A Modern Love Story

Chapter 16 - Worry

Criticism spot! :)

Crutchie's POV

"Let him go!" I screamed at my Dad, his grip on Jack's right arm getting tighter.

"Crutchie, get out of here!" Jack yelled at me, stumbling over his own feet while my Dad dragged him out of our room. He threw Jack to the ground and walked over to me, and Jack couldn't do anything as he had gotten the wind knocked out of him.

"You aren't going anywhere," my Dad said, grabbing handcuffs from his back pocket and cuffing me to the bed before turning back to Jack, dragging him again.

"Please, stop!" I pleaded, terrified of what he might have planned.

He brought Jack into a separate room and out of my view altogether, leaving me to sob and panic in our bedroom. Only a few seconds went by before I heard the most harrowing scream come from Jack, my heart plummeting. My Dad returned moments later, covered in blood.

"What did... What did you do?" I asked, completely terrified.

"You know exactly what I did." He spat, coming closer to me. He uncuffed me with a grin, proud of himself. "How about you go see for yourself?"

I got up as quickly as I could and rushed to the room I heard Jack's scream come from, feeling sick to my stomach from what I saw. Jack was laying on the ground with multiple stab wounds covering him, his blood soaking the carpet. I pulled him onto my lap, his eyes draining of color quickly.

"You're okay, you're okay," I said, pushing his hair back as I cried. "I'm gonna get you help-"

"Crutchie," he cut me off, somehow managing to smile. "You made me so happy."

"You... You make me happy, too," I sobbed, knowing he only had seconds left, but refusing to talk in the past tense.

"I love you so much," he got out, barely clinging to life.

"I love you too," the moment I finished talking, he went completely limp in my arms, closing his eyes. I started screaming his name over and over, in complete denial.

I was sobbing horribly when I woke up, my heart beating out of my chest and my body shaking. Jack sat up with me, clearly beyond worried about me. I couldn't hear what he was saying to me, though, as I was far too terrified to listen. 

"Is he here?" I asked, unsure exactly what I was even talking about.

"Who?" Jack spoke softly, looking me in the eyes. I looked to the door, feeling as though I shouldn't take my eyes off it.

"He's gonna get us," I continued, petrified.

"Crutchie, look at me," he tried, but I didn't move.

"He's out there, I know it," I added, my chest feeling tight.

"Crutchie-"

"He's gonna hurt us," I began to panic even more now, completely convinced that my Dad was right outside the door.

"Crutchie-"

"He has a knife, we need to hide-"

"Charlie, look at me!" Jack said a bit louder, grabbing my attention and causing me to look at him. "There's nobody outside the door. We're completely safe, no one is here," he grew quiet again, not hiding his concern. I collapsed in his arms, putting my arms in against my chest as he held me. "You need to tell me what happened," he pushed, referencing last night's dream.