A huge smile spreads across Teagan’s face. “Well, I know it’s two hours away, but there is a live Dora the Explorer show. I was going to mention it earlier.”
“Would you go on the Internet and buy us tickets please?”
“Of course, I will do it right now,” Teagan states, opening up the window on the computer.
“Okay, see you soon, Baby,” Kellen says cheerfully. “Love you.”
“Love you, too, Honey,” Teagan replies. “See you in a bit.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” Teagan hangs up the phone and puts the venue into Google, and presses search.
* * * * *
“So,” Victoria starts. “You’re really going to sit through a live action kids’ show?”
“I will survive,” Teagan laughs. “Kya’s going to be so excited.”
“I bet.”
She pulls up to the front of her apartment. “I have to carry her present upstairs and wrap it.”
“Why did you buy her such a big present?” Victoria asks. “Kellen will buy her anything.”
“It’s a horse that moves around and talks,” Teagan replies. “She will love it.” Turning off her car, Teagan puts her stuff in her purse and throws it under her seat. “Now, my mission is to carry it upstairs to wrap.”
“Why don’t you wait until Kellen can take it up there or wait until Kya is sleeping?” Victoria inquires.
Teagan snickers, “Kellen would make me return it. This way, it’s a surprise for everyone.”
“You know he is going to be pissed you are at your apartment by yourself,” Victoria points out.
“It’s daytime, and nothing has happened in weeks,” Teagan replies. “I will be fine, but I really have to go. Kellen’s sister is dropping Kya off in a half an hour. I need to wrap this and get over there.”
“All right, have fun carrying that upstairs,” Victoria snorts.
“Thanks,” Teagan laughs back. “I will see you later tonight.”
“Awesome!” Victoria cheers. “Talk to you later.”
“Okay, stay out of trouble.”
“I will! Bye!”
Teagan shakes her head in amusement. She gets out of her car, shoves her phone in her pocket, and opens the back door. The box is big and cumbersome. Teagan grabs it and huffs. Closing the door with her foot, Teagan carries the box to her apartment building. When she gets there, a guy comes out, holding the door for her. Teagan smiles and says, “Thanks.” Though when she walks past him, she suddenly gets a shiver. Turning, Teagan looks at him. The guy locks his eyes on hers and grins. She smirks back. Taking out his cell phone, the guy walks outside. Mumbling to herself, Teagan whispers, “Gosh Teagan, get a grip.”
As she takes the first few steps up, Teagan’s cellphone starts to ring. It’s Kellen’s ringtone. Teagan huffs and continues up the steps. When she gets to the first floor, her cellphone starts ringing again. “Geez, Kellen,” she snorts. “I’ll call you back in a minute.”
She starts to take the next set of stairs. When Teagan gets to the last flight of steps, her cellphone starts ringing again. “Okay, okay, okay,” Teagan laughs. “Let me get into my apartment.” Finally, she gets to her apartment door. Teagan puts her keys in the door and opens it. The alarm is beeping when she walks in. “Gosh, I just opened the door,” she scoffs. “This thing is too touchy.” After she kicks the door shut, Teagan sets the box down. With a sigh, she shakes her arms out. “Kellen and I need to work on my upper body strength.”
Grabbing out her cellphone, Teagan starts to put in the code to open up the screen. Suddenly, something is being pointed at her head. “Put…down…the…phone.” Teagan freezes. In her peripheral vision, Teagan sees a gun. “I said put the phone down, you bitch.” Teagan drops her phone on the ground. Harry bends over and grabs it. He puts it under his foot and crushes it. Teagan’s heart is beating hard and fast, as her mind freezes. Harry continues to point the gun at her head and walks out in front of her. “Go over and turn the alarm off.” Teagan shakes her head. Harry cocks the gun and holds it up between her eyes. “I said, go turn it off!”
Teagan turns around and goes over to the alarm. She punches the code in, which silences it. “What do you want? I don’t have money.”
“Oh, I didn’t come for money. I came to shut you up,” Harry sneers chillingly.
Turning around Teagan says, “They will know it’s you.”
“I have an alibi right now,” Harry scoffs. “Just like all the other times. You would be surprised what the right amount of cash will do.”
