You Could Have Saved Her

by Elizabeth Ballew

  Grunting and groaning, Jaelyn lifted herself off the floor and cupped her head where it smashed against the wall. She appeared a little disoriented from the impact, but otherwise fine. I glanced at Lily and saw that my actions had pulled her out of her stupor, at least enough for her to focus on me instead of her fear.

  Dr. Foley sighed. “I can’t say I didn’t see that coming. Really, Jaelyn, you should know better. I warned you about watching what you say around others. It can come back to bite you before you know it.”

  What bothered me was that he didn’t seem upset that I’d just thrown his daughter into the wall. If he didn’t care about what happened to his own children, then why did he take so much interest in me? And what about Lily? He’d obviously done something to her, or she wouldn’t be so terrified of him. In fact, she seemed to be more comfortable around Jaelyn - the girl who actually treated her like a piece of property - than this man.

  “Don’t worry,” Jaelyn said, getting back to her feet, “It won’t happen again.”

  She narrowed her gaze at me before moving to Lily’s side. It was what I assumed to be a strategic move. If she was close enough to my sister to use her as a shield if need be, then I would be less likely to attack… or something like that.

  “W-We’re leaving,” Lily said, voice shaky but otherwise strong.

  One of Dr. Foley’s brows rose as he glanced at her. To her credit, she held her ground, but her eyes diverted at the last second. A weakness he would no doubt exploit.

  “What makes you think you’re going to get the chance?” he asked. “If you haven’t figured it out by now, we aren’t just going to let you walk out the front door.”

  Lily glanced at the door in question, then at me and back to the door. Was she trying to tell me something? I looked at the door, trying to figure out what she wanted me to know. There was nothing special about it that I could see. It was feet away and… It was feet away. I could literally reach out and touch it. When Jaelyn walked around me to get to Lily, she put herself on the other side of the room. There was no one standing between me and the exit. Was that what she wanted me to realize? I shook my head, there was no way I was leaving her here along to deal with these people. Never again.

  Frowning, she gave me a curt nod and looked pointedly at the door then back at me. It wasn’t a subtle sign, but Jaelyn’s eyes were pinned on me, and Dr. Foley was overconfident in his assumption that we’d be too afraid of him to try anything.

  When she did it again, I glared. “No,” I said, and all eyes turned to me.

  Jaelyn’s eyes narrowed into slits so small, I was surprised she could still see out of them.

  “They’re planning something,” she said. “I just know it.”

  Dr. Foley shrugged. “If you’re so sure, why don’t you take Lily back downstairs? Although, from the looks of it, you might need some help with retraining. It appears she’s become bolder since her sister showed up.” I chuckled, and he glanced at me with raised brows. “If you have something to, you should say it. Isn’t that what you’re positively brilliant therapist taught you?”

  “I’ve already said it before, but I’ll say it again. I never just showed up, your children brought me here. She held me at gunpoint, you kept me locked up, and your son stabbed someone to death and threatened to shoot someone so I wouldn’t leave. If you’re that concerned about my being here, then why bring me here in the first place?” I asked.

  He grinned. “Because I can,” he said.

  “You people are insane,” I said, and his grin widened.

  “There’s no fun in being sane now is there?” he asked, and my jaw dropped. “Now, I think it’s about time we took you back to your room. You have to be exhausted after coming all this way.”

  “Because you refused to give me food and water,” I spat.

  Laughing, he shook his head. “You must be confused. If that was true, then you’d be dead right now. You aren’t dead, are you?”

  “No,” I answered through gritted teeth.

  “There, you see? You’ve had more than enough to sustain you,” he said.

  Jaelyn chuckled. “Maybe it’s all that heat getting to her.”

  “Please,” Lily whispered, and it took me a moment to realize she wasn’t talking to Dr. Foley or Jaelyn, she was talking directly to me. Even throughout our entire conversation, she hadn’t taken her eyes off of me once.

