“I’ll be … I’ll be alright, man,” he whispers as he closes his eyes. “Don’t let all of this be for nothing.”
I swipe my hands over my face and up through my hair as I stand, my breathing erratic, “Rye, I …” The cell phone. “I’m gonna get you some help, alright? I’m gonna …” I lean down and pat my hands over him until I feel his cell inside his pants pocket. I reach inside, my hands shaking as I dial for help.
“Brandon, go …” I shake my head, clenching my jaw together tight. “Go and get your girl.” He’s nodding at me, a tear escaping from his eye.
If I don’t go now, then … I have to go. I have to leave my best friend out here in the dark of the night. I have to leave him when he needs my help. I don’t have a choice. It’s her. It’s always gonna be her.
“I’m so sorry, man …” I squeeze my eyes closed and summon myself to breathe. “I’m so fucking sorry …” I lean down and place his cell on his chest, right beside his left hand. “I’m …” I kiss him on the forehead, both my chest and stomach heaving as I start backing further and further away from him.
‘Don’t let all of this be for nothing.’
Oh, I don’t fucking intend for it to be.
I can’t turn back around. I can’t. I can’t watch my best friend lying on the ground behind me, knowing that I’m leaving him there all alone. Knowing that he’s lying there; bleeding because of me.
I narrow my eyes as I make my way further into the darkness.
I see Neil right up ahead of me. He’s running. He’s running away from me, but he’s got nowhere to hide now. No. Tonight, he’s gonna learn the hard way. Nobody, and I mean nobody fucks with me or my family.
I quicken my pace, dodging my way through the overhanging branches as I head directly toward him. He keeps glancing over his shoulder, and then I stumble to the side, almost losing my footing, but only almost. Nothing’s gonna stand in the way of me and my future now. Nothing.
My breaths are heavier as I reach the top of the embankment, and I abruptly pause, looking all around me when I don’t see him anymore. Where the fuck did he go? I spin around, my pulse quickening when I realize that I’m left with two options. I have to make a choice. I have to decide which way I need to go. The stony pathway I’ve been following veers around to the right, but there’s a smaller trail over to my left. If I were him, if I were inside his psychotic mind, which way would I go? I would go … straight ahead.
It’s downward from here, the ground uneven. I grab a hold of one of the branches to steady myself, making my way further down until … there he is.
When I reach the bottom of the hill, I break into a sprint, sweat beads forming across my brow and running down my face as I close the gap between us. He’s no longer turning around. He isn’t. I’m close enough to him now that I would be able to see if he was. He’s determined to get away from me. He’s … he’s … he’s running toward a building. A small building only a couple of hundred feet away from me.
This is it. It’s time. Me and him. Me and my forever.
My legs are starting to ache, but I don’t care. There’s no way that I’m gonna slow down now. I can’t. I won’t. I refuse to.
I see him opening up a door, a door that takes him inside the derelict building, and I see him glancing over his shoulder one final time as I approach. I run faster. I run as fast as I can until I’m standing right on the outside. While I’m on the outside, he’s on the inside. He’s got nowhere to go from here. There’s no way that he’s gonna be able to escape from me now.
“Neil!” I call out, my throat tight as I bend down, resting my hands on my knees as I try and catch my breaths.
“Brandon!” My head immediately snaps up when I hear the sound of her voice. Alexis? She’s inside. She’s in there. She’s ... she’s still alive. He hasn’t hurt her. She’s here. She’s right here.
“Alexis?”
I lunge forward and grasp a tight hold of the handle with my left hand, placing my right flat on the wooden panels, shaking the door as hard as I can, trying to get it to open. It’s not moving. It won’t budge. It’s locked. He’s locked it from the inside.
I take a couple of steps back, my eyes scanning over the front of the building, looking for another way to get inside there; to get to her.
“Alexis!” I call out for her as I race over toward the nearest window, placing my hands flat on the brick wall on either side before leaning in closer. “Alexis!” I shout out for her again, and then I see her. I see her through the black bars, and he has a hold of her. He’s standing behind her, holding her body against his. Her eyes are wide, her lips trembling. My body tenses when I see that he has one of his hands wrapped around her throat, while bringing his other … no!
