I could feel it in my bones. I wasn’t getting out the house alive, and neither were my parents. My sister had no remorse. She may not have ever experienced love, but she definitely knew what hate was.
She turned her head and let out this evil kind of laugh. “You want to say goodbye, don’t you?”
There was no care in my sister’s eyes. She lost all of her morality. It was replaced with shear prejudice and nothing I could say or do was going to change that. “Please.”
She pointed toward me and glanced over at her boyfriend. “Take her ass upstairs with them. Make sure you watch her. She’s sneaky.”
He grabbed my arm and pulled me to stand. “Let’s go!”
My sister was talking to someone as I was dragged up the steps. I couldn’t hear what she was saying, and I really didn’t care. I wanted to figure out a way to save us from this fate.
Rafe was a big, muscular guy, plus he had a gun pointed at me. Running would end my life sooner. It was obvious he was willing to assassinate me to please my sister. Whatever punch they were both drinking had them thinking they could get away with it and live normal lives.
Once I was shoved into the bedroom, I saw my parents sitting on their bed. They were tied together and had duct tape over their mouths. My mother’s eyes were red, probably from crying. The moment our stares met I knew everything had changed. They no longer believed my sister, but instead knew she’d played them for fools. I ran toward them, forgetting about the guy who still had a hold on me. He didn’t try to fight me as I freed myself from his grasp.
My parents couldn’t say anything, but I ran over and wrapped my arms around both of them. They leaned their heads on me and I knew they had finally figured out what was going on. “I love you,” I whispered. “I’m so sorry this is happening We’re going to be fine.” I lied, while taking in the room, desperate to locate something to help me knock Rafe out.
His eyes were focused on my movements, and I was sure he could tell I was looking for a weapon. Rafe got close. “Sit down and keep your mouth shut.”
I backed myself further onto my parent’s bed. “Please, Rafe. Don’t be a part of this. You don’t have to do this. Ivy is sick. She needs help. You don’t want to kill…”
He slapped me right across the face, hard, with the back of his hand. “I said shut the fuck up.” The sting was instant, and I could feel pain rip through me, not just from the blow, but for everything that still hadn’t happened.
I pulled my knees up to my chest and cried on the bed, while my parents watched, desperately trying to figure out where they’d gone wrong. They were just as afraid as I was, and we needed to be. I saw Ivy walk into the room with the journal in her hand. She threw it right at me, hitting me on my ear. The pain was immediate. “How did you get this?”
Stosh was the last person to have the diary. Had she called him?
Oh my God, were they in this scheme together this whole time? Had this all been some master plan? Was he on her side and I’d fallen for his charm again?
I couldn’t help but fear it was the truth.
“Tell me how you got this?” She walked closer to the bed and pointed at the book.
“I found it. I stumbled upon it.”
She slapped me again. “Liar!”
“You know where I got it.” I sat up and stared right at her. I had no idea how the diary got into her hands, but I wasn’t about to give up. If I was going to die, I was going to fight.
She seemed shocked I would get smart with her. “Who else has seen this?”
I began to laugh and crossed my hands over my chest. “Enough people to make sure you’re put away for whatever happens here tonight.”
She grabbed the book and chucked it against the wall, screaming at the top of her lungs. With no regard for her losing control, she ripped the gun away from Rafe and put it against my temple. “You ruined my life! You ruin everything you touch. You took it all, everything I’ve wanted.”
I closed my eyes and prepared for my fate. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t petrified. There was much I needed to say, and no time left to be able to do it. While my parents focused on what was occurring, I refused to look up and see the fear in their eyes. I couldn’t let it be the last thing I saw in my life.
Chapter 25
Open your eyes.
When you feel your life flashing before your eyes, a million thoughts begin to run through your head. I found myself wondering if I was going to feel the bullet as it plummeted through my skull. I thought about how they would find my body and what excuse my sister was going to use to blame everything on me.