  My heart clenched in my chest at the look of pure anguish on my sister’s face. She wanted nothing more in that moment than for me to walk out the front door and never look back. I couldn’t do that though, not after what happened last time. There was no guarantee I would make it anyway, and whatever happened to either or both of us would be that much worse.

  I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t bring myself to leave her behind, especially not knowing what I do now. She must have seen my face and concluded that I wasn’t going to do as she asked, because she looked away as tears filled her eyes.

  “Hey now,” Jaelyn said. Pulling a tissue out of her pocket, she began dabbing at the corners of her eyes. “Don’t cry or you’ll smear your makeup, and you know how long it took to get it perfect. If I have to start over, I will be very upset.”

  Without so much as a warning, Lily exploded. She thrashed out. Slamming her hands against Jaelyn’s chest, she sent her flying across the living room. I’d never seen my sister exhibit that much strength.

  My eyes widened as she then turned, screaming, and charged straight for Dr. Foley, who, not prepared for the sudden change in demeanor, stood there stunned. Taking the full brunt of her angered momentum, he grunted, stumbling back against the wall.

  Have you ever talked to someone after a major event, and they say it felt like it took minutes when in fact it only took seconds? How, in the movies, the action is played in slow motion to make it more dramatic? Well, let me tell you something. It’s all true.

  After Dr. Foley’s stumble, his face morphed into one filled with rage, and I froze. No matter how much I tried, I couldn’t move. Lily stepped back, not wanting to be in the firing range, but she needn’t have worried, because he didn’t look at her, his glare was directed right at me.

  My heart thudded in my chest, so loud in my ears I barely heard Lily’s yell to run, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t run even if I wanted to, even if I tried. My legs were frozen in place by his gaze. He grinned as if he knew exactly the affect he had over my body, the control. Annoyance knocked me out of my shocked state just in time for him to grab me by the arms and yank me toward him.

  A yelp escaped my throat as he tossed me on the floor, the impact knocking the breath out of me. My weakened state from lack of food and water didn’t help either since I didn’t have anything to cushion the blow.

  “Stop!” Lily yelled, but Jaelyn had grabbed her and was holding her back.

  Dr. Foley placed a booted foot on my chest, slowly shifting his weight into that leg. My ribs protested against the pressure, and I was sure one of them was going to crack any second. I grabbed his leg, trying to push him off of me, but it was no use. My arms weren’t strong enough to counteract the whole of his weight.

  “Can’t breathe,” I gasped as the last of the air left my lungs which could no longer inflate.

  Lily screamed, and out of the corner of my eyes, I could see her struggling against Jaelyn’s hold. She appeared to be winning, but if Dr. Foley decided to suddenly put all of his weight into his right leg, it wouldn’t matter. There was no way my malnourished bones could hold up against him.

  I dug my nails into his legs, gasping for air that wouldn’t come. He laughed as the weight on my chest increased with each passing second. It wouldn’t be long before something inside me gave. The lack of oxygen made everything fuzzy, and the edges of my vision started going dark. Giving one last attempt at fighting, I clawed at the man’s leg, scratching as hard as I could. Just when I would have lost consciousness, the pressure on my chest disappeared.

  Sitting up, I coughed, sucking o
xygen back into my lungs. My ribs throbbed, every breath I took felt like a punch to the gut. I clutched my chest as the man laughed, shaking his head. Jaelyn let go of Lily, and she ran to my side, checking to make sure I was okay. She ran her hands over my face, forcing me to look at her so she could see if I was telling the truth. My chest would have a boot shaped bruise on it, and it hurt to breathe, but otherwise, I was fine.

  She glared at the man, putting herself between us.

  He rolled his eyes. “She’s fine. If I’d wanted to hurt her, I would have done it. Consider what I just did a warning of what could happen if you defy me again,” he said. “Remember that the next time you want to put ideas into your sister’s head.”

  Now I understood. No matter what we did, it would be my fault. Lily was the one he truly wanted, and I was the one he had to have in order to keep her from doing anything he didn’t approve of. Her punishment, was me getting punished.

