Page 125 of Heartstruck at Dawn
I heard acrack, and I screamed. I screamedsoloud that I hoped Aaron and Caleb could hear all the way to the second floor.
William’s piano stopped playing abruptly.
He heard me!Yes!Yes,yes,yes!
“Williaaaam!” I yelled to the top of my lungs and poked Thomas’s eyes with my hand positioned as a claw—another simple move Nathan taught me. That way, your fingers won’t snap in half from the impact. And it worked, too, because he released me, and I feared my right hand was going to fall off my arm.
I ran toward the foyer, clicked on the panic button located underneath the table, and ran to the door. I unlocked the two deadbolts, but Thomas grabbed me from behind before I could snap the simple spring lock open on the door handle.
William started banging my door a heartbeat later. “Guille!” he roared with a grave voice. “Guille, open up!”
“Tell him to go away,” Thomas whispered in my ear, dragging me farther away from the door.
“William!” I screamed again in between sobs as he frantically pulled on the doorknob.
Thomas immobilized me by tightly running his arm across my chest. He pulled a gun out of somewhere with his free hand and pointed it toward the door.
No.No,this isn’t happening.
“Tell him to go away, or I’ll start shooting.”
I tried speaking, but the words were choking me. Thomas was a coward. He wouldn’t actually shoot. He was a scared little boy holding out a gun to make a point.
William knocked the doorknob out after a few loud blows. I don’t know how he did it, but he broke it and pushed the door wide open. Thomas was pointing his gun at him. William’s eyes widened with terror at the scene before him. He looked at me and back at Thomas.
“Stay the fuck put,” Thomas warned. William’s nostrils flared as he scowled at Thomas. “If I can’t have her, neither can you.”
Thomas pulled the trigger without a second thought but missed. William launched at us, but Thomas took another shot, and he didn’t miss this time. He got him. William held the left side of his stomach and looked back at his bloody hand with wide eyes before falling to his knees.
“William!” I shrieked, battling to release myself from Thomas’s firm grasp. William placed his right hand on the floor and let his head hang. It was driving me crazy to see him helpless, wounded—because of me.
Thomas put the gun to my head next. And when I looked up, Aaron and Caleb were now pointing their weapons at him taking slow, steady steps in our direction.
My sobs were now flooding the apartment, and I felt like I couldn’t breathe. William was now lying on the floor on his left side. A pool of blood flowing underneath him. His eyelids fluttered.
“Thomas, please!” I begged. “He needs help! He’ll die if—”
“Take a step back!Both of you!” Thomas shouted. I could feel the gun shaking against my skin. I’m sure he was nervous, and that was even worse.
“Lower your gun, Mr. Hill, and nobody will get hurt,” Aaron warned with a firm, grave voice. “More agents are on their way. This will end badly for you if you do not comply.”
“Comply?” Thomas shouted and pressed his gun harder against my temple, making me whimper. “I was kicked out of crew, suspended twice from Princeton, and you poisoned her against me! She can’t even look at me! I’ve losteverything!”
“I’m sorry,” I said a few times in between pants. Aaron and Caleb’s faces were cold, sharp, focused. They both took another careful step forward, flanking us.
I shut my eyes, and the last thing I saw was William on the ground with his eyes fully closed.Is he still breathing?I couldn’t stop thinking about Nathan and how I wished I could’ve said goodbye. I didn’t say goodbye.
A wrong kind of look, or a sound out of place, and Thomas could’ve easily pulled the trigger on me—out of pure nerves.
I had to get my shit together, but as much as I tried pulling air in, I really couldn’t.
“Breathe for me,” Caleb said to me.
“Don’t—talk to her,” Thomas said through his teeth.
“William’s going to be okay. Everything’s going to be okay, Red. I got you,” Caleb continued, ignoring Thomas altogether. We locked eyes, and he nodded slowly.
“Let’s agree to disagree,” Thomas muttered. I felt his gun leaving my head, and three shots were fired.
