Saving Him

by Bry Ann

  I puked everything I had in my stomach. Sam rushed over, as Alexa stepped back in the room, hurrying to set a trash can in front of me. Sam gently rubbed my back as I vomited. She was so gentle. She was used to it, because she always used to take care of her mom. That’s so sad. This was second nature to her.

  When I came back to myself Sam was hovering over me and Alexa was in the back of the room.

  “Are you back?” Sam asked gently.

  “Yeah,” I said holding my head and sitting up. “What happened?”

  “You had like a meltdown. Move slow. You are probably feeling weak. You threw up a lot and then fainted after Rex told you … well you remember I’m sure.” Sam bit her lip. “I think we should tell Logan. I don’t feel right keeping all this from him. He loves you.”

  “No! Sam please. He’ll involve the police. I don’t trust them with this. Please. I’m begging you. They will kill him. Please.”

  “Shhhh… Dana. I won’t tell. I promised. Remember? I promised not to until you said it was okay.”

  I slouched back on the couch feeling weak. Rex entered the room and turned to Alexa.

  “You okay?” he mumbled.

  “Yeah,” she mumbled just as awkwardly back. Sam looked at me and I just shrugged.

  “Here’s the plan,” Rex said. “We all need rest and so we will go to sleep for a few hours. It’s super late and none of us will be any good on no sleep. We aren’t real soldiers. We have to be smart and rational. I will use some of my time to plan things out. First thing in the morning we try and get Gunner back. If you aren’t willing to risk your life for this… don’t come.”

  With that he left. I looked frantically at my two friends who quickly jumped to my side.

  “We will be fine. Don’t worry about us. Now we are going to get some sleep. You can continue sleeping on the couch, me and Alexa will take the room. Rex is gonna go to his little hideout.”

  “I love you guys,” I said as sleep tried to take ahold of me.

  “You’re the shit Day,” Alexa said before going in the room with Sam.

  I slept horribly. I kept seeing Gunner getting killed. Over and over. I could feel myself sweating, but I wouldn’t wake up. Until a loud scream shot me off the couch. It was the shrill scream of somebody in true pain and terror. I immediately ran to where the noise was coming from, Sam and Alexa’s room. I ran so quickly my socks kept sliding on the floor. I got to their room and my knees crashed on the ground as I slid in in a hurry. Alexa was trying to shake Sam and Sam was screaming bloody murder. I’d never felt more guilt or more pain in my life.

  I peeled myself off the floor and turned to Alexa.

  “I got this,” I said quietly. “Tell Rex we are okay and not come in here. I hear him running.”

  She groaned but rushed out to the hallway.

  Sam’s forehead was covered in sweat and she was kicking and punching at nothing. She was still screaming bloody murder. Holy shit, does she go through this every night? No wonder Logan was so protective of her. Holy shit. Holy shit. I felt my heart rate skyrocket.

  “Sam,” I said gently, careful not to touch her. “It’s Dana. Can you hear me?”

  She screamed louder.

  “Alexa!” I yelled. “I need ice. NOW!”

  I heard Alexa rush out of the room and in an instant, she reappeared with a cup of ice.

  “Thank you,” I said grabbing the ice from her hand. She nodded and walked back out, giving us our privacy. I took the ice cube and placed one in each of her palms. She shot up. It was a trick I learned in treatment for panic attacks. I was glad to see it work on night terrors too. Sam instantly whipped around to face me.

  “Dana,” she said, and her face fell. Her breathing was still erratic, and she was covered in sweat. “I’m fine. I’m sorry. Don’t worry. K?”

  “Don’t worry? Sam you’re not okay!”

  “I am okay. Just a little damaged. That’s all.”

  “You need to go home now,” I said crossing my arms over my chest.

  She laughed at swung her legs around the side of the bed. Her breathing was still irregular.

  “You’re so like your brother sometimes. Look Dana, when I was hurting and when my mom was hurting and when Logan hated me you were always there for me with your silent support. You made me pasta dinners, washed my mom off in the hospital, held me while I cried when she died. I’ve always been able to count on you. I love you so much you have no idea… and love is really hard for me. Let me be there for you.”

