Home: A Novel

by Rachel Smith

  “So my quitting the business screwed you over. How? Just because you were out of a job? Newsflash, Sarah, since apparently you didn’t read the fine print in your termination letter from my lawyer, you were never out of a job.”

  A look of pure shock registered in her face.

  Bingo. She had no clue.

  “Yeah, intrigued?” I asked.

  “Shut the fuck up, both of you.” This came from Colton. Apparently he was done with our little friendly spat. He let go of Sarah and walked over to me. “You owe me.”

  I could feel my knees starting to tremble. “Do I? I think that should be the other way around considering you beat the hell out of me and killed our child.” I made sure to say it just loud enough for Sarah to hear. I mustered the courage to slide my eyes in Sarah’s direction, just in time to see her gasp as she covered her mouth with her hands.

  In my next breath, I was knocked to the ground. The pain shooting from my temple through my entire head made me see stars. I blinked quickly to try and clear my thoughts. Looking up I saw the butt of a gun in Colton’s hand. Damn, that hurt. He kicked me then. Hard. Right in the ribs.

  Sarah ran over. “Stop, please, don’t hurt her!” she yelled. Apparently the guilt was starting to eat at her too.

  Colton turned around and glared at her. “What the fuck, Sarah? Whose side are you on now, huh? God, you’re like a fish flopping around with how quick you are to turn sides. Don’t hurt her? Are you fucking kidding me? She took everything away from us. She deserves so much MORE than hurt.”

  “YOU BEAT HER UP AND KILLED HER BABY!” she screeched at the top of her lungs. “You lied to me, you fucking slime. You said she fired me and I got nothing. I didn’t even read the damn letter from her lawyer. Damn it, Jefferson, you played me to get to her so you could hurt her. Again!”

  I was trying to inch my way away from them. Moving slowly so I didn’t bring attention to myself, I rolled on my hip to army crawl out of the alley. I looked up just in time to see Alan enter around the side of the building. He had his gun drawn. I wanted to scream at him so he knew Colton also had a gun, but he caught my eyes and put his finger to his lips. Sneaking around the side of a garage, he was quickly out of sight.

  I had moved about two feet when my head was pulled back by my hair. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” Colton sneered in my ear as he pulled me around to face him. Apparently he’d had enough of Sarah’s ranting and turned away while she continued to yell. He pulled his arm back, open palmed, preparing to smack me across the face. Before he had the chance, Sarah jumped on his back and started clawing at his face and neck with her fingernails.

  “Get off me you bitch!” he roared as he stumbled back and then twisted to shake her off. She fell to the ground away from me. I turned my body and was about to run when a noise so loud shook me to the core and I stumbled to the ground.

  A gunshot. Then another.

  Chapter 19

  Justin

  “I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU!” she shouted. “I just realized that I’m so totally in love with you, you asshole. And instead of being able to wait and tell you when the time is right, you just ruined the whole fucking moment.”

  I closed my eyes remembering her words again. She loved me. I had waited to hear those words for twelve years.

  “Damn it!” I hissed as I slammed my hands onto the steering wheel. How could I let her walk out of that house? I just stood there. I’ve loved that girl as long as I can remember and I just fucking stood there.

  I should have told her I love her too. I should have picked her ass up and kissed the hell out of her. I should have asked her to marry me. I could go on and on. There were a lot of things I should’ve done, but instead I froze. No wonder she got the hell out of there as fast as she could.

  “Justin, honey, don’t be mad,” Maggie said next to me. For a moment, I forgot I had her and Sarah along in my truck. “She’s a stubborn child, my Lily. But she isn’t mad at you. It’s just hard for her to express her emotions sometimes.”

  I sighed. I knew exactly what she meant.

  “She went through some things. Some difficult things. I don’t even think she knows that I know about them, but Sarah told me. Years ago, she called and filled me in and, once you know Justin, it will help you understand why she is the way she is sometimes. I know you already are aware of the stage collapse in Alabama. It was before that happened that someone broke into her house and severely beat her. They never caught the guy which has always been a mystery to her father and me. She was….after that, she was just never quite the same.”

