores her. “But what’s
wrong with her? Her eyes are
wide open but she’s not moving,
she’s not talking, please tell
me what’s wrong!”
    “Miss, I really don’t know and I
can’t tell you. Our job is to
take these two people to the
hospital as quickly as possible
and you are in our way!”
Chapter Eight.
    Having spent nearly six hours at
the police station answering
redundant questions regarding
the Amber case, Taylor and
Karina are eager to head home.
Having truthfully answered all
the questions, they