Hearts are never Broken {Pricefield} #wattys2016

Everyday Heroes

Several days have passed, and Chloe is still the only thing on my mind. Is it love or just the fear of losing her completely that makes me feel so lonely and scared?

I really don't know which one it is. My head is in chaos, nothing seems to fall in place, as if I keep finding new pieces to a puzzle I never wanted to start anyways.

One of the reasons I hid my feelings for Chloe was that I was scared what would happen if we would break up, and now that I'm living those fears, I wish I could turn back time. Go back to when my feelings didn't show, when I could still control them.

If I only knew then what I know now. I would've never said yes if I knew she was dating freaking Rachel.

I turn around in my bed trying to find a comfortable position to sleep. I close my eyes, but feel more awake than ever. After a few minutes of darkness I sigh deeply as I sit up straight.

I guess I won't really be sleeping tonight. It doesn't really matter, I don't have class tomorrow so I might as well do something productive.

I crawl out of bed and take my guitar as I drop myself onto the couch.

Music relaxes me and playing sometimes makes me forget about the world. The sound of my phone buzzing startles me as I get distracted by the noise of the phone and lose the rhythm.

Fuck! Who the hell would be calling at 2 am?

I rush over to grab my phone but I was too late to answer the call. One missed call from Rachel What the hell?

I hesitate before I press the green call button underneath Rachel's name. She immediately picks up.

"Thank God you picked up, I need your help, you have to come to the junkyard."

Rachel speaks fast, as she whispers in a panicking voice.

"Woah, woah Rachel, calm down. What's going on?"
I ask.

"I can't explain, he's here. Tell Chloe to bring a gun," Rachel commands while her voice cracks.

"Wait, what does Chloe have to do with this?"
I pinch the bridge of my nose as I process Rachel's words, it sounds like she's in big trouble... and who is "he"?

"Hurry up, I think he's getting closer. Please, hurry up!"
She hangs up before I could even open mouth.

I stare at my phone before the paranoia kicks in and I press Chloe's name in a hurry.

"Max?" she whimpers.

"Rachel is in trouble, we need to go to the junkyard. Bring a gun."
Silence surrounds me, until Chloe finally breaks it.

"Did she say who was after her?"
Chloe's voice sounds dead serious, as if she knows more about the situation Rachel is currently in.

"All she said was that ' he' was getting closer, she sounded so scared."
Chloe swears and I hear a door slam shut in the background.

"I'm on my way, take a flashlight with you and anything you can protect yourself with," she says authoritatively, and ends the call.

Without hesitation, I grab my messenger bag and open my desk's drawer in a hurry. Trying not to panic, I find the flashlight and stuff it in my bag, hastily throwing on my jacket and running out of my room.

On my way to the exit of the dorm, I bump into Victoria.

"Watch your step, hipster!" she shouts at me as I run past her.

I shove open the doors, and hurry outside as I see nothing but the blinding headlights of Chloe's truck amidst pitch darkness and fog.
I hop in and we immediately drive off towards the junkyard.
Chloe slams a gun and some bullets into my hands.

"Load it. You know how to shoot, right?"
she asks.

Nervously, I flip the cylinder open, scrambling to stuff the bullets into each chamber.

"The only guns I ever fired were filled with balls of paint," I answer, as I close the gun's cylinder and put the safety on.

"It's basically the same, only you have to keep your arms steady, and don't flinch when it backfires."

She explains, keeping both eyes on the road and her foot pushing the gas. She's seriously speeding. I can't blame her.
"Chloe what is happening, who is 'he'?"

Chloe closes her eyes, as she lets out a deep sigh.

"A few months ago Rachel and I had a fight with some creepy guy at a bar. He was flirting with Rachel but she wasn't interested. When he started getting gropey, Rachel punched him in the face, breaking his nose. He started yelling that he would kill her one day... a few days later he started calling her, leaving her death threats. We reported him, and we thought he got locked up."

"Do you think he will really kill her?"
Chloe shakes her head and looks at me. Even in this moment I drown into her eyes, eyes I've been avoiding for days, yet now I can't seem to look away no matter how hard I try.

"The look in his eyes when he said it... It seemed so soulless, like he'd killed before."
I don't know how to answer appropriately to that, and take the flashlight out of my bag.
Chloe opens the glove compartment and hands me a roll of tape.

"Tape your flashlight on it."

I do as she says, taping the small flashlight on the underside of the barrel. It'll be easier to see what we're shooting at now. Accidentally shooting Rachel is not something I need in my life.
Chloe slams the breaks, and jumps out of the car holding a gun with a flashlight taped on it. Where did she get all these guns from? I don't remember William having an interest in firearms.

I follow Chloe but can barely see her in this darkness, so I simply follow the sound of her footsteps rustling between the leaves.
I take her hand out of impulse, I lace our fingers because I am scared of losing her in the dark.

We arrive at the edge of the junkyard and see a flashlight shining between the rows of crushed cars and piled up junk.
The light slowly moves towards us and Chloe quickly pushes the both of us to the ground between the bushes, out of the sight of whoever is out there.
We hold our breath as heavy boots parade around the grounds of the junkyard, alongside the heavy breathing of a man.

"Rachel, come on, don't be such a bitch. Don't make me look for you."
The footsteps grow louder, my heart beats faster.

"Are you... here!?"
The man appears from the corner and my heart stops beating, I have to repress a shriek from the certain appearance of the tall skinny man with a skimask covering his face.

He shakes his head as he doesn't see Rachel.

Chloe slowly lifts her gun and aims it at the man who is standing a few feet from our current position.
She switches on her light and stands up screaming.

"Put your hands where I can see them!"
I stay hidden in the bushes as I carefully aim my gun at the disguised man. He puts his flashlight on the ground and chuckles as he raises his hands in the air.

"I guess I'm busted."
The voice sounds familiar. Chloe mutters the name I had in my head.

"Mister Jefferson?"