  “You’ve shown me. Sam,” I tried not to look at her scars. “Please go home,” I said desperately. “Nothing I’ve ever done even begins to cover what you’ve done for me.”

  “Go to bed Dana. I’ll see you in the morning. K?”

  She smiled and went to lie down. I stared at her for a minute unsure what to do. God I’d give my left arm if I could call Logan right now. Speaking of, how was she keeping Logan at bay? I mean what was she doing and saying that was stopping him from sending a whole army after us. Fuck I needed Logan. There was no way Sam was okay after a nightmare like that.

  I walked out of her, Sam was already asleep, and as I hit the hallway I heard voices coming from the living room.

  “You’re sorry. You’re sorry!” Rex hissed. “Well geez, fuck me then. Let’s be besties again.”

  Besties?

  “Rex, I was like super fucked up okay. I was homeless, selling myself to make a buck for years, I…”

  Alexa was a prostitute? What the hell happened in Alexa’s past? Poor girl. Oh my gosh. I wanted to keep spying but I knew it was wrong. I cleared my throat and walked out sheepishly.

  “Oh, hey Dana,” Alexa said sounding exhausted. “Is Sam alright?”

  I just shrugged. I was feeling way too shitty to speak.

  “Well we should all get to bed,” she said glaring daggers into Rex. He nodded and both of them headed out. Before Alexa went into the room with Sam she grabbed my shoulder and squeezed.

  “None of this is your fault Dana. I see your wheels spinning. Bad shit happens, that doesn’t make it your fault.”

  I wish that were true.

  I went to the couch and pulled the pillow up to my chest. For some reason I thought of the pig I held during my rape kit. I wanted its comfort again. Such a random thought, but it was true. I’ve actually thought about that pig a lot in my life, in the lonely moments when no one else was there.

  I knew what I had to do. My friends were hurting because of me, especially Sam. I loved her too much for this. I knew where Gunner was. Those men wanted me and wouldn’t be expecting me to fight. Shakily I pushed myself off the couch and walked over to the corner of the room where my duffle was. I put it over my shoulder and headed to the front door. I took a quick look back at where my friends were sleeping.

  “Sorry guys,” I whispered as I quietly snuck out the door.

  Where the hell Rex went I had no idea, but that didn’t matter. What mattered was that I cried my way down to the lobby. I was so fucked up. I’d fucked up. So bad. Again. I’d dedicated virtually all my life to therapy and seemed to be making bigger mistakes than before. At least last time I only hurt myself, now I was hurting the people I cared about most. This ended now.

  Now I had to save the one person I’d managed to never hurt. I had to go save him.

  Present Day: Chapter 7:

  It was surprisingly easy to sneak out of my hotel room. It turned out Rex was in the business center. When I passed he had the phone lazily on his ear and was passed out on the computer keyboard. He must have literally made calls until he fell asleep. I had a good feeling about this Rex guy. Whatever Alexa and him had going on I hoped they work it out.

  The taxi I called took twenty minutes to get there so I waited on a bench with my duffle on my lap and my head resting on it. I felt exhausted, mentally and physically, but I was done with this. All of this.

  The guy pulled up and asked me where I wanted to go. He was Indian and super nice. We chatted our
whole way into town and I felt extremely grateful to him for giving me a few moments of normalcy before I went on my suicide mission. I had the cabbie drop me off at Ray’s. He looked at me like I was a psycho and said he’d take me anywhere I wanted. It was late, way past midnight, and there was no one in town. He would basically be dropping me off at a deserted closed restaurant at midnight. I explained to him I was walking to a friends but it was a little hard to drive to. He offered to try and drive it. He seemed genuinely concerned about me, but I was persistent and won our little battle. He sighed and refused my money. I shrugged and got out. The guy watched me for a while as I walked, making sure I was okay, but eventually drove away.

  I walked through the darkness of the streets but somehow knew exactly where I was going. I had a sense of calm I’d only had once before, the night I tried to kill myself. That thought sent chills down my spine.