  He turned to look at his daughter who nodded as if she read his mind before pulling something out of her purse that sat across her body. The knife glinted under the fluorescent, and panic began to rise. I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn’t cooperate, and all my effort received was using up the last of my remaining energy.

  “Now, I think it’s time we show Calla what happens to bad little girls who don’t do what they’re told,” he said, and I swallowed hard, pulse racing in my head.

  Lily pushed me back, putting herself in front so in order to get to me, he had to go through her. The fact that I was glad to have her protecting me made me feel like crap, and I grasped her shoulder.

  “We can run-”

  She shook her head. “You don’t even have the energy to stand,” she said. “Besides, even if we did manage to get outside, we’d never be able to actually escape these two. Our only chance to be truly free is now, but we have to take it.”

  “What do you mean?” I wanted to ask, but never had the chance.

  Lily screamed before she charged at the man once more. The only difference now being that he held a knife, and my sister did not. Pushing myself to my knees, I wobbled, catching my breath. Once she was close enough, she lunged, latching onto his upper body like a monkey. It would have been humorous if it wasn’t so dire.

  The man, not one to get caught off guard twice, wrapped his arms around her like they were giving each other a full body hug, effectively trapping her in a vice. I forced myself to my feet, willing them to hold up for just a little while longer. Wobbling toward the kitchen, I ignored the way my body protested each movement in favor of finding something, anything that would help my sister.

  “No you don’t,” Jaelyn said, appearing behind me. She grabbed my arm and yanked me back.

  Knowing I wouldn’t be able to fight her off, I didn’t try. What they say about relaxing your body before you crash into something makes it hurt less might be true, but that didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt at all. I grunted as I crashed into the floor for the second time in less than thirty minutes. My right elbow collided with one of the side tables, and pain shot up through my arm.

  Lily yelled behind me, and the couch bowed under her weight. She got up, saw Jaelyn standing over me, and ran between us, once again putting herself between me and my attacker. I’d never felt so useless in my entire life. I thought coming back here would mean saving Lily’s life, but I even expected for her to be the one saving mine.

  Jaelyn huffed. “What are you doing, Lily? You’re supposed to be listening to me.”

  “Not anymore,” Lily said as she lowered her stance into a crouch.

  Just as Lily was about to lunge, an arm wrapped around my waist and hauled me into the air. I gasped as the floor suddenly disappeared from under my feet, legs flailing wildly. Dr. Foley’s arm tightened, and I grunted as it put pressure on my already sore front side. I reached up to grab his arm when the cold edge of the knife’s blade touched my neck.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” he hissed into my ear. “Now, tell your sister to stop.”

  “Lily,” I gasped. “Stop.”

  Hearing my voice, Lily glanced in my direction and froze mid-step. She glared at Jaelyn again, obviously wanting nothing more than to tear her limb from limb, but she backed away and turned her attention to me and to the knife pressed against my skin.

  “Good,” he said, and I could hear the grin on his face.

  My hands clenched into fists at my sides, my jaw tightened as I tried to think of a way out of this. This hadn’t been the plan. We were supposed to work together and get out of this place, escape these people for good.

  Lily’s body mimicked mine, hands clenched, jaw tight, and the fact that we were twins hit home. She no longer looked anything like me, and yet I saw every part of myself in her. This was the person who I spent every waking moment with, who I grew up with, perfect match and my mirror image. No matter what, I wouldn’t lose her. After all this, we were going to get out of here together.

  Without warning, I went slack in Dr. Foley’s hold. His arm held up my entire weight, and while I’d lost quite a bit in the last few weeks, that was still a lot of weight on one arm. His body unbalanced and his grip loosened just a bit, but it was enough. Needing to adjust his hold, the knife slipped away, and I jerked out of his arms. Since he still had a hold of me, however, when I moved, he moved with me. Together, we toppled forward, and seizing the moment of distraction, Lily lunged.

  Jaelyn screamed just as Lily reached us, and together the three of us collided with the floor. At the bottom of the pile, I couldn’t move. Lily and Dr. Foley struggled on top of me, and I struggled to breathe under their weight. I shimmied out from under them, every muscle in my body protesting as I dragged myself forward, forcing my arms and legs to go beyond their limits.