“Get your hands off of her!” I growl when I see the sadistic smile crossing over his lips, the black pistol now pointing directly at her, resting against her temple.
She looks fucking terrified. I’m fucking terrified.
“Are you ready to tell me that you’re sorry yet?” Is he fucking crazy? “I had to spend the last five years inside a cell because of what you did!” His voice is toneless and he sounds as though he actually believes that this is really all of my fault. That I caused this. That I did all of this. No. No, I’m not in the position to argue with him about this. I’m not. He has the upper hand; he’s the one holding the goddamn gun.
“What do I need to do? Tell me! Tell me what I need to do so you’ll let her go,” I say, my gaze resting on Alexis. “I’ll do anything you want. I’ll do anything you want me to do if you’ll just—”
“Swap places? Would you be willing to do that? If I let her go right this second, would you come in here? Would you sacrifice your own life to save hers?” He cocks his head to the side, a look of amusement washing over his face.
“No! No, please, Brandon … no!” Alexis is shaking her head, and my eyes glaze from seeing the desperation within hers. Doesn’t she see? This is the only way. This is all he’s ever wanted. Well, now I’m giving him the option to take it. She has to let me do this. I’ve gotta do this for her. She’s worth it. She’s worth the sacrifice a million times over.
“That’s not even something worth thinking about and you know it. Of course I would,” I bring my gaze away from hers and back onto him. “Let her go and take me. If that’s what you want, then you’ve got it. You’ve got it, alright? Let her go and—”
His sadistic laugh rips through the room as a bolt of lightning fills the sky, “A few months ago I might have taken you up on that. But, you see, I know what gets to you. I know how to get underneath your skin and how to work you, Brandon. I would have said yes, but I can’t let that happen. Not anymore. You see, the only thing that could really hurt you in the worst way possible, in the same way that you hurt me when you made me kill Holly that night, would be if I hurt your wife in the same way I hurt that bitch when she chose YOU!” His voice is harsh, cold, and louder than before.
My eyes widen when I see him moving Alexis with him, over toward the back wall. He steps to the side before pushing her hard up against it, his finger still firmly placed over the trigger.
What is he doing? What is he—? “NO!” No, he can’t. He wouldn’t. No, he can’t do that to her, “Get your fucking hands off of her!” I grip a hold of the black bars and lean forward some more, my heart thrashing inside my chest when I see him ripping her shirt wide open.
As he lowers the gun, he trails it down her face, over her neck, lower down, crossing it over her breasts. “I said get your fucking hands off of her!” I choke out through frustration, through guilt, through knowing that he has every intention of doing it; of forcing himself upon her. He can’t do this. He can’t do this to her! “Neil! I swear to motherfucking God!”
She’s shaking. She’s sobbing. She’s so fucking afraid.
He slowly glances over his shoulder, smirking at my pleas, “I’ve been waiting a long, long time for this.” His lips curl up at the sides, and then I see
what he’s doing. His free hand is lower now, he’s lowered his hand and he’s … no. No, he’s unzipping his pants.
“FUCK YOU!” I shout out, smacking my hands against the wall while pushing myself away.
May God have mercy on my soul because I’m gonna kill that mother-fucking-son-of-a-bitch!
My head’s pounding, my blood’s on fire, my whole body tensed to the absolute limit. I sprint over toward the door again, this time giving it everything I have. I need to get inside there. I need to get to him, and I need to make sure that he doesn’t do what he’s threatening to do to her. Nobody deserves this … she doesn’t deserve this.
I start bashing the side of my body hard against the wood, over and over and over again, noticing that with each time I do this, it shakes more and more. It’s weakening now. It’s … I’m inside.
I charge directly toward them and see the tears streaming down her cheeks as I draw closer. Neil instantly glances over his shoulder, and when his eyes find mine, his narrow into slits and a tight frown crosses over his entire face. He grabs her by the hair, shaking her, her screams piercing as she tries to fight back against him.
“I SAID GET YOUR MOTHERFUCKING HANDS OFF OF MY WIFE!” I growl, lunging forward, trying to grab a hold of him so I can try and drag him further and further away from her, but he steps back. He steps away from the both of us.
