by Brook Wilder
I started to stand, but Victor interrupted me before I could get to my feet.
"You'll stay right where you are," he said as he strode toward me.
I stayed low but scrambled away from him as he stepped over Garret. My back slammed against the wall of the foyer and I realized that I was trapped. Victor stood over me, his legs straddling my body as he kept the gun pointed at my head.
"What are you doing?" I asked shakily.
"Getting my revenge," he said in a low voice.
Why hadn't he shot me yet? I thought. I realized that if he'd actually wanted to kill me, he'd already had ample opportunity. It wasn't much of a thought, but the hope it brought crystalized in my mind, breaking through the shroud of panic that enveloped me. Maybe, if I played my cards right, I could talk Victor out of this.
"You don't have to do this," I said, cringing at the cliché.
"Of course I do," he replied. "You think you could reject me for this, this sleaze and get away with it? I'm only doing you a favor, Laina."
"Are you going to kill me?" I asked quietly, trying to gauge his reaction. He flinched slightly and swallowed at the question.
"Yes, but only because I have to," he said.
"But you don't, Victor," I replied. "What would killing me, or Garrett for that matter, accomplish?"
"Garrett needs to go," he said with conviction. "He's a plague on society; not only for his unethical business practices but for the way he preys on young, innocent women. He hurt you, Laina. I saw the way he whipped you that night!"
"You didn't, though," I said as I slowly edged myself down the hallway, keeping my back flat against the wall. "You only saw the aftermath. As I've told you before, Victor, everything Garret and I have ever done has been one hundred percent consensual."
"He's brainwashed you!" Victor yelled.
"No, he hasn't," I said calmly. "Please put down the gun and we can talk about this. You don't need to throw your life away like this."
"My life is already over," he said grimly. "It ended the second you told me that we'd never have a future together. And since I can't have you, I'm going to do my damn best to make sure no one will."
Time seemed to slow to a crawl and I saw the flash of light at the muzzle of his gun before I heard the blast. The bullet whipped through the air and hit the wall an inch away from my head. I shot to my feet and ran for the living room and I heard another bullet land at my feet. I now knew that no amount of talking was going to get Victor to back down, and my new plan was to either hide or keep moving.
I bolted into the living room and grabbed my phone off of the table. That action cost me, though, as the second I took to slow down was all Victor needed to get a hand on my arm. He pulled me around to face him and used his other arm to pull my body in close to his. His face was unrecognizable. Rage twisted his features into a demonic expression and I winced as his warm breath fell on my face.
"I'll give you one more chance, Laina," he whispered.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"I want you!" he said. "It's all I've ever wanted. Kiss me, tell me you love me, and I'll spare your life."
"What about Garrett," I asked hesitantly.
"He's already gone," Victor whispered. "It's only us now."
I paused to consider the offer. Victor had gone truly crazy, but he'd given me one more chance to talk my way out of this situation.
"I love you, Victor," I said with as much conviction as I could manage. The words rose in my throat like bile, but I spat them out anyway.
"Promise me that?" he replied, his eyes shining.
"I promise," I said softly.
He shifted his grip on my shoulders and brought one of his hands around to lift my chin up to his face. I felt his lips land on mine, kissing me gently. I closed my eyes and used my other senses to examine the situation. His other hand had moved down to my lower back and I could feel the gun pressing against my spine.
I started to kiss him back more passionately, hoping it would distract him enough to get the gun away from him. It worked slightly, and I felt his arms shift. He used one arm to keep me close and the other to tuck the gun into his waistband. My stomach clenched when his tongue slid into my mouth, but I kept at it, knowing that this ruse was all that stood between me and my life.
Slowly, I brought my arms around his chest, keeping my hands well away from his waistband to avoid suspicion. He let out a low groan and brought his body closer. He was getting hard, and I knew I needed to act quickly before my window disappeared. I swiftly brought my arms down, grasping for the gun as I brought a knee up to his crotch.
As soon as the gun was firmly in my hand, I pushed him away from me with all of my might. He stumbled backward, looking up with a betrayed look in his eyes. I held the gun up with shaking hands, keeping it pointed at his chest. I'd never held a gun in my life, let alone fired one, and I prayed desperately that I wouldn't have to.
"You bitch," Victor hissed.
He must have sensed my hesitation because he charged me without seeming to care if I fired at him or not. I pulled the trigger, but my aim was off and the bullet only grazed his shoulder. He kept going despite the pain and knocked me to the ground before I could fire again. The gun flew out of my hands and went under the couch, clattering on the hardwood floor. I could see from my position that there was no way either of us could get to it quickly now, and I felt a small amount of relief. We were both flat on the ground, but I scrambled to my feet first and bolted toward the balcony door. Going out that way would only trap me outside, but there was no other way past Victor. He might be disarmed now, but I didn't want to find out what he'd do to me if I got within arms distance.