Mostly, I wondered about Stosh. For a second, I wondered if he was involved somehow, but then I thought about our baby; the one that would never get to be born. Stosh’s dreams of being a father would be gone again.
The gun was pushing into my skin and without regret, I screamed, “I’m pregnant!”
When the pressure of the gun disappeared, I opened my eyes and saw my sister staring at me. She had it pointed at my face this time. I threw my hands in the air. “You’re lying!”
I shook my head. “I’m not. I swear.”
She stared at me like she was peering into my soul. I could see how broken she was inside. This wasn’t the little girl I played with and shared my heart with as a child. My sister was broken. She’d lost her mind as a result of jealous rage.
She put the gun down and looked over at her boyfriend. “Go to the store and buy a test.”
“It’s the middle of the night!” He argued.
“I don’t give a shit. If this bitch is telling the truth, I need to know.”
The truth was, I’d rather die before give her my baby. Telling her my most precious news was only to buy me enough time to save my family. I was desperate and grasping at whatever I could.
“I’m not lying. I wasn’t going to keep the baby, at first, so I didn’t tell anyone.”
She tapped the gun on the top of her head and paced around the room. “Who is the father?”
“You know the answer to that, since you planned to get me pregnant so you could steal my baby. Did you really think Stosh would let you do that?” It made me feel empowered to speak of him keeping a secret from her. “He’d do anything for me.”
“I don’t give a damn what Stosh was going to do. He was just part of the plan you messed up for me. That’s what you do, though. You mess up everything and come out smelling like roses.”
I tried to stand up, but she pointed the weapon at me again. “Don’t even try it! Stay down.”
“You won’t hurt the baby. I know you won’t.” I was afraid of her, but admitting it would only make her happy.
She was looking over at my parents and then back to me. “Take her to the car and wait for me there.”
Rafe grabbed me by my arm and started pulling me out of the room. “Wait! What about them? Ivy, please don’t hurt them. They love you.”
“Save it for someone who cares. They lost the chance to be my parents.”
I tried to pull my way out of Rafe’s hold, but it only sent me falling to the floor. He grabbed my hair and got me standing back up as he dragged me down the stairs.
None of the yelling or crying was getting me any pity from my sister’s partner in crime. We got to the bottom of the stairs when I heard one single gun shot. I screamed, loudly and collapsed to the ground. Neither of us knew what had taken place, so Rafe went running back up the stairs. While I watched him, I felt something touching my arm. I screamed again, but was stopped by someone’s hand. They picked me up and helped me out of the room. Once we were in the kitchen, the person turned me around. Stosh was standing there with his index finger over my mouth. He leaned in close to my ear. “Don’t make a sound.” I nodded to signal I understood.
“Ivy has a gun. She shot someone. My parents are upstairs!” I was freaking out, and he knew it. He ripped the restraint and freed my hands, then brought them up to his mouth and kissed them. In that moment I knew he was
on my side. However, my sister obtained the journal; it wasn’t from him giving it to her.
“Stay here. Call the police and hide. No matter what you hear. I need you to promise me you won’t come out. And whatever happens next, swear you’ll get as far from here as possible. I don’t want her near our baby.”
“No. I won’t do that. Stosh, wait. What are you thinking? You can’t put your life in danger. I won’t let you. I’ll scream.” I shook my head. “I need to know what you’re thinking.”
We heard someone coming down the stairs. “Promise me, Willow. Please! No matter what happens. Promise.”
I only nodded once. He ran away before I could say anything. I looked down with trembling hands at the phone he’d left with me. Two voices were on the lower level. I could hear Rafe’s accent as he yelled at my sister. She was arguing back. I heard one thing clear. “Find her!”
I ducked down in the back of my parent’s pantry and made sure the door was closed. They were going to find me. I’d hid in there every single time we’d played hide and seek. With only seconds to spare, I dialed the numbers.
