Biting my tongue so had that blood spills out into my mouth, I concentrate on that coppery taste. I cross my arms and stare down at Coleman.
“If you don’t turn around and walk out of this room right now, I will put you back in the same prison cell I got you out of,” he yells at me.
I turn and Karl steps to the side, a condescending grin playing on his lips. I grab the door handle and yank it open, slamming the door into Karl’s face with full force. I follow my attack with a punch square in his jaw, which makes Karl’s eyes roll back. His body hits the floor with a loud thump.
“I promise you, I will put you in a hole so deep you will never see the light of day again!” Coleman spits at me.
“Get out of here,” I tell the girls.
Jenna grabs Josie and Eliza and drags them out the door without looking back.
Coleman stands up. “You just made the biggest mistake of your life!”
“I seriously doubt that.” Out of all the things I have done, this seems like one of the best decisions.
I turn to walk out the door when I hear the gun go off. It takes me a moment to realize that I have been shot. Karl is still on the floor but awake and his gun is pointed in my direction. I look down, my shirt is already soaking up the blood pouring out of my chest. I don’t start feeling the pain until I am running down the hallway. I make it to my car out back and start driving.
I only make it a few miles down the road before I can’t keep the car driving straight anymore. I park behind a grocery store and get out my phone. Scrolling down my numbers I find Mason Peters. The Navy vet has patched me up many times before and I am sure he has dealt with a fair share of gunshot wounds while spending time in Iraq as a field medic. My thumb hovers over his name. I can feel myself getting lightheaded, thanks to the amount of blood I’ve already lost.
A dark thought runs through my mind, invading every part of me.
What if I don’t call him?
I could just sit here and do nothing. It’s quiet out here, in the dark. Almost peaceful. It wouldn’t take long now. I could just close my eyes and go to sleep. All the pain and guilt washed away by the ultimate darkness. Death has never been so appealing.
I have no reason to still be here. There is no one left in my life. No family, no friends. Nothing worth living for. I wish I could trade my life for Sarah’s. Her life was worth a thousand times more than mine. She was a person who mattered and I took her away.
If I could die now, so she could come back, I would do it in a heartbeat. I hate that I feel peaceful now at the thought of letting it end. I don’t remember a lot from that day, but I do remember Sarah’s eyes right before she died. They haunt me in my dreams. She was so scared and shocked. I will never forget how she looked at me. I deserve to die, but I don’t deserve the peace that would come with death.
11
Josephine
Jenna takes me to some apartment. I think its Elisa’s but I’m not sure. Words that have come out of Jenna's mouth barely reached me while we were driving here. The sound of the gunshot was ringing in my ear too loudly to understand anything else.
Now, that we are here in this new place, my senses are slowly returning to me.
“Let me take the jacket, Josie.” Jenna looks at me, concern written all over her face.
I wrap my arms around myself tightly, not wanting to let go of Colt's jacket. I’m probably never going to see him again, at least I have this piece of him with me. Jenna steps closer and starts sliding it off my arm. I’m too tired and weak to fight her right now, so I let it happen.
“What the hell Josie, you told me to you were fine and not hurt,” Jenna says looking at my arms.
“I am fine and those are just some scrapes.” I honestly forgot about them. The pain in my chest erases all another discomfort right now.
“What about the blood on your shirt? That’s not from a few scratches.” I have to look down to my shirt to see what she is talking about. I forgot about the blood that didn’t come out in the washer too.
“I had a nosebleed,” I explain.
“Oh my god, did he hit you?” Jenna gasps.
“No, he didn’t hit me. And the scratches happened before I even met Colt.” Trying to change the subject I ask her, “Why can’t we call the police?” I overheard Jenna and Eliza talking about not calling the police on the way up here.
“That creepy guy who was behind the desk. That’s Coleman, remember the whole thing with Eliza I told you about?
I nod, remembering how Jenna told me how Jaxon got her out of this horrible situation, where the foster father tried to rape Elisa.
“Coleman is a judge now and he used his connections to pin some charges on Hunter and Jaxon they didn’t commit. They have also threatened me and Eliza for lying under oath.”
“Oh, so the paper you signed were new statements?” In my mind, pieces are falling into place. Jenna and Eliza through Hunter and Jaxon under the bus to save me. Just when I thought I couldn’t feel any worse.
Eliza makes us some hot chocolate and brings them to the living room.
“I wish you two could have met under better circumstances,” Jenna says when we are all sitting on the couch.
Glad to be talking about something else, I tell Elisa, “I am glad to finally meet you. Jen talks about you all the time and it was killing her not to be able to tell you about me.”
“I understand.” Eliza gives me smile. I know she usually doesn’t talk to strangers so, I’m completely happy with her one-word response.
“I’m going to lie down for a bit,” Eliza says quietly and gets up. “Guest room is the first door on the right.” Jenna and Eliza hug again before she disappears into her bedroom.
“What do you think happened after we left?” I ask. I can’t stop thinking about that shot we heard. I don’t think Colt had a gun which means that someone else must have shot. The idea of Colt being shot chills me to the bone. No, I can’t think about that. Even if we could never be together. At least he has to be alive.
