much. This woman is the damn devil incarnate.
I’m praying that Ryan got my text and is already on his way. Judging by their faces, it won’t be long until these two lose the tiny grip they have on reality. I wish Sam would have found some way to reach out to me. I would have found a way to get her out of their clutches. I would have saved her. Fuck it.
I turn my back on them and hold her face between my hands. For their plan to work, a bullet in the back would be hard to stage. I hear them telling me to turn around but my eyes are connected with Sam’s
“I love you so much. Whatever happens here, know that you are worthy of being loved. That these two sickos aren’t something to measure your worth by. You are the most incredible person I have ever met.” I kiss her but then I hear footsteps coming up from behind me.
I turn quickly to see her father approaching and swing my right fist into his cheek. It feels so good to drive my fist into him that I don’t stop I follow his body to the floor, laying into him again and again.
I hear a loud bang.
Ryan and everyone are here.
Sam’s mother turns and points the gun at her.
I run not thinking of anything else but keeping her safe.
A pain spreads through my chest.
The blackness envelops me as I sink to the floor.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Samantha
I hold the single white rose in my hand as I stare at the coffin. A tear runs down my cheek as I mourn the man who gave his life for mine. A man who was one of the few people that showed me loyalty. I have never been to a military funeral but I’ll never forget it. The flag is draped over the coffin, thanking the man inside for his service. The shots ring out to honor their veteran one last time. I had never even known that he served in the military. I line up to toss my rose and say one final goodbye, wishing I could thank him for what he did.
As I walk away from the grave site, I cross my arms over my chest, trying to hold in the tears. The paparazzi show no limits and have even followed me here. I saw a few behind the trees as I was listening to the pastor says the final blessing. I sit in the car and let the tears flow down my face. These past four days have been absolute hell. I have spent most of them mourning and crying.
I pull up to the hospital, clinging to the box I picked up before the funeral. When I walk into the room, a wave of disappointment hits me. He still isn’t awake.
I sit down and stroke Hunter’s face with my hand. The monitors beep steadily, indicating that he is okay, but I can’t accept that until he wakes up. The fact that it could have been Hunter’s funeral I was attending instead of Joe’s, is not lost on me. I thought he was gone for a while. He was in surgery for hours and even after that, it was touch and go in the ICU. The bullet just missed his heart, thank God, or I would have lost him. Everything happened so fast that night.
The door flew open and Joe was there with Ryan and the police. My mother panicked and fired a shot at Joe, causing him to fall into the sea of people behind him. Before anyone could get to her she fired a shot at me. Hunter had caught her movement, though and jumped in front of me. He sacrificed himself for me. I held him until the EMT’s could make their way into the room telling him how much I loved him. My mother was shot by the police, and my father and Detective Marks are awaiting trial on numerous charges.
The image of him and that girl still haunts me. I know now that it wasn’t his fault and he wasn’t himself during it. That doesn’t mean that the image is erased from my mind. I’m working past it. Working to forget.
I have sat by his bed every minute that they would let me. Jules, Lacey and all of the boys have been by but he hasn’t woken up yet. The longer he stays asleep, the more I worry that he won’t wake up. That’s when I