He followed me out and cornered me near the railing. Wind whipped around me and I saw the greenery of central park reflected in the windows behind Victor. I looked to his hands, expecting to see that he'd managed to find the gun, but saw a knife instead. He lunged at me once, and I narrowly managed to avoid his jab. The knife made a swishing sound as it went past my ear and a thunk as it hit the floor in front of me. I saw Victor stumble forward from the force of his missed attack. It gave me an idea. A stupid idea, for starters, and one that might not work. It was worth a shot, though, considering I didn't have any other option.
I backed up slowly until my back rested against the brass rail that separated me from the multi-story drop to the street. I kept my gaze trained on Victor the entire time, watching him for an indication that he was going attack again. He only stood there, though, knife poised to strike. I needed to egg him on and get him to jab at me, and every logical part of my brain screamed at me as I started to talk.
"Of course I don't love you," I yelled over the roar of the wind. "Why would I ever choose you over someone like Garrett?"
"Stop!" he yelled back, waving the knife at me.
"No woman in their right mind would ever choose you," I said. "You're just a pathetic loser who will rot in jail for the rest of his life. No one will ever love you!"
Those last few words did the trick. Victor lunged toward me, but I ducked just in time. He hit the railing hard, the force of his lunge causing him to topple over the side. I sat still on the floor of the balcony, shutting my eyes tight as I heard the sickening thud of his body below. After everything had gone quiet, I looked over the railing to see Victor lying flat on the floor of the balcony five floors below. He looked like he still might be breathing, but I knew that he was no longer a threat.
I rushed inside to find Garrett and reached him just as a flood of policemen poured through the door. He groaned and grimaced again, and I noticed how pale he looked. The swarmed into the apartment and one officer focused his attention on me.
"Where's the shooter?" he shouted.
"He fell off the balcony," I replied, pulling Garrett into my lap.
The officer nodded and barked into his radio as he ran for the balcony door. Garrett's hand found mine and he gave me a reassuring squeeze.
"Don't worry," I whispe
red, "Help is coming."
The door opened again a couple of paramedics ran in with another person at their heels. I let out a yelp of relief when I saw who was following them. The paramedics shooed me out of the way as they started to work and Garrett gave me another squeeze of his hand before he let go.
"Kelsey!" I yelled.
"Laina!" She replied, rushing to hug me close. "Are you alright? What happened? Oh my God, is Garrett ok?"
"I'm fine," I said, wincing slightly at the barrage of questions. "Victor came in here with a gun. He shot Garrett and then tried to kill me."
"I called the cops right after I heard what Victor said. I felt like I was overreacting, but something in my gut told me I wasn't.
"I'm glad you did," I said.
Thankfully, Kelsey fell quiet and only held me as I watched the medics work on Garrett. After they decided he was stable enough to transport, they scooped Garrett onto a gurney. I followed them as they took him down the stairs and into the ambulance waiting at the curb. I stopped short before I hopped in the back and looked back at Kelsey.
"You go," she said. "I'll stay and deal with the cops."
As soon as I was in the back of the ambulance, the doors slammed shut and then we started screaming toward the hospital.
"It's going to be okay," I whispered to Garrett as we slammed around corners. "It's going to be okay."
The trip passed by in a blur, and I quickly got shoved to the side as the paramedics unloaded Garrett's gurney. I craned my head to get one last look at him while a nurse gripped my arm and started to drag me to the waiting room. I fought her as long as I could, but eventually, he was wheeled out of my sight. I followed her into the waiting room and slumped down into a hard plastic seat.
"They're taking him into surgery now," the nurse said. "We'll let you know if anything changes."
As she turned and walked away from me, I let my head fall into my hands.
"Please, please be okay," I whispered to myself.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
"Ma'am, please," the receptionist said with an annoyed sigh. "As I've told you before, we'll let you know the second his condition changes."
"But it's been two hours!" I snapped back. "Surely something has happened by now!"
"He's still in surgery," she replied. "The second he comes out, we'll let you know."
I stomped away from the window and sat back down in my chair. I'd been harassing that poor receptionist every ten minutes since I'd gotten here. At first, she'd been sympathetic and apologetic for how little she knew, but I could tell now that her patience was wearing thin. I turned back to glance at her and saw her eyeing up the security guard that had wandered into the room. Just as I swore to myself that I wouldn't bother her again, a young doctor approached me.
"Are you Laina?" he asked. He had a chart in front of him, and I caught the first few letters of Garrett's name before he turned it away from me.
"Yes, I am," I replied. "Is Garrett going to be okay?"
