Real Shadows

by M. E. Clayton

  When I was finished, Officer Nelson said, “We’ll need you to come down to the station for further questioning.”

  “What happened in there?” I finally asked.

  Officer Brentwood glanced over at Officer Nelson and let him take over again. “If Ms. Reese wants to share the details with you, she may. However, all I can tell you at this time is that we had to use deadly force to resolve the issue at hand.” His head jerked towards the back of the ambulance, and I turned to see one of the paramedics giving him a head nod.

  I stood there feeling like a fool as Officer Nelson walked over to speak to the paramedic. Officer Brentwood didn’t offer any to fill the silence and soon Officer Nelson was walking back towards us. “They’re taking her to the hospital for a full checkup. More for her emotional and mental state,” he said. “And, well, as much as I hate to do this to you, you’re not her husband. We’ll need you to come down to the station to give your full statement, and then, you can meet her at the hospital.”

  I wanted to argue.

  I wanted to rant and rave, knowing I’d get arrested. But as I looked around, I finally noticed how the neighbors had gathered around and how a couple of the other officers were taping off my house. I also noticed some phone were out and, as much as it pained me, I refused to turn Fallon’s ordeal into a social media circus. I imagine the paramedics felt the same way because they didn’t even give me a chance to talk to her and tell her I’d see her later. I heard the back of the ambulance doors slam shut and watched as one of the paramedics walked around the side and got into the driver’s seat.

  I looked over at Officer Nelson and asked, “Can I take my truck or…”

  “Do you have your keys with you?”

  He had to know I didn’t with the way I was half-dressed. “No.”

  “Then you have to come with us, Mr. Raynes.”

  That’s what I was afraid of.

  Well…one of the many things I was afraid of.

  Chapter 25

  Fallon~

  It was dark outside when I finally opened my eyes. The blinds on the window were opened and the night’s only light was the moon shining bright.

  I glanced around in search of a clock and found one directly in front of the bed. It read 7:13 pm. I’d been asleep for hours. Or, more to the point, I’ve been passed out for hours.

  After the initial inspection of my body and any possible injuries, it was clear that it was my mental and emotional state that were damaged, not my physical well-being. However, even after it was confirmed that I hadn’t suffered any physical harm, I had to sit covered in Thomas’s blood while they took pictures as evidence. After countless photos, they allowed me to shower before a counselor appeared in my hospital room.

  All the people, tests, questions…through it all, I had just wanted Xander.

  I still had to talk to the police in detail about what happened because the hospital counselor had made it clear I was in no state to speak with them. I had been in shock and probably still was.

  When Thomas had cocked his gun, I was certain it had meant my death. I knew, without a doubt, that he truly intended to kill me. I had been acceptant of my death. What I hadn’t expected was for one of the police officers to take his distraction as an opening to shoot him in the head. Logically, I knew why it had to be a kill shot, but seeing Thomas shot in the head is something that will haunt me forever. I was damaged beyond what is repairable, but knowing that, I still knew I had to try.

  I heard the door creak open, and when I looked over, I saw Xander walking into my hospital room, and I’d never been so happy to see someone in my life. “Xander.”

  I struggled to sit up as he made his way over to the bed. “Goddamn it, Fallon,” he swore. “Baby, I’ve been dying without you.”

  The tears started and they went on forever. I didn’t know how to stop them. The adrenaline crash was real and brutal. I couldn’t get a handle on my emotions, and I was terrified Xander would think I wasn’t worth the nightmare that took place in his home.

  “I’m s…sorry, Xand…Xander,” I wept. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  “Hey.” I felt him crawl into the bed with me, and he gathered me up in his arms. Neither of us cared about the wires or monitors. “Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for. God, Fallon,” he breathed, “if anything, I’m the one who should be sorry.”

  I didn’t want to go back and forth with the guilt. This wasn’t a contest. After a few moments of silence, I asked, “Have you been here the entire time?”

