Chapter 50: ❝ i'm terrified but i'm not leaving ❞

(unedited)

And you can see my heart beating;

You can see it through my chest.

Said I'm terrified but I'm not leaving,

I know that I must pass this test.

So, just pull the trigger.

"Russian Roulette" -Rihanna

Holy shit.

I hadn't thought it would be possible for any more surprises like this. I hadn't trusted Detective Fallon completely but I hadn't suspected him either... He had been hired by Nathan, Nathan who was pretty much the least involved in this.

My finger shook on the trigger. I had a gun, I could surprise him. I didn't want to end up possibly taking another life, but I didn't want to die either. I tightened my grip on the handle.

"Drop the gun, Miss. Evans," Detective Fallon told me, pushing the barrel of his gun harder into my skin.

"If I'm going to die anyway," I said, fighting to keep my voice from shaking. "Why should I listen to anything you say?" I swung my arm up, but before I could get anywhere close to his head, he caught my wrist with one hand, the other keeping the gun pressed firmly into my neck. The shot went over his shoulder harmlessly.

I braced myself.

I wonder how much it'll hurt.

If I feel it at all.

Maybe I'd be dead as soon as the bullet pierced my neck, too soon to feel the pain.

I heard the gun click.

I sucked in a deep breath-

But he didn't pull the trigger.

"Drop the gun," he ordered.

I didn't listen.

"Now Miss. Evans, we can do this the easy way or the hard way," Detective Fallon threatened.

I can't lose my only weapon.

He began pushing on my wrist, squeezing hard enough that it felt like it was going to pop out or shatter. With a gasp, my fingers loosened and the gun dropped to the floor with a thud. He kicked it, so it slid across the room and out of sight into one of the hallways.

"That wasn't so hard, now was it?" he asked mockingly.

How am I supposed to fight back now?

Kick him between the legs.

It was the defense everyone knew, but maybe Detective Fallon wouldn't be expecting it. I had my back to him, which would make it harder, but I could still kick a foot back and possibly nail him hard enough that he would get distracted and I could escape.

"Don't try anything, Miss. Evans," he said, almost as if he had read my mind. "I'm not supposed to pull the trigger, but that doesn't mean I won't."

Of course.

The real killer probably wanted to kill me herself. Or himself. Detective Fallon was just a pawn- but whose? Nathan had hired him, but I wasn't sure if that meant he was behind everything. The sticky note I had found in Nathan's office had said that 'N' recommended Detective Fallon to him. Did that mean 'N', whoever they were, was behind it all? But who did Nathan know whose name began with an N? No one in the Elite- Ashton, Jacen, Skylar, Keira, Vaness-

Ness.

Nathan called Vanessa that.

Was that confirmation that Vanessa was behind it all? Keira had said she was, but I hadn't known if I could really, truly believe that. It wasn't the first time I had suspected something of the Elite, only for it to turn out completely different.

"Turn around slowly," Detective Fallon ordered, yanking me out of my thoughts. "Put your hands up. Spread your feet."

I did as he said, reluctantly- he had the gun, now, and I had no way to fight back without getting my head blown off. Now I was staring up at him as the gun pressed against my forehead.

One slip of the finger and I'm dead.

Then just between the gap between Detective Fallon's arm and torso, I saw someone move outside the house. I wanted to stretch up to see who it was, but I didn't want to give them away so I stayed still, hoping I would be able to catch another glimpse.

And then I did.

Ashton?

How the hell was he here? He had been at the police station; he had been a suspect- had they let him go? Because of whatever Jacen said? Where was Keira? Had she somehow gotten him? Or was she still waiting in the driveway to Vanessa's main house?

I sucked in a silent breath. Was it too much to hope he could somehow save me?

Or at the very least distract Detective Fallon enough that I could do something without getting my brains splattered against a wall?

He pressed closer to the edge of the door frame, looking inside. I tried to catch his eye, but I doubted he could see me since the room was still dark. And even if his eyes adjusted, Detective Fallon was blocking my pretty well. Not enough that Ashton wouldn't notice me, but enough that I couldn't signal to him or anything.

"Don't move, Miss. Evans," Detective Fallon said.

I kept my eyes on Ashton- what I could see of him. I watched as he froze, then stiffened. He crouched, like a lion waiting- like he was about to attack.

That gave me the split second warning I needed.

I collapsed onto my knees just as Ashton yelled, "Move, Elena!"

Ashton's cry made Detective Fallon pull the trigger.

The bullet flew over my head, close enough that I could feel the heat and hear the whizzing sound.

Way too close.

I just barely managed to roll to the side as Ashton slammed into Detective Fallon. "Go, Elena!" he yelled.

Could I leave Ashton here, by himself? While Detective Fallon had a gun?

Ashton seemed to be holding his own though. Despite the fact that Detective Fallon was older, and taller, Ashton had him pinned to the ground, hands wrapped around his throat.

I'm useless here. If I go, I can get help.

But the closest phone would be all the way to Vanessa's driveway because I had given Keira my bag. But there was a phone in here. I could call the police, call Kaden, and it would all be over. I darted towards the phone, pulling it out of its cradle.

