by Regan Ure
“How are you doing?” I heard Mark ask Haven. He sounded so calm. When I heard Haven cry out in pain it sliced right through me, and I looked toward her.
Mark was checking her wound. I took a deep breath to pull myself together. Mark had Haven covered. I needed to be there for Chris, and to make sure that Grant didn’t try anything.
Once I reached Chris, I bent down beside him. He was in pain and his bloodied hand covered the bloodied mess to the side of his shirt. He grimaced in pain as he lifted his hand away so I could have a look at his wound. I glanced at it briefly, trying to see where he’d been shot, but I couldn’t see anything past the blood.
My gaze swung to Grant, who was still lying on the floor, holding his wound by his shoulder. I couldn’t stop the anger that shot through me at the destruction he’d brought to all of us.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Haven
“Chris,” I mumbled.
“I’m okay,” I heard Chris say in a pained voice. Even though he was still alive, I felt my guilt grow. It had been my fault.
“I can’t see the wound,” Damien said, beside Chris. I glanced over to see Damien, still pointing the gun at Grant, trying to check Chris’ wound.
There was so much blood, and it was hard to look at. I closed my eyes for a moment.
“Hold this as hard as you can,” Mark said to me as he moved his hand from the shirt and pressed my hand to it. I bit my lip to keep from screaming, but pressed as hard as I could with his shirt against my wound.
Mark stood up and rushed over to Chris.
“He’s going to die and it will be your fault,” Grant taunted me, from where he lay bleeding.
“Shut the fuck up!” Damien yelled as he stood up, still pointing the gun at Grant. Mark took Damien’s place beside Chris and lifted his bloodied shirt to try and get a look at his wound.
“Give me your shirt,” Mark instructed Damien while he held his hand.
Damien ripped his shirt off over his head and threw it to Mark. Then he lifted the gun to settle back on Grant as Mark put his gun away, taking the shirt and pressing it to Chris’ wound. I heard Chris’s pained intake of breath.
“I’ll survive this and I’ll come for you again,” Grant promised. He meant every word he’d said. He would never move on or forget.
“You’re going to jail for this,” Damien said, angrily. I’d never seen him so angry. For a moment it looked like Damien was going to shoot him, but then he took a step backward and took a deep breath to calm himself down.
“I will get out and when I do, I will hunt her down. She will never be free of me. She will live every day with the fear that I will come back for her,” he threatened with a hoarse laugh. He was right. As long as he still lived and breathed, I would never be free of him. Even if he went to jail, he might still get out and I would live every day in fear of him.
I couldn’t help the tears that began to slide down my face.
“Go check on her,” said Mark when he stood up and took his gun out and pointed it to Grant.
I glanced in time to see a long and silent look pass between Damien and Mark. Their look was so intense that I couldn’t help but feel there was more going on than I was seeing.
Damien gave a nod and he handed Mark the gun he’d wrestled from Grant.
“Haven,” he said as he dropped beside me and feathered a desperate kiss to my forehead.
I closed my eyes for a moment.
There was a loud bang. My heart skipped a beat and I opened my eyes to see Damien turn to look behind him. Relief flooded through me when I saw that Damien was fine. Then my eyes went to Mark, who stood above Grant with the gun aimed at him.
“He tried to attack me,” Mark said calmly. It was then that my eyes went to Grant, who wasn’t moving. Blood poured from a single gunshot wound to the head.
For a moment I was stunned and then the realization of what I was seeing hit me like a ton of bricks. All the emotion that I’d been suppressing for so long bubbled out of me. He was dead, and I was finally free.
Free.
“Shh, Haven,” Damien soothed beside me. I felt him remove my hand from Mark’s bloodied shirt and replace it with his. He pressed down firmly on my gunshot wound to stop the flow of blood. I cried out.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized.
“It’s okay,” I told him between gasps.
“You stay with them, I’m going to get the paramedics,” Mark instructed after checking on Chris once more. He stood up and ran out of the room to get help.
I couldn’t comprehend the fact that Grant was dead. The proof was right in front of me but I still couldn’t believe it. It was like I still expected him to stand up and keep breathing even with the bullet wounds.
He’d been the evil that had plagued me for so many years; it was unbelievable that he wouldn’t be able to hurt me anymore.
Tears slid down my face.
“It’s okay,” Damien said, trying to soothe me as he brushed my tears away. “He can’t ever hurt you again.”
The reassurance from Damien helped calm me down and the tears eased.
“You okay, Chris?” I heard Damien ask.
“I’m okay,” Chris said. I could hear he was in pain.
“I’m so sorry, Chris,” I mumbled. He was hurt because of me and I wasn’t sure if it was something I could ever forgive myself for.
“I’m okay,” Chris assured me.
“He is going to be fine,” Damien said. I looked into his eyes.
“I feel cold,” I said to Damien when I began to shiver. It also hurt when I tried to breathe. Shallow breaths seemed to lessen the pain.
“The paramedics will be here soon.” He was trying to stay calm, but I could see the fear in his eyes—he couldn’t hide that.