  “No,” he replied, his lips kissing my hair. “I had to go down to the police station and answer their questions. Give them my statement. Since, uh, we’re not married, I wasn’t given the choice. But believe me, Fallon, had I had the choice, I would have been here with you the entire time.” His arms were like bands around me. “I thought I lost you, baby.”

  We were silent for a few moments, just basking in the comfort of each other’s arms, being thankful to both be alive. After a while, he finally asked, “What happened in there?”

  What could I say? To repeat the story felt false. I could say the words, but they could never convey the emotions felt in those terrifying moments where Thomas almost shot me, and the police killed him. It wasn’t all perfectly orchestrated like an action movie. It had been messy and horrifying. And I knew I was going to need months, if not years, of therapy to be able to sleep at night again.

  “Thomas…he…he said he was going to kill me,” I told him. “He said I was going to be with him or no one, and he didn’t care if he was killed as long as I was too.” Xander’s arms tightened around my body. “He cocked…uhm, the cocked the gun, and as soon as it sounded, one of the officers shot him in the head.” Chills ran down my spine and I knew Xander could feel me trembling. “I don’t know how many times he was shot because I collapsed, and then, the officers got me out of there.”

  “Jesus Christ,” he swore. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

  “I just can’t believe it,” I sobbed. “That’s not the boy I grew up with, Xander. How…how could this happen?”

  Xander sighed and held me tighter. “No one knows what it is that connects us to someone, Fallon,” he replied. “But since I was willing to die for you, I can understand how he was, too.”

  “I love you,” I whispered, and not because I was in shock, but because now I was no longer afraid to put a name to what I was feeling for Xander. Leaving the attic went beyond doing the right thing. I had left the attic because I was in love with Xander.

  “Fallon, you’ve suffered a-”

  I pulled away from him and look up at him. “I know what you’re thinking, Xander,” I said, interrupting him. “That I’m just experiencing the aftermath of my chaotic emotions, but I’m not.” He didn’t look convinced, so I added, “Why do you think I left the attic, Xander?”

  “I know it’s probably too soon and everything is such a fucking mess, but, goddamn, Fallon, I love you, too, baby,” he replied and everything in me crashed.

  I started sobbing and it just didn’t stop.

  After I finally calmed down, Xander got off the bed and sat down on the chair next to bed. He had a hold of my hand as he said, “While I was waiting to be questioned by the police, I called Trevor and…told him some of what happened. I told him you were in the hospital, and he and Karla were in the visitor waiting room when I got here.”

  Oh, God. I had forgotten about Karla. “Can I see them?” I didn’t see why I couldn’t. I wasn’t injured beyond my emotional and mental state, and I so wanted to see them.

  Xander gave me a small smile. “You can only have two visitors, but I’ll see if I can sneak them by. If not, I’ll wait outside, so they can see you.”

  I nodded, and even though I didn’t want Xander to leave my sight, I needed Karla. I needed the connection that only she will understand. When she rushed in, Trevor and Xander behind her, I broke down. She immediately put her arms around me. “Oh, Fallon,” she cried. “I’m so glad you’re going
to be okay.”

  After a couple of moments, I got myself under control again, and she let go to sit down in the chair Xander had been sitting in earlier. “So am I,” I told her honestly.

  “What happened?” she asked quietly.

  I looked at her and then glanced over at Xander and Trevor. I knew I was going to need to share the details in order to move past what Thomas had done. Holding it all in wasn’t going to help anyone.

  I took a deep breath and told them everything. When I was finished, Trevor looked pissed while Karla looked heartbroken. But then, she knew Thomas just like I did. He was a stranger to Xander and Trevor, but to me and Karla, he had been someone. He had been a friend at one time.

  “Jesus,” Karla breathed out. “I’m…” She slumped back in her chair. “I’m not sure what I should be feeling, right now.”

  I knew exactly what she meant. It felt like I was feeling everything but nothing at the same time. “He sounded like he really believed that it was love,” I told her. “I don’t think he saw it as stalking. I really think he thought he was…romancing me or something.”