“Kellen will figure out it was you,” Teagan replies. “He’ll make you wish that he would just kill you.”
“He should be responding to an incident with his daughter right now,” Harry laughs. “Kellen won’t be coming to your rescue.”
A fury sweeps across Teagan. “What did you do to KYA!? I swear to God, I will kill you myself!”
“Little hard with a gun pointed at her your head,” Harry snickers. “There was an accident. Easy enough to cut someone’s brake lines.”
“Oh god!” Teagan cries, covering her mouth. “Is Kya okay?”
“I don’t know, and I don’t care,” Harry scoffs snidely. “My attention is on you.”
Teagan’s stomach turns. “Are you going to rape me?”
“I have thought about it,” Harry says. “I still need to show you that I am a man, but that may point the finger at me. So, we are going to trash your apartment. Make it look like a robbery.”
Suddenly, the door opens. The guy from downstairs walks in. “YOU!” Teagan screams.
“You should remember Jarrod,” Harry states. “Your asshole of a boyfriend broke his arm.”
Jarrod snarls, “I just got the cast off.”
“Good, I hope it hurt like a bitch!” Teagan shouts.
“Shut up!” Harry snaps. “We are going to make this look like a robbery now. I need anything that you have that’s valuable. We made the mistake of not taking anything last time.”
Getting an idea, Teagan says, “My grandma’s expensive jewelry is hidden in the nightstand next to my bed.”
“Jarrod,” Harry instructs. “Take her into the bedroom and get the jewelry. I will watch the door.”
“Let’s go,” Jarrod says menacingly. Teagan’s chest tightens and she turns to the bedroom. The plan sounds good in her head, but Teagan doesn’t know if she can pull it off. They walk into her bedroom, and Teagan goes to the nightstand. “Hurry up,” Jarrod snaps.
Teagan opens the drawer and puts her hand inside. With a jerk, she spins around and shoots Jarrod with the Taser. He cries out and falls to the door.
Scrambling, Teagan grabs the pepper spray out of the drawer and runs to the door. She meets Harry in the hallway and sprays the pepper spray in his eyes. Harry screams and drops the gun. Teagan pushes him over and takes off to the front door. It suddenly opens, and Kellen is standing there, with his gun drawn. Teagan yells, “He has a gun! He has a gun!”
For a split second Kellen turns his attention to Teagan. “Are you okay!?”
“Yes,” she replies, but as she says that, there is a gunshot. Teagan sees Kellen jerk and then slowly drop to the ground. “NO!” She screams. Falling down next to him, Teagan cries, “No, no, no!”
“That hurt, you bitch,” she hears Harry snarl.
As quickly as she can, Teagan grabs Kellen’s gun and starts blindly shooting in front of her. She empties the whole magazine. When, her eyes actually focus, Harry’s lying on the ground.
She quickly stands up and presses the panic button on her alarm. Dropping back down, Teagan starts to cry. “Kellen, Kellen, Kellen.” The gunshot wound is in his chest, and there is blood everywhere.
Kellen is gasping breaths. “Put pressure on the wound,” he instructs.
Teagan presses her hands down on the wound. “Stay with me!” she yells. Kellen’s eyes start to roll into the back of his head. “NO! DAMN IT! You need to stay with me! Think of KYA! God, think of Kya! DAM
N IT, KELLEN!” Off in the distance, sirens can be heard. “COME ON! HURRY UP!” Teagan cries, as tears stream down on her face. “KELLEN! KELLEN! KELLEN! NO!”
A minute later, two cops enter the apartment. One cop starts talking to dispatch. “We need ambulances.”
“He was protecting me,” Teagan sobs. “Those two broke into my apartment.”
The other cop starts walking over to Harry. He bends down and checks his neck, “He has a pulse.”
“WHO CARES!?” Teagan screams. “Kellen needs help!”
After that, everything is a blur to her. Help finally arrives, and they push Teagan out of the way. She stands there in shock as they work on Kellen and Harry. Finally, they put Kellen on a stretcher and start to take him out. Teagan follows them. When they get to the ambulance, Teagan walks up to it. The EMT puts up his hand. “You can’t come with.”
“I have to!” Teagan yells.
“I am sorry, Miss,” the EMT asserts, as he shuts the door.
“OH GOD!” Teagan cries out, grabbing her head.
