One By One (editing)

Chapter Twenty Eight

"Where are you? What happened? What's the matter?" The questions poured out and I desperately wished I was there with her instead of glued to the spot in the middle of a hallway.

"I'm under the bed in my room. Mom said to hide and call you when they pulled into the driveway. I think it's the bad men."

"Are they inside?"

"I don't know. I heard Mom shout once but other than I can't hear anything. You need to get here as fast as you can. We need help, but you can't tell the authorities Mom said. Or Dad."

"Okay," I breathed, my mind racing. "Stay where you are, I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Okay," She murmured. "Oh my gosh. I hear voices, someone is coming up the stairs. I have to go. Please come soon."

The call ended but I cried desperately into it, "What? No, Em!" They're in our house.

My breath was caught in my throat, I was so scared. I took a second to press my fingers against my head in an attempt to clear away the panic and jumbled thoughts. My dress. I couldn't run or do anything in this thing. I knocked on Lauren's bedroom door, praying that nobody was in there. When there wasn't a response, I ducked inside to steal a pair of black yoga pants and a black sweatshirt.

What she doesn't know won't kill her.

Next, I needed to figure out a way to save Mom and Emily without having myself or one of them killed in the process. They probably had guns, which was a major leverage. Unless I had a gun too.

But where would I find a gun? I groaned in frustration, pounding the wall with my fist. One of the football players downstairs shouted, his voice louder than the rest and giving me a wake-up call. Gabe. His dad was the sheriff, he was my best shot at gaining access to a gun.

But that would require you telling him everything.

It doesn't matter, my family's lives are in danger and if he can give me the weapon that could save their lives, then so be it.

You don't even know how to use a gun.

Then Gabe can use it, or I'll just figure it out. I need to go in there knowing that I have a weapon that would give the illusion that I'm not as vulnerable as I might seem.

But-

Stop arguing with yourself and go already, you're running out of time. I flew down the stairs, putting my head on a swivel in search for his brown hair and football shoulders. Shoving through the mobs of people, I found him in the living room.

"Gabe!" His head turned in my direction at the sound of my voice.

"Hey!" He smiled but one look at my panicked face had his lips twisting into a frown. "What's wrong?"

I reached him and grabbed his hand, panting, "I need your help right now. I'll explain it to you in the car."

"Okay." He looked confused yet he didn't question anything. "My car's parked right outside."

"Okay, come on," I urged, dragging him out of the house. I broke into a run with him hot on my heels. In record timing, we were driving off.

"Do you want to tell me what that was all about?" He asked, his face masked with concern.

"Just answer one question: do you have any guns at your house or do you know where any guns are?" I sound like a psycho.

"Umm yes. Carter, what are you planning on doing?"

"Drive there," I bossed, pointing. My brain was whirring like a fan and I felt like I was going to explode. I wanted to sob my eyes out, scream until my throat was raw, curl up into a ball, and pound my fists against the wall all at the same time. Nice handle on your emotions, Carter. Somehow, I managed to calmly speed Gabe up to date on everything. The words tumbled out, his foot pressing on the accelerator a little harder as I progressed.