“I have no idea and honestly, I don’t care either. I am just glad that you are here now. I was so worried about you.” I feel horrible that she was worried about me when I felt safe with Colt. She must misinterpret my somber expression because next, she asks, “do you want to call your parents?”
“No,” I blurt out.
“No? Just no?”
“I just want to be with you right now. My parents would come and get me the second I call them. And if they know how you were involved in all of this, they probably won’t let me see you again.” I start sobbing at the last word and I fall into Jenna’s arms unable to take it any longer. “They’re going to blame you.” It’s true, whatever I tell them they’re going to blame Jenna. There is no way I am going home right now. At least I can have my sister for a few more days.
“Josie, it’s okay. Not much longer and we’ll be eighteen.” She holds me for another few minutes before we go to the guest room and lie down.
Jenna falls asleep almost immediately. Glad to be close to her, I take her hand and watch her. I wish I could tell her how I really felt about Colt, but I know she would never understand. Thinking about how different Colt was with Coleman and on the phone with Jenna, I realize that she only knows the one side of him. I wonder if she will ever know anything else. I cry myself to sleep, unable to stop the tears.
When Eliza wakes us up in the morning, my head feels like it is filled with lead. Just opening my eyes hurt. I look out of the window and notice that it must be in the afternoon already.
“Frederick just called,” Eliza says, her voice small and gentle with a hint of sadness. “I told him what happened this morning and that Josie is with us now. Coleman was the judge they saw when they went to court. No bail was set, and our statements were added to the case as evidence.” Eliza looks like just saying the words cause her pain.
“Also, he told the guys that Colt was shot this morning and that he didn’t make it.”
My lu
ngs stop working and my heart momentarily stops beating. When it starts back up I feel different. Everything around me seems a shade darker and all colors have lost their vibrancy. Colt is dead.
Jenna, getting the wrong idea once more tells me, “Don’t feel bad about feeling relieved that he is dead. He kidnapped you and held you against your will.” She covers her hand with mine and I force a tiny smile. “It’s going to be okay Josie. Everything is going to be fine,” she is trying to assure me, but I know she is wrong.
Nothing is going to be fine. No-one can bring Colt back to me. Jenna starts playing with my hair, trying to console me. I always liked when she did that, but even this can’t make me feel better today.
Desperate for some kind of distraction, I turn on the TV and start flipping through the channels absentmindedly. “I’m going to take a quick shower. Eliza just told me that she has a large steam shower in her bathroom and that’s exactly what I need right now,” Jenna tells me and leaves the room.
As soon as I’m in the room by myself I lose it again. Without anyone here to see me, my sobs wreck through my body uncontrollably. Why did he have to die? I should have gone back to help him. He protected us and we just left him there. I left him behind. The only guy who ever understood me and I lost him within two days of meeting him. Now Jenna will never get a chance to see that side of Colt.
I grab Colt’s jacket off the chair where Jenna had left it. I put it on and immediately I can smell him. Another stab in the chest makes it impossible to stand up any longer. I slump down next to the bed. I pull my knees up to hug them and bury my face in the jacket.
I don’t know how long Jenna is gone, but suddenly she is back. “Josie, what’s wrong?” She comes and sits next to me on the floor. She puts her arm around me. “Josie, please talk to me.”
I wish I could tell her the truth. I lift my head up a little, just enough to say, “I don’t know. It’s stupid.”
“What is stupid?”
“I just feel like it was my fault that Colt died.” It’s hard to say the words out loud, it just hurts so much.
“What?! No, Josie. How could that possibly be your fault? He was the one who kidnaped you. He got himself into this all by himself.” I know what she is saying is basically true, but that doesn’t make my heart feel empty any less.
“I know all of that, but at the end, he did let us go and saved us from who knows what. We should have helped him.” Something that looks like understanding flickers across Jenna’s face. I realize that she still doesn’t get half of it but at least she is sympathizing with me at some level.
“You are right, we should have tried to help him,” she tells me and I believe her. She might have not liked Colt but at least we can agree that we should have helped him. “Eliza laid us out some clothes, you don’t have to wear Colt’s Jacket anymore.”
I take a deep breath and get up. I grab the bottom of the jacket to shrug it off when I feel something in the pocket. Confused I reach inside and find a small rectangle object. I take it out and hold my hand open so we can both look at it.
We both stare at the small thumb drive in my palm. “Please tell me we have a computer here.” Jenna runs out of the room yelling for Elisa.
Less than a minute later we are in Elisa’s bedroom in front of her laptop. I am inserting the thumb drive into the USB slot. It has a single word written on it, “Coleman.”
The screen comes to life and a folder appears. I double click on it and about twenty subfolders open. It doesn’t take long to realize what this is. Every single file holds a new set of incriminating evidence. Video of Coleman in the club with underage girls, text messages of him asking for drugs and a document that indicates him tampering with evidence. Colt kept a file on Coleman.
He must have slipped it in the pocket in the hallway. I know the pockets were empty when we walked into the building and I was wearing it the whole time. This is everything we need to get Jaxon and Hunter out of jail. Colt saved everybody.