  I nodded but didn’t speak. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing and I wasn’t sure I ever would. They always catch the bad guy, right? My imagination was running wild and I figured that this Colton guy was involved somehow. I cringed at the thought of her ever being mixed up with that asshole.

  I pulled into town and realized there were a hell of a lot more people there than I expected. It was nuts. All four streets around the main intersection were blocked off a full two blocks. Inside the barriers was a sea of people, shoulder to shoulder, waiting for Lily to perform.

  After I parked, Sarah took off for the stage while Maggie and I made our way to the roped off VIP area Alan had told me about. Since there were a lot of people present from other towns, we couldn’t be too safe with anyone in the family. Our first priority was to control the crowds as much as possible. Nobody would have fun if they had to battle a pushy crowd of people trying to get near Lily, and the family would suffer from it too.

  We had just sat down when I saw Lil and the boys walk up to the stage. Daniel caught my eye and gave me a wink, so I assumed he got her calmed down and thinking straight again. The last thing I wanted was for her to mess up her gig because her head wasn’t in the right place. I know it was just the small town Harvest Festival and not the big time stadium shows she was used to, but I still knew she’d want to put on a decent performance.

  He eventually came over to join us while I watched Sarah hem and haw over every little detail of Lil’s hair and clothes. Thankfully, the two huge security guards Sarah hired for the night were never far from either of them.

  It was almost time for the concert to start, and I was a little surprised at how nervous I felt already. I couldn’t imagine what Lily must be feeling.

  “Dude, we’ve got a problem,” I turned to see David walking up behind me. “A big one.”

  Shit. “Tell me.”

  “There were a lot of people coming in the main way when I got here, so I pulled in through the elevator parking lot and parked around the other side of the bank,” he started.

  “How is that a big problem?”

  “Shut the fuck up and listen, DeLuca. I came up between the buildings and was just gonna pop around the south side of the bank when I heard someone freakin’ moaning. As much as I hate to admit it or tell you anything about this….it was a moan I was familiar with. Once I got them in sight, I saw it was Sarah and some preppy ass dude I’d never seen before in my life.”

  “Oh man, I’m sorry buddy,” I started to tell him but he interrupted.

  “It gets worse. They started talking and the guy is that Colton asshole after Lil. Fuckin’ Sarah is workin’ with him and I overheard him tell her to make sure Lily gets behind the movie theater right after her set is over. I don’t know what the hell they have planned because I hauled my ass out of there as fast as I could. Justin, what the fuck are we gonna do? We need to get to Alan and the guys and get a goddamn plan.”

  “Calm down, let me think,” I said. I looked to the stage and saw Lil had caught my eye, but I didn’t even look at her. I looked right at the backstabbing bitch, Sarah, and glared, trying to think of how to make her sorry for ever getting caught up in this. “Fuck,” I muttered. “When the boys get over here we’ll tell them. She’s doing four songs so we have time.”

  “But that fucking douchebag is here. What if he tries to get to her or shoot her while she’s on stage
?”

  “He won’t,” I said with no certainty whatsoever. “If he’s got a plan for Sarah to follow he won’t change his mind. We just gotta wait it out and see what Alan can come up with before her last song.”

  I sat through that damn show on what felt like pins and needles. I’m sure every time Lil glanced my way she assumed I was pissed at her and that was fine. I knew it would get her all worked up, and I needed her to be in that mindset. If I stood there smiling and winking at her she’d go mushy on me, and I couldn’t have that. I needed her to be strong to get through whatever was going down after the concert.

  Once her brothers made it to the VIP area, I motioned with my head for them to have a seat at my table. I raised my eyebrows and they each caught on quickly what I was trying to tell them.

  Something’s up, we need to be discreet.

  They sat down and we all looked at each other a second before I started right in. I relayed all the info David told me of what he overheard. I watched as they all shook their heads and clenched their jaws, obviously annoyed that Sarah duped us all.

