20 ➸ paralyzed

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twenty ; paralyzed

AUDREY

It seemed to be early in the morning when I woke up abruptly to my phone ringing. I rubbed my eyes, going to check on Harley, but she was no where in sight. I checked the caller ID frantically, sighing in relief when I saw that it was her number. "Hey. Did you go for 3 a.m coffee?" I joked. I could hear her chuckle lightly, before replying. "Yes, actually."

"Come back, I miss you," I whined into the phone, earning a laugh from her. "Do you want anything, darling?" She asked me, in a joke like tone. She seemed very calm, to be up drinking coffee at 3 in the morning.

"No, but thank you though," I responded, laying back in the bed out of boredom. "Last night was amazing, babe. You never fail to pleasure me," she said. She was acting completely weird.

"Yeah, it was nice. Are you... are you okay?" I asked her, getting up and pacing around my room. I was nervous that she was having a mental breakdown. "I'm totally fine, baby. Just extremely tired, that's all." She said. I sighed, and it went quiet for a bit. "You sure you don't want anything? I'm sure there's definitely gonna be something you're going to want later."

"Harley, come home now," I demanded. My heart was beating at 100 miles per hour the more she spoke in a drained tone of voice. "Ask for some damn coffee," she said, her voice turning cold.

"I don't want any." She sighed, and I could hear shuffling in the background. "So you don't want any coffee?" She asked, but this time, my heart sank to the very tip of my toes. It wasn't her. It was that cold voice. That voice I knew all too well.

"What the fuck did you do to Harley," I growled, slamming my fist against my bedroom wall. I could already feel the tears brimming in my eyes. I leaned my hands against the wall, taking deep breaths. This fucker has the love of my life, and her fate is about to be in my hands.

"If you want her, come on and get her," he chuckled. He hung up, and texted me an address to where he was keeping her hostage. I wasted absolutely no time grabbing my bomber jacket and rushing to my car, jamming the keys into the ignition. I immediately had tears rolling down my face as I drove through the pouring rain to the address she was being held, praying that she would be okay.

HARLEY

I choked on my own sobs as I was lifted off of the ground, and thrown against the wall with force. "Help!" I wailed. He picked me up off the ground once again, dragging me into the bathroom by my hair. I shrieked as he shoved me over the bath tub, and turned on the faucet.

"Please—" I was interrupted by being slammed down onto the edge of the tub, and no amount of struggle would get this person off me. I slashed around, attempting to break free of his grasp. I sobbed as he held me in his arms tightly, and slashing his knife into my gut.

I choked on my own blood, attempting to apply pressure to my wound, but he stopped me by picking me off the ground and wrapping his hands around the back of my neck and gripping onto a huge chunk of my hair. I squealed, and he slashed my head down into the tub filled with water. He was going to drown me. I struggled against his grip, fighting for my life.

I let out a violent scream under the water, attempting to push myself up, but he only pushed me in deeper. He lifted me out of the tub, giving me about half a second before dumping me back in. I barely had time to catch my breath. I kicked my legs around to try to get on my feet to stand out of the water, but I was getting weaker with the more blood I was losing. My lungs felt like they were going to explode, and I knew what was coming. I held my breath as well as I good, trying to get on my feet. I couldn't, no matter how hard I tried.

He lifted me up one more time, and with all the choking I did, I had to time to take a breath. He dumped me back in, and I began choking out blood. The water went from a clear coding to blood red the more I coughed. This was it. I was his first victim. Why didn't I believe Audrey?

My lungs were eager, and they opened up automatically, desperate for air, but there was no air here. The water rushed into my lungs, and I immediately began coughing and choking under the water. My limbs went numb, and that's when I heard the roaring sirens coming down the street, and men screaming. This was a familiar situation. He moved me around in the water, and I could feel myself losing it. The pain in my wound was aching, and I was dying. I'm sorry, Audrey.

The sirens got closer, and his hands were off of me in an instant. I couldn't move. I felt paralyzed. I was paralyzed. This fear that I had attempted to beat, was now starting up all over again. If I manage to make it out alive, I'll be right back at square one. "She's gotta be in here!" I heard someone scream. That was it. That was all I could remember before everything went completely fuzzy. This was it. I was going to die.

AUDREY

Her. She was the only thing crossing my mind when I panicked and called the police, knowing it would get me in trouble. I didn't care. Harley was the only thing I cared about. Nothing else. No one else. The house address he gave me belonged to an abandoned home, with furniture and working faucets still inside. I didn't care about any of it. I ran in screaming Harley's name, searching around frantically for her.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard struggling coming from upstairs, and what sounded like splashes of water. One foot left the ground and then another, and I rushed upstairs to look for the noises. It became dead silent, and I began to panic. I heard the sounds of the police running behind me, aiming their guns waiting to shoot anything that moves. "She's gotta be in here!" I shouted, pointing towards the only room in the house with pouring water being heard.

I slammed my body into the door, breaking it right off its hinges to find Harley face down in a bathtub full of blood and water, and blood rushing out of her stomach. My heart sank, as I rushed to her and pulled her out of the water to find that she wasn't breathing. She was so cold. "No, baby, please—"

"Move!"

She was pried from my arms and carried downstairs, while I felt paralyzed. Noah rushed to my side, kneeling down to see if I was responsive, waving his hand in my face. I can't lose her. Not again. "No! No!" I screamed violently, pushing Noah out of the way and thrashing my hands everywhere. I ran out of the room and downstairs, making my way out of the house to see people giving Harley CPR.

"Please!" I sobbed, falling to my knees and begging god not to take her. "Take me." I was crying so weakly, not able to comprehend anything that was going on around me. Brooke tried to help me, but Noah stopped her. He knew I was dangerous.

That was when I saw her. Gina. Standing over in the corner of everything and looking surprised. I knew she was the killer. I wouldn't have to play games this time. I stood to my feet, walking over to her and ignoring anyone trying to stop me. This was it.

I stood in front of her, giving her no time to ask me what I was doing, before slamming my fist into her jaw. She flew back, and her friends gasped in terror. It was a violent punch. One I only used when it was urgent. I grabbed her shirt when she was off guard, punching her repeatedly in the face while people tried to pull me away. "This was you! You did this! No! No! No!"

I didn't stop. I couldn't. I kept hitting her and hitting her and hitting her. There was no going back. She would be dead when I was done, if I was ever going to be done. I continued on, screaming violently with every punch. I was ripped away from her by Noah, causing me to lose it. By instinct, I punched him in the face, most likely breaking his nose. I didn't have time to punch Gina anymore, as I was grabbed by paramedics and police officers.

Brooke stepped in front of me, trying to bring me back to reality. "Audrey, hey, stop it. Please, Harley wouldn't want you to do this—"

"Yes she would!" I choked out, interrupting Brooke harshly. Sobs were wrenching through me as I watched Harley's body get wheeled into the ambulance. I couldn't save her. I felt paralyzed.

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