The Escape

Chapter 28

ABBY

All my life, I'd never fired a gun. I'd held it at the abandoned house with Jace with my finger on the trigger; still, I'd never fired it with the intention. I was afraid to do something like that. Holding up a weapon that holds the power to kill someone is scary. You don't always know where the bullet is going to go. It could hit a major artery, and the person could bleed to death. There was also a chance there'd be an instant kill, or the bullet might be lodged in the skin. Maybe the person would get lucky and only be grazed by the shot or not even touched.

When I fired the gun, it felt like all the breath I had in me vanished. Sirens became louder from outside. They were almost here. "Jace!! Jace, are you okay? Oh gosh, please be alive!" I dropped the gun to the floor and ran over to him. Eli was still on top of him, and I'd shot him. I tried to pull Eli off, but he was deadweight. Suddenly, Jace moved. He was alive! Jace pushed Eli off, and I began crying for so many reasons. "I-I killed him!" I covered my mouth with my hand and realized I was still bleeding. Jace looked at me, and he was black and blue.

"Plug your nose. Breathe through your mouth." I did as Jace said; however, that didn't stop the tears from rolling down my cheeks. "It was self-defense, Abby. He was going to kill me and quite possibly you too."

"I know that, Jace," I said. It sounded funny because my fingers pinched my nose together. "I still killed him."

The officers and EMTs entered through the door. Jace spoke to them while one EMT checked on Shane and the other on me.

"You're doing good, but sweetheart, your nose is broken. The butt of a gun can hurt a lot, and you're probably in shock from what's happened here. We need to get you and your friends to the hospital," the woman said nicely. I nodded, and she helped me up.

"I'll meet you there," Jace said. I looked at him and shook my head.

"Jace, have you seen yourself? You're riding in the ambulance too. You almost got yourself strangled to death," I said.

The woman helping me nodded. "The girl is right. It would be best if you came along too. The officers can meet us at the hospital if they have more questions."

Jace didn't say anything else. He rode in the back of the ambulance with me and Shane, who was finally gaining consciousness again.

According to the doctor at the hospital, Shane had a concussion and needed to take it easy for a while. He wasn't going back to New York yet. He needed to heal first, and so did the rest of us. My nose was broken, and luckily, surgery wasn't required for my nose. They realigned my nose, and let me say it didn't feel terrific, even with morphine. I'd have swelling and bruises under my eyes for a few days; otherwise, I'd be okay.

Jace had some busted knuckles, but the nurses checked him out. I mean, they checked him out. I rolled my eyes at them, but Jace only paid attention to me. Jace got off easy after almost being strangled to death. He had some marks around his neck from Eli's hands, and that was it, aside from the bruises.

"Don't worry, Abby. I've only got eyes for you and your cute broken nose," Jace said, kissing me on the cheek.

"Gee, thanks," I chuckled. I love you. I can't believe we survived this chaos."

"I love you too, and I can believe we survived because together we're stronger, and without you, I'd be dead right now. You saved my life. It's about time since I saved yours countless times," Jace said.

"Hey," I said, crossing my arms. "I'm sorry I'm more prone to getting into dangerous situations than you. I'm not even the billionaire."

Jace chuckled. "I'm only messing with you. Now, let's get out of here. We've spent enough time in the hospital this year, don't you think?"