  It took me over an hour, but I eventually reached a spot where I could see the cabin in the distance. That’s when my stomach felt like it was in my throat. I leaned over to one of the rocks and vomited. Shit. All my friends were probably still sleeping. They were going to be crushed, but I was stopping them from being dumb with me.

  I gave myself a gift and let myself sit on the rock and cry before I went inside. I needed Logan. I should have told him. Not for his army or some crap like that, but because he was my rock. Sometimes I forgot how much I loved him. How much I needed him. I cried harder. I got so busy being so in love with all these new people in my life who made me feel less lonely that I forget how much I desperately needed my brother for my sanity. If he was here he’d be able to stop me from jumping off this ledge I was about to jump off of.

  Finally, the tears stopped. I wiped the vomit off my chin and threw my duffle to the side and pulled out the only tools I’d bought with me: a knife, pepper spray and tear drops that I could use as poison if snuck in a drink. A stuffed them all in my large pockets and headed to the cabin. I had a plan. I only had one true weapon against these guys. I couldn’t fight them. All I had on them was their plan. A plan I had already figured out and planned to use against them.

  I hardened my mind. A skill I was only able to channel in life and death situations. I distanced myself from my body. I couldn’t be scared of pain right now. I took hesitant steps forward and suddenly found myself by the front door. I was sort of surprised no one was watching it, but I guess this cabin was in the middle of the nowhere and they are all armed.

  I took a deep breath and used all my strength to kick the already wobbly door in. Everyone turned to me in surprise. All the men drew their weapons in response, but the man with the grey eyes smirked.

  “What the fuck are you doing here Dana?! They’ll kill you!” Gunner roared.

  I looked over at him. He was shirtless and tied to a chair. He was so bloody, and his body was shaking from exhaustion. Despite his ragged appearance Gunner was not showing any sign of weakness. If anything, he looked stronger and more alert than ever. I was amazed he was able to yell at me in the state he was in. He had been beaten to an absolute bloody pump. I had to close my eyes for the briefest second to calm my brain. I had to be calm. I couldn’t think much into what had gone on before I got there.

  I ignored Gunner as he bore his eyes into me watching me and the other four men carefully. I was careful to avoid Tanner’s gaze. He could break me. He was the only person in that room capable of breaking me in that moment. I methodically walked to the back of the room and the men circled around me. They kept only one man on Gunner. I quickly glanced over at him and sent him a message.

  Get out.

  He nodded at me and I turned my attention to the men around me. They all stared at me.

  “We were hoping you’d come,” the gray eyed man said as he took a step forward.

  I quickly whipped out the knife and put it to my neck.

  “Step back. I suspect you’ll need me alive for this.”

  He cocked an eyebrow.

  “Wow and here I thought you were dumb enough to try and attack us again. I guess Gunner’s slut isn’t as dumb as I thought.” I bit my lip as the man took another step forward, challenging me.

  “You wouldn’t kill yourself. Don’t try and play me little girl. I’ve been around a lot longer than you.”

  I quickly pulled the knife down and ran it deeply down my upper arm then put it back up to me neck. I tried not to wince and fought the tears threatening to pour of my eyes. The pain was there, but I was detached from it.

  “Wouldn’t I? This dumb slut has a past you know nothing about. I’d do it.”

  I had no fucking idea where this bravery was coming from, but adrenaline was coursing through my body.

  The man stared at me and then smirked as he took a step back.

  “Well played Dana. Now here’s a question. I know nothing about your past huh? Why the hell do you think Tanner is here?”

  That knocked the air out of me. They knew?! Of course, they knew, but they involved him because of me? I felt like I was going to faint. I heard shuffling behind me and then a few people landing some punches. Gunner. Perfect timing as ever.

  Gunner had two guys down because he had the advantage. He was able to get a head start with my distraction. He was so beaten I don’t know how he was able to fight. I guess he was used to it and had probably done it before.

  I’m not that easy to kill.

  He’d said that to Sam once. She told me the story. Now I knew what he meant.

