Handsome and the Hideous

Chapter 21

Cody and I made it to town, panting and sweating. I had no idea how we were still functioning as we fell to our knees on the streets of town. It was late and no one was on the streets, but we had to find someone, so we pulled ourselves up and jogged around town.

I was squeezing Cody's hand, looking for support, and Cody squeezed my hand back. We were in this together and I was glad for that. Although I wished Cody was never dragged into my mess, I was glad I had him at my side through it all.

We finally saw someone and running up to the old man, we stopped him in his spot. He stared at us, horrified, and I realized how crazy we looked. We were dripping in water, our body's covered in mud, and our eyes wild.

"Please help us," Cody pleaded. "We're being hunted by hitmen."

"What?" the man said, shocked. "Are you okay, boy? Hitmen?"

"Yes, please help."

"Go to the police. It's none of my business"

"Where's the police office?" I asked.

The man pointed to a building nearby and thanking him, we then ran to it. My heart was pounding as I knew we were so close to becoming safe, but still so far because the hitmen were still searching for us. Being in town didn't mean we were officially safe.

Barging into the police office, the three officers there looked over at us. Once again, they looked at us like we were crazy, which was understandable from the way we looked. Panting, I walked up to one of the officers, praying he'd help.

"We're being hunted by hitman," I said. "Please help us. We don't know what to do."

"Hitman?" the man said, staring at me like I was insane. "Why?"

"My dad wants to kill me. He hired hitmen to get the job done."

All three of the officers stared at me, their eyebrows furrowed. My cheeks heated up and I cursed myself, knowing I had no proof. My story sounded insane and I couldn't prove it.

"Are you intoxicated?" the officer asked. "I'll take you two home. Where do you live?"

"No," Cody blurted out. "Please believe us. We're not lying."

"Come with me." The officer shook his head, looking tired. "Let's go to my car."

I looked at Cody, my eyes wide with panic. He looked back, but I saw a look of defeat on his face. There was no way for us to prove we were being hunted. Despite everything, I realized staying with the officer was the safest option, so we followed him outside.

But once outside, the officer yanked his gun out. Cody and I froze when we saw five of the hitmen in front of us, glaring as they held their guns towards us. The other officers ran outside as well and suddenly, it was five of us against five of them as we faced off on the streets.

"Put your weapons down," the officer demanded, pointing his gun at one of the hitmen.

"Give us Charlotte and Cody and no one will be hurt," the hitmen said, his gun pointed towards the officer who spoke.

"No."

The hitman shot at the officer and he fell to the ground with a shout, blood pouring out of his chest. I screamed and Cody yanked me away, holding up his pistol. An officer shot the hitman who shot and more officers ran out of the department. They blocked us protectively and Cody walked back slowly, holding onto me.

"Put your weapons down!" another officer shouted. "You will not be able to go against all of us."

All of the hitmen held their guns out in front of them, pointed at the officers. They seemed to hesitate, however, and slowly one-by-one they began to put their weapons down when they realized they were outnumbered. We watched them, our hearts pounding as we realized it was was over. As the hitmen fell to their knees, their hands up in the air, we realized we had made it. We were safe.

The officers walked towards the hitmen and began to arrest them, and Cody fell to his knees, dragging me with him. He threw his gun to the ground and hugged me, and I hugged him back, sobbing. My body heaved with tears as I took in everything that had happened. Never had I been so scared.

"We're safe," Cody said, stroking my hair gently. "Everything is going to be alright, Charlotte. We're alive and safe."

"How can everything be alright when my own dad wanted to kill me?" I asked, crying harder. "This whole event is traumatizing. I'm never going to feel safe again. How could you say everything is going to be alright?"

Cody didn't respond right away. He froze, his body stiffening, and I knew he knew I was right. We were alive and safe, and I was thankful for that, but I knew things were only going to get harder. The aftermath was not going to be enjoyable.

"Things are going to be hard," Cody said. "But, we're going to get justice. We're going to land your dad in jail, we're going to live full and happy lives, and we're going to show the world that even though it tried to do this to us, we came on top. Okay?"

"I can't believe things are ever going to be okay," I mumbled, closing my eyes. "How can I get through this?"

"With me. With me you'll get through this. I'm not going to leave your side."

I opened my eyes and looked at Cody, and saw how confident he was. Despite everything that had happened, he had remained confident that we were going to be okay. He had believed in us and stuck by my side through everything. My eyes softened and I stared at him, thankful.

"Okay, together we'll get through this," I said, laying my head on his chest. "Everything is going to be okay."

"That's what I like to hear," Cody said, smiling. "You're strong, Charlotte. You can do anything."

Having someone believe in me the way Cody did made me cry again. Cody held me as I sobbed and I sobbed harder, knowing I wasn't alone. Even though I had lost my family, I had found someone who truly did care about me. He had been through hell and back with me, and I was confident that we would be able to make it through whatever we would face next.