"Well," he said with a sigh, "We're still working on stopping the massive internal bleeding the bullet caused. He's improving, but we're still not out of the woods yet."
"How much longer until he's out of surgery? Please, I just want to see him," I begged.
"It's hard to say, but you'll be the first to know when his condition stabilizes enough to allow visitors."
"Thank you," I said.
It wasn't the best news, but it was better than nothing. The doctor turned and walked away, and not two seconds later I saw Kelsey running toward me. I almost cried in relief. I needed someone, anyone, to be with me. It didn't matter if she could help me or not, I just needed to not be alone right now.
"Laina!" she said as she bear hugged me. "What's the news?"
"Garret's still not stable," I said. It was all I could get out before fresh tears started to roll down my face. "The doctor's said he's still bleeding badly."
"Shh," she replied. "I'm sure it's going to be alright."
"Excuse me, miss?"
I jumped and turned to see the doctor who had snuck up behind me.
"Yes?" I asked as I scanned her face. I was fairly certain I hadn't spoken with her yet, but the faces of all the medical staff here were already starting to blend together.
"You're Miss Albertson, correct?"
"Yes, I am," I replied cautiously. Her tone and facial expression seemed to indicate that she preparing to tell me some bad news, and I braced myself as she opened her mouth.
"I'm sorry to have to tell you like this," she said solemnly, "but your boyfriend passed away a few moments ago."
"Oh my God…" I said as I fell back into my chair.
"What happened?" Kelsey said as she put her hand on my shoulder. I was glad she was composed enough to speak. Tears were streaming down my face and I clasped my hands together to keep them from shaking. Garrett was gone. It almost didn't seem real.
"His heart stopped and we were unable to revive him," she said. "I know it seems like a shock, but the injuries he sustained were quite extensive. It was amazing he survived as long as he did, given the fall…"
"Wait, did you say fall?" I said, my head snapping up.
"Yes," the doctor said, confused. "I was informed when he arrived that Mr. Nassar had fallen from almost five stories onto a stone balcony. Is something wrong?"
The doctor looked startled when I started laughing in relief. Kelsey shot me a worried look before turning to the doctor.
"Victor isn't, wasn't, her boyfriend," she said sternly. "She's waiting for news of Garrett Rutherford."
"Oh!" The doctor said, her face as white as a sheet. "I'm so sorry. Both Mr. Nassar and Mr. Rutherford arrived at the same time. I thought I saw you walking away from his ambulance…"
"It's fine," I said, wiping my eyes. "Do you know anything about Garrett's condition?"
"No, I don't, but I'll see if I can find someone who does."
The doctor scurried away, and I tried to absorb the news of Victor's death. If this had happened a week ago, I might have been more heartbroken. Now, though, after my initial happiness of knowing that Garrett was still alive had worn off, I just felt numb.
"I just, I don't know what to say," I said to Kelsey. "Part of me feels a little guilty…"
"You stop right there," Kelsey said in a serious tone. She took my hands in hers before continuing. "You only did what you had to do to get out of the situation alive."
"You're right," I replied. "I'm just sadder that it had to come to that."
"Me too, believe me. But I'd much rather have both you and Garrett alive, whatever the consequence."
I smiled at my best friend, amazed that I still had her in my life. I'd been so afraid that she'd abandon me when I had told her the whole truth about my relationship with Garrett.
"Thank you for being here," I told her quietly.
"Of course," she said, pulling me in for another hug. "Here, I brought some things to help keep your mind off of everything. When was the last time you ate, by the way? I can get you something if you're hungry."
"You know," I said as I glanced at the clock. It was almost six o'clock, "I haven't eaten since breakfast…"
"Here, you decide what card game we'll play and I'll go get us some dinner. Is Chinese okay?"
"Thanks, mom," I said with gentle sarcasm. "Chinese is fine."
Fifteen minutes later we were eating lo mein and playing Go Fish. I knew it was probably her master plan, but I almost forgot I was in a hospital. After we finished our dinner, I shot a forlorn look toward the doors that led into the patient wing. It was up to four hours now since we'd arrived.
"I should go up and ask again," I said as I stood.
"No, sit," Kelsey said from behind her magazine, "You've bothered that receptionist enough. Besides, here comes someone now!"
"Laina?" the doctor said. He was the same man who'd talked to me earlier and he'd walked halfway into the waiting room before he stopped.
"Yes?" I replied, standing.
"If you'd like to come with me," he said, gesturing, "Mr. Rutherford is stable and conscious."
I jumped up and hustled over to follow him. I shot a glance back at Kelsey, but I heard the doctor clear his throat.
"You go," she said, waving her hand. "I'll hold down the fort."