I heard the operator answer and whispered the words ‘help me’, desperately hoping they’d come. When the operator acknowledged she’d heard me, I whispered the address and sat the phone on the floor. She was still trying to talk to me when I heard the door to the pantry opening.
Ivy stood there looking at me with a wicked look on her face. “There you are. You’re so predictable.”
She reached in and grabbed me by the arm, jerking me until I was forced out. “I’m not done with you yet.” She gritted her teeth as she spoke.
“What did you do, Ivy? What happened upstairs?” I needed to know our parents were okay.
“Shut your mouth or you’ll end up just like he did.”
I froze. When I did it, Ivy let go of her hold on me. She reached for me, but I backed away quickly, grabbing a bottle of wine and swinging it at her. The first time she ducked out of the way, but the second I made a direct hit with the side of her jaw. The bottle didn’t break like I assumed it would. She grabbed her face and crouched down in overwhelming pain.
Rafe must have heard her crying. He ran into the kitchen to assess what was going on. I made a run for the front door, hoping to make it outside. Another gunshot caused me to freeze in place. I turned around slowly and saw her aiming it right at me. “Get your ass over here, now!”
“Ivy, don’t.” I pleaded.
I saw him coming in out of the corner of my eye. Stosh took Ivy down, sending the gun to the floor. It spun around and landed under an antique table my father had purchased in France. Rafe dove on top of Stosh, and the two of them began to scuffle, throwing punches. Ivy rushed for the gun, as did I. We both knew whoever got to it first was going to determine how all this played out.
I reached my hand in beside hers while we struggled to swing our free hands at each other. I managed to climb on top of her and get a couple punches in. She wrapped her legs around me and flung me onto the floor. I felt her fist hitting below my eye. The pain was immediate, but I kept fighting back. My life was at stake.
I knew I had seconds to make a decision. With no regard for my safety, I stopped blocking her and reached for the gun. It was at that very moment she kneed me right in the stomach. It took my breath away and forced me to clench up in a ball.
It also gave her just enough time to locate the gun and aim it right at me.
I glanced over to look for Stosh and saw him punching on Rafe.
Ivy was still on top of me and I was staring down the barrel of the gun. Slowly, she climbed off me, never taking her aim away. She stood up straight and smiled. “I walked in on you attacking our parents. We fought and struggled over the gun. It went off and then you just stopped breathing.”
I heard her cock it back and closed my eyes. This was it. I couldn’t talk my way out of this one. “I always loved you, Ivy. I would have done anything for you.”
“It’s too late to be my friend. Nothing can save you now.”
I’m really not sure if he was already running toward me, but when I heard the gun fire, I kept my eyes shut and just waited to feel it taking my life away. Instead, I heard someone grunting and a loud crash next to me. I opened my eyes to see Stosh lying against the table. He was holding his stomach and blood was rushing out around his hand.
I ran toward him while Ivy stood there in shock. She got down on the floor and tried to assess the damage. “Stoshua! Oh no, no, no. It wasn’t supposed to be you. No. Please, be okay.”
She let the gun fall to the floor, and I picked it up. Stosh watched me, but said nothing as his eyes became heavy and closed. “Stay with me, Stosh. Don’t go to sleep, babe.” I pointed the gun at Ivy. “Get your ass away from him! You just shot him and now you want to care? You’re done Ivy. You are so done!”
My stomach was contracting, and I knew I had to get to a hospital as soon as possible to make sure my baby was okay. Stosh needed immediate medical attention, and I also didn’t know if my parents were upstairs alive.
It was too much to handle for someone in my situation, but I was determined. I was going to get us out of there.
At least, that’s what I thought, until I felt someone taking out my legs. I fell down to the floor in front of my sister. Rafe bent over and grabbed the gun off the floor. I turned on my back to see him lifting and aiming it directly at me.