He’s still got a hold of the gun in his hands, and he’s pointing it in-between the both of us now, a smirk covering his mouth as his eyes dart between me and Alexis.
“Which one first? Mommy?” His voice reveals his amusement. “Or daddy?”
“Oh my God!” Alexis cries, clasping her hands over her mouth, more tears falling from her eyes as she slides down the wall until she’s sitting on the ground. I need to get to her. I need to hold her, but if I even attempt to get any closer to her than I already am then he’s gonna pull that trigger. No ifs, no buts, no fucking maybes. I grit my teeth together tight, balling my fists by my sides, ready to take that motherfucker out. Holly isn’t gonna be losing either one of us tonight.
As I go to take a step closer to him, he aims it back over on me, shaking his head from side to side as a new sparkle enters his eyes. When I glance down to his hand, my gaze rests on the gun, and that’s when I see it. He’s not playing a game here at all. He isn’t. He’s ready to do this. He’s ready to meet his promise.
“Daddy.” I say, trying to keep my voice calm as I take another step forward. I lift the both of my hands up, showing him that I’m retreating. That he’s getting what he wants. That after all of these years, he’s finally won the war.
“I choose Mommy!” He instantly spits out. My eyes widen, and Alexis’ whole body begins to shake when he points the gun directly over at her. “Say goodbye to mommy, Brandybear!”
“NO!” I leap forward, but then I hear the sound. I hear the sound and I see the flash. It’s too late. I was too fucking late!
I lift my hands up, grabbing my hair in my hands, pulling it tight when I see her skin turning pale. Her eyes are open, and she’s not making a sound. She’s in shock from his threat, that’s all. He didn’t get her. He didn’t … but he was gonna. He was gonna kill her.
“You motherfucker!” I reach out and grab a hold of him by his shirt, tossing the gun from out of his hands as I wrestle him down to the ground. I bring my arm back, my eyes glaze as I throw the first punch, and then another, and then another.
My chest is heavy, and I don’t stop. I don’t stop until I see the blood covering my hands. His blood. His blood on my hands.
He’s trying to get away, he’s trying to reach out for it. No. No, he doesn’t get another chance tonight. He had one chance and he missed it. Now it’s my turn.
His hand is only inches away from the gun and I grab his hands in mine, stopping him from being able to grab a hold of it before I do. This ends tonight. I wrap my fist around his face one more time, distracting him while I reach for the … it’s not there. The gun. It’s gone. I feel my brow furrow, and when I lift my gaze, my mouth goes dry when I see her holding it in the both of her hands. She’s resting forward on her elbows, her hands are shaking, her eyes dull. She’s staring at the trigger, and when I feel that Neil’s stopped moving beneath me, I look back down to him and see that he’s looking right at her, his smile at its widest, “Oh, beautiful. You wouldn’t have the b—” And then she does it.
I stumble backward as his body becomes limp beneath mine, watching the blood as it slowly drains away from his body. His eyes are still open, though now they’re empty. She did it.
“I … I …” I move further back until I’m away from him and go straight over to her, wrapping my arms around her tight. “Beautiful, I’m …”
“I didn’t think that I was ever going to see you again!” she whispers, resting her face against my chest, sobbing hard and fast. “I … I …”
“It’s alright now,” I tell her, running my hands through her hair, pulling her back with me until we’re both resting against the wall, clenching my eyes closed tight. “It’s finally over. It’s …”
“Brandon? I … I’m bleeding,” I snap my eyes open when I hear the anxiety within her voice. She’s bleeding? But, she’s okay. I mean, she’s … she just took him down. He missed her. He didn’t get her … if he did then he must’ve only skimmed her … It must’ve … I look down to her and my brow knits firmly together when she moves her shirt over to the side. The bullet didn’t skim her skin at all. It didn’t. He got her, right in the abdomen. No. No, she’s … she’s gonna be alright. I mean, she’s gotta be … “Brandon? I’m scared.” Her eyes are searching mine and she’s waiting for me to say something, to say anything.
