Page 74 of Until the End

My gaze flicks to Calvin. His body is covered in blood, and it’s pooled on the floor now.

“You think I care about a little violence? I’ve done plenty worse to get to where I am. I’ll do whatever is necessary to get my life back. My business has been ruined because of that bitch Mariana. The debt hanging over my head won’t just magically go away because we decide to hold hands and skip. Shut the fuck up and give me my talent back.” The ugly sneer on her face sends chills down my spine.

“I can’t do that, and you know it, Cecelia.”

“I don’t care what you can or can’t do. Iwillget what I want,” she screeches like a five-year-old not getting their way. Her eyes flash with malice.

It happens so fast. Our guns fire simultaneously, Ginny screams my name, and my body jolts with more pain than I’ve ever felt in my entire life.

I fall to the floor, pressing my hand to the gunshot wound in my chest. I can’t breathe. The world is flitting in and out.

“Carson!” Ginny screams. “Stay awake. Please, baby. Don’t leave me. Please.”

The plea in Ginny’s voice makes me force my eyes open. It hurts. Fuck, it hurts so bad.

“Get help,” I wheeze. “Go. Now.”

It’s the last thing I can get out before the pain swallows me whole.

Chapter 43

Ginny

The heart rate monitor’s rhythmic beeping is the only thing that’s keeping me going right now. Carson’s hand has lain limp in mine for days while we wait for him to wake up. He barely looks like himself. There’s a tube coming out of his mouth to help him breathe, and his skin looks so pale from the blood loss. The doctors only recently took him off sedation. They said he should wake up at any time now, but it feels like it’s been a month since I last talked to him.

Until I can look into his emerald eyes, I won’t be able to relax.

I’ve never been so terrified in my life.

The second I recognized Cecelia’s intentions, I shoved Carson to the side. The doctors said if I hadn’t, the bullet would’ve gone into his heart. Instead, it hit him in his right lung, making it collapse and bleed internally.

What happened after is a bit of a blur. It’s been randomly coming to me in snapshots, and I hate every single one. I wish they would go away.

All I really remember is seeing Cecelia fall to the ground and not get back up again. I have no idea where Carson’s shotended up hitting her, but the police informed me that she bled out on the floor while I was calling for help.

Calvin had his phone in his pocket, so after I called 911, the operator helped me keep Carson from dying. The paramedics showed up about ten minutes after I called, and they got him into the ambulance soon after arriving. I refused to stay behind, even though the police tried to keep me there. It was only because Uncle Cooper is the police chief that I was allowed to leave.

When the doctors took him back for surgery, one of the nurses in the ER helped me get cleaned up. I had Carson’s blood all over me, and I threw up so many times I barely had the energy to stand.

Michael sat with me while we waited for any news about how Carson was doing. The rest of the family showed up in waves. Not all of them stayed, since we would’ve taken up the entire sitting area, but every one of them hugged me and told me how glad they were that Carson and I were okay.

It was too much to handle, and I came really close to losing it in the waiting room. I wanted to scream at them that Carson wasn’t okay, but I managed to shove the words down into my stomach.

I’m assuming Gia shooed everyone away because as quickly as they showed up, they were gone, leaving only Carson’s parents, his brother, me, and Michael.

In the end, the surgery went well. The doctors put in the breathing tube to allow Carson’s lungs time to heal. He also had to have a chest tube put in to help drain all the fluid that had built up in his chest. It’s hard to see him with all the wires and tubes coming out of him—it makes him seem fragile. I hardly want to touch him in case I hurt him even more. He’s been hurt enough.

A hand on my shoulder pulls me out of my musings. I glance up to see Michael. He’s holding out a cup of hot chocolate,and I give him a small smile in thanks. I’ve never felt more loved than I have these past few days. My family’s brought me every comfort item I could possibly want or need, not to mention feeding me constantly to ensure I’m staying healthy. It’s almost been too much, but I’m grateful all the same.

Michael sits in the chair on the other side of the bed while I drink my treat. “Doc said he’s expecting Carson to wake up sometime today.”

I nod. “I’ve never wanted anything as bad as I want him to open his eyes.”

“He will.” The vehemence in Michael’s voice bolsters my own resolve. It’s then that I notice he’s in his police uniform.

“Are you on shift?”

“Yeah, I just came by on my lunch break. Wanted to check on you and see if there were any updates.”

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