  Karla reached over and clasped my hand. “Well, it’s over now,” she said. “There’s still a lot of healing to be had, but at least you won’t be looking over your shoulder anymore.” Her eyes watered. “You can finally work on having a real life, Fallon.”

  I looked over at Xander, and it wasn’t until he sent me a slow wink and tender smile, that I was hit with the realization that I had a chance now. A chance to be near my best friend and a chance at a real family. A life where I could love Xander freely and, maybe, one day, get married and have children.

  “What do you say?” I asked, addressing Xander. “You willing to help give me that real life?”

  He mouthed ‘I love you’ and it was perfect. I was scared, most likely traumatized, but it was perfect.

  After Karla and Trevor finally took their leave, I knew it wouldn’t be long before the police showed up. It was late, but I didn’t think that would deter them. When the doctor had checked in on me again, I did ask him to convey that I’d be happy to speak with the police first thing in the morning, and he assured me he’d do what he could to deter them. It wasn’t that I wanted to put it off, so much as I was just so damn tired.

  The clock was pointing to well past 10pm when Xander asked, “Why don’t we take your savings and my savings and put them together. We could get a nice house with what we have.”

  I looked over at him surprised. He’d been lounging in the chair next to my hospital bed for a while now, as we watched T.V. silently, comfortably. “What?”

  He looked at me, those golden eyes looking right through me. “I’d never ask you to go back to my house, Fallon. And I refuse to be without you, so that leaves a fresh start.” He let out a deep breath. “Truthfully, I’m not sure I could ever live there again, anyway, with what happened to you.”

  It was too soon. Not to mention, we were both in a very delicately emotional state. But at one point in time, I had been willing to hand over everything I had to this man when he was a stranger to me, so handing everything over now was a no-brainer.

  “So, you’re finally agreeing with Karla’s plan?”

  His face was all love. “It’s a damn good plan, baby.”

  Epilogue

  Fallon – Ten Years Later~

  As I tripped, and almost lost an eye again, I wondered why the hell I ever thought being a stay-at-home-mom was a grand idea.

  Oh, that’s right. I hadn’t imagined my children would be little demons destined to drive me insane.

  I kept the F-word firmly planted inside my head and didn’t share it with the identical six-year-olds playing in the living room, completely oblivious to my near death. But, to be fair, it was hard to feel anything but love for the two little heathens. They looked exactly like their father and that just sort of tripled my love for them.

  It had taken a couple of years to put everything that had happened with Thomas behind me and move forward. It wasn’t until I sought professional help that I realized I needed healing from a lot of things beyond that fateful day in Xander’s living room. There was the classic abandonment that most foster care children feel, but also the six years that Thomas had stalked me. Those years had changed me, and I hadn’t even realized it until I embraced my therapy and strived to help myself overcome everything I needed to in order to lead a somewhat healthy life. Xander had even attended several sessions with me because he had struggled with not saving me that day, no matter how many times I told him I didn’t fault him in any way.

  We lived together for two years and, during that time, he had given me space to grow into the woman I was today. We got married after those two years, and while Xander still had his construction company, I had gone to school to get a degree in sociology. But two years into that, I had fallen pregnant with the twins and it was all family for me after that. I toyed with the idea of going back to school once the kids got older, but right now, this was the right choice for me.

  “Momma?”

  I looked over at Cillian. “What, baby?”

  “Why are you holding all our toys if we’re going to need them?”

  “She always does that,” whispered his image, Cormac.

  I could feel my left eye twitching, but before I could give in and just have a nice, well-deserved meltdown, Xander was walking through the front door.

  He glanced at the boys and then looked at me. “Hey, baby,” he said, all big smiles.

  The breath of relief was real. “Hey,” I replied, all the love I had for him in that one word.

  He looked at the boys. “What are you guys doing to Momma?” My heart melted just a little more at knowing that Xander could read me so well, he picked up my tentative nervous breakdown by the sound of that one word.