All I can see is the blood. Her blood.
“Brandon?”
“It’s …” I need to make it stop. I need something that’s gonna make it stop. I glance all around me and then unfasten my jacket, throwing it to the side as I grab a hold of my shirt, pulling it over my head. “Here. Put this on there.” I tell her, my hands shaking as I lean forward, grabbing the cell phone from out of my jacket pocket.
My hands won’t stop shaking, and my God, I’m trying not to show her how scared I am, but I am. It’s deep and she needs to get the hospital. If she doesn’t … no. She’ll get there. She’s gonna get there.
As soon as I’ve made the call, I pull her into me, “They’re gonna be here real soon, alright? And when they get here, they’re gonna fix you right up and then we’re gonna get back home. We’re gonna get home … Alexis, I …”
“Will you sing for me?” she asks, her voice raspy as she places her arm around me. “Please?” Sing for her?
“You want me to sing?” I swallow, hard while looking directly into her eyes.
She twists around some more and smiles, “Chasing Cars.” Her eyes starts to close as she rests her face back against my chest, and I place a kiss in her hair, rubbing her arm with my hand as I start singing her her favorite song. Our favorite song.
When I get to the end, I glance to my watch.
It’s 11:53.
When I rest my arm back down, I glance across the room and then it hits me.
After all of these years, it’s finally over. His lifeless body is only a couple of yards away from us, lying on the ground, getting colder as each second passes by. Am I supposed to feel anything? Because I don’t. No, that’s a lie. I do. I feel something. I feel like this is it. We can finally start to live our forever, without having to ever worry about him hurting me or my family ever again.
I feel a smile appear over my mouth, and I rest my head back against the wall, waiting for the ambulance to arrive. “They’re not gonna be long now, beautiful,” I tell her, closing my eyes as her breaths become lighter. “They’re almost here.”
Chapter Twelve
I hear four light knocks on the bedroom door, and then smell the familiar faint scent of perfume as it travels through the air toward me. A hand comes to rest soothingly on my shoulder from
behind, but I don’t turn around. Nope. I keep my gaze focused out of the window. My shoulders are slouched down low and my hands are tucked inside the pockets of my black suit pants.
I must’ve been standing here for around an hour now, just looking up into the sky, watching the dark gray clouds passing by while asking the same damn question, over and over and over again in my mind. A question that I’ll keep asking myself for the rest of my goddamn life. A question that, no matter how many times I ask, I’ll never find out the answer because, let’s face it, nobody knows why.
Why? Why did all of these things have to happen? What good could possibly come from any of this? What was the purpose for allowing him to take another innocent persons life away from them before their time?
One. One person was responsible for all of the pain, misery, heartbreak, loss, and suffering I’ve had to endure. This isn’t the first time that I’ve had to go through something like this. No. Not just the one time. He took four. Four pure souls who didn’t stand a chance against his pure evil and sadistic mind.
Why? Why? Why?
Why? Why?
Why?
“Brandon,” I hear her softly say my name. “The car has just parked up outside.” I close my eyes and feel another tear fall, this time spilling down my right cheek, but I don’t wipe it away. I can’t. I won’t. I refuse to.
I’m grieving. Hell! I’ve spent most of my life this way. Why try and change things now, huh? Wait, no. Grieving? Yeah, I don’t think that I’m grieving. Grieving means that you’re accepting what’s happened and that you’re willing to let go. I’m not doing that.
I will never let go.
I’m angry. Upset. I’m confused. I feel completely empty inside.
I inhale a couple of shaky breaths, trying to fight away the overwhelming urge I have to hurl again when she squeezes my shoulder. No. No, not today. Today isn’t about me. It’s about my best friend. My best friend who deserved to live a long and happy life with their small family. Somebody who was loved by all of the people around them. Someone who didn’t deserve to die in the cold, dark night the way they did. They didn’t deserve to die at all. If I could, then I would go back to that night seven days ago and change it all. I would change what I did; change the things I said. I would’ve done everything different so that I wouldn’t be standing here today, getting ready to attend their funeral. The funeral that was never supposed to take place.
Mistaken Hope Page 13