  Reaching out for something to give me leverage, the tip of my fingers touched something that made my heart stop. Wrapping my hand around the knife’s hilt, I twisted around and my breath caught. Lily was on her back with Dr. Foley sitting on top of her. He had one hand pinning her arms above her, and the other hand wrapped around her throat. She kicked and jerked, but he was too strong. She had no leverage and no way to strength to use against him.

  “No, don’t kill her!” Jaelyn yelled.

  “I’ll get you another doll,” he said, voice strained. “One that doesn’t fight back.”

  “No!”

  Squeezing my hand around the knife, I yelled, “Hey asshole!”

  Just as Dr. Foley glanced my way, I closed my eyes and shoved the knife forward.

  TWENTY-TWO

  Dr. Foley grunted, and I squinted my eyes open to see him staring at his side - and the knife sticking out of it - as if he couldn’t quite figure out what he was seeing. Lily coughed, gasping in lungfuls of oxygen as she sat up. She cupped her neck and backed away, putting distance between them. I couldn’t take my eyes off of the knife. The gravity of what I’d done sinking in.

  Jaelyn yelled and rushed forward to dad’s side, hands waving frantically, unsure where to touch or how to help. Blood poured from the wound, creating a dark blue, black stain on his light blue shirt.

  “Are you okay? Should I call an ambulance?” Jaelyn asked, but Dr. Foley didn’t get an opportunity to answer.

  Lily lunged forward, shoving Jaelyn out of the way before grabbing the knife and yanking it out of his side. He gasped, clutching the now gaping wound. The blood that had been tampered by the knife, gushed out of the whole in his side. Jaelyn screamed as her father doubled over, and Lily plunged the knife up and straight into his chest.

  “No! What did you do?” Jaelyn yelled, shoving Lily back.

  Lily, whose hand had still been grasping the knife, took it with her as he fell, and Dr. Foley winced as it tore out of his chest. He dropped to the floor, blood creating a pool around his body, and I watched in horrified fascination as his body flinched and spasmed as he took his last gasping breaths before he just stopped. He stopped moving, stopped breathing, stopped living.

  Jaelyn
froze in shock as her father died right before her eyes, and there was nothing she could do about it. Lily looked from the man to the knife in her hands and back as if she couldn’t believe what she just did. I couldn’t believe it either, but right then, one of us needed to be strong, and it didn’t look like that person was her.

  Moving over to my sister’s side, I gingerly took the knife out of her hand and set it aside. She looked at me, and tears formed in her eyes. I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her into a hug that I hoped said I understood. No one should have to bear the burden of taking other person’s life, not even if the person whose life you took deserved it.

  Lily suddenly jerked in my arms, and I pulled back, looking at her forehead wrinkled. Her eyes were narrowed in confusion as her hands clenched at my waist.

  “What?”

  She glanced down, and that’s when I noticed the wetness. Pulling my hands away from her back, I looked at them. They were covered in something wet and stick… and red. Eyes wide, my heart stopped in my chest, air frozen in my lungs.

  “Lily?”

  Her body grew limp in my arms, and she smiled as the light faded from her eyes.

  “Lily!”

  “I’m sorry,” she said, but the words were silent.

  “Lily!” I screamed as her eyes dropped closed and she collapsed to the floor in a lifeless heap.

  My mother’s words from my dream echoed in my mind. Do me a favor, protect your sister for me. She will do whatever it takes to save you without thinking about the cost to herself. Mom was right, but there was nothing I couldn’t do now. She’d done everything in her power to protect me, giving it all until she had nothing left to give. I’m sorry mom, but I can’t keep out promise.

  Jaelyn stood behind Lily breathing hard with tears streaming down her face. The knife protruded from my sister’s back, blood pouring from the wound. Calmer than I thought possible, I wrapped my fingers around the knife and pulled it out gently. Kissing the top of her head, I laid her down on the floor and closed her eyes.