Mercy

Chapter 47 - Solitude

BANG!

The loud shot rang through the house; my heart felt like it stopped beating instantly in my chest. The whole room seemed silent the only sound was the shot echoing through the hallways. Had I just been shot? I didn’t feel anything but what if that was just the adrenaline? I felt a surge of panic start to pulse in my veins. Liam’s body went stiff as he slowly lowered me to the ground. Horror struck me as I turned around to see a pained look on his face, my eyes frantically scanned over his body only to stop on the dark red stain growing on his abdomen. “No, no, no!” I screamed out as I took a step towards him. This isn’t supposed to happen, Liam wasn’t supposed to get hurt. My mind was spinning out of control and I tried to reach out for him, but surprisingly he took a step backwards. “Sam, get out.” His voice was full of pain. “No, you’re hurt. We need to get you to the hospital.” The hot tears were now streaming down my face making my vision blue and my heart broke when he took another step away from me. “Sam, I said get out. Go.” He didn’t yell, but his voice was deep and firm.

My eyes plead with him, begging him not to do this. He looked away from me, “I said get out!” He yelled, my body jolted at the volume and anger he had in his voice. He had never raised his voice like that with me; it was absolutely terrifying. Without hesitation I ran towards the front door, slamming it on my way. This isn’t how it was supposed to go, I was supposed to get some relief but instead I feel like I’m drowning. As soon as my feet hit the pavement I ran, I had no idea where I was running but my legs kept pumping trying to get me as far away as possible.

Once my legs had given out leaving me slumped on the ground outside of a small market. My chest was heaving with every breath as I tried my best to get my heart rate and breathing to a normal range. Though, I knew what had happened I couldn’t seem to wrap my mind around it, I left Liam there bleeding. My heart ached, causing my breath to hitch in my throat. I have felt pain before but this was a whole new level. Knowing that I needed to get home, I decided calling a Lyft would be my best option. After retrieving the address from the clerk inside the market I made the arrangements before taking a seat on the curb.

My senses were on overdrive the entire ride back to my apartment. Every sound would make my body tense up, leaving me physically exhausted by the time we pulled up to my place.

During the ride I had decided that I needed to get out of this town, there was no way I could stay, besides Liam had made it very clear he wanted me out of here. I slipped into my room and began packing some bags. I knew there was no way I could take all of my things, so I focused on things I needed. After packing clothes, toiletries, blankets, and a few mementos I rushed out to my car and loaded it up. Weighing out my options I decided going home wouldn’t be the best route, gram would not allow it so that was out of the question. Now, I just had to figure out where to go.

My first stop before going out of town needed to be the gas station, especially if I planned on actually making it out of town. After filling up the tank I headed inside and grabbed some water, snacks and a pay by the minute phone. I planned on keeping the one I had but I couldn’t let myself keep it turned on; the thought of what messages I’d get or wouldn’t get were too hard to think about right now. After I purchased the phone, I sent gram a text letting her know I had a new number and I turned my other one off – tucking it deep into one of my bags.

I sat for a while in the gas station parking lot, my mind still fuzzy making it hard for me to focus.  After what seemed like forever I pulled a map out of the glove box and began looking for a place to go.  I knew that Liam and his father probably had a lot of ties in the area, so my best option would to be leave California. My finger tip drug up the map, out of California, lingering over Portland. That was about nine hours away, that should put enough distance between me and the mess I had made, I thought as I started the car and headed towards Portland.

The drive gave me plenty of time to think, I had decided I would switch my classes to online classes so that my gram wouldn’t know I was practically on the run. This would allow me to keep up the façade for her sake. My gram was more important than anything else, so I couldn’t break her heart like this. As soon as I got there I would need to find a job, I could sleep in my car until I found some place to live. After about five hours on the road, my eyes were blurry and there was no way I could keep driving. I pulled off the road and curled up in my seat letting my eyes fall shut and finally getting a little rest.

After my short nap I was ready to get back on the road, the sky was now turning blue with hints of pink, small flickering stars began dotting the horizon. My heart sank deep into my chest, the darkness that was washing over the sky bleeding into my thoughts and feelings. I was alone again, the realization weighing heavy over me. A soft sigh escaped my lips as I settled in for the rest of my drive, trying my best to welcome the darkness and solitude with open arms.