Faults, Scars, and Guitar Strings

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

It took everything Dylan had to hold me back. I ignored all the pain in my stomach because all I could think about was getting to Maria. "Kayla, you need to stop! There's nothing you can do," he told me.

"There has to be! She took the bullet for me!"

"There isn't! They will get her help!"

"She shouldn't have done that!" I continued crying, "I never wanted anybody to risk their lives for me."

Dylan whispered, "We couldn't let you die."

"I might not have died!" I argued, "I don't want to die, but why not?! Isn't it better than letting her get shot?"

"Because Zane was right," Dylan said quietly. "I could never live without you."

After hearing that I stopped fighting it and let Dylan set me back in the wheelchair. I could hear the ambulance coming, but they weren't coming fast enough. The principal was next to Maria and another teacher was trying to stop the bleeding. She didn't have to take that bullet for me. I've already been stabbed I can handle being shot too. All my rational thinking went out the window because all I wanted to do was save my friend. She's already stuck up for me and risked being bullied in order to help me, and now she's risked her life too.

Dylan bent down in front of me and took my hands. "That's why you didn't answer," I said. "You didn't answer Zane because he was right."

"I didn't want to upset him more."

"But he was right?" I asked, hoping to hear him say it one more time. If he said it one more time I would never forget it.

"Yes, he was right. When he hurt you a part of me lost it because I couldn't handle it. I couldn't calm down until I knew you were okay. When he pointed that gun at you I couldn't let him kill you. I hid my feelings from you for so long, and it would kill me to lose you without ever having been with you. Part of me will always need you in my life."

Part of me was okay after that. Knowing Dylan's feelings for me were strong made all those other situations suddenly make sense. Dylan never wanted to leave my side at the hospital because he felt like he was losing his mind when I was hurt. It was hurting him knowing I could be gone and he never got the chance to be with me. Now I need Maria to be okay. I know why he stood in front of me, but now I need to know why Maria did.

*Maria*

I couldn't let Kayla take the fall... or bullet. Everyone was going everywhere at once as soon as Zane pulled the trigger. Dylan and the nurse were trying to wheel Kayla away, but they wouldn't have been fast enough. While they were distracted, I quickly stepped in front of the path of the bullet. Everyone's been saying that it's up to Kayla to fix this, and maybe it is, but all of us had a part in this. I am one of the first people who ever stood up for her. All I wanted to be was her friend and I was okay with getting bullied for that. I was also okay with taking a bullet for her if it meant she doesn't have to suffer anymore. She's already been stabbed she doesn't deserve to get shot too. I would never be able to live with myself knowing I could have done something to stop it. Stepping in front of the bullet was the first thing I could think of on the spot.

It felt like I was standing there forever waiting for the bullet to hit me. I've always heard that's how moments like this were. Your life flashes before your eyes and it seems like time is going in slow motion. Nobody was watching me. They were all concentrated on either Zane or Kayla so I knew that no one was going to stop me. I didn't want anyone to stop me. It was either me getting shot or Kayla, and I wasn't going to let it be Kayla.

When the bullet finally hit me, I got a surge of pain in my left side. It made me fly back what seemed like many feet and I hit the ground. I lost my breath and couldn't get it back. Between the fall and the bullet, the wind was knocked out of me and I was unconscious. Before I closed my eyes, I looked over to my left and saw Kayla fighting to get to me. I smiled with the little energy that was left in me. Kayla was okay so I knew it was worth it.