Page 93 of Somewhere Without You
Just a few more steps. . .
But the floor betrayed me. A loud creak snapped her head in my direction.
“Well then,”she said, her voice now eerily calm as she wiped her tear-streaked face with one hand.“Since you broke my heart. . . it’s only fair I break yours.”
The flash that followed wasn’t lightning.
It was the flash of the muzzle.
The shot stole my breath entirely, searing through flesh and bone like fire. I cried out, staggering back—when a second blast rang out.
This time, Logan jumped in front of me.
His eyes widened, body locking in place. For a breathless second, an eternity pressed into a heartbeat. Our eyes met. Then the light in his gaze dimmed. His body jolted once, then collapsed against mine, heavy and terrifyingly still.
Madeline stumbled back, eyes wide in disbelief, the gun clattering to the floor. She backed away slowly, her expression blank now, the adrenaline draining as she sank where she stood.
I lay helpless as the world tilted and spun around me, the air thick with eerie silence. Blood pooled beneath me, dark and spreading, swallowing the floor where Logan and I lay.
I reached for him, but my fingers were numb. My vision tunneled as I tried to hold on.
“What have I done?”Madeline whispered. Her hands hung useless in her lap as she stared blankly ahead.“Oh my God. . . what did I do?”
I tried to scream, but nothing came out. I couldn’t tell if Logan was breathing. I couldn’t feel anything anymore. My vision dimmed as everything softened, floating somewhere between pain and silence as I drifted.
Inches away, my phone lay where it had landed. I bit down hard, pushing through the white-hot pain that tore through me with every shallow breath. Using the slick trail of mine and Logan’s blood, I dragged myself across the floor, inch by inch, stretching my arm as far as it would go—until finally, my fingers closed around it.
My hand shook as I brought the phone closer, smearing blood across the screen. It slipped once, nearly falling from my grip, but I caught it.
I punched in the numbers, my eyes flicking to Madeline. She sat frozen in place, staring down at her hands in stunned silence, like she didn’t recognize them anymore.
Then a voice crackled through the speaker.“911, what’s your emergency?”
I tried to speak, but nothing came out—just a strained gasp.
“Hello? Can you hear me?”
I swallowed the blood in my mouth and forced the words out, hoarse and broken.“Shot. Two of us. Bleeding. . . 981 Crescent Hill Road. . . please. . .”
“Emergency units are on the way. Stay with me on the line, okay?”
But the phone was heavy now. Everything was. The voice on the other end faded, drowned by the rush of blood in my ears and the rasp of my own slowing breath.
I turned my head toward Logan, my fingers brushing his.
“Just. . . hold on,”I breathed, unsure who I was saying it to.
“Ma’am, are you still with me? Talk to me please, let me know you’re okay,”the dispatcher pleaded. But her voice was little more than an echo now, following me into the dark.
Forty Eight
Goldenlightslippedbetweenthe canopy of leaves, casting fractured beams across the magnolia trees. Their petals floated to the ground around me, but they didn’t wilt as I stepped over them. The gravel driveway was bone dry—despite the storm that had passed. And the air was no longer sticky with humidity but crisp and light.
In the distance, the old farmhouse stood peaceful and still against the rise of the mountains. But something was off. As I walked closer, I saw fresh paint on the siding, a newly stained porch gleaming in the sun, and the barn that had been crumbling for years, now stood tall and sturdy.
Where the hell was everyone?
I closed my eyes and saw a snapshot of Maddie, her face twisted with rage. And Logan. . . Oh God, Logan. Where was he? Was he ok? He had to be.
