Pathfinder

Part 2 - 30

THIRTY—BRODY

"I've got her. Come and get her."

I pulled the phone away from my ear and stared at it, in horror. As I was sitting across a table from my sister, I knew Ron wasn't talking about Cammy. "Lexi." I breathed and stood, fleeing the room.

"Brody! What happened?" Cammy asked, running down the hall, after me.

"I called that number back that I'd missed a call from. It's Ron and he has Lexi." I tell her, grabbing my car keys where I'd left them on Cammy's kitchen counter.

"Brody, please, call the police. Ron will expect an ambush like last time. He'll expect you. He might shoot you this time." Cammy pleaded.

"Call Tyler, but I've got to go. I can't risk Lexi being with that freak for a second longer than necessary." I tell her, kiss her forehead, and then ran out the door.

I went straight to the same motel Ron had taken Ricky to. He hadn't given instructions, other than to "come and get her" so I was assuming that's where I'd find them. Sure enough, there was Lexi's car. How had this happened? Should I have arranged to pick Lexi up from the school? I'd gone over to Cammy's when she called, frantically trying to figure out a project that used to be my responsibility at work, but was now hers. We'd been working on it pretty heavily for an hour, when I'd gone to the bathroom. When I returned from the bathroom, Cammy had told me I'd missed a call on my cell phone that I'd left lying on the table. The caller I.D. had said "Unknown" so my sister hadn't bothered to answer. I didn't usually return calls to unknown numbers, but something propelled me to do so this time. Thank God.

Now, I got out of the car and was trying to figure out my game plan, when Ron threw open the motel room door, stepped out and started shooting. I didn't have time to react and I felt a searing pain shoot through my shoulder. The impact of the bullet threw me off balance and I found myself falling, before I could do a damned thing. This is what he wanted. He wanted me vulnerable so he could kill me, I realized. Well, I thought as I lay staring up at the night sky, come and get me Ron.

When his footsteps grew close enough, I finally moved, swiping my feet around and knocked Ron off balance. He fell and pulled the trigger at the same time. The sound was deafening and I lost my focus. My world was spinning and nothing was in focus anymore. I heard a car peel into the parking lot and slam to a stop, before Tyler demanded, "Put your hands up!"

I blinked and was finally able to bring my focus back, enough to see Ron turn his gun toward where Tyler had spoken. Another gun shot rang out and Ron's whole body jolted, before he dropped to the ground. His eyes were lifeless, telling me he was dead. I sighed in relief. It was over. Ron couldn't cause us problems anymore.

Tyler bent at my side, "Brody, stay with me, Buddy. An ambulance is on the way."

"Lexi." I said and tried to point.

"Shit." Tyler said and took off running, entering the motel room Ron had exited out of. A moment later, he turned with a phone to his ear. All I heard him say was, "We need a second ambulance to pull into the alley behind Motel 6. White female, age twenty-four, head wound." Hearing Tyler's words was enough to make my world spin out of focus again and I lost consciousness.

"Get up, you pansy." The voice seemed like it was far away and yet right next to me, at the same time, which made no sense. I opened my eyes and there, in front of me, which also made zero sense, was Lance Green. Lexi's brother was wearing the same outfit he'd been wearing the last time I saw him, all those years ago, at that party, where I'd punched him.

"Lance?"

"Of course, Lance, who did you think it was?"

"But you're dead." I accused.

"So are you, dumbass."

"No! I didn't die." I felt panic rise up in my throat.

Lance chuckled, "Oh yea? Well, you see that bright light right there. If you so much as make one move toward it, it's going to suck you up like it did me and then you'll be flying high in the sky. You don't want that? You lost a lot of blood, letting that dumbass shoot you."

"I want to be wherever Lexi is." I answer honestly.

"Well, she didn't die, so..."

"Then I don't want to die."

Lance nodded, "Good. Lexi needs you."

I glared, "You didn't think that before."

"Yea, well, I was young and stupid. I knew I'd made a mistake instantly, but I didn't know how to fix it after that. I'm glad you two worked it out. I'm not happy you had sex with her before marriage, but I can't do anything about that. Just don't hurt her. Cherish her and worship the ground she walks on." Lance instructed

"I plan on it."

"Alright, well, this has been fun. I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry I kept you two apart all of these years. I've got to go. You're waking up." Lance said, his voice fading and then he disappeared before my eyes and, once again, all I saw was blackness. Something was tugging at me, though, figuratively speaking. Something was tell me to wake up and open my eyes.

"Brody?"

I blinked my eyes open and saw Cammy leaning over me. I glanced around, noting I was in a hospital bed. Damn that had been a weird dream. I'd talked to Lance and it had felt so real. Dream Lance had said that Lexi wasn't dead, but I needed to be sure, "Lexi?"

"She's ok. She's been treated for a head wound, but she's going to be fine. She fell out of the motel's bathroom window, trying to escape."

I choked on a laugh, "That's my girl."

"Brody?" A tired looking Lexi, with a bandage on her head, was wheeled into the room, so our beds were next to each other. She began to cry, "I had to see that you were alright."

"I'm fine...I think. I guess I haven't really asked." I glanced at the nurse who wheeled Lexi in.

The nurse nodded, "The bullet went straight through your shoulder, cleanly. You bumped your head on the side of your car as you fell though and a bullet crazed the side of your head. You lost quite a bit of blood, but you're stable now."

I reached up and felt a bandage similar to Lexi's on my own head. Man, we were a pair. I glanced at my fiancé, "I talked to Lance...when I lost consciousness. I know that sounds weird, but he came to me and told me that I need to live, so that I could take care of you. He no longer wants us to be apart."

Lexi nodded, crying, "He came to me too."

My eyes widened, "So it wasn't a dream?"

Lexi laughed, through her tears, "I don't know, but I'm not going to analyze it. Lance approves of our relationship now. I'm choosing to accept that. Um, I have to tell you something, Brody. The doctor's found something when they were running tests to make sure I was alright."

"Oh?" I asked, trying not to panic. Did Lexi have cancer or some kind of terminal illness? Shit, whatever it was, I'd be there for her, every step of the way.

"I'm pregnant." She blurted.

"What?" I coughed on the word, as my sister and the nurse discreetly stepped out of the room. I couldn't be sure I heard her right. I did just dream about having a conversation with a dead person, so my brain obviously wasn't firing on all cylinders at the moment.

"I'm pregnant." She said again and winced, "Are you mad?"

"Mad? Baby, I am the complete opposite of mad. I'm happier than a kid in a candy store. I love you and I...shit, we're going have to move up the wedding. We haven't gotten around to talking about a wedding date, but I want it to be soon now, so we can get married before this baby comes. I want him to have my last name when he's born." I tell her.

Lexi grinned, "Him?"

I shrugged, sheepishly, "Just a hunch, but I'll love him or her, no matter what."

"I love you, Brody Vincent."

"I love you, Lexi Green."