I put my hands in the air and had no idea what to do. Standing there watching the action take place and feeling helpless was all I was capable of at the moment. My heart was racing, my stomach was upset, and I was sure passing out was possible. Alison managed to take a few more steps toward him before he swung his gun in her direction. “I want you out of here now. Do you understand me?”
“I won’t leave until you give me your word you’ll stop harassing me and my family,” Alison said, coming to a stop right in front of him. “Can you promise me that?”
“You know I’m only doing my job. If you had been doing yours, none of this would be happening.”
“I was doing it, and maybe a little bit more. Do we have a deal?”
He put his gun down and smiled at her. “The time for that was months ago. You acted like you were untouchable. There is always someone that is willing to talk, to strike a deal. Not you, but that’s okay, it’s all over now.”
“You two weren’t dating? I’m confused.”
“She’s not my type,” he said, looking disgustingly at her. “I thought she was cooperating in my investigation, but that didn’t last long.”
I put my arms down. “You’re a cop?”
“Are you going to tell me you had no idea she was breaking the law?”
I crossed my arms. “I don’t think I want to answer that.”
He grinned. “She’s very good at twisting people to do her dirty work. If you’re dirty too, we’ll find out soon enough.”
“I had nothing to do with any of this. I thought you were a former stalking boyfriend.”
“We like to call it gathering evidence.”
“Didn’t her mother set you up with her?”
“Derrick, please,” Alison said. “You need to stop talking.”
“No,” he said, getting agitated. “What don’t you understand? I’m about to turn over everything from my investigation. It’s obvious you’re both here to intimidate me, hoping I won’t do that.”
“So, your mother has no idea?”
Alison turned and stomped her foot. “How stupid are you? This is not the guy I was dating. Enough!”
“You’ve been lying to all of us. This isn’t a recent thing then. Everything you’ve said from the beginning is suspect. You told me someone raped you. That wasn’t true either, was it? You convinced your own mother to help you silence him. What did he do wrong? Did he figure out your game too early? You’ve done all this before. I’m just another link in the chain.”
Before I could stop her, she closed the distance between us and started throwing punches at me. The ferociousness of the attack wasn’t surprising given the fact she knew her facade was completely and utterly shattered. I tried to stop her without hurting her, but the attack continued. It wasn’t until I gave her a very abrupt shove that caused a pause as she lost her balance and fell to the ground.
Her hand was inches away from the gun in the grass. I believed her grandfather that it did not work; however, I was not about to allow her to grab it. Stepping forward, I kicked it, watching it flop across the grass and come to rest on the cement that surrounded an enormous inground pool.
We all watched her reaction, scrambling across the lawn to the spot where the gun rested. He refocused his own gun on her while I tried to beat her there. “Both of you need to keep away from that, or you’re going to get a round in you,” he said like he meant it.
She managed to put her hand on top of it before I arrived and firmly stepped on her fingers. “You’ve got to stop this before he shoots us!” I yelled, reaching down to grab it.
“Put it down now. Do you hear me?” he demanded, pointing the gun at me.
“It doesn’t work,” I said, holding it out to show him.
The pain in my right foot was excruciating right before it went numb. I looked down, wondering what happened, and then I remembered hearing a bang. Falling back, I hit my head hard, and my vision blurred.
“What did you do that for!” I yelled, trying to sit up.
I heard sirens and saw more people entering the area, all training weapons on me and Alison. “Stay where you are!” someone shouted.
I managed to roll to my side and get up on my knees. Alison reached out to me, and then I realized she just wanted the gun.
“Part of me will always love you,” she said, looking quite disheveled. Tears streaked her makeup, and I still wanted to run away with her. “I have to end this on my terms. Forgive me,” she said, standing up, brandishing the gun at the police.
Three shots hit her, and she fell back, limp, into the pool, disappearing under the darkening water, sinking below the surface. Lurching forward, I tumbled in, hoping to save her one last time. Without a held breath or any discernible swimming skills, I realized my life was now in jeopardy. If only I could do this, if only I could be the one, maybe it would all end differently.
I felt her body and tried to scoop it into my arms while lifting us both upward. There was no movement from her, and the deadweight made it difficult. The water was almost as deep as my height, so only one of us was going to make it above the surface. Straining, I managed to push upward enough, and someone must have pulled her out. My footing slipped, and I plunged downward again while my head hit the side of the pool.
Air rushed out of my mouth, and water flooded into my lungs. My head was buzzing, and I flailed around in a panic. These few seconds I’ve experienced before, several times in my life. This time, however, I wanted to just let the darkness take me. I had been fooled, and I wanted to let it all go. There was no way I wanted to face anyone again.
My eyes opened, and I saw Wren leaning over me. “He’s back,” she said as I felt water rush out of my mouth, making me take a deep, desperate breath. “Stay still,” she added, holding me firmly while I got my bearings.
I turned my head and saw several people around someone lying on the ground. “Is she alive?” I asked Wren, who nodded slowly. “I’m so sorry to get you all tangled up in this mess.” I sobbed and closed my eyes. “Can I see her?”
Wren helped me sit up so I could see better. It looked like they were working to revive her and take care of the wounds. “She’s pretty bad,” I heard someone say.
The investigator came and sat next to me. “I’m sorry it ended this way.”
“Why did you have to shoot us? I told you the gun didn’t work.” I tried to reach out, but Wren constrained me. “You could have killed us.”
“I couldn’t trust you.”
“Oh, that’s great. Guilty by association. She’s not trustworthy, so I’m not trustworthy because I’m with her. You’re an idiot.”
