(18+) RED (Complete)

Ch. 77: Safety

"MIA!"

That motherfucker! He shot her! He shot my girl!

"Get off me!" Mr. Maxwell grunted and managed to punch my chest. It wasn't too hard though, but the grasp he had on my chin and cheek was. He almost poked my eye out. I still managed to grab the toaster that was supposed to knock him out at the first attempt. So I took a swing and hit his head with all the strength that I had, and since I was pumped on anger, worry and adrenaline, it did its purpose and then some. He didn't even groan.

I quickly kicked away the gun so he couldn't reach it if he woke up, and called Mia's name again. She didn't react.

"Oh, no... Please. Don't let her die."

There was blood on her face and some in her hair, but it wasn't a big amount. And after a closer inspection, I could only see a solid scrape a little above her hairline.

"Babe? Can you hear me?"

I stroked her cheek and was so incredibly relieved when her eyes fluttered, I could cry. She didn't open them at first, but she winced from the pain and groaned my name.

"Oh, thank you God," I mumbled. "Lay still, Mia. You've been shot. It's only superficial, but don't move. I'll call for an ambulance."

She finally opened her eyes, and they went from squinting to wide open with fear in a second.

"Not so fast," I heard someone snicker behind me. Then I was thrown to the side, followed by the most excruciating pain in my head.

At first I thought I'd passed out, but I could hear Mia scream my name, then cry out when the scumbag hit her again. And I was desperate to make the black dots disappear from my vision so I could defend her. The fact that she was dead silent again, scared the crap out of me.

"Mia!"

"That dumb hoe..." I heard Mr. Maxwell mumble. And I blinked my eyes like crazy and tried to get to my feet while I prepared myself for the worst, when I heard the metallic sound of his gun, aimed directly at my head.

"I told you not to try anything, dipshit. Now look what you did," he hissed, and I tried so hard to come up with some way to get out of this, that my head hurt even worse. But as long as he was the one holding the gun, we were pretty helpless.

"CALL YOUR BANK! NOW!" he shouted.

"BUT I DON'T HAVE MY PHONE!" I yelled back, and I heard him curse through his teeth. Then he dug into his pocket and pulled out my old Samsung.

"Do it!"

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes and tried to unlock the device in my hand, but...

"The battery is dead, you idiot," I grumbled. "How can I call with a dead phone?"

"That's your problem. But just know that in the meantime..."

He stepped away from me and I watched him in confusion as he backed over to Mia.

"Stop," I said and tried to sound stern. Truth was that I could barely handle any more of this. Him threatening to end her life was simply more than I could bear.

"...I'll start counting down from thirty. That's how many seconds you've got to find your charger and dial the number."

I felt the panic flood over me when he pointed the gun at Mia, who once again was unconscious.

"But I don't know where it is! I can't remember..."

"Twenty-nine!"

"Okay!" I yelled, but my mind was completely blank as I started scrambling around through drawers and cabinets. Was it in my bedroom? The living room? I had absolutely not the slightest clue. But my thoughts were interrupted by running footsteps, and when I turned around, I saw JB and Bill in the doorway.