When I opened my eyes, I didn't know where I was for a few minutes. I was staring at a ceiling, but it was angled strangely. Shifting, I realized I was on my back, the floor beneath me hard. Slowly, I flipped onto my stomach and lifted myself up. The hallway I was in was small, but I could hear everything. I heard the shouting, the screaming, and finally, the gunshot.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoMVVlD3l4Z
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGaX0sHSDd8
Silence filled my head and for a moment I thought I had gone deaf. My entire body stopped working, because the fear took over, and my brain told me who it was who had gotten shot. I squeezed my eyes shut and my knees gave out. I was back on the floor and I didn't move, didn't see, under someone touched my face with trembling hands.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDhnOaJVmUA
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAOkei5aWSU
"Kendall, we have to call the police, and an ambulance or he isn't going to make it."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZCMoA7tFY1
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtU0nAwqjIZ
At these words, I opened my eyes, and looked into a pair of hazel ones. Christian sat crouched in front of me, his entire face etched with worry and panic. He kept glancing behind him at the bedroom, his lips forming a thin line.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzy1CuDBl6D
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBLprCJSoSt
"You're alive," I whispered. Then I threw myself at him, kissing him like I hadn't seen him in years. He returned the gesture and held me tightly. "God, I thought you got shot."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnxoe4Er894
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlzoN3byRD4
He stopped kissing me, then, seeming to remember why he came out here. Gently he drew away from me and touched my face, his eyes searching mine, and then he spoke.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGzjKX3S8yI
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJk1txxDFwI
"Kendall, it's Jude."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4EgM7HkdVK
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhtFnA31IfL
My eyes widened at his words, then I noticed his clothes, and the red specks on the fabric. It was blood. Jude's blood.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGpUzuDK0WW
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKf78VroOdq
"He saved me," Christian explained, bringing me to my feet. "But not without getting shot. Seth got him right in the chest. I'll call for help and you watch him."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp7hGiJsNGt
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVybC9MxNb
My legs shook and I gripped the wall for support. "Seth," I muttered. "Where is he?"606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZPs4MKCAVJ
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9lCSM20JQ
"He's not here," Christian said angrily. "The fucking coward jumped out the window."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVjdcZoRUFa
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhINbFQ5uyh
I nodded, starting toward the door. I didn't even have to go all the way into the room to smell the blood. It was so strong that I nearly gagged. The first thing I saw was a shoe, then I heard a muffled cry. I saw Jude laying there, his chest covered in blood from the wound, and his eyes, those forest-green eyes, were staring at me.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡukbfbjx7SE
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZOyaMVLJwe
I dropped to my knees beside him and automatically grasped his hand. "It's going to be okay," I said, trying hard not to cry. "Christian's calling for help."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4t3md9jm0Z
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBDRDXleBNA
Jude's eyes, for the first time, looked full of terror. His breathing was erratic and his body trembled. Then he opened his mouth.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡb6MZyx2jRo
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1ydZANc1AR
"I'll be with Abbie," he whispered, a smile on his lips. "I'll get to see her soon. It's what I always wanted."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVUM289qi8w
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxYBwkJZKSp
"No," I said, shaking my head. When I looked at him, his eyes mirrored mine with tears. "You're not going to die, Jude. It's not happening. We're going to get you to the hospital and you're going to be okay."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvMvuKPVBN
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzXHs1ASuUr
I heard the sirens, and then all I remembered was them taking Jude away, while I sat outside wrapped in a blanket. Christian sat beside me, our hands linked, and for the first time in my life, I prayed.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYmaQq220W
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTkafgWxeFW
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZB9oAU5Ny8
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTR0AI9mI4g
Whether or not Jude went to the other side at all during the operation to remove the bullet, I didn't know. When we were finally able to see him, he was still asleep. Christian went to get some sort of food for us and when he got back he explained what he could. Seth had taken him from his own yard, drugged and carried him to his car, and just before the unconscious settled down on Christian, he remembered being stuffed into a tight space. Then he woke up in a bedroom with Seth touching him.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡop6dfsVNCW
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHS3nM86X0N
I was sitting in a cushioned chair, my knees pulled up to my chest, when the hospital room door opened and one of the nurse's came in. She shook her head. "He's very lucky to be alive," she said to us. Then she looked at me. "Someone is here to see you, Kendall."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI5bCwmcjr7
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡigxXhv7xfO
"Who?" I asked suspiciously.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡypibtyFMFy
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXe4EaW7nAh
"Your mother."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqZAz080uev
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMn50Qw6hVk
I blinked at the nurse a few times, glanced at Christian, and stood up. I followed her out the door and down the hall. There was a figure standing near the automatic doors. She burst into tears when she saw me.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDnBBB4sT8T
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKXBtpJ1Znw
We didn't exchange words. She cried, hugging me. She smelled minty and she didn't seem to be stumbling. She was, for the first time in two years, completely sober. When I hugged her back, her little intake of breath told me that she wasn't expecting that at all. When she asked me what happened, I just told her that my friend got shot. She surprised me by asking if it was my boyfriend.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoFqXPmYRw6
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyq1m5wa1Kv
When I returned to Jude's room with my mom, Christian stood, his eyes narrowed. When my mom saw him, she frowned.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6wKPZSgcPy
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU4TiLyAOnu
"Please don't be mad," she said softly. "I know what I did and said was wrong. You can forgive me if you want later."606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡroJTNd76TR
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtToZvmZu5
Christian's mouth opened slightly in disbelief. I went over to him and tapped his chin with my finger. He shook his head and looked at me, reaching for my hand. We sat and waited for Jude to wake up while my mom announced she was going into rehab.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTsolPdgYWK
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUX3Q5Uhxam
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO9W64dYvIs
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaq7tguoMs
After Jude had woken up at some during the night, I cried against him and thanked him for saving Christian. He laughed at me and told me to stop being so dramatic, then to my surprise, he shook Christian's hand.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ZxoSyW9Qp
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpd4dqmvFDs
I couldn't wait to sleep. I was exhausted. We dropped Christian off and headed home, neither of us speaking. My mom unlocked the door without saying anything to me, then went to her room. I went into the living room to fall asleep with the TV on. When I flicked on the light, a terrible scream escaped my throat.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDps9ZJ0GjZ
606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBWIAUJpDpl
Seth was staring at me with a crooked smile and amused golden eyes.606Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy9QIugWS1F