  I was frozen. I should have run, fought, helped, but my bravery ran out. A hand was around my neck and my knife was thrown to the side. I recognized it the feel of that hand on my skin. It was that very skin that ruined my life. Tanner.

  “Even if he gets out of here, you aren’t going anywhere babe,” he whispered in my ear. I whimpered and tried to pull away, but the room was spinning.

  “Not if I have a say in it.”

  I looked up, and Gunner had a gun pointed at Tanner’s head. Tanner’s hand remained on my throat. He squeezed tighter. I gasped.

  “Set the gun down Gunner. If you want her alive. You’ll listen.”

  He squeezed my throat again as a threat. I looked around. All three of the other men were on the floor. Two of the men were dead and the gray-haired man was unconscious. Gunner was standing in front of me bloody, muscles engaged and his eyes dark and threatening.

  I was so madly in love with him.

  Gunner stared for a second, and then slowly put his weapon back in his pants. My heart pounded faster. He needed his weapon. I closed my eyes. Trust him. Trust him. He’ll save me. He’s smart. He knows what he’s doing.

  “Let her go. She’s not involved in this.”

  Tanner snickered.

  “Psh, she’s the only reason I’m involved in this. You think I’m involved with the Occidere. Come on. I’m too young and inexperienced. Besides I’m not even involved with this shit. These men, well the ones you’ve all but killed, we had a common interest. They wanted to hurt you. You wanted Dana. I wanted Dana. It all fit perfect.”

  “But why?” Gunner scowled. “She’s a little girl. What the fuck do you want with her? She hasn’t done shit to you.”

  “Best pussy I ever had.”

  That’s when I panicked. I started squirming in his arms.

  “NO! NO! NO!” I shrieked. “Help me! No.”

  “Think,” Gunner said calmly. “Shhh Day, think.”

  I kept squirming and then his hand was around my throat so tight I couldn’t move.

  “I… can’t ...brea…” I tried to pull his hand away, but his grip was too strong. Gunner was saying something, but stars clouded my vision. The world was getting darker and darker and then it went black.

  I was sure I’d died. My last thought and my last site was a bloody muscled man with dark hair and an even darker soul.

  Dana- 22 Years Old:

  Sitting in the waiting room of the hospital was a nightmare. Sam’s mom had a seizure and for the first time I saw Sam t
ruly broken. As if that wasn’t bad enough Logan and Sam were on some sort of relationship roller coaster. At first, he was so pissed at her. He grabbed me and went to leave the hospital before he ran into a doctor that matched the description Sam had given him. Logan approached him, and I felt my heart split in two as this doctor gave details of Sam’s mom illness and in turn Sam’s life. Logan felt like shit. It all made sense in that moment. Sam had been a grown up since she was seven and was only selling drugs to pay for this experimental procedure for her mom that cost one hundred thousand dollars. Logan didn’t even hesitate to sign the check to pay for that procedure. I was crying beside him. My heart ached for Sam. When the doctor walked away he kissed me and told me he was going to go find Sam. I wiped a few of my tears and smiled. Finally, you little shit!

  I waited in the waiting room. I was still replaying what the doctor said and praying that Logan would chill out enough to see Sam’s perspective. I really hoped he was comforting her. I knew hopelessness and I could see it Sam’s eyes.

  As I sat in the waiting room right by Sam’s mom’s room I saw a large man head for her door. I immediately hopped up. It couldn’t be him. No fucking way. I sprinted down the hall and slid, blocking the door before he could enter. He cocked an eyebrow at me and crossed his arms over his chest. He was wearing a burgundy shirt and tan cargo pants that if him well.

  “You need to move little girl.”

  “No! You are not going near Sam’s mom!” I snapped. “Leave her alone.”

  He smirked.

  “Are you her bodyguard or something?”

  Then his face hardened.

  “Move. Now.”

  I don’t know what the hell came over me, but I lifted my hand and slapped him square across the face. Hard. He looked absolutely shocked.

  “You move.”

  He busted out laughing and took a step back and lifted his hands in surrender.

  “I’ll just wait here then,” he laughed.

  I stared at him for a second.

  “I’ll text Sam.”