Deadly Infatuation

Chapter 48

Lily

I wake with a startled gasp and sit up in bed as I hear the terrifying sound of a gun firing somewhere inside the house. Keeping my eyes on the door in fear that someone could burst through at any second, my hand moves to Max's side of the bed to wake him, wondering why he hasn't reacted to the frighting noise as well but when my hand only connects with the bed sheet dread fills me when I see he isn't here. I call out his name, hoping that he could be in the bathroom, but all I am met with is silence. Another loud crack of a gunshot echoes into the room and I yelp in shock. My mind conjures up different scenarios in my head to explain for the gunshots and with each tortuous one that I think of the more, my heart pounds. Did Sarah make it into the house? Did Blake and Johnson shoot her when they saw her? What if Sarah was the one who fired the shots? What if she's shot Max?

Bile rises in my throat and I realize I can't stay here in case the shooter comes upstairs to find me. Wasting no time, I jump off the bed and throw on my robe and then rush to the door and place my hand on the doorknob to open it, but my hand freezes as another crack fills the house. I cry in pain, knowing that something is terribly wrong. Three gunshots are enough for Blake, Johnson and Max. My body trembles as I wonder if Sarah has killed them all and is working up to killing me and if this is the case, I need to get mom and me out of here before she has the chance. My hand shakes against the handle and I have to hold my wrist to keep it steady so that I can turn it. Holding back tears, I edge the door open slightly and look through the gap of the door to check that the corridor is empty. I have to squint through the darkness, but it looks like it's deserted. I look again towards the direction of the staircase but can't see any movement and edge closer to the threshold. My foot hovers in the air as I move to step forward but the fear building up inside of me causes me to hesitate from placing my foot into the corridor as I know that there is a strong likelihood that I could be met with the shooter if I go outside.

Reminding myself that I need to get my mom to safety, I bite on my quivering lip to keep from making any noise and slip into the corridor. The rain pounds against the window, which helps to disguise my movement as I tiptoe down the corridor to my mom's room. I slowly open her door and whisper her name whilst keeping my eyes on the staircase and almost immediately I feel Milo's wet nose touch the back of my hand, which causes me to jump in shock. My mom appears round the door soon after and takes hold of his collar to stop him from coming out into the corridor.

"Lily, oh thank goodness you're okay. I can't get any signal in here to call the police. Where's Max?" she asks, noticing that he's not by my side.

"I don't know."

Her eyes become more worried as she looks at me. "We need to get out of here so we can get help. Can we get out from up here?"

I shake my head until I remember that there could be a way for us to escape without having to go downstairs. "Maybe. There's a window in the library that opens onto the roof. There are vines we could climb down."

"It's worth trying."

She follows me into the corridor with Milo and we creep along the floorboards to the library, which unfortunately is right next to the next staircase. I feel as if Milo knows we are in danger as his ears are pricked up and his eyes follow the staircase as well. My mom takes hold of my hand as we pass by the opening of the staircase and I peek down the steps as we pass by it, but it's so dark that I can hardly make out anything. I usher my mom and Milo into the small library and carefully close the door behind me and prop a chair up against the handle to buy us some more time. When I face my mom, I see she is already trying to open the window with difficulty. I rush over to her and move Milo out of the way and then try to pull the window open, but it doesn't budge. Huffing, I try again, but it still has no effect.

"Up there," she points. "That might be what's stopping it from opening."

I follow her line of direction and see a lock in the center. It looks pretty high up, but I think I can just about reach it. Stepping on the tips of my toes, I reach my hand up to try to move it when the sound of a handle rattling grabs my attention. I quickly turn my head over my shoulder and see that someone is trying to open the door.

"Hurry, Lily."

Milo growls menacingly at the door while I try to reach the lock. My fingers barely graze it when the sound of someone kicking violently against the door reaches my ear drums.

"Shit," I curse as my fingers slip.

The kicking becomes heavier and I can hear the chair scraping against the floor as it struggles to stay in position. My heart hammers inside my chest as I know we are running out of time and, in one last effort, I jump up against the window and slam my hand against the lock. The small click tells me it has worked, and I quickly bend down and slide the window up. The full force of the storm hits me and splatters of rain hit my face as I look outside the window. "Mom, you go first."

"Milo, come," my mom calls, though he doesn't listen to her as he barks angrily at the door that is closed to being forced open.

"Go. I'll get him."

With a torn look, she climbs out of the window and places her hands against the wall to balance herself. I turn to get Milo as he precedes to bark loudly at the door, but before I can call out to stop him, he jumps at the door, catching the chair wedged up against it and it slips further down the door. I share a horrified look with my mom, both of us knowing that we are in peril danger as one more kick will send the door flying open. Looking into her scared eyes, I know what I must do to keep her safe and before she can stop me, I slam the window shut just as the door to the room crashes open.