  Cillian’s shoulders lifted and dropped. “Nothing. She’s picking up our toys, and we don’t know why, Daddy.”

  Xander glanced over at me and his brows shot up in a silent question. I sighed. “You were almost made a widow when I tripped over Max the Maniac Truck,” I explained.

  Xander walked over towards me, and wrapping his arms around me, murmured in my ear, “Max the Maniac Truck is history. No way am I ever losing you.”

  It took only two seconds before I started laughing and reveled in how Xander always made everything better. I was outnumbered three to one, but Xander was always on my side.

  I wrapped my arms around him and let him hold me. Sometimes, even all this time later, Xander needed the reassurance just as much as I did.

  I leaned back and looked up at him. “How was your day?”

  He smiled and those golden eyes threatened the strength in my knees. “Same thing, different day, baby.” He placed a quick kiss on my lips. “How was your day?”

  We both turned when we heard a very loud and dramatic sigh. “Don’t you care how our day was, Daddy?” Cillian asked, while Cormac added, “Momma’s day was filled doing mom-things, Daddy. Like it is every day.”

  I really started laughing then. My life was probably going to be filled with calls from teacher and principals for the next twelve years, and there might be some bail money involved later down the road, but I really was blessed. I had a wonderful family and great friends and I’ll never forget how, everything I had, I had by the grace of God.

  Xander looked back down at me and smiled. “Well, okay, Momma,” he chuckled.

  And everything really was okay.

  The End.

  About the Author

  ◆◆◆

  M.E. Clayton works full-time and writes as a hobby. She is an avid reader and, with much self-doubt, but more positive feedback and encouragement from her friends and family, she took a chance at writing, and the Seven Deadly Sins Series was born. Writing is a hobby she is now very passionate about. When she’s not working, writing, or reading, she is spending time with her family or friends. If you care to learn more, you can read about her by visiting the following:
r />   Smashwords Interview at:

  https://www.smashwords.com/interview/MonClayton

  Bookbub Author Page at:

  https://www.bookbub.com/profile/m-e-clayton

  Goodreads Author Page:

  https://www.goodreads.com/MEClayton

  Other Books

  ◆◆◆

  Please visit your favorite ebook retailer to discover other books by M.E. Clayton:

  The Seven Deadly Sins Series (In Order)

  Catching Avery (Avery & Nicholas)

  Chasing Quinn (Quinn & Chase)

  Claiming Isabella (Isabella & Julian)

  Conquering Kam (Kamala & Kane)

  Capturing Happiness

  The Buchanan Brothers Series (In Order)

  If You Could Only See (Mason & Shane)

  If You Could Only Imagine (Aiden & Denise)

  If You Could Only Feel (Gabriel & Justice)

  If You Could Only Believe (Michael & Sophia)

  If You Could Only Dream

  The How To: Modern Day Woman’s Guide Series (In Order)

  How to Stay Out of Prison; A Modern-Day Woman’s Guide (Lyrical & Nixon)

  How to Keep Your Job; A Modern-Day Woman’s Guide (Alice & Lincoln)

  How to Maintain Your Sanity; A Modern-Day Woman’s Guide (Rena & Jackson)

  The Enemy Series (In Order)

  Facing the Enemy (Ramsey & Emerson)

  Engaging the Enemy (Roselyn & Liam)

  Battling the Enemy (Deke & Delaney)

  Provoking the Enemy (Ava & Ace)

  Loving the Enemy

  The Enemy Duet (In Order)

  In Enemy Territory (Fiona & Damien)

  On Enemy Ground (Victoria & William)

  The Holy Trinity Series (In Order)

  The Holy Ghost (Phoenix & Francesca)

  The Son (Ciro & Roberta)

  The Father (Luca & Remy)

  The Redemption (Nico & Mia)

  The Vatican (Francisco Phoenix Benetti & Luca Saveria Fiore)