Breaking Beckett

Chapter 44

-Ellie-

My heart lodges itself into my heart when I see Marcus raise the gun to Beckett, as Beckett shouts "KILL ME! "

I can't breathe, my lungs burn from the lack of oxygen but I am frozen. My side aches from the trauma of the hunting knife that had lodged deep into my ribs, blood dried on my arms from the long vertical cuts down them.  Beckett puts his body in front of mine,shielding me from Marcus and Quinn. Cash crawls slowly toward me inch by inch,mouthing "I'm coming to get you", as I sit bleeding from my mouth all over Becketts  white t-shirt.

My life is in slow motion, my ears are ringing but I can't focus on anything that is being said around me. This feeling inside my stomach,I can't shake it. I can't do this, I can't coward in the corner while the man I love stands and begs for my life.

"Let her go, Marcus. She has done nothing. " I hear Beckett say when I tune my hearing back in.

"Just let her go. Let Cash take her out, kill me, but not here. Not in front of her." He speaks. What? No, Beckett stop talking.

"Let her go, please. " He says and I can tell from the raspiness of his voice, he is in tears.

"Beckett, stop! Please." I cry. He doesn't understand what he is giving Marcus permission to do.

"I love you, Ellie. I love you so damn much, no matter what,you don't ever forget that." He said, peering over his shoulder to look at my fragile body in the floor. "I love you, baby. "he weeped and my heart shattered to shards across the floor.

I found my way to my feet, and motioned my hand to Cash to stay put where he was. His leg was losing a lot of blood and I could tell he was using all of his strength to come to me, his face was gravely pale and I just wish for a second, I was still in the bed with Beckett, listening to the lub dub of his heart beat against my cheek.

Marcus never noticed me in the corner, Quinn I'm not quite sure cared. I watched as he raised his arm to Beckett, steadily, aiming the gun to his head.

"Not here. Please Marcus. Don't do this with Ellie here.Ellie I love you. I love you so much more than words." He cried.

I watched the tick in Marcus' jaw, his hand flexing toward the trigger, and just like someone had taken ahold of me, I picked one foot in front of the other, I saw the space between the trigger and his finger move,and a burst of air travel out of the barrel and just as I dove in front of Beckett, I felt something zip into my chest.

It felt like acid burning through my flesh and the impact made me fall to my knees. The sensation brought tears to my eyes, my eyes that locked to Becketts and I saw such a horrifying look come across his face, when he realized what happened.  I knew. If I am  being honest, I knew all along this was my fate.

"I'm okay." I said through clenched teeth and then I coughed. That pain was indescribable, it deepened the bullet inside of me, I could physically feel it shift.

I saw Beckett pull a gun from the back of his jeans and fire twice at Marcus, his body collapsing on the floor. Quinn drew his gun, but Cash shot him in the knee cap and he instantly fell, screaming in agony.

The bullet had ripped my chest to shreds but I didn't dare look at it. I couldn't. Beckett rushed to me and laid me down on the cold wooden floor.

"Stay with me baby, I got you." He said, putting pressure to my chest. I winced, it tripled my pain but I didn't ask him to remove his hand.  I longed for his touch.

"Call 911!" He yelled to Cash as he tossed his phone to Cash.

"Im right here, okay? I'm not going any where. I love you. I love you so damn much." He said stroking my face with his free hand.