The Obsession

Chapter 29

   Bam! Bam! My eyes shoot open. I see Jonathan laying on the ground bleeding. Taylor still sits on the ground with gun in hand. His eyes are wide and he's breathing rapidly. He looks at me and shuffles over to me. He pulls the covering off my mouth and pulls out a knife.

   "How did you get free?" I ask, my whole body shaking wildly. Taylor cuts my arms and legs free.

   "I always keep a hidden knife in my back pocket for these situations. Better safe than sorry." I sit up. Taylor pulls me into his arms and holds me tightly. "Gosh. I could've died." He mutters under his breath.

   "You seem to act like you care more now than when you were on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound."

   "I care more now because I realized how much I have to lose." He unwraps his arms and stands up. He walks over to Jonathan and lightly kicks him with his foot. "He's alive. Just unconscious. We'd better take him to the police." Taylor pulls out a phone from his pocket and enters a few numbers. The conversation he has seems to blank out of my mind because my brain isn't understanding. What does Taylor have to lose now that he didn't have before?

___

   "Nice job, detective. You actually caught the uncatchable. While also kidnapping Isabella in the process." The sheriff gives Taylor a death glare. Taylor just blows out another puff of smoke.

   "I know. It was the only way we could catch him."

   "Only way? Only way! You committed a crime, Taylor!"

   "Actually," I speak up. "I agreed to come with him. He gave me the choice to go back and I said no." The sheriff sighs and rubs his forehead.

   "You're lucky, Taylor." He walks away and back to his car.

   "We did it. We caught him." Taylor smiles a small smile and looks at me. "You don't even know how much you have done, Isabella." I shrug and lean against his car. "I'm serious. If it weren't for you we wouldn't have caught him." I shrug again and look at the ground. "What's wrong?" I look back up at Taylor. His face shows worry.

   "It's just...I don't feel justice. I don't feel like we actually caught him. If he can get away more than once then he can do it again. You should've killed him, Taylor."

   "I didn't do that for a reason."

   "And that reason is?" I raise an eyebrow at him.

   "I want you to." He answers quietly. I sigh.

   "How will we do that?"

___

   My heart beats at a slow, steady pace. I wipe the sweat off of my hands onto my jeans.

   "Isabella, are you alright?" The woman asks me. I nod and look at her. "So what else happened?"

   "Well, Jonathan knocked me out with some type drug in a syringe. When I woke up I was tied up and it was dark." I continue to tell the lady the rest of the story. She nods occasionally and writes down every little detail.

   "Okay well that will be all. Thank you Isabella." The woman stands up and walks out of the small room, leaving me to sit alone in the cold chair. I sigh and sit lower in the chair. My nerves are on end. The palm of my hand is moistened with sweat.

   After sitting alone for ten minutes, a man walks into the room. Sheriff Daniel. "Hello Isabella." I give him a nervous smile. "It's alright. You won't lose Xander." I sigh and run my hand through my hair.

   "It's just tough. Not knowing what will happen. What will happen if I lose Xander? He's my life now. My everything." Tears start blurring my vision.

   "It'll be alright. If you don't get custody over Xander your parents will. And you will be able to visit him whenever." Daniel sits on the chair across from me.

   "What's going on with Jonathan?" I ask after a few minutes of silence.

   "He's still in the hospital. Taylor shot him in pretty bad places. One bullet nearly got his heart and hit his lung slightly." I nod.

   "When is the trial?"

   "On the fifth."

   "In a month?" I ask in shock. "That's too long of a time. He could get out and kidnap Xander again or kill people or-"

   "Isabella, calm down." I close my eyes and lay my head back on the chair. The stress starts taking over my body. I'm starting to feel exhausted. "You alright?"

   "No." I mutter. "When can I leave?"

  "They're going to let you go to your parents' house in about an hour." I nod and watch as Daniel leaves me alone in the room. An hour later, they let me go, as promised.

   I sit in the passenger's seat in silence. My mom glances at me often while still keeping her eyes on the road. "They're thinking Xander can be in your custody." I stay silent and watch the cars and people pass by. "You and Max can come live with us-"

   "Max can't. He's going to be in the hospital most likely for the rest of his life." However long that is.

   My mom falls silent and doesn't look at me anymore. My mind runs with unanswerable questions and worrisome what ifs. We pull into the driveway and get out of the car. I walk inside of the house and sit on the couch.

   "I'm going to start dinner now." My mom says before walking into the kitchen. I sigh and stare at the blank tv. I turn it on and stare at the channel blankly. I change the channel a few times before stopping at the news.

   Malicious Murderer On The Loose...Again.

   Sounds like hell for the person who has to deal with that again. I continue to watch the report. I slowly start feeling sick as I listen further. The person that has to go through the hell again...is me.

______________

   So the next chapter will most likely be the last (NOT including epilogue). I might lie though so don't trust that theory too strongly.

~CrazyTie