I’d fought hard to stay alive. I’d gotten the gun away from my sister and watched my boyfriend take a bullet for me. I heard a gunshot go off and wondered if my parents were even breathing. Now my fate was being sealed. With seconds left to live, I turned and looked over at Stosh. His face was going to be the last thing I saw.
He was reaching for me, his hands dripping with blood from his wound. His eyes were barely open and I could tell he was in excruciating pain.
“Willow,” he whispered.
All of a sudden the door burst open and a gun went off. Rafe fell down on top of me. I could actually hear him taking his last breaths. I struggled to get away from him, but he weighed too much.
Loud voices filled the room, and I felt someone removing the lifeless body that was keeping me pinned down.
Police officers rushed over and everything started happening so fast. I was carried out of the house. Medical workers ran inside, but I was too weak to talk. My stomach was hurting, and I’d just felt someone die on top of me.
After a few minutes, I watched the crew bringing Stosh out on a stretcher. While looking to my left, I saw a helicopter landing on the road in front of my parent’s home. Emergency medical workers hopped out and lifted the awaiting stretcher into the aircraft before flying him away.
I knew he was in serious condition if they were taking him to a bigger hospital. While trying to contain my emotions, I watched two police officers escorting my parents outside. Without regard for my own health, I hopped down from the ambulance and went running toward them. I could see them crying even before I made it into their arms.
“Oh Willow, we’re so sorry.” My mother gave me a once over before hugging me again. “We had no idea what was happening. Stoshua came to the hospital and left the diary in my office. I never opened the envelope until tonight. When I drove home to show it to your father your sister was here waiting. I’m sorry, sweetie.”
“I thought she shot you.” It was all that would come out. I suppose it was normal to act irrational after the situation we’d been in. My hands were shaking uncontrollably, and all I could think about was getting to Stosh and finding out if he was going to be okay.
“We’re going to be fine. Your sister aimed the gun at your father, but she couldn’t go through with it. She shot the ceiling and ran downstairs.” My mother was crying so badly she couldn’t continue speaking. My father pulled her into his arms and just held her.
Shooting pain sent me to my knees. It was the last thing I could remember before blacking out.
Chapter 26
I can’t lose you.
Waking up in a hospital room and remembering how you got there isn’t exactly a peaceful thing to go through. It took me a few seconds to focus on the room. My parents were on a small couch together and they were both asleep. It was good to see they were there with me. Just imagining a life without them in it would be difficult. They’d never be able to meet their… my baby.
I sat up and looked around again, noticing I had an IV sticking in my arm. A clear drip was being administered, and I was desperate to know what was going on.
“Mom?” My voice was raspy. It felt dry, like I hadn’t drunk anything in days.
She stirred and rushed over to the bedside. “Willow, are you okay? Are you in any pain? Oh my God, this is all my fault. How could I have not known?” She started crying and buried her head into my father’s chest when he met her at my side.
I shook my head, but placed my hands on my stomach. Fear overwhelmed me when I thought about my baby. I tried to sit up straight in the bed, but my mother kept me still. “Mom, I…”
“The baby is fine, Willow.”
It was a relief to hear her saying it. My baby was okay. “Stosh?”
“Stosh’s parents called us from the hospital. They were worried about you. We ran the tests ourselves and did a sonogram.” She lifted up the picture that happened to be in her hand. “I never would have forgiven myself if something bad would have happened to you or your child. We had no idea Ivy was capable of such horrible things.”
I grabbed her hand. “Mom, the pain was horrible. I was sure I was having a miscarriage. You’re certain everything’s okay?”
“You went through something traumatic and were injured from fighting. I would imagine the pain would be unbearable. I can assure you the baby is fine. It’s still very small and well protected. Fetuses can be extremely resilient. Women have fallen down stairs and even been in accidents and still carried to term. Hang on a minute and I’ll prove it to you.” She stood up and messed with the monitor above my head. A thumping noise got louder. It sounded like a heartbeat, but was much faster.
Twinsequences Willow Page 18