A police officer comes up beside her. “Can I call someone for you?”
“Yes! Victoria, please, please, call her!”
Fifteen minutes later, Victoria pulls up to Teagan. Teagan jumps in the car and screams, “Take me to the hospital!”
“HOLY SHIT!” Victoria exclaims back. “Is that blood!?”
“It’s Kellen’s! Please, he’s been shot. Take me to the hospital!”
Squealing her tires, Victoria takes off down the street. She picks up her phone. “Kyle! Kellen has been shot. He is on his way to the hospital! Yes, I’m serious. Okay, see you there.”
“Oh God,” Teagan sobs. “Kya may be hurt, too! I don’t have his sister’s number. It was in my phone, and Harry crushed that.”
“Kyle has to have access to it somewhere,” Victoria assures her.
“They cut her brake lines!” Teagan cries.
Victoria takes her phone back out. “Get ahold of Kellen’s sister. Supposedly, these guys cut her brake lines, and Kya may be hurt. Yeah…okay…bye.”
As they drive, Teagan cries and stares down at the blood all over her. When they get to the ER, they are ushered into a small room. Teagan is full of panic and dread, but all she can do is sob. A little while later, Kyle shows up. “Hey,” he says, squatting down in front of Teagan. “Kya is okay. They were only backing out of the driveway when the brakes gave away. She’s safe.”
“Oh, thank God!” Teagan exclaims.
Suddenly, a nurse comes walking in. She is carrying a set of scrubs. “Here, go get cleaned up.”
Teagan shakes her head. Victoria takes the set of clothes and says, “Thank you.” The nurse nods and leaves. “Come on, you can’t sit here covered in his blood.” She grabs Teagan’s arm and helps her up. They get into the bathroom, and Victoria starts to wash the blood off of her.
Whimpering, Teagan whispers, “He has to be okay. He just has to.”
“The doctors are doing everything they can,” Victoria says.
A little while later, they are sitting back in the little room. Kyle comes in with a cup of coffee. “Drink this,” he instructs. Teagan takes it, with her hands shaking.
Her eyes dart up when someone walks into the room. Two girls walk in slowly. One of them is crying. Teagan sighs because she knows exactly how she is feeling. Everyone sits in silence for hours, but it feels like days for Teagan.
Finally, a doctor walks into the room with a clipboard. Teagan stands up, shaking and hardly able to breathe. “Do you know about Kellen?”
The doctor opens his mouth and then closes it. He starts going through the papers. “You will have to hold on a minute,” the doctor replies. “The name of the patient is missing.”
“Is it Kellen Grayson?” Teagan pleads. “Please, he was shot!”
A sudden look of sympathy crosses the doctor’s face. “May I speak to you alone?”
“NO!” Teagan yells. “Just tell me!”
Taking in a deep breath, the doctor says, “I am sorry, but he didn’t make it.”
Screaming, her world goes black as Teagan falls to the floor.
Chapter 19
“Teagan…” She doesn’t reply. “Teagan…say something,” Victoria urges. Teagan continues to stare at the wall.
Kyle sighs and pulls her closer to him. “Hey, we need to make some phone calls.”
Teagan starts to move and whispers, “God, Kya is going back to her mother. We can’t let that happen.”
“I know for a fact that all of Kellen’s money is set up in trust for Kya. She gets it in part starting at the age of 18,” Kyle declares. “Celine will only get small amounts to support Kya.”
“That’s not my worry,” Teagan states, looking up at him through blurry eyes. “Celine is heavy in the drug scene. Kellen was having her followed.”
“Well then, that will all be at the office,” Kyle replies. “We will do all that we can.”
She pushes away from him and stands up. “We have to call his sister.”
“You can use my phone,” Kyle says. “Come on, we should do this privately.”
Looking at the girls in the room, Teagan murmurs, “Yeah.”
Kyle takes out his phone and presses something on the screen. “That is his sister’s number. She is waiting for you to call.”
With a slow nod, Teagan takes the phone and walks out into the hallway and down to the far end. She presses send. “Hello!?” His sister yells.
“Oh, God,” Teagan gasps.
“Teagan!? WHAT HAPPENED!?””