It was like we were reliving the first attack all over again.
Moments later Mark rushed back into the classroom with the paramedics and cops behind him.
As two paramedics rushed to me, one on either side, Damien stepped back to allow them access to me.
“Is she going to be okay?” Damien asked the paramedics.
“We need to get her to the hospital, she’s lost a lot of blood,” the one paramedic answered as they began to work on me.
I held on as long as I could, but as the paramedics worked on me I drifted into the darkness where there was no pain.
Damien
“Chris,” Haven mumbled.
“I’m okay,” Chris tried to soothe her in a pained voice. I knew Haven well enough to know that she always feel guilty that Chris hurt because of her.
“I can’t see the wound,” I said to Mark. There was just too much blood. I made Chris press his hand to the wound as I glanced at Grant, making sure he wasn’t going to try anything.
“Hold this as hard as you can,” Mark said to Haven while he pressed his shirt to her wound and made her hold it with her hand. I could see her wince in pain. As much as I wanted to rush to her and whisper words of assurance to her, I couldn’t. I needed to keep it together until the Mark took over the gun.
Mark stood up and rushed over to Chris.
“He’s going to die and it will be your fault,” Grant taunted, from where he lay bleeding.
“Shut the fuck up!” I yelled at Grant, making sure the gun was pointed to his head. It took everything in me not to pull the trigger and kill him. Mark took my place beside Chris and lifted his bloodied shirt to try and get a look at his wound.
“Give me your shirt,” Mark instructed me as he held his hand open to me.
Still holding the gun in one hand I managed to pull my shirt over my head and I threw it to Mark. I let the gun to settle back on Grant, when Mark put his gun away and took the shirt, pressing it to Chris’ wound. I heard the pained intake of breath from Chris.
“I’ll survive this and I’ll come for you again,” Grant promised. I hated the fact that his words were true. He would survive this. He would go to jail for this, but there was always the chance he
would escape and he would track her down and try and kill her. She would never be free as long as he lived and breathed.
“You’re going to jail for this,” I said, trying to remind him that he would have to wait years to have another chance to hurt Haven. Anger at a level I’d never felt before began to overwhelm me, I hated that he’d hurt Haven for so long and he wouldn’t give up until he killed her.
I wanted to pull the trigger and watch him die. I knew it was a horrific thought, and I was no murderer, but after everything he’d done to her I wouldn’t feel any guilt. But I didn’t want Haven to see me as that type of person. I took a step backward and took a deep breath to try and calm myself down.
“I will get out and when I do I will hunt her down. She will never be free of me. She will live everyday with the fear that I will come back for her,” he threatened with a hoarse laugh. I tried to ignore him but it was hard.
I glanced to Haven and saw tears slide down her face. She knew she would never really ever be free of him.
“Go check on her,” Mark said when he stood up and took his gun out. He pointed it at Grant.
I looked at Mark and he looked back at me. But it wasn’t just any look; the words that he spoke with his eyes reached me. I knew what he was going to do and he wanted to make sure I was okay with it.
Even though Mark was assigned to Haven as her bodyguard, it didn’t take much to see he cared for her like Chris and I did. It was the main reason I’d been so jealous of him. He, like us, would do whatever he could to keep her safe. And now he was going to do something to make sure she would never have to worry about Grant ever again.
I gave him a slight nod, giving my consent as I handed the gun I’d been holding to him. It was finally going to come to an end.
I turned my back on them and went to Haven. The sight of her lying on the floor of the classroom with her hand pressing down on the shot she’d taken to the shoulder was hard.
“Haven,” I said when I dropped down beside her. My lips feathered a kiss to her forehead. I wanted to make sure I kept her occupied so she wouldn’t see what Mark was about to do.
She closed her eyes for moment.
Although I was expecting it, when the shot rang out I was still surprised. It was one thing to contemplate something like this, but to actually do it was something else entirely. I would be forever indebted to Mark.
Haven’s eyes shot to mine. They were filled with fear. She had no idea she had nothing to fear anymore.
I saw relief in her eyes when she saw I was fine and then her eyes shifted to Mark, who was still standing over Grant with the gun in his hand.
“He tried to attack me,” Mark said calmly to Haven without blinking. It took moment for the realization to settle in while she looked at the Grant’s still body. His eyes stared out unseeing and blood slid down his forehead from the gunshot that had ended his evil existence.
For a few moments she looked shocked, and then she began to cry. It was emotional sobs, like all the tears she’d refused to cry in the last seven years were pouring out of her all at once.
“Shh, baby,” I tried to soothe her but she was too lost in her own emotions to try and calm down. Her hand eased on the shirt she was holding to her wound, so I took over and pressed it down hard with my hand. She cried out in pain.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered to her. I didn’t want to hurt her, but I had to make sure I stopped the flow of blood out of her body. There was a big pool of blood forming around her and I feared she’d lost too much blood already.
She had to survive this. We’d been through too much for her to die now. Especially when she had a chance to live a life where Grant’s shadow wouldn’t hover over her. She was free.
“It’s okay,” she said to me breathlessly, looking up at me with tear-streaked cheeks.
