Twists Of Fate

Chapter Nine

Two months passed since the first date, and Nolan was officially my boyfriend now.  We avoided the topic about his family, and he seemed to be happier than I've ever seen him. He stopped hanging around with the popular kids, except for Sawyer. We hung out almost everyday. It was in the middle of January and we were sitting on his front porch.

"You know what I think? I think that life is just one big test." Nolan decided.

"Hm, since when did you become a philosopher?" I teased.

“No, I just think that life is like one of those important state tests that we have to take. We have to do our best at it, even though some questions are pretty difficult. We just have to learn from our mistakes. And our results is based on how well we did on the test."

"That's a rather odd way to connect it, but okay." I chuckled.

"Yeah. I don't know, I just had to get that out. We should probably go in, it's freezing out here." he suggested.

When Nolan opened the door, we were welcomed by his parents shouting fiercely at each other.

"Did ya bring that skank-NORMA! SHUT THE HELL UP! I'M TRYING TO TALK TO THE KID!" his stepdad yelled.

"Fuck off." Nolan asserted as we rushed through the living room.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? WATCH YOUR DAMN MOUTH!"

"Sorry about that." Nolan whispered.

"It's okay." I responded. I was a bit frightened about the whole situation.

We talked for a little while in his room, until we stared at each other in silence. My heart started to race as he stroked my hair. We leaned in, our lips touching. I placed a hand on the back of his head, ruffling his hair. Pretty soon we were making out.

"I love you Stacy." Nolan whispered in between kisses.

"I love you too." I whispered back.

We continued for a little while longer until I heard his step-dad shout, followed by a loud gunshot. I let out a yell. I couldn’t bear the thought of what had just happened. I was trembling with fear.

Nolan placed a hand over my mouth. I have never seen him this frightened-his whole body was shaking. “C-come on. Let’s get out of here before he finds us.”

My mind was racing with thoughts. I have never been this scared in my entire life. This was a life or death situation. Being as silent as I could, I followed Nolan downstairs. He motioned for me to stop so he could look around to see if the coast was clear. When it was, he gave me a thumbs-up and we continued to tip-toe to the back door. It was going smooth until the floor under me creaked.

“OH, SO NOW YOU TWO COME DOWNSTAIRS! WELL NEWS FLASH, YOUR MOM IS DEAD.” his step-dad hollered from the kitchen.

We had no choice but to run. We hurried to the door without ever looking back, and we never stopped running when we got outside. I was still afraid but I felt a little more safe-until I heard a gunshot.

No. Oh my god, no.

 I slowly turned around and found Nolan lying on the ground, breathing heavily. I rushed over to his side as I tore of my jacket and placed it under his head. I started panting. Was this really happening? He had blood all over his hands. I looked over to see his step-dad pointing the gun at himself, and taking his own life. I put my attention back on Nolan.

"N-nolan?! Nolan please, don't do this to me! Come on, stay with me." I begged as tears filled my eyes.

He smiled. "Shh, i-it's okay." he stuttered.

"Stay with me! Here, I'll call 911." I exclaimed as I took out my phone and dialed the number. 

Nolan was able to survive when the cops came. I didn't want to let him go. I sobbed as they took him into the ambulance. Caution tape was placed around his house. I hugged my dad as we watched the ambulance leave.