The Other Half of My Heart

Chapter Thirteen: Safe and Sound

Chapter Thirteen:  Safe and Sound

I felt something stuck in my mouth and I gagged.  It felt like a washcloth, and tasted exactly how a skunk smelled. I felt sick.  As if they had given me poisoned food or something.  

Panic came back as I remembered what I had heard about Sam.  What if they hurt him, or worse killed him?  I trembled uncontrollably. I could not live knowing that this was probably my fault.  Brian was taking his anger out on Sam.  Anger that I provoked. 

I gagged again.  My stomach felt horribly upset.   Vomit was soon to come.  I threw up in my mouth, it couldn't come out.  The gag was blocking my mouth.  I swallowed it down the best I could, but I started choking.  

My hands were tied very tightly behind my back, but in my back pocket I had my breast cancer pocket knife.  I guessed it was a good thing I had both bought and brought it.  

I dug in my pocket.  The knife was hard to reach, and it burned my wrists to move.  Tears stung my eyes as the rope cut into my skin.  Digging deeper and deeper, bit by bit, until it struck blood.  Blood dripped from both my wrists, and I shuddered uncontrollably with sobs.

It hurt so bad.  Cold tears dripped down my face.  

Here in the pitch black I finally picked the knife out of my pocket, and with choking hands, cut the rope binding my wrists together.  I ripped the gag off and threw up.  I could hardly breath.

Finally my stomach emptied, throat stinging, and mouth dry, I picked myself up off of the floor. I felt weak. My legs wobbled as I stepped towards the faint light coming from a window in this pitch black room. 

The window was cracked open.  

"Tasha…" I heard someone whisper.  "Tasha, come here."

I edged towards the voice, I could hardly talk, my throat hurt so badly.  So I said nothing and just walked slowly and cautiously towards the voice.

I saw Sam.  He opened a different window slowly, and just wide enough that I might be able to fit through it.  "Try to fit." he said, quietly.

I made it to the window.  "Okay," I whispered back.  I lifted my leg over and put, and did the same with my other leg.  I slipped out, but was stuck slightly when I reached my upper body.  My face burned with embarrassment. 

He chuckled quietly and pulled the window up a little more, but with obvious strain. I slipped out without anymore trouble. I could not believe I had gotten stuck there, in that position.

He slipped my hand in his.  "You do realize that they want to kill you, right?" I whispered.

"Eh, I heard tale of it.  Makes it more exciting!" He joked, leading me away from this awful place.  It looked like we were headed for the woods.

"Your life is at risk, and that's exciting?!" I exclaimed.  "Look at me."

He did.

"I love you so much, don't die.  Please, let me die if you have to save yourself, just please don't die."  I begged him, tears stinging my eyes. 

He looked at me, nearly speechless.  "I promise you, I will not die today, and neither will you.  I love you too." Then he kissed me. 

My first kiss, in the woods.  We ignored the fact that either of us could die that very second.  The whole world was gone.  Until the gunshot rang through the forest.  Our kiss broke apart, and we looked each other on the eyes.  

"Run?"  I asked.

He nodded.  "Run."

Together we ran throughout the forest.  Branches smacked us, thorns stabbed us, but none of it mattered.  We were running hand in hand.  We were running together.  That was all that mattered.  

The only thing in the world that would ever break us apart was death, and neither of us was about to die.

Brian could threaten us, but we were together; and together we refused to die.  

He squeezed my hand and pulled me behind him.  Then he pulled me to a sudden stop.  

There stood Brian.  There stood my enemy.  I wasn't afraid of dying.  I was afraid or Sam dying, and I was also afraid that was just what Brian planned to do, kill Sam.  "Time to die Sam." he said evilly.

Emotion poured into my gut as I shouted "NO!" 

Both heads turned towards me. "Excuse me?!" Brian screamed.

"I'm sorry that you're so upset, and that something is obviously so wrong that you would go to the extreme of murdering a teenager, but do you really want that guilt of killing someone, of taking someone's life away? I am madly in love with Sam, and it will always be that way, for as long as I can dream, I want to be with Sam. If you kill him, I won't fall in love with you, I will hate you.  You will have killed the person that I love. How can that be good?  It won't be."

Mixed emotions contorted his face.  "Fine, just go.  Please, go."

Sirens pierced the chilly nights air.  Brian stood on the side of the road sobbing.  He kept his gun, but collapsed on the road.  He was afraid, I had no idea what to do.

The police pulled up. An officer jumped out and stood in front of us, pulling out a gun.  "Sonny," He said to Brian, "put your hands up where I can see 'em, you're under arrest.  Anything you say or do can and will be used against you. Drop the gun."

Brian put his hands in the air, and let the gun fall.  It clattered to the ground.  Brian was handcuffed and put into one of the two cars there.  

"Hey kiddo's you guys alright?" One of the officer's questioned.

"Yes, yes we're fine, just please don't let him kill himself or anything." I said quietly.  Sam wrapped his arms around me.  

"It's gonna be okay.  Everything will be alright."  he whispered to me.

"Alright kids, load up, tell me where home is, so I can drive you there."

We gave him my address.

 ***

My mother and Nick ran up to the car as we pulled into my driveway.  Home at last.  Safe at last.

MY mother and Nick hugged me.  There was lots of crying and thanking, and talking.  Somehow I wound up talking my mom into calling Sam's parents and talking them into letting him spend the night at my house.

The night ended soon.  And I sat on the edge of the guest bedroom's bed with Sam.  

"Thank you for rescuing me Sam."  I said.

"You're welcome." He replied. "Now you need to get some rest."

Me and you both." I said laughing.  

I kissed his cheek and then headed up to my room.  

I undressed and then slipped into my pajamas.  I crawled into bed, and fell asleep.