  Alan was the first to speak up. “We don’t have much time, and the five of us aren’t going at this alone. I need to make a couple calls. Nobody makes a move without me knowing about it. If we fuck this up, he’s got our sister. I swear to God I’ll kill that fucker if he hurts one hair on her head.” He got his anger under control and made a couple calls. Soon, four men in street clothes joined us. Alan informed us they were county cops.

  “At the start of her last song, make your way to the corner behind the stage. Do not let her see where you’re going or she might bail on whatever it is she’s supposed to do. Stay focused, stay sharp, and follow my lead. Everybody understand me?”

  We all nodded and kept quiet.

  When she started the final song in her set, we all got up to head out. I could see the look of confusion come over her face on stage. I could only imagine how scared she was out of her damn mind right now wondering what’s about to happen. I wish I could run up to the stage, kiss her and tell her everything will be alright. But I knew that was impossible. Instead, I closed my eyes to say a short prayer that she would keep her mind in the right place and stay sharp.

  By the time we walked the long way around the building, the show was over and Sarah and Lil were nowhere in sight. Alan darted off to the alley. The rest of us weren’t far behind. Everyone went in at a different angle, hoping to catch Colton off guard since he’d be surrounded. If that shithead tried to run, he’d be toast.

  I was just about to the other side of the street corner when I heard it.

  “YOU BEAT HER UP AND KILLED HER BABY!” It was Sarah.

  I closed my eyes and let the words sink in. She had been pregnant. I could about guess who the father was, and apparently he wasn’t so thrilled she was carrying his child. Son of a bitch. It made me want to kill him even more.

  Realizing I’d been frozen in my tracks since I heard Sarah scream, I tried to get a grip on my anger and continue moving forward. I was getting close to having them in my sights when my world stopped.

  A gunshot. Then another.

  My heart sank. I took off at a dead sprint and came to a complete stop when I rounded the corner and saw her body on the ground covered in blood. A trail of crimson oozed from behind her back, flowing between the cracks of the dirt floor like a miniature river.

  Chapter 20

  Lily

  Icovered my ears with my hands. The sound of the gunshot was so close it was like a bomb going off inside my ears. It took a moment to register that I was still alive and didn’t feel any pain. I hadn’t been shot.

  I turned my head to see Sarah lying on the ground with blood oozing from her midsection.

  “Sarah, no!” I cried as I crawled my way closer to her body. I didn’t make it all the way there before I heard more yelling.

  “Freeze! Don’t move. Drop the gun and put your hands where I can see them.”

  Colton put his hands up as I crawled closer to Sarah. I was almost there when he grabbed me in one swift motion and positioned me in front of him, pointing the gun to my head.

  “Back the fuck off or I shoot her, too,” he said.

  I could see Alan, along with three other men, walking in our direction with their guns pulled. They all stopped and put their hands in the air to show no harm.

  “Colton, let Lil go and we can talk. You don’t wanna do this. Sarah’s on the ground bleeding to death. Let us get her some help. A murder charge isn’t something you can talk your way out of, buddy,” Alan said.

  “Fuck you,” he said back to Alan. His hands were starting to shake so much that I could feel the cold metal of the gun barrel vibrate against my temple. The realization of what he’d done to Sarah was starting to sink in. His voice trembled as he screamed, “I want my fucking money!”

  “Colton,” I said calmly, “I can get you money. I can get you a lot of money. Please, just let me go. Somebody needs to help Sarah. We need to help her or she’ll die and no amount of money I give you can help you out of that.”

  The men all continued to slowly inch closer, their hands out in front of them like they were approaching a wild animal. Colton was so worked up I don’t even think he noticed. I caught Alan’s eyes as he slid them over my shoulder. Someone was behind us.

  Please God, let it be Justin.

  Alan kept talking to Colton, trying to get him to remove the gun from my temple. Every time he asked, Colton would jostle me around in protest and squeeze my arm just a little bit tighter.