“You stay with them, I’m going to get the paramedics,” Mark instructed. He checked on Chris once more before he stood up and ran out of the room to get help.
She glanced at Grant’s body again. It was almost like she expected him to get up irrespective of the gunshot to the head, but when he didn’t move, she sobbed even more desperately.
“It’s okay,” I tried to soothe as I brushed the tears from her face. “He can’t ever hurt you again.”
Wherever he was he would never be able to hurt her ever again. As far as I was concerned, he was burning in hell.
As much as Haven needed me I was also worried about Chris. He’d been quiet through most of it.
“You okay, Chris?” I asked while I kept my eyes on Haven.
“I’m okay,” Chris said. He was in pain.
“I’m so sorry, Chris,” Haven mumbled through her tears. I could see the guilt already beginning to form in her eyes.
“I’m okay,” Chris assured her.
“He is going to be fine,” I reassured her. I didn’t want to tell her that she looked to be in worse shape than he did. It was as if as long as I didn’t say it aloud, she had as much chance as he did of surviving this attack.
But there was no doubt about it: the pool of blood around her was a lot bigger than the one around Chris.
“I feel cold,” she said to me as she began to shiver. Every time she tried to breathe she grimaced in pain, so she started to breathe short and shallow breaths, which seemed to ease the pain.
“The paramedics will be here soon.”
She needed to hold on. I needed to reassure her that everything would be okay.
Moments later, Mark rushed into the classroom with the paramedics and cops behind him.
As two paramedics rushed to Haven, I got out of their way so they could work on her. It was hard to step back and let them do their job.
“Is she going to be okay?” I asked the paramedics as they began to inspect her wound.
“We need to get her to the hospital, she’s lost a lot of blood,” the one paramedic answered, their actions becoming more frantic, and I couldn’t help my fear of losing her grow.
I ran my hand through my hair while I stood there watching and praying that she was going to be okay.
I glanced to Mark, who was watching over the paramedics seeing to Chris.
When I glanced back to Haven, her eyes were closed. I anxiously watched the paramedics work on her.
While it felt like forever, it was probably only twenty minutes later when the paramedics had her on a gurney and were wheeling her out of the classroom and to the ambulance.
My mom and dad came up to me as I exited the school behind Haven. My mom threw her arms around me and began to sob.
“I’m fine. I need to go with Haven,” I told my mom before I pulled out of her hug. She tried to suppress her tears and gave me an understanding nod.
“Go with her, we’ll meet you there,” my dad said.
I hurried to get to the ambulance, and got there just as they put her inside. I held her hand the entire journey to the hospital, praying she wouldn’t leave me.
As soon as we arrived at the hospital they rushed her into surgery and I waited in the waiting room, pacing up and down. Not long after that, my parents arrived and paced with me.
I didn’t want to talk about what had happened to anyone—all I was concerned about was Haven.
A couple of hours later the doctor, walked into the waiting room. The air locked in my lungs as I tried to decipher from his expression whether he was going to be giving us good or bad news.
Moments. This was going to be a deciding moment for me.
“She’s stable.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Haven
My eyes fluttered open. The pain throbbing in my shoulder was a relief—it meant I was still alive. I recognized the beeping of the heart monitor as I began to take in the scene around me. The white clinical walls and surrounding sterile room told me I was in the hospital.
“You’re awake,” Damien whispered from beside me. He looked tired and I could see that he hadn’t slept much.
I gave him a weak smile, and
he squeezed my hand gently.
Everything was a little fuzzy as I tried to piece together my fragmented memories of what had happened. Damien watched me silently while I processed each memory, one memory leading into another. I remembered Grant coming into the school with a gun, and I remembered Mark trying to get me out.
It was still a little unbelievable that he was a bodyguard employed to keep me safe. The memory of Damien’s reaction to me going back into the school was one of the hardest memories to relive in my mind. It had nearly broken him.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled to him when I opened my eyes to see him watching me silently.
“Why are you sorry?” he asked.
“For going back inside the school,” I managed to whisper.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. He had Chris, I would have done the same,” he assured me, brushing a stray piece of hair from my face gently with his finger.
“Chris?” I asked softly. It was like I was scared of what the answer would be.
“He’s fine,” he assured me. I let out the deep breath I’d been holding as relief flooded through me. “He is in the hospital room next door.”
As much as I was desperate to see my friend and hold him close, I was in no state to get out of bed. Although I could remember everything, it was still hard to process everything that had happened. The pain from my shoulder was a reminder of how close I had come to dying.
I couldn’t believe that Grant was dead, and that I was finally free.
“Mark?” I asked.
“He was here earlier to check up on you and Chris,” he answered as he reached out and caressed my cheek with his fingers.
“He’s a bodyguard,” I stated softly while my eyes held his.
“Yes, he is,” he confirmed with a nod. “After Grant left that message on the garage door and the cops still couldn’t find Grant, we had to do something. We were so worried that the cops wouldn’t find Grant before he tried to hurt you again. My mom suggested hiring a bodyguard.”