“Jane…” Teagan starts. “I’m sorry, but….” There’s a scream at the other end of the phone. “Jane, God, I’m so sorry,” Teagan cries. “He just…they did everything they could.”
“NO!” Jane screams. “It can’t be true! It can’t! I’m on my way down there.”
Teagan sighs, “Jane, the doctor came and told me.” The phone shakes against her ear; she cannot stop her hands from trembling.
“I’m coming down there!” Jane yells. “He can’t be dead!”
That makes Teagan start crying again. “I don’t know what to do. I have no idea what to do!”
“What do you mean you don’t know what to do!?” Jane shouts. “You are going to suck it up and deal with this! It’s your damn fault!”
A pain instantly forms in Teagan’s chest, and it feels like the wind is sucked from her lungs. “I…”
“He was protecting you wasn’t he!?”
“Yes…”
“My brother would be alive if you hadn’t come into his life!” Jane cries. “Now, I don’t want you there when I arrive. Just leave. Stay away from my family.”
Shocked, Teagan finally whispers, “Okay…I…can’t…I will leave.”
“Good.” Jane ends the call.
She puts her hand to her chest and stands there for a while. Shock overtakes her body and cements her feet to the floor. She can’t be there to face Jane, but she can’t just leave. Remembering her friends in the waiting room, Teagan drags her feet back down the hall. She clears her throat as she enters, and Kyle and Victoria look up. She opens her mouth and then closes it. Teagan has no words. Finally, she says, “I need to leave.”
“What? Why?” Kyle stammers.
“Jane doesn’t want me here,” Teagan mutters, her chest tightening even more. “I need to go.”
“No, Teagan,” Kyle says, standing up. “She’s just upset.”
Shaking her head, Teagan replies, “He’s gone.” She pauses. “There is no reason to stay.”
“Just…” Kyle starts, running his fingers through his hair. “Just…go and wait in the main waiting room downstairs. Let me talk to Jane.”
“I will go and sit with you,” Victoria stands and assures her gently. “We can wait together. Jane’s just upset.”
Teagan shakes her head again. “No, she wants me gone.”
“We’ll go sit in the waiting room,” Victoria whispers. “Kyle will keep us updated.”
/>
“No, I should go,” Teagan exhales. “I need to get my stuff from his house. I don’t want to cause them any more harm than necessary.”
“Are you sure?” Victoria asks. Teagan nods. “All right, let’s go.”
Putting up her hand, Teagan says, “Can I just use your car?”
“Teagan, you shouldn’t drive,” Victoria replies.
“JUST….just let me go. I need to be by myself,” Teagan murmurs. “I will get my stuff and meet you back at your apartment.”
“Okay,” Victoria sighs. She takes out her keys and hands them to Teagan. “Here, take my phone.”
Teagan shakes her head. “No, I just want to be by myself. Let me do this.”
“Okay,” Victoria whispers. “I love you.”
“I love you, too,” Teagan chokes out. “I have to go.” Victoria nods. With that, Teagan turns and leaves. When she gets into Victoria’s car, a single tear runs down her cheek. Shakily, Teagan wipes it away. Fifteen minutes later, she is sitting in Kellen’s driveway, staring up at the house. She knows it will be the last time she sets foot into it. Teagan sighs and goes to the door. Stepping into the bushes, she finds the hide-a-key. When she gets inside, Teagan turns off the alarm and just stands there. That’s when the tears start to fall again. She shakes her head and makes her way upstairs. While sobbing, Teagan packs her suitcases as quickly as possible. Every once in a while, she falls to her knees and cries into her hands uncontrollably.
As she zips up her last bag, Teagan exhales and looks around. That’s when her eyes fall upon Kellen’s favorite shirt. She picks it up and brings it to her face. It still smells like him. She can feel the pain and grief ripping a hole in her chest to smash her heart. “This one thing I’m going to keep for myself. He said I could have anything. This is what it will be.” She nods and puts it on top of her suitcase. “Crap,” she whispers, “I don’t have my backpack.” She opens her suitcase back up and goes into the office to grab her homework. When the phone starts ringing, she jumps because it startles her. Teagan stands there, staring at it. “I bet it’s a family member. God, maybe it is my fault,” she whispers. Sweeping all her textbooks and papers up, she leaves the office.
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