An Open Sky

Chapter Fifty-Two ~Aidan~

I parked at the end of the street. I kept the house in my sight, not even looking down to grab my bag out of the backseat; not even to slide the gun out of the bag and into my pants.

                I ran down the street and hid around the corner of the house. It was a small gray home. It blended in with the rest of the area. The paint was peeling off, with half of the shutters on the windows missing. The trees suffered the disgrace of wearing newly fitted toilet paper. Even with the damage, the home seemed almost cozy, welcoming even. It was definitely not the abandoned warehouse that the police were looking for.

                I turned the corner when I saw the trunk of the car open. He must have been unloading something…or loading. The trunk appeared virtually empty. I froze when I saw the door open. It was propped open with a chair.

                I had to get in.

                I didn’t know if Jay would step out the door the second I made a run for it, or if he would be sitting there waiting for me with a kitchen knife. It was a risk I had to take.

                I took a breath and lunged for the door. The wooden patio creaked under my feet as I ran, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t stop. I entered the house and shot left behind the living room wall. I was in what appeared as a small dining room. There was a short table with three legs in the center of the cloudy room, and two folding chairs around it. Other than that, there was no other furniture in the house from what I could see.

                My lungs burned as I held my breath. Someone was coming. The floor announced the weight of the person. It was definitely not Alexa that would walk out the door. I sunk further back into the darkness as Jay stepped out with a box. I waited until I knew he couldn’t hear my steps before I darted around the corner, my breath still coming out in gasps.

                To the right were stairs to go up to the top level. To the left were stairs to the basement. I glanced behind me. Jay still wasn’t in sight.

                “Alexa,” I called in a loud whisper, “please, just make noise. It’s me, Aidan.”

                I waited a few moments. I heard the trunk slam shut. The pounding of my heart blocked out any other noise that Alexa could have been making. I had to hide. When in doubt, choose right.

                I darted up the stairs, my ankle throbbing. I figured I could sneak downstairs as soon as Jay came up again. I opened a door to a storage room and slid in, quietly shutting the door behind me. My fingers searched for a light switch. I found a slightly sticky switch and flicked it on.

                “Aidan!”

                I jumped, throwing myself against the wall. My brain finally came to realize what I was seeing. “Alexa?” I could barely breathe.

                “You actually came! Where are the police?”

                “Shhh, be quiet,” I motioned for her to hush. “Of course I came,” my voice came out raspy, like I was going to break out in tears, “and I’m all you’ve got right now.”

                The door opened.

                I turned right in to Jay’s wide chest. I flew back into the wall; my face met the floor. The pounding in my skull was then accompanied by Alexa’s screams.

                I was again against the wall. “You’ve got a lot of guts to show up here, you know that?” I stayed there, mesmerized. “I warned you, Aidan. I told you not to get involved, what am I supposed to do now?” His hands tightened around my neck.

                “Jay stop!” Alexa threw herself onto his back. He went down. I went with him. Suddenly, we were all on the floor. I reached down and managed to grab the handle of the gun with my left hand, just as I was knocked into the wall. My shoulder cracked and the gun slid across the wooden floor. I screamed, looking up, right into Jay’s fist.

                He pinned me to the ground. I looked around for Alexa. She was lying on the floor holding her face. I could see the red blood start to stain her fingertips. I sent my knee into Jay’s stomach. He curled onto the ground long enough for me to start inching my way to the gun.

                “Stop!” Jay’s voice echoed through the room. I turned, my eyes flicked to the silver revolver in his hand. I raised my hands into the air.

                “Jay…you don’t need to do this,” I begged. I slowly hauled myself to my feet, swaying slightly when my body resisted.

                “You don’t understand, Aidan,” he growled, “you left. I needed your help and you left. I turned to them. They took me in, Aidan, at a cost. No one warned me…I had to be one of them. I am one of them.”

                “I know,” I said flatly. I gun clicked. “Jay, please.” My heart was in my throat. I stepped toward him.          

                “Stop!” The shot rang out. I struck the wall before I’d even realized I was hit. The bullet shot through me like fire. My hand reached down to my left side. I flinched, retracting my blood-covered fingers immediately.

                I threw myself onto the ground. Another shot rang out.

                I was searching myself for another wound, when Jay’s body collapsed a few feet from me. His gun clattered against the floor. I looked up at Alexa. She tossed the gun to me, my gun. She was directly behind me. I hadn’t seen her move, but Jay had. His echoing voice telling her to stop entered my mind. I thought he was looking at the window behind me…not at Alexa.

                I sat there silently as she made her way past him to a crumpled jacket in the corner and grabbed her phone out of the pocket.

                “We should probably go,” she said. “Do you have a car or should I grab his keys too?” I shook my head. Her voice sounded calm, but I could see her body shaking. I slid myself into a standing position. I wouldn’t let her see me hurt.

                “I have a car.” I walked over to her, “I saw a hotel downtown if you’re comfortable being in the same confines as me. Otherwise I could stay in the car; I mean I’ve done it before…” I was interrupted by her arms around my back. She threw herself into me, burying her head into my chest. I couldn’t hear her crying, but I could feel her tears dampening my shirt.

                She looked up at me, “Its fine,” she laughed between her sobs, “thank you, for coming for me.”

                I grinned, using my thumb to wipe away her tears and the blood from the cut on her cheek. “Let’s go.” Against everything I wanted at that moment, she released me and stepped back. I gestured toward the door; we made our way out, leaving Jay’s body in a crumpled heap on the floor. We stepped into the cool air; I let it fill my burning lungs. She walked ahead of me, glancing back from time to time. I smiled; wondering what would have happened if I hadn’t come, but ultimately knowing the outcome. I stayed farther behind her so when she would look back, she wouldn’t see me struggling to walk, so she wouldn’t be able to make out the blood stain growing on my shirt.

                I took one last look at the house. It was finally over. I should have been relieved, but the threat of tears still stung the back of my throat.