It takes a few hours for the lawyer to get the guys out of jail. When they finally call, they want to meet us at Jaxon’s and Elisa’s club. Apparently, Hunter got hurt before he was released and some doctor is there to patch him up now. We drive up to the back and Eliza opens the door with a keypad. She opens the door and falls into Jaxon’s waiting arms.
Jenna clears her throat loudly when the hug takes a little too long.
Eliza starts giggling and pulls away a little. “Sorry,” she says shyly.
“Calm down Jen, you’ll get yours soon enough,” Jaxon teases my sister before giving me his attention. “You must be Josie.” He holds out his hand. “I would like to say that I hear a lot about you, but I really hear very little about you.”
“And you must be Jaxon,” I say, shaking his hand. “I have heard a lot about you. Jen talks about you guys all the time and I am sorry she kept me a secret. She didn’t want to, but my family is pretty secretive when it comes to that whole subject. Anyway it is so great to finally meet you.”
“Wow, there really are two of you.” Jaxon steps aside to let us in while keeping an arm tightly around Elisa’s waist. “Hunter is inside with the doc. They are almost done.”
Jenna takes my hand and pulls me in. Walking into the main room, we find the others sitting on some couches. We stop right in front of Hunter. Jenna doesn’t move until he says, “I'm okay, come here.”
Jenna turns back to look at me as if she needed my permission to go to him. I smile at her and let go of her hand. I watch as she slowly lowers herself onto Hunter’s lap and wraps her arms around his neck. I am so happy for her that she found someone. At least one of us is going to be happy.
I sit down on one of the couches while Eliza and Jaxon take a seat on another.
“Hunter, this is my sister Josie,” Jenna says after a while of cuddling up to him.
“I would have never guessed. You two look nothing alike,” he jokes.
“Are you okay?” Jenna lays her hand on his chest. “You seem sad. Why aren’t you happy that you are out? What happened? How did you get into a fight?”
“The fight was nothing. I’ll be back to normal in a few days. And I am happy, trust me. It’s just…,” he trails off.
“It’s because of Colt. You are sad because he died.” Hunter looks like he is about to say something but Jenna holds her index finger in front of his lips.
“You don’t have to explain yourself. I know that he was your friend and that had nothing to do with how I felt about him. You have every right to be sad and mourn your friend. You are not the only one mourning him.”
I instantly feel this comradely with Hunter and Jaxon. They mourn Colt, just like I do. I know they used to be friends. That means that they know the side of Colt I’ve met.
I want them to know that I understand and that he will be missed, not only by them. “I know Colt has done some very bad things, but in the end, he did save us and sacrificed himself. I didn’t want him to die and I wish we could have done something to help him.”
Jaxon speaks next. “I know I should hate him and be glad that he is gone but it’s hard to do that when someone was your friend for so long.”
A loud sigh comes from the guy working on Hunter, “All done.” He takes off his gloves and throws them on a small pile of trash next to him.
“I promised not to say anything but seeing how you guys are having a heart-wrenching memorial for a guy that’s not dead makes me a little uncomfortable.” I stare at him, trying to figure out if I just heard him right.
“What are you talking about Mason?” Hunter snaps.
“Colt is not dead. I dug a bullet out of him and patched him up this morning. He was fine when he left my place. So, unless he died since then, he is still alive,” Mason says while packing up his stuff.
“Where is he now?” I ask eagerly, drawing all attention to myself.
“Don’t worry, he won’t come after you. He has no reason now,” Hunter tries to soothe me.
“I could
n’t tell you anyways,” Mason says before getting up. “He didn’t tell me where he was heading, just that he was leaving town and never coming back.”
“I should go back home,” I say quietly after both Mason and what I assume was the lawyer leave. Jenna gets up from Hunter's lap and sit next to me. “I need to go back and finish school,” I tell her. Colt is alive. I need to find him and I can’t do that here, with my sister who hates him.
“You don’t have to leave now. I have to go back to school too. I already missed a week.” Her pleading tone makes me sad but I have to find him. I just need to see him again. I need to know if there was really something between us or if I just imagined the whole thing.
“Why don’t you stay and finish school here? We both know we won’t be able to see each other for the next few months.” I hate pointing that fact out but it’s true. My dad probably already knows that Jenna was involved in this and even if he doesn’t know, he thinks I just ran off. He is going to blame Jenna either way and he is not going to let me see her if he can help it.
“As you said, not much longer and then no one can tell us what to do anymore,” Jenna says with tears in her eyes.
She spends the next few hours trying to convince me to stay but I stay adamant about leaving.
“I’m going to call you as soon as I can,” I whisper in Jenna’s ear while we are hugging goodbye.
“You sure you don’t want me to come and take you home?”
I assure her that I’m fine and that Hunter needs her now before Jaxon and Eliza drive me home.
12
Colt
The gardening crew doesn’t even pay me any attention as I stroll up the driveway into the house. One of them even greats me and I give them a friendly nod in return.
I walk in the front door like I belong here, knowing that Josie parents are gone. I watch them leave the house about an hour ago and I’m counting on them staying out for a while longer.
The Lies We Tell: An Enemy to Lovers Young Adult Romance (Pushed Aside Book 3) Page 6