Teacher and the Thief

Chapter 32

I hurried through the hallways of the hospital, searching for the room my brother was in. I hoped he was still alive. I hoped I wasn't too late. I was already feeling guilty of so many things, and I didn't want to add his death to the list. I already had Alex's on there. But, as I rounded a corner, I saw my father standing outside of a door, leaning against it, probably thinking.

"Dad!" I called, and his head perked up as I ran into his arms. After tonight, I had to appreciate everyone just a little more.

"What are you doing here?" He questioned, breaking our hug. "You’re covered in blood. Where's Eric?"

"With Mark and Alice." I stated, "Did Mom come?"

"Yes." He replied, "But how could you do that to us? You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"But I didn't. I had to do it. They wanted me to do so many bad things." I lowered my voice, "They made me break into the agency, they hacked the information system, and then I had to get into the weapons vault."

"You didn't." He ordered lowly, "You couldn't have."

"I figured out the password." I muttered lowly, "Why would you do that?"

"You weren't supposed to know it." He growled, "What did they get into?"

"There's fighting going on at the agency right now. Or, at least, there was. There weren't many of them, though. Unless they did get some sort of automatic machine gun, they should all be dead." I whispered the next part, "Two of our family members are dead."

"Phillip isn't dead." Dad stated, "Or not yet."

"I wasn't talking about him."

He pulled on my arm and leaned in close. "Then who? What happened?"

"Trisha should be." I started, but tears formed in my eyes. "And Alex is."

He stood there for a second, not moving, not breathing, just shocked. "Oh my God." He shook his head, "Poor Alice and Mark."

"I know." A tear rolled down my cheek, but Dad wiped it away. "Can I go inside?"

"Yeah." He said, and I opened the door, going inside.

Phillip was laying flat in the bed, his stomach wrapped in all sorts of fabric, and had an oxygen mask on his face. Mom was right by his bedside, and she looked up at me when she heard the door.

"Belle." She whispered, looking back at Phillip. "You're okay. And… covered in blood."

"I am." I sat right next to her, "I said I would be. And it’s Alex’s."

"How could you do that to us?" She asked in disbelief, "I just can't believe it. You both are spies. And Alex, too. Is he okay?"

"Alex is dead." I whispered lowly, and she gasped. "He got shot and fell a few stories."

"You're kidding." She cried, and held Phillip's hand. "I couldn't imagine what Mark and Alice are going through right now."

"They don't know." I told her, "I just don't think I can tell them yet."

"That's…" She paused, trying to find the right word. "Awful."

"I know."

We sat in silence for a bit, only listening to the beeping of Phillip's machine. I didn't know what else I could say. I thought about everything instead.

"Belle." I heard Dad's voice, and when I looked up, he was smiling slightly. "There's someone here for you."

I stood up and walked to the door, but the person came inside before I got to the hallway. And I nearly stopped in my tracks. I was staring at a dead person. But, if anyone could survive anything, it'd be him.