If You Forget | ✓

Chapter 14

"Don't get an inch closer, or I'll shoot her," Theodore barks as he puts the gun against my temple once again.

I look over to the policemen, and see Officer Marsh in the front, along with the younger officer who took me to the bathroom. There's a few more of them, and they're still holding their guns up, but not getting any closer to us as Theodore instructed.

"You know," Marsh says, "at first I didn't believe the girl when she told us what happened. I thought her head was still unclear, tried to listen to the doctors instead. But I didn't expect to be in the wrong about this." He stops, looking at him in disgust. "We all tried our best to find her for you, because of your desperate act. Were you really the ones behind all of this the entire time?"

"Oh, come on. You don't have any children, you can't understand this," Theodore retorts, as if holding your own child to a gunpoint is a completely normal thing to do.

"You're right, I don't. But I have a pregnant wife at home, and when my son is born, I can guarantee that I'll never treat him like this."

They stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, and nobody makes a move. I can only guess that Jasmine is in the same position too, since I can't see what's going on behind me, but I don't hear any sounds coming from her. There's only an awkward silence as we all wait for something to happen.

"Look," Officer Marsh decides to break the silence, "the backup is on its way. If you want, we can stay like this for a little longer, but we're getting nowhere. You'll be surrounded soon, so lower your gun and knife and let the kids go." Knife? Theodore's gripping me with one hand and holding the gun in another, so with a tinge of panic I realize Jasmine is probably the one who has the knife. She could hurt Chris at any moment, and I probably wouldn't even see it.

"Then I guess we'll all go down together." Theodore stays determined as he presses the gun closer to my head. I wince at the impact, but he pays no attention to me. "It's a shame, you know. We never planned to kill her."

I look at Officer Marsh, who glares at Theodore cautiously. Even though he's at the front of the group, it seems that everyone is following his example. My gaze flies over the group, looking for anyone whose attention is on me. Finally, I spot that younger officer nervously glancing back and forth between Theodore and me.

Save Chris, I mouth to him. He seems to understand what I'm trying to say, and gives me a barely noticeable nod before he flashes a look behind me. For a split second, I think I see a confused expression written all over his face, but when I blink, his eyes are back on me and he looks just as nervous as he did before that.

I sense that Theodore is about to say something, but he's interrupted by a loud yelp coming from behind us, and a sound of metal hitting the wooden floor. I can't turn around to see what's going on behind me, but he does, and I feel his grip on me loosena bit as he tries to understand what's happening.

I grab my chance without thinking and gather all the strength I have left in my body to wrench out of his arms. I knock the gun out of his hand and hear a surprised grunt from him as Officer Marsh runs to his side and handcuffs him with lightning speed. Another two policemen tackle Jasmine, while Chris is crumpled on the floor again.

Breathing. Blinking. Moving.

The realization slowly breaks through my hazed mind. He's awake.

"Chris!" I dodge the other officers, who are walking behind Jasmine and Theodore, leading them outside. I kneel by his side, hugging him tightly.

"El... Elainne," he mumbles against my shoulder, and tears of relief finally break out of me. He tries to wrap his arm around me as I sob into his tattered shirt, but I don't need to be a medical expert to see how weak he is. We hug each other as the police sirens wail outside.

"Shhh, it's okay," I say as I rub his back. "We're safe. We're safe now."

***

Aaaand we're back and all safe now! ... Or are we? >.>

Just like yesterday, you're getting chapter 15 right after this one, so buckle up, because we're so so close to the end!

Nina <3