All I Have Left

Chapter 10: Demolished

Adrienne's POV 

"Danny I would never hurt you...I thought you'd know that..." I said softly. I had no idea why I was still standing but my legs wouldn't let me move. 

"Do I, Adrienne? Because right now I have no clue who you are. The Adrienne I know would never kill people and she certainly wouldn't carry guns around with her." He snapped. When I looked in his eyes, I saw anger and disappointment. He's never looked at me like that and just seeing it made my heart sink to my stomach. I feared if I said anything else, I'd throw up. I just avoided his gaze but I knew it wouldn't leave me. 

"Say something!!" He yelled. My head snapped up.

"My friend just died, Danny! I watched her get murdered when I was supposed to protect her! I'm sorry if I can't afford to be weak right now in an attempt to find the only person who's able to keep me sane!" I could feel my eyes tearing up but I refuse to let one fall. He just looked at me, his face was still hardened, as if he had no sympathy for me. I scoffed. 

"You know what, I shouldn't have come. I really thought you'd understand but you don't. No one does." I swallowed hard and turned around, grabbed my bag and walked to the door. 

"Wait." He called after me. I sighed and stopped walking. He came up behind me and sighed in defeat. 

"I...I understand, Adrienne. I do. But...nothing is worth your life. At least not to me. I refuse to lose you because of anything or anyone. Bria was your best friend and I know that avenging her death is important to you and finding her killer is part of that, but I can't lose you. I can't. I couldn't take it." He said softly. I felt a tear fall and I turned around. His face was a mixture of worry and fear. I hated doing this to him. I hated scaring him. 

"You...don't have to come with me, Danny. You can stay here and stay safe. Honestly, I prefer it that way." I said. My voice was breaking with every word. He grabbed my hand. 

"And I would prefer it if you stayed here, with me, where you belong. Not out there where you could literally drop dead any given moment. I am supposed to keep you safe. Your life means to much to me, Adrienne." He said. I put my hand softly on his face.

"This is something I have to do, Danny. She was my friend. This man took her away from me and I refuse to rest until I find him and take away something or someone he cares about." I said. Tears started to pool in my eyes. Just the thought of leaving him. 

"Then I'm going with you. You're not doing this alone. You will never have to be alone again, I promise." He said. Part of me didn't want him to come with me. Mostly because I can't bear to see another person that I care so much about get killed. But also because...I don't want him to see the monster I've become. I sighed and grabbed a rifle out of my bag and gave it to him. I looked into his eyes without letting go of the gun. I looked deep into his eyes. 

"Please be careful..." I said softly. He held my head up and kissed me deeply. 

"We'll keep each other safe." He said. I smiled and kissed him again. Then, we left. 

When we got outside, I kicked my former partner out of the way. 

"That was a bit fucked up." Danny said. I shrugged.

"I'm the one who killed him." I said walking down the street. 

Danny's POV

I'm not used to this side of Adrienne...she's cold, fearless, and at times heartless. Like, after Bria's death, her regard for human life disappeared. Don't get me wrong, I still love her with all of my heart, but I just want my sweet, innocent girlfriend back.

An hour later, we stopped to take a break in the forest. Adrienne seemed frustrated and wired. She was pacing and mumbling things and all I could think about was someone spotting us. 

"Baby, you have to stay low." I said.

"My entire purpose for coming out here has changed." She said. 

"What do you mean?" She walked toward me and sat between my legs. 

"He knew my parents...that means they're still alive. If they aren't at their house, there's only one other place they'd be. Looking for Bria's killer means prolonging their death instead of finding them, finding their van and the four of us skip town. We'll be safe. This town is going to crumble." She said. 

"Okay, so where are they?" I asked. 

"Our vacation house near the beach. I always wondered why we spent so much on another house, and now it makes sense. The riots happened because the men looking for my parents were willing to tear this place apart to look for them." She said. 

"Okay, so where's the safe house?" 

"Just outside of town. Let's go." She said. We got up and headed for the town's border. 

This can finally end.