My Old Friend

Chapter 10

AUDREY POV: I quiver as I try to drag myself inside. It's freezing outside, only making the blood around me colder. I need to get back in to Tim, before he possibly bleeds out. I panic and try to move faster, but the wounds on my stomach burn as I crawl. I drag myself through the front door, and take a moment to catch my breath.

"Tim!" I scream, praying for a response. I'm met with a thick silence. "Tim?" I ask cautiously, putting my hands firmly on the couch and pulling myself up. I stumble around until I get into the kitchen.

Tim's laying face down in a pool of blood. He lies on his stomach, with one hand covering his chest wound, and another shielding his face. He shakes uncontrollably as more blood drains out of him. I kneel down beside him and try to coax his arm away from his face, so I can see his eyes. He slowly pushes his arm away, and looks at me with sad eyes.

The side of his head is bloodstained, as well as every other part of him. His lips are so pale, that they blend in. I grab a phone and dial 9-1-1. Tim sees my wounds and tries to touch them, but he can't lift his hand off the ground. He strains, looking up at me with almost an appearance of shame. I brush back his hair and take a deep breath as the operator picks up.

"I need an ambulance immediately. My husband and I have been shot, and I'm worried that he's bleeding out." I say, not giving it any thought. His eyes look at me curiously as I notice my error. I let it be, and fail to correct it.

"Alright, ma'am. Emergency services are on their way." The operator says. I take a deep breath. He's going to be okay... I'm going to be okay... I repeat over and over again in my mind. That's when Tim begins to cry, and try to move to rid himself of discomfort.

"Baby, hold still." I say, again misaddressing him. I rub his back and wipe his tears. "Everything's going to be alright."

"I can't... I can't..." He repeats, trying to lift himself off the ground.

"Tim, relax alright? Help is coming. Everything is going to be just fine." I say, pressing him down a little, so he will stop trying to get up. He exhales, and relaxes a bit.

"You're not safe now... I have to help you..." He says, looking up at me. I shake my head, and brush my fingers through his hair. It's starting to become matted from the blood.

"I'll worry about my own safety, okay honey?" I say. He shakes his head and begins to sob. He makes horrible inhaling noises as he shakes.

"I promised..." He says, allowing it to hang in the air for a moment. I cringe, and grasp onto his hand tightly.

"Hey, babe?" I said, gliding my fingers across his bare chest. Our legs were entwined, making a double knot even the most advanced boy scout couldn't untie.

"Yeah, honey?" He replied, running his fingers through my hair. I can feel his smile in the air around me.

"What are we going to do if something happens to one of us?" I asked. He laughed as if it were a crazy idea. Nothing could ever go wrong...

"Nothing is going to happen, Audrey. I swear to you." He claimed, displaying confidence all the while.

"But what if, by some fluke, something does happen?" I proposed. He shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm going to protect you." He said. "Nothing is going to happen to you." I nodded and held back a smile.

"Are you really going to protect me?" I asked, thinking he was just trying to get points.

"Till death." He said, making a pinkie promise.

"You promise?" I asked. He laughed and looked down at me with a brilliant smile.