"Freeze Miss. Evans," Detective Fallon's voice suddenly rang out. It sounded a bit hoarse, but I could make out his words. I glanced up to see him pressing a gun to Ashton's temple. Ashton still had his hands locked around Detective Fallon's throat, but Detective Fallon could pull the trigger way before Ashton could strangle him.

"You can't kill me," Ashton said.

"That's the thing," Detective Fallon replied. "You think just because I'm not supposed to, I won't."

Then he pulled the trigger.

BANG!

The sound pierced through the room.

But Ashton didn't slump back.

It all happened too fast.

I didn't register Detective Fallon pointing the gun at me before the bullet pierced my skin.

A burning sensation shot up to my shoulder. The phone dropped from my grasp, shattering when it hit the floor. Something warm trickled down my arm.

Blood.

Holy shit.

The room seemed to spin as my breaths came faster. It wasn't a fatal shot, the realization lingered in the back of my mind, but the burning was unbearable.

Ashton was beside me in seconds, grabbing my good arm to keep me from collapsing. "Come on, Elena, breathe. It's okay. You're going to be okay. Just breathe."

"I'm trying," I choked out. I felt so dizzy, lightheaded.

Ashton swore under his breath. "There's so much blood. We have to bandage it."

"Don't move," Detective Fallon ordered. He had picked himself off the ground now. "Or it'll be the heart."

Ashton gave him a glare, pushing me behind him a little. But Detective Fallon only chuckled. "I don't miss, Mr. Sinclair, even if you insist on playing human shield."

"Why don't you just kill me now?" I demanded. I could feel the blood still trickling –almost gushing–down my arm. I wasn't sure if I should press my other hand to it to somehow try and stop the bleeding –not that I really would've been able to with how Ashton was holding my right arm.

"Elena," Ashton reprimanded quietly.

"I'm pretty sure I'm going to die," I mumbled. "I'd like to have an idea when."

I shouldn't have come back.

Detective Fallon's lip curled into a sardonic twist. "I'm not the one who wants to kill you, Miss. Evans. I'm just doing as I was paid to."

"And now?"

"Now we wait." He kept the gun trained on me. Ashton tried to move me over to the wall, but before he could get very far, a bullet drilled into the wall beside my head. "Don't move," Detective Fallon said.

"She's going to pass out," Ashton snapped.

Detective Fallon glared, but didn't pull the trigger when Ashton moved me so I was leaning against the wall. Did that mean whoever had hired him wanted me alive and concious? Or did he just believe it wasn't worth it?

"You're losing too much blood," he said. He yanked at the bottom of his shirt, the expensive material ripping easily between his hands. He grabbed my arm raising it up a little and nearly making me faint at all the blood. I wasn't a squeamish person- but my whole arm was covered in red.

Ashton swore. "Okay, okay," he muttered to himself. "I'm going to tie a tourniquet okay?"

I nodded.

He wrapped the length of fabric on my arm above the bullet wound several times before tying a tight know, making me wince. "Keep your arm up, oaky? Above the heart."

"You seem to know a lot about this," I said shakily.

He gave me a weak smile and shook his head. "I'm not sure what I'm doing," he admitted.

"It looks like the bleeding slowed down," I offered, though I wasn't sure whether or not that was really true when my whole arm was covered in blood. I stared at it, watching it drip onto the ground.

I just got shot.

"Hey," Ashton said, drawing my attention back to him. "Don't go into shock now, okay?"

"Not trying to," I muttered.

"Just talk to me. Where's Skylar?" he asked.

I shook my head. "I have no idea, we couldn't find-" Before I could finish, the door opened and Vanessa walked in. She looked perfectly fine. She was wearing different clothes- a long sleeved blue shirt with a white vest over it.

A bulletproof vest.

Of course.

That was how there hadn't been blood, and how she was okay now.

"She's there," she said to Detective Fallon as she strode into the room. Who was 'she'? Keira? Skylar? Someone else entirely. She glanced around, her eyes landing on us. "Ashton. I expected you to come."

"The police are on their way, Vanessa. It's over," Ashton said steadily. I wasn't sure how he could was so calm now. Or maybe he had always known it was Vanessa. Had he expected this all from the start?

Vanessa stared at Ashton for a moment, then shook her head. "No, they're not." She glanced at me. "You'd come straight here for her- but you wouldn't tell them. You wouldn't risk getting it wrong and taking up extra time."

No. That couldn't be true, could it?

I hadn't considered it now, but Ashton had to have told Kaden.

Or someone.

Ashton sputtered, but to my horror, Vanessa seemed to have nailed it.

Vanessa closed her eyes and smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. It wasn't a mocking smirk either, more of a grimace. Like she was upset, like she didn't want to do this, and hadn't been planning it for a year. Or more.

"He won't love you for doing this." Ashton's almost whispered words came out loud and clear in the dead silence of the room.

Vanessa's eyes snapped open. "You know that's not what-"

Then a noise made us all freeze. The door creaked open-

And Nathan walked in.

-- ♡ --

QotC: Who do you guys think it is right now? If you had to pick ONE person, who would you guess?

­