Dolan Enterprise ~ e.d.

XLIII

Kendal

"Racheal you should get home." I mutter. "Are you sure? I can stay." She rambles. I know she just wants to help but she really shouldn't be here. It's too much to handle. She needs to be home where it's safe.

"Just get home where it's safe." I say as I hold both of her shoulders. She nods as she takes in every word. "Don't be afraid to call me." She says sternly. I nod as I lead her out.

As she leaves I let out a breath that I didn't even know I was holding. I'm quick to search for Ethan.

Of course he's hidden in one of the bathrooms, checking out his lip. "Are you okay?" I ask as I take in the slightly busted lip.

"Yeah you should see the other guy." He jokes. "Trust me I saw him." I chuckle as I grab a washcloth and dampen it.

"Here." I mutter. He's quick to turn towards me and that's when I also see a cut on his cheek. I don't remember what it's from.

He watches me closely as I bring the washcloth up to his lip and clean it up gently. He lets out a hiss due to my touch regardless of how gentle I am. "Sorry." I murmur.

I focus really hard on not hurting him and getting it done as quickly as I can. I'm ripped out of my focus by Ethan grabbing my wrist and taking it away from his face. My first thought is that I'm hurting him.

"We have to get out of here." He says barely above a whisper. "What?" I ask shocked. I'm beyond confused. "Just for a while. It'll be like a vacation." He says trying to ease me.

"Why?" I ask scrunching up my face. "I told you I'd take care of you and being here isn't the best thing for you right now." He murmurs.

"We're fine. He's gone." I say quickly. I'm so confused. I have no idea what's flying through his head. "What if he pulled that gun out on you? I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to you because of me." He rambles.

"It's just until this all dies down." He adds. "What about work?" I ask confused. "Grayson can take care of it. It won't hurt to miss a couple of weeks." He shrugs. He's right. He has tons of money that he's able to use.

"Where will we go?" I ask wanting to know what he has in mind. "I own a place in Colorado. No one would ever bother us there." He says.

I nod as I take in everything he's saying. He's serious about leaving and I don't know what to do. I didn't realize it was all this serious.

"Go get some of your things. I'll be up there in a minute okay." He says seriously. I nod yet again. "We're leaving tonight." He says sternly.

This time I don't nod. I just make my way up to our room. I try and think of what all I should take.

As I reach our room I'm freaking out. What's gonna happen to us? How many people are after Ethan and what for?

I grab a bag for me and a bag for Ethan so he can quickly gather his things. I don't want him to feel too rushed. He's probably freaking out. A man just pulled a gun on him out in front of his own house.

Ethan

"Hey I need you to run things on your own for a while." I tell Grayson through the phone. I know this confuses him. "What?!" He ask shocked. It's late and I usually never tell him I'm missing work.

"I've Uh ran into some trouble and I've found that it's best if we leave for a while." I explain to him. "Please don't tell me you got Kendal involved in all of this." He sighs. I don't know what to say. I've wanted to prove to everyone that I'm better for her and I've failed yet again.

"She's the reason I'm leaving. I don't want her in danger so her and I are leaving." I explain, somewhat angry.

"Okay bro. Call me if you need me. I'll be there as soon as I can." He's always ready for everything it seems like. If I'm ever in trouble I know I can count on him to show up within minutes.

As I hang up I'm quick to head up to the room. Before I even reach the stairs Kendal stands there with two large bags probably packed full of everything we'd need for two weeks.

"I um packed you some things that I figured you might need." She says softly as she holds up one of the bags for me to see.

"Thank you. I just need to go grab a couple more things." I say quickly. She nods as she comes the rest of the way down the stairs and sets the bags down.

"It'll just take a minute." I say quickly before I run up the stairs. I run right into what is now our room and make my way to the bed. I drop on my knees right next to the bed and reach my arm under it. As soon as I feel the big box I slip it out.

I unhitch the locks and swing the top open. There sits the gun and it's clip. I load the clip and make sure the safety is on. I put it behind my back between my back and my jeans.

I don't really want Kendal to know I have it. I don't want her to be scared but it's necessary for Me to have in order to protect her. Anything could happen and I want to be ready for it.

I let out a deep breath as I make my way back down the stairs. "You ready." I ask her. She just nods quietly.

Word count 1004