The Neighbor II

Thinking of You

The barrel of the gun was smoking. Two shots. That's all it took. Cassie was stunned, frozen in shock. Everything was so quiet now. Not even the kids were crying from the noise, there were no neighbors banging on the door, no police sirens.

Tears were streaming down her face, but her mouth was hung open in shock. Her hands were shaking in the worst way and she couldn't control them. That was, until, a pair of hands took a hold of the gun that was still in her hands and set it on the floor, before holding her shaky hands.

"Cass. Cassie, look at me." Her eyes went from the blood spattered wall in front of her, to the person kneeling in front of her. She let out the biggest breath of relief. "Ben," she breathed. He smiled at her and said, "Hey, baby. Come here." 

He gently pulled her down until she was on her knees. He ran his blood stained hand over her cheek. "There wasn't any noise," she said in a daze. "Not a loud one, at least." He ran his thumb over her cheek and said, "That's because there was a silencer on it. Are you alright?"

She shook her head. "I just...I killed two people," she told him. He nodded and said, "I know. You killed them to save me." She sniffled and wiped her tears. "I'm sorry," she said. "This is my fault, no matter what you say, it is."

He soothingly shushed her. "We need to call the police," he said. "They had me tied up and beat me and pointed a gun to you, we can claim self-defense. Not to mention, we can say you thought the kids were in danger." 

This shouldn't be happening. She shouldn't have to do this. She isn't him. Ben grunted and winced when he tried to stand up, causing Cassie to snap out of her thoughts. "You need a hospital," she said. He nodded and told her, "So do you. Hand me my phone."

She hesitantly went over to the coffee table and handed him his phone. He started dialing the number as he said, "Go get the kids. Where's Marshall?" She gulped when she said, "Boris put him in the spare bedroom." 

"Alright, go get them and keep them in the kitchen. Hey," he put his hand on her face when she looked distracted. "It's going to be alright. I would kiss you, but I don't think you want a mouth full of blood." She didn't find that funny. "Right," he said, "go get everyone and I'll call the police." 

As quickly as she could on wobbly legs, she went up the stairs and went into Michael's room. She gently shook him awake, saying, "Michael, sweetie, wake up." Michael whined and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. "Come on, baby, we need to go downstairs."

He wrapped his arms around her neck and she picked him up. With her free arm, she managed to get Jess, but woke her up in the process. She started to fuss and cry, making Michael moody. She sighed, then opened the guest bedroom open. Marshall sprinted out and started barking as he ran down the stairs. 

Cassie went down and made a b-line to the kitchen. She set Michael down on top of the kitchen table and set Jess down next to him. She gently cupped Michael's face and said, "Now, sweetie, I need you to look after your sister for me, okay? Be my big boy, alright?"

He nodded and said, "Okay, mommy." She kissed his cheek, then rushed out into the living room. She found Ben on the floor, leaning against the couch with his phone to his chest and eyes closed. "Ben," she called, as she got down next to him.

His eyes shot open. He was looking incredibly pale from the loss of blood. "They're...they're on the way," he weakly told her. "I explained everything...you'll be fine." She ran her fingers through his hair and said, "You will be, too." 

He let out a slight laugh, then winced. Cassie looked down at where his hand was covering his hip. She lifted his hand and saw...he had been shot. "Oh my God," she gasped. "Why didn't you tell me?" He put his hand back over it and said, "I didn't want to worry you. Tom got me before he went down." 

"Oh, Ben," she cried. He breathed her in when she gently put her forehead against his. "Thank you for saving me," he told her. She sniffled and said, "But I didn't. Look at you." He let out a deep chuckle, but then started coughing.

"Bloody hell, that hurts," he groaned. Cassie could hear the sirens outside the building. "They're here," she said in relief. "You're going to be okay, just hang on for me." She took his hand and he squeezed it tight. "I love you," he said. She shook her head and said, "Stop it. Stop talking." 

He squeezed her hand when he felt a surge of pain roll through. "I forgive you," he told her. "I know why you did it. I shouldn't have put that all on you, shouldn't have shut you out." She kept shushing him. "Stop talking like you can't say any of this later," she begged. "Think of the kids. Keep fighting for them." 

With a small smile, he told her, "I keep thinking of you, silly girl. The first time we met. How badly I wanted you. The first night you took control, which was the same night we conceived Michael. Our wedding. You were so gorgeous in your dress."

She smiled and told him, "And you were so handsome. So was Michael in his little suit." Ben smiled fondly. Suddenly, there were rapid knocks on the door. "This is the NYPD," they called. "Is everyone alright?" 

Cassie kissed Ben's head and called back, "No, we need an ambulance!" While the police broke open the locked door, she held Ben closely. A swarm of police ran inside. Some went to Tom and Boris, the others went into the kitchen for the kids, and a couple came in to Ben and Cassie. 

A couple paramedics looked over Ben, though they had to practically drag Cassie away from him to do so, while another checked her. "He's lost too much blood," one of them said about Ben. "We need to get him out of here now." 

As they were getting him on the gurney, he pointed to Cassie and weakly said, "She...needs...hospital." The paramedic nodded and said, "We'll get her there, sir, you just need to stop talking." Cassie watched as they rolled him off. 

"Call another ambulance!" A medic called. "We've got a live one!" Cassie looked over and saw Tom struggling to breath. "He was shot in the neck, we need to get him out of here!" They wrapped his neck in gauzes to stop the bleeding. 

She got distracted by her children screaming for her as the police carried them out. "Mommy!" Michael sobbed. Jess was screaming bloody murder. "Wait, what's going to happen with my children?" Cassie anxiously asked.

"They'll be fine," an officer told her. "We're going to take them down to the hospital to get them checked out. We're going to need to get a statement from you and your husband at the hospital, unless you're well enough now."

She shook her head. "No, no need to be with my husband," she told him. "Please tell me he's going to be okay."