Chapter 59

_____    NATHANIEL    _____

" I have been waiting ." A familiar rough voice says the minute Lucas and I lock the front door behind us .

I pull Lucas behind me as I try to get my eyes to adjust through the dark.  " Oh don't be afraid, I won't hurt anyone unless you give me what I want ."Tyron chuckles loudly, his booming voice filling the room .

After the call with James, I thought immediately coming home would beat Tyron's plans but we unfortunately fell right into his trap , and I have never been scared of Lucas' life until now . It's him he wants after all,  and if that's the case, I'm going to fight until death if I have to.

" Where's my son?" Lucas half yells behind with a shaky voice.  That earns a small chuckle from Tyron then a sigh .

" Only if Wylder told me where he hid him, I wouldn't have killed him . " Tyron says. Blood drains from my face in a heartbeat .

" You killed Wylder?" I ask in horror . Wanting to be sure what I'm hearing is correct .

" Of course I did, anyone who gets in my way dies!" He swiftly switches on the lights and behold, right at the bottom of the stairs, Tyron stood, holding a gun and wearing all black . His hair is perfectly trimmed as ever . One thing that makes chills run down my neck is , his wide creepy smile.  It's like a whole old Tyron I once knew has been possessed.

" It's good to finally see you again Nathan, I bet you missed me and ..." He tries to peek behind me but Lucas just shrinks while holding on to my jacket " Seems like Lucas didn't miss me.  I knew I should have skipped to the good part and made you mine ." Tyron says , his smile is not even wavering .

" Just so you know, the police are on their way!. " I spit out . That's half the truth, of course James's men are on their way but I'm not about to tell Tyron that.

" Why don't you step away from Lucas then? That will save me the energy of shooting you like I did with Wylder. " He responds to me indifferently.

" No!" I state " Shoot me! You would have to get over me in order to get to Lucas, even if it means shooting at me ."

" Well then, switch yourself!" Tyron raises his gun towards me . I turn around so I could shield the trembling Lucas in my arms  .

" You need to run!" I whisper to him with a harsh voice.

" No i-- he will hurt you!" Lucas holds on to me tightly and I could see how frightened he is at the moment.

" I want you safe Lucas, I want you to run out of the front door . " I cup his cold red cheeks , wiping his silent tears with my thumb " You are going to run out of that door and don't even think of looking back, do you understand me?" I murmur lowly with urgency .

He quickly nods when he realises that there's no getting out of here.  He has to do what I say, or we are doomed . " If I die now, I want to know that you are safe ." I perk his lips, squeezing the key of the front door in his hand .

" Are you two done whispering? I don't have the whole day!" Tyro yells across the room .

I nod to Lucas then like that, I lurch towards Tyron , screaming wildly . Ready to tear him down if I get my hands on him . He aims the gun at me, his creepy smile replaced by a grin I wouldn't call warm . And when I'm so close, so close to yanking him off the stairs, a loud shot is heard then it is followed by a deafening silence. At the moment, all I can think about is how this is the end for me . I stumble back in defeat, my eyes travel down my body  in hopes of seeing something, blood coming out of a wound . Anything! Terror stab my heart when realisation hits me.

" What did you do?" I stare at him, wide eyed . He just shakes his head, laughing dryly at my terrified state.

" You shouldn't have done that!" Tyron meets my eyes, waving around the gun in his hand . " You fucking shouldn't have done that!" He growls at me, eyes full of anger and resentment towards me.

Dread twist in my gut when Tyron's eyes fall on something behind me and he starts to shake his head.  I rapidly turn around to find Lucas body splayed on the floor with blood oozing from his back. My stomach clenches at the sight . I frantically run to him without even a second thought, kneeling beside him as I put some pressure on his wound .

" Hey- he-heeyy!" I whisper softly. Lucas looks up to me with wide eyes . My hands quiver at the sight of how much blood is coming out of him .

" I tried-- I ran and i-- I didn't look back Nath-nathan" He stutters . Blood gurgling out of his mouth . My pulse races as i struggle to control my quivering palms, my eyes wide with panic.

" It's okay I ... I'm going to make things right ." I choke out. Lucas shivers, his eyes staring into mine in sadness and fear.  " I'm sorry!" I whisper before I glance over Tyron with anger .

" You fucking asshole!" I scream across the room towards Tyron, who has his head in his arms now, staring into space.