  Alan looked over my shoulder one more time when I noticed he gave an almost imperceptible nod. I looked him straight in the eyes and watched him mouth the words ‘get down.’

  I let my body go limp and fall to the ground. I could feel Colton trying to hold me up as he sputtered, “Fuck, Lil.” Suddenly, I was again on the ground. I looked over to see Colton lying face down as Justin and Alan wrestled the gun away from him. One of the men ran up and whipped out a pair of handcuffs. With a knee shoved in his back, it took him only seconds to secure the cuffs on Colton.

  I scrambled as quickly as I could to Sarah. Her eyes were open but they looked glossy. I removed my jacket, wadding it up into a ball and pressing as hard as I could to her midsection to stop the bleeding.

  “Hang on, Sarah. Please hang on,” I pleaded with her. There was so much blood. I looked up to see David running toward us. To my surprise, Missy was right on his heels. As they got closer, I could hear him on the phone with the paramedics. Missy was carrying a large black duffel bag that landed with a thump as she dropped to her knees next to me.

  “Sarah, my name is Melissa and I’m here to help you, okay?”

  I looked up into David’s eyes. The anger overpowered, but the pain was there as well. It was just deeper.

  “Lil, I need you to step away, okay? I’m going to do everything I can to help your friend, but I need you to give me a little space.”

  I stood by David while Missy continued to work on Sarah.

  “Paramedics are on the way,” David said in my ear. “I was on my way back here when I heard the gunshot. Missy is an EMT. I figured she’d be more help than any of us.” I nodded but never took my eyes from Sarah. I felt like the life was draining out of me by watching this happen to her. Betrayal or not, she’d been my rock for so many years. The hurt I felt watching her bleed was almost unbearable.

  It wasn’t long before I heard the whirl of sirens coming our way. I knelt down by Sarah’s face and took her hand in mine.

  “Lil,” she whispered softly. “I’m so sorry. I should have never listened to him. This never would’ve happened if…..”

  “Don’t, Sarah. It’s over now. Let’s just get you fixed up, okay?”

  “I need you to know. You’ve been…..” she started to close her eyes and drift off.

  “Sarah! Stay awake! I need you to keep talking,” I said as tears streamed down my face. Missy was still applying pressure but the blood was everywhere.
She gave her a shot and told me it would help her pain until the ambulance got there.

  The rest of the paramedics arrived and began working on her. Once they got an IV started, they put her on a stretcher and wheeled her to the ambulance. I followed alongside, not wanting to leave my friend.

  “Lily,” she reached for my hand. “I love you.”

  “I love you too, honey, but don’t you dare talk like you’re not gonna make it. I’m right here, it’s okay,” I said back to her.

  “Please know….I never meant to hurt you.”

  “I know. Hang on, Sarah. Please.”

  As they lifted her into the ambulance, Missy turned to me, “You can ride along if you want. Otherwise she’ll be at Dexter City Hospital if you want to meet us there.”

  “Thank you, Missy,” I said. She reached over and squeezed my hand. The look in her eyes was warm. Maybe she wasn’t such a heartless bitch after all.

  I felt a strong arm wrap around my middle from behind. The realization of what had happened in the last hour hit me like a truck. My knees gave out and I let my weight sink into Justin as the tears began to fall.

  “It’s okay, baby, I’ve got you,” Justin whispered in my ear. I turned around and buried my face into his chest as my body began to shake with sobs. “Go ahead, we’ll be right behind you,” he said to Missy.

  I cried for my dear friend and said a prayer that God would show her mercy and spare her life. I cried for what Colton had done to me once again, and the realization that it could have been so much worse. Last time he not only beat me half to death, but killed our child in the process. Yet this time, what with his wielding a gun around and then shooting Sarah, I knew it could have been me he shot just as easily. A shiver raced through my body at the thought. With that, I took an inventory of my own injuries. I was a little sore in the ribs and could feel the burn from where he hit me with the butt of his gun. Otherwise, I wasn’t in bad shape. I took a deep cleansing breath and, on the release, felt my nerves calm.