Finding Sage (Young Adult)

Thirty: No More

Finley holds up the gun as the bathroom door opens. Immediately, the door closes again and we hear Donovan moaning in discomfort. With Finley draped over me I tug on his side and know we have to hobble together quietly and quickly.

Slowly, we make our way to the front door. Finley's leg is still oozing blood and the amount he's lost worries me.

The front door is a welcoming site, as I am starting to believe that we might actually escape this nightmare.  I grab my keys off the counter and quietly open the door. As it starts to squeak, I loudly say, "Donny, can I get you something?" I grab my bottle of bleach and put it in Finley's free hand. Quietly I whisper, "Straight bleech." He nods and holds it for me.

"No," he whines from the bathroom. I chuckle a little and Finley whispers, "Did you poison him?"

I point to the Visine bottle on the counter and he shrugs, confused.

We make our way out the front door and halfway across the porch. Our focus is on the large vehicle in front of us, knowing we just have to make it another twenty feet. I try to hurry Fin along, but we make too much noise, so he holds me back.

"Sage! What da fuck are you doin?" Donovan screams from inside the cabin.

Finley starts hopping on his good leg faster and we barely make it to the SUV. I prop Finely against the passenger door and try to unlock it but my hands fumble with the key remote. Rain pours over our heads.

Donovan's heavy steps are heard pounding down the porch. I rip the gun from Finley's hand and turn around. "Stop!"

Donovan's instincts stop him immediately. "You little fuckin bitch. You came here to save your boyfriend. You whore!" He spits when he screams and puts his hands in his hair, pulling. He spins around when he realizes all my lies and throws a fist into a wooden column. His punch splinters the wood a little, but Donovan does not acknowledge an ounce of physical pain.

Donovan's face contorts. His eyes go black. Focusing only on my face he starts bounding toward me. I yell, "Get the fuck back!" lifting the gun up to him and jumping back a little. My voice is shaky and scared; I don't even recognize it. Rain is washing over me, stinging my eyes and weighing down my arms.

In the distance, I see one of Adam's cousins, he has a large gun pointed at Donovan. He puts his finger over his mouth to tell me to be quiet as he slowly creeps closer and gives hand signals to someone else.

My adrenaline gets away from me, my hands starts to shake and tears start coming down my face. "Get back or I will shoot you, Donny."

"You don't have it in you, Sage," Donovan says, completely sure of himself.

Everything Donovan has done to me over the last six years comes to a head. Anger, fear, loneliness, and insecurity, they all came from him. No more! I am not that person anymore. I can do it, you fuck!

"Besides, that guns doesn't have bullets," Donovan says, looking smug as he reaches into his shirt pocket and pulls out the bullets.

"Yeah, well, you dropped one," I say, my hands are shaking beyond belief. "Go on, count them."

I feel Finley behind me and I hear him hop closer. "Sage, get in the car and give me the gun."

Donovan counts the bullets and throws them all on the ground. His eyes furrow showing his evilness. The base of my spine grows cold and sends waves of shivers up my back.

"Oh, bloody hell," Finley says in a wince from behind me. "Sage, give me the gun."

"Stay back Finley. Don't touch me." My eyes are solid on Donovan.