Minor setback

7 0 0
                                    

charlie luck

I didn't want to do this—no, I did. I wanted Layla back, and I needed to know how. I held the gun in front of Blaire's face, a serious look on my face. I'm glad I went with Plan B—I knew she wouldn't help me. "Talk or you're dead."

She opened the door wider and I walked in. I closed the door behind me and put the gun to my side. She still stared at it in disbelief. It satisfied me. "Tell me—where is Layla now?" I knew she would answer. Her life was on the line. She looked me in the eyes finally, terrified. She straightened her face.

"If you really think I'm telling you that, you're full of bull ——."

I got angry and pulled up the gun, but just as quickly as I did she ducked out of the way. She ran into a hallway, and I followed as fast as I could, but she slammed the door behind her and locked it. I banged on the door. "Open up, or you'll pay." I thought of ways to make her pay. I could hear her moving around on the other side of the door. She couldn't escape; her apartment was on the 12th floor. The only way was through the hallway: the one I was standing in right now.

blaire collins

That idiotic psycho. If you're going to be a maniac, maybe check my apartment before trying to hold me at gunpoint. He really thought I couldn't escape.

In the main bedroom, the attached bathroom had a laundry chute. It led to the laundry room only one floor down. I opened the chute and, without hesitation, dived in. I braced myself, ready to hit the hard floor. Yes, it hurt, but there was a pile of (mainly my own) dirty clothes at the bottom of the chute, so I called that a victory. I scrambled up, opening the heavy-duty door (all buildings had heavy duty doors now, due to the apocalypse a few years prior.) 

I violently hit the elevator button, waiting for it to arrive. "Come on, come on," I mumbled as I watched the elevator monitor show the floor numbers. 4...5...6...7...8... I kept looking back, waiting for something to pop up. 10...11. Ding. I smiled and gasped with satisfaction as the doors opened. I jumped in and hit the button labeled Lobby and took out my phone. I frantically looked through my contacts list until I reached the one labeled Jack <3. The phone didn't even ring once when I heard the sound that showed he was now on the other line.

"Jack," I breathed, realizing I was out of breath. He was in the car.

"Hey, babe—I'm on my way right now."

I smiled with relief. "Great—where are you at this exact moment?" The doors to the elevator opened again and I stepped out into the lobby.

"Uh," There was a pause on the other end before he replied with, "Red light next to the McDonald's closest to your building. Why?"

"I'll explain in a second. Don't drive any further, just park at McDonald's and wait there." I hung up the phone and pushed open the doors, the sound of honking cars filling my ears and the feel of the cold air brushing on my face. 

jack faye

I pulled into the McDonald's, confused and worried. I checked the time. 8:17pm. I sat there for a few minutes, wondering whether I should call Blaire back or not, when the passenger side's door opened. I looked over and saw her there. She was wearing an oversized shirt and sweatpants, along with her converse, which were untied. She was breathing heavily. "It's so dark—did you walk here by yourself? Do you know how dangerous that is—" I started, but she slammed the door and buckled up.

"Charlie Luck just showed up to my house," She said, and I shrugged, ignoring that sudden jolt of jealousy in my chest.

"So?"

"With a gun," were the words she said next that made my ears ring and my heart stop. We stared at each other for a second.

"So where am I driving to?" I asked, her, my voice suddenly hoarse. She checked her phone, the lock screen a picture of me and her.

She looked at me and said, "Layla's."

layla miller

So I was going to be Layla Hughes. It had a nice ring to it. Ha, ha—ring. I sat up straight. Oh, God. Asher's terrible humor got to my brain.

I sat on the couch, sitting cross legged next to Asher, who was half-asleep as High School Musical played in the background. I smiled at my ring, when the doorbell buzzed. I looked at the door quickly before looking back at my ring and standing up. "Coming," I called. I opened the door and smiled at Blaire, but she pushed past me, leading Jack in as well. I closed the door with a chuckle. "Hey, Blaire, what's up?" She started pacing through my living room.

"What's up? Your dead-in-the-brain-ex just showed up to my house and threatened to shoot me dead if I didn't help him get back together with you," she whisper-yelled. I gave her a skeptical look, with a returned serious expression from her and Jack. My smile faded. She was serious.

asher hughes

All I remember is getting woken up from my dream. I sat up, rubbing my eyes, as Layla shook me awake. "Huh? What?" I asked in a groggy voice, the same voice I used when she woke me up every morning.

"Charlie just threatened to kill Blaire," She said as I continued rubbing my eyes, not yet fully awake. I yawned.

"He should have, that woulda done us all a favor." Something collided with my face and I yelped in pain—okay, now I was awake. I looked at the pillow sitting on the floor, that was just thrown at me by Blaire herself. "What the ——?"

"I'm serious, Asher. He held her at gunpoint. He wants to get back together with me."

I blinked at her. "That bi—" I started, but I saw the look given by Layla and sighed. I stood up. "So what do we do? Call the cops?"

Layla sighed. "No. His mom is the head of the department. She won't believe us—especially since I'm his ex." She put her head in her hands. "I don't know what to do—I can't put Blaire in danger again."

I touched her shoulder, trying to catch her eye, but she was looking down.

"What are you suggesting?"

She finally looked up at me, this time tears were threatening to cross her waterline. "If he'll stop for me, am I going to have to give in?"

a day undeadWhere stories live. Discover now