“Same can be said of you and your choice of friends,” he said, tapping me on the shoulder as he got up. “We are waiting on an ambulance. They’ll check you out and get you the right care.”
“You have to sit still and relax,” Wren demanded when I tried to get up and punch the man for telling me the truth before I was ready to hear it. “Looks like you’ll need to stay off your feet for a while at least. Until they look at it, you have to promise you’ll behave.”
I nodded and tried to control my temper. Looking at my foot, I could tell it was there but couldn’t feel it. At least I’d have my wound as a constant reminder of Alison. “Do you think they’ll arrest me or something?”
“Do you want me to go ask?” Wren asked.
I sighed and nodded.
“Really? Just get up and walk over to them?”
I nodded again slowly.
“You’re a piece of work,” she said, getting up. I saw her move cautiously over to the investigator and start the conversation. It looked very animated at some points, but in the end, she came over and kneeled next to me again.
“Well?” I asked when she didn’t immediately start talking.
“The gun doesn’t work.”
“I told him that. I knew she was messing with me. Her grandfather wouldn’t lie to me. So what does all that mean?”
“He’s not a police officer. He was leading the investigation, questioning Alison and others. You weren’t even on his radar until you showed up tonight. I’m pretty sure you’re not in any real trouble, but if Alison makes it, she’ll be shipped off somewhere. Are you okay?”
“It’s a lot to take in,” I admitted. “Someone has to tell her family. Not sure if a phone call now would make things worse, but they need to know what’s going on.”
“I agree, but you have to wait until they know which hospital you are going to,” she said. We listened to the sounds of an ambulance quickly approaching. “Hopefully, you can both go together, and I’ll follow in my car.”
The next few minutes were a blur as people came up to me asking lots of questions trying to determine how to best help me. Both Alison and I were packed into the same vehicle headed downtown. She was unconscious the whole ride, and I simply held her hand while another person stuck her with needles connected to bags of something to help. In her current state, she looked like a total stranger. When we arrived, she was whisked away, and I was taken in a wheelchair.
Wren was allowed to stay with me. It turned out the bullet did some nerve damage and lodged in my bone, but they were able to patch me up quickly. I might never get complete feeling back again; however, I’m okay and was glad it wasn’t a lot worse. When everything was settled down for me, I decided to call Alison’s family.
“It’s Derrick. I wanted to tell you what happened tonight,” I started when her mother answered. “I’m sorry that I was rude when I came over looking for Alison. I came to realize that both of us have been put against each other by her.”
“What are you talking about?” she demanded.
“Alison really has been under investigation for things she’s been allowing to happen at work. Tonight she tried to get the investigator to stop.”
“What happened?” she asked hesitantly.
“Remember how you couldn’t stop her from taking a gun?” There was silence on the other end of the phone. “She planned to use it to intimidate him, and it didn’t end well.”
“Are you both okay?”
“I was shot in the foot, but Alison is worse off. Are you able to come downtown to see her?”
“Of course, whatever you think is best. Where are you?”
I gave her the name of the hospital and told her where to find Alison. “After you see her, can you give me a call for an update?”
She assured me that she would, and I hung up.
“What are your plans for tonight?” I asked Wren.
“Are you going to call your sister?” she asked.
“I’m not ready to do that yet,” I said, welling up. “I’ll have to tell her something about not coming home tonight, but I don’t want her coming in here. She’d have to drag the kids in with her.”
“I could watch them. She did want to have dinner with us,” she said, trying to break the tension. “Do you want me to make the call?”
I handed her my phone. “I’m really glad you were with me today. I can’t imagine having to go through this alone.”
She walked into the hallway and came back about ten minutes later.
“How did she react?” I asked, taking the phone back.
“Pretty well. She’s going to pick something up to eat before bringing the family in. Your sister is amazing. I hope you truly appreciate what she’s doing for you and those kids.”
“I do now. I spent so many years running away from all my problems only to create a new set somewhere else. I did not, however, see Alison’s second face until it was obviously too late.”
“You’re too nice of a guy.”
“Is that true, or are you being kind?”
She smiled. “Both. Just make sure you listen to me earlier when you pick your next girlfriend.”
“I think I’m done with that for a long time. Going to roll solo, not looking for anyone or anything to weigh me down,” I said confidently.
“You’re still an anchor. Don’t kid yourself.”
I huffed. “If you can’t see how I’ve changed, then there’s no hope for us.”
She looked at her watch. “You trying for some kind of a record? Fastest flirt after dumping your last girlfriend.”
“Did I officially dump her? I guess I did. Either way, it’s over.”
“She will not do well in prison.”
I laughed. “It’ll probably be a nice one she ends up in.”
Polly showed up almost an hour later. “I brought some pizza and soda. They said it was okay since you’re not dying or anything.” She held up the bottle and opened it slowly. “I promised myself I wouldn’t cry or yell at you, so don’t talk too much until I get some food in me.”
Wren played with the kids as we all tried to make the best of the situation. “Did you want me to take them out so you two can talk?” she asked, trying to keep them both entertained. After we both nodded, she exited, singing something to them that made them laugh.
“She’s a great friend to stay through all this,” Polly said, getting close to me.
“It’s true.” I hugged her tight and didn’t want to let go.
“Are you going to get in any trouble?”
“I don’t think so, but Alison might be better off dead.” I pulled back the blanket covering my foot to look at it. “This is going to take a while to heal. I might be spending a couple months at home watching daytime television again.”
“What about your job?”
“I’m at a crossroads. What if my book takes off?”
She patted my head. “What if—that’s a wonderful game to play.”
“So you’re saying I shouldn’t quit my day job?”
“How about you do both until you can only do one?”
“Maybe someone could tell my story,” I laughed.