" You made me do this, you should have done what I asked you to do!" Tyron cries out.  Running his hand over his head as he look from Lucas to the gun in his hand.

For someone who had his shit together at the beginning, he looks like he's on the edge of falling off a cliff . Crazy, in way . As he keeps muttering that it is my fault, I couldn't help but wonder if this will be my breakthrough? . He looks so vulnerable, so out of it.  I look down at the distraughted Lucas in my arms, I don't want to let go . I'm too scared to but I know that I have to in order to get that gun out of Tyron's hands before he shoots at me too .

I gently place Lucas'  head under my jacket , reassuring him that I will be back and I approach Tyron in a slow steady manner.

" How about you give me the gun and walk away Tyron?".  I try to reason with him . Taking small deliberate steps toward him.

" No! You made me do it!" His eyes are still staring at the gun like it's a foreign thing . " You made me do it, you made me kill him . He loves me , not you !" He mutters over and over again like a song on repeat,not even glancing my way . That's a good thing .

" We can make him all better if you give me the gun , Tyron . I promise ." I reassure him once again . He only blinks at me then goes back to chanting the same words .

That gives me enough time to lurch at his gun in hand . Surprisingly, he allows me . He doesn't fight or anything . He just buries his head between his knees and let out a distressed growl , mumbling the same things . I just hold the gun delicately, put on the safety then throw it far away into the dark dining room . I don't like guns, I never did so the thought of holding on to it until someone shows up doesn't sit well with me .

I go back to cradling Lucas' head on my lap , he looks worse . " Hey, still with me?" I brush the damp hair off his sweaty forehead.

His eyes look unfocused as he glances at me with a faint smile " Everything is going to be okay , just stay with me ." I whisper, caressing his cheek with my trembling hands .

" I can't ...I think I'm gonna go to sleep now ."His eyes are full of tears, I try to wipe them away while mine fall silently but that doesn't help .

" You can't do that Lucas ...you have to hold on a little longer , I want you to-"

Then his eyes close abruptly. I try to shake him . Begging him to open his eyes but he doesn't . I don't know what to do . I start to panic .

" Come on, Lucas please . Please come back, I love you . I love y-"

I suddenly feel two hands moving me away from Lucas and the paramedics surrounding him . A part of me wants to feel relieved that they are here but I doubt that he's out of danger unless the doctor says so himself .

I sit at the corner with my hands covering my head . Going through the last conversation we had . Feeling guilt and regret weighing me down . I took everything lightly, because I thought Tyron wouldn't hurt him . I thought he wanted me dead. Thought of me that way . So seeing him on the floor, pale as ever . Makes me realise my mistake . It is my fault . Everything! Only if I acted fast, Only if I---

" Dad!" A familiar voice yells out amongst the loud voices in the room . I lift my head up to find Tobias running towards me . Relief washes over as he doesn't look hurt at all .

I meet him across the room, his body hurls at me,  as my arms wrap around him, tears flow more freely when he starts to cry in my arms. In the moment, him in my  arms, I feel less scared of what the future holds .

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Turns out that indeed, Tyron shot Wylder multiple times all over his body until he died . In the pool of his own blood, cold, probably scared and alone . His parents were angry, mostly at me for getting their son into this mess.  They threatened to sue but all I could think about is how Wylder fought for my son's life . He didn't have to but he did , and I don't even know how to be thankful for him .

According to Tobias , Wylder hid him in his closet . Told him to stay there until he heard the police arrive . That's the last time he saw Wylder.  After that, it was silent then he heard gunshots. He was scared . He kept his mouth shut and counted to 10 over and over again until he heard the sirens of the ambulance and police.

"Where were you?" I scream through the phone the minute James picks up .

" On the way, there wa--"

" Yeah, excuses and excuses!" I hang up the phone before he could think of buying his way out of this mess .

I trusted him to show up before things were messy but what did he do? Nothing . I shove my cellphone in my Jean pocket then re-enter Lucas' room . He lost a lot of blood but he's going to be okay, the paramedics arrived in time, thanks to Josh . Who, I instructed to call them before we got in the house, just in case .

Keith has been coming here a lot . Mostly sitting by Lucas' bedside and pleading with him to come back, just to wake up . I feel his pain . Lucas hasn't opened his eyes since he got here.  All we can do is hope that he comes back to us . As for Tobias, he comes here everyday after school with Joshua so he could tell his dad all about his day at school and how much he misses him, and uncle Wylder .

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