Heart Shaped Lies

Chapter Eleven

"Don't scream. Please, don't scream."

The voice, although groggy and slurred, was immediately recognizable. 

"Sawyer," Hannah  whispered. 

Sawyer knelt down and began untying her.

"William is stronger than I gave him credit for, but he's also a coward.  He hit me while my back was turned."

Hannah 's binds had just fallen to the floor when her father returned. Sawyer jumped to his feet and moved protectively in front of Hannah , raising the gun. 

"Shouldn't you be dead?" William didn't sound angry, just annoyed to see that Sawyer was alive. 

"I guess I'm a little stronger than the girls you are used to beating," Sawyer countered boldly. 

"Well, at least this time Hannah  can watch what I do to you." William grinned wickedly. 

Sawyer aimed the gun, but before he could pull the trigger William was upon him, knocking the weapon from his hand. It slid across the floor, stopping when it bumped the wall. 

Hannah  watched in horror as her father brutally attacked Sawyer. Blood dripped from Sawyer's broken nose. She heard the sickening crack of his ribs breaking as William kicked him over and over. Her father grabbed Sawyer's head and began banging it against the floor. The light that had barely returned to Sawyer's eyes since awakening from the first beating was beginning to fade quickly. 

"Stop it!" Hannah  screamed. "Please, stop! He's dying! You're killing him!" 

Hannah  tangled her hands in her hair, pleading to no avail.

It's up to you, my love. The soft, kind voice that filtered into Hannah 's head belonged to her mother.

Mom? Mom, what do I do?

Finish it.

Hannah  ran for the gun, her father not even noticing until he heard the click of the hammer being pulled back. He released Sawyer, who slumped lifelessly to the floor.

"Hannah , what are you doing?" her father asked, approaching her cautiously. 

"Stay away from me!" Hannah  shrieked, aiming the gun at his head. Her hand was shaking so badly, she feared the shot would miss him completely if she fired now. 

"Hannah ..."

Mom, help me...

Hannah  took a deep breath, trying to mimic the courage her mother had shown on the last night of her life. Her hand steadied. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, but she had never felt so calm, so in control. 

"Rot in hell, you bastard!" Hannah  screamed as her finger tightened around the trigger and the gun went off. The bullet exploded through William's forehead, blood splattering on the wall behind him. His body slumped to the floor. Hannah  stared down at him.

"You should've killed me when you had the chance," she murmured. With that said, her eyes rolled back and she crumpled to the floor, unconscious, between  the man that had fought to save her and the man that had fought to kill her.