BASH
My eyes nearly pop out from each socket, and my pulse races the moment I recognize him.
I stare at him in shock and am gripped with the utmost terror.
I'm still glued in my place, and I cannot move a muscle even if I want to. My jaw is locked up even if I want to scream for help. I feel my skin turn as cold as ice.
Everything just freezes.
The world stops around me.
It feels like a scene in a horror movie.
I hadn't been this scared in my life. It's terrifying.
He slips his right hand inside his coat. The only thing that comes to my mind is maybe he's pulling out his gun. Is he going to kill me now?
Of course. He's a psychopath.
My parents' words spring into my head. Trinity and Lizzy's faces flash right into my eyes.
"Bash, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said in a deep voice.
I'm in front of a fucking murderer, for fuck sake, yet I can't do anything.
He's blocking the only exit I know unless I jump from the rooftop. And there's no way I will survive, or maybe I will end up with a couple of broken bones.
When panic strikes, I raise my hand and drop the half-empty bottle to the floor.
"Don't come closer to me, Mr. Tennings, or I will call the cops!" I warn him. I know it doesn't do me any favor, and he hears my voice trembling.
"I need to tell you something, Bash," he says in a calm but firm tone as if he's running out of time to convince me to trust his words.
"I'm not gonna listen to your lies, Mr. Tennings. I've heard enough lies for tonight!" I shout at him. This time my voice is a little bit louder.
For a moment, he looks agonized, truly in pain, but it's gone in a second. He knows how to mask his emotions.
He's a real psychopath.
What scares me further is when he takes a cautious step in my direction.
I'm still standing in my place and can't step back because I'm already at the edge.
"Bash, listen to me. I don't have much time. The people are on their way over here looking for me." He takes a deep breath, and he stops when he's a yard closer to me. "Bash, I'm not-"
I gasp when a hissing sound passes through the air.
There's a moment of deafening silence.
My heart stops.
My breath holds.
My eyes widen when Mr. Tennings' hand grasps quickly on his left chest. Blood starts to ooze from his hand. Then he falls slowly to the floor with his face filled with horror.
"Tennings!" My first instinct is to run away, but a part of me is to help the man who terrorized my family for years.
I quickly kneel in front of him, shrugging off my suit jacket, forming it into a ball, and pressing it against his bleeding chest.
"Don't dare die, you fucking old mutt!" I yell at him. I don't know why I can't let him die when the fact is he's an evil man.
His face grows paler, and I know he's not going to make it. I fish out my phone, but I feel a hand placed on top of mine that I press against his chest.
I look down at him, and he shakes his head. "I need to call 911."
He shakes his head again. I can't do anything but swallow hard. I want to shout out loud out of frustration. Never in my life have I watched people die, especially like how it happened to him. He's still a man, after all.
"T-take." He swallows blood that slips from his mouth. "T-take it." He swallows again and coughs. Blood spits out from his mouth.
"For fuck sake, Tennings! You can't die. Not now."
His hand slowly tap the floor. My brows furrow in confusion. What the fuck is he telling me?
"T-take my journal."
My eyes widen. I quickly search for a pocket of his coat. I find a phone and a notebook that is folded into two.
"T-tell Abby, I'm so sorry."
I watch his head drop to the side, then he stops breathing, but blood continues oozing from his mouth. His blue eyes turn glassy, indicating his death.
I just stare at him, horrified, and I forget my own life and that whoever shot him-that I might be the next target.
The door bursts open, startling me. My gaze snaps to see Edmund and my new bodyguard, Derek, come rushing toward me when they see me in front of the dead man.
"Are you hurt?" Edmund checks me from head to toe. "Bash, are you hurt?"
"No. I-I'm fine."
"We need to get you out of here, Bash." Edmund grabs me on my arm.
"Now, Bash!"
I jerk my arm off him. "I could have been long dead if they targeted me, asshole!" I snarl at him.
I realize I might be right. I sniff and wipe my tears that unknowingly fell. I don't know that I cried for that old man who threatened my mom's life.
Derek scans the area as he presses his phone to his ear. He is probably calling for my family or an ambulance.
"I need you to get up, Bash. He's dead, and I need you safe, please?" he says-worries flash all over his face.
I swipe Tennings' face to close his eyes, then grab my bloodstained jacket with me. I look down at him again one more time and walk away.
I ignore the hug from my family, though. It's killing me deep inside. They raised me and gave me the life anyone could ask for.
Mom and Lizzy are sobbing and hugging me tighter, but I feel nothing but betrayal. I love them so much more than my life, but I'm so hurt that they have to hide something crucial about who I am.
My whole life is a fucking lie.
"Bash!" Trinity launches herself on me. "Bash, I was so worried about you. How? What happened?" She scans my bloody shirt, and I'm still gripping the bloodstained jacket with me.
She hugs me again before she scans the crowded Night Stalker parking lot full of vehicles, police cars, my family cars, nosy people, and an ambulance.
They check me up and ask me common questions before my family arrives just to see that I am perfectly okay to go.
"Let's go, Trinity. Can you drive us back?"
She nods repeatedly. "Of course. Where is Edmund?"
I shake my head and shrug. "Drive us to your apartment, Tri."
She looks confused, but I can't explain it to her right now. I am not in the right mind to answer all her questions.
I am still shocked and exhausted by what happened to Mr. Tennings and the fact that my life is full of lies.