“It’s useless, you know.” His voice is distorted in my frightened mind. Aiming his gun at the gallery of students, he pulls the trigger.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Three times.

  Two bodies hit the floor, cries and screams echo around the room.

  With the assailant's body turned, I quickly pull out my phone and send a text to Theo. He’ll save the day. He has to. Sliding the phone back in my pocket just as this person turns around, I climb to my feet.

  Hiding won’t save me if he really wants me to die. And it won’t stop me from tending to the wounded. This is what I plan to dedicate my life to. No time like the present to show I’m worthy.

  His calculated gaze follows my every move as he upends his weapon. Empty shells hit the ground, each sounding like an earthquake as it pings off the tile floor.

  “It won’t help,” his voice hisses.

  Ignoring his taunting words, I try to block out the voice in my head telling me he could shoot me in the back at any second. I remove someone’s sweater off the back of their chair and place it over one girl's shoulder wound, grabbing the hand of another student who looks like they want to help but isn’t sure how. Survival mode has kicked in.

  “Here. Press here, and don’t let go.” As soon as she nods, I get up and move to the next victim.

  “I could shoot you in the back, and you’d never see it coming,” he taunts, his laughter hollow.

  Someone hands me their shirt, and I place it over the stomach wound of another girl. Unless she gets immediate medical attention, she’ll die, but I won’t say that.

  “Press here. You can’t let up, no matter how much she screams. Don’t let go.” Bracing my hands on my knees, I get to my feet. My entire body is shaking as I turn around to face my best friend's brother.

  “Charlie, why? Why are you doing this?” My fists are balled at my sides, trying to control the anger I feel at the damage he’s already caused today.

  “Why? Why not?” He laughs without mirth. “They kicked me out for conduct unbecoming of a student. They allowed my little brother to be tormented on campus. And you? You watched everything happen and did nothing. Today is your day, Lola.”

  Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I fight every urge to run away. I don’t want to die, but I can’t be the reason this man inflicts any more carnage today.

  “So, do it.” I hear gasps behind me. “You’ll kill me, and you’ll leave, and everybody else gets to live.”

  He smirks before pulling out a box of bullets. My heart freezes in my chest. “Why would I do that when I have all of these?” There’s no reasoning with him.

  “Ho–how many are in there?” I stutter my question. My mouth is moving without permission from my brain.

  As he looks down, I slip my phone out once again and hit call. I pray Theo can arrive before Charlie takes me up on the offer I’m about to make.

  “Almost a full box,” he finally answers, looking up as I smooth my hand down my leg, so he doesn’t suspect I just had my phone out. I saw Theo answered it too.

  “Then use them on me.” I shrug like it’s no big deal when in fact, I’m so terrified I could pee my pants right now.

  “Shoot you? A hundred times?” I can see him thinking about it.

  I don’t know where I get the strength from, but my feet begin to move past Ms. Phelps' dead body to the front of the room until I’m at the blackboard. Placing my hands on the chalky surface, I force my body to face him again.

  “I’m the perfect target.” My words are whispered because I really don’t want to be.

  “That you are,” he mumbles as he takes aim.

  Bang!

  Theo

  I hear the conversation Lola and Charlie are having, but my brain refuses to process the fact that the woman I love is begging a psychopath to shoot her dozens of times to spare the lives of the others.

  “Has someone got Nix on the fucking phone yet?” I yell at the group of officers around me. We arrived on scene just as Lola called. The school is on lockdown now, and as far as we can tell, there has been less than a dozen shots fired and at least three people injured or dead.

  “He’s on screen now,” Ryder calls from his position in the tactical van.

  A monitor turns around, and if looks could kill, someone would be dead right now. “Theo! Where the fuck is my sister?”

  “Inside,” I tell him. “Charlie has her and her ethics class held hostage.”

  Bang!

  A shot quiets everyone around us as Foster hands me a vest.

  Bang! Bang! Bang!

  “That’s four,” someone mutters.

  “Theo, you get her out of there in one piece,” Nix orders. Tears are in the man’s eyes, and I know exactly how he feels.

  “You know I’ll do what I can.” We don’t tell him that Lola offered herself as a live target because the man will blow a gasket.

  “Let’s do this, gents.” Foster and I are heading in with the SWAT team to evacuate the hidden, rescue the wounded, and pray on getting Lola and her class out. Foster is leading the team in because I’m too personally involved.

  “Phantom, she hasn’t been hit. He’s taunting her. Two rounds left, and then I think he’ll start hitting her.” Tac’s voice comes through my earbud.

  Bang!

  Another shot sends fear down my spine.

  “One more,” Tac utters, his own frustration clear.

  We know from an insider that they’re in the ethics hall, so we will breach the building once we’ve got everyone evacuated and the injured being cared for, then we'll carry out our assault plan.

  Bang!

  Last shot.

  Everyone knows what that means. He’s reloading and ready to kill my girl now.

  “Hang on, Lola,” I murmur.

  What takes minutes feels like hours as we’ve evacuated the building and are getting ready to rescue Lola’s class.

  Foster lifts his hand, signaling our readiness. As he counts down from three, someone else pulls the pin on a flash bang. As soon as Foster makes a fist, the grenade is thrown in as we hear the canister hit the ground. Another shot is fired.

  The explosion will disorient everyone in the room enough for our team to get into position to weed this bastard out and take him down.

  “Hands! Let me see your hands!” is yelled as we move around the room.

  Charlie is easy to find at the front of the room where we suspected he would be. Sluggishly climbing to his feet, he wobbles a little bit, and before anyone has a chance to take him out, he places his gun under his chin and pulls the trigger. Brain matter splatters all around as his body drops.

  Dismissing him, I search for Lola. Her body is slumped over on the ground, blood soaking the front of her shirt from a wound in her chest.

  Lola?” I choke her name out. “Get the EMTs in here!” I shout to Tac. Our medic drops down beside me with a handful of gauze to place on her wound. “Come on, baby, look at me.”

  “How is she?” Ryder asks, likely because Nix is badgering him.

  “Chest wound,” the medic relays, and my lungs seize. A chest wound can be major, minor, or anywhere in between.

  “Theo?” Her weak voice helps me breathe.

  “Don’t move, kitten. We’re taking care of you now.” Pushing the hair away from her face as she gets worked on, I feel helpless. This is too fucking much for one girl in such a short amount of time.

  “Charlie.” She coughs, and blood trickles out of the corner of her mouth.

  “Sshhh, Lola. Save your strength.” She nods as she closes her eyes. “Where the fuck are the EMTs, Tac?”

  “They’re coming, man.” I know how it is; red tape needs to be cleared.

  Turning so Lola won’t hear me, I snap out, “She’s not good, Ry. Get Nix in the air, now. Call in every favor we have, man, she’s going to need it.”

  “Senator Gibson is on it, bro. She’s a class act.” The woman is smart, and I’m willing to bet her connections are some of the best.

  “Tell her…thanks.” Focusing back on Lola as the EMTs rush in, they take her vitals, get one look at her complexion, and we’re lifting her onto the gurney and rushing out of the building before loading her in the ambulance and heading to the hospital.

  As the doors shut, I see the Danes in the crowd, and for a moment, I feel sympathy for them. No matter what Charlie did today, they lost both of their sons in a week’s time. How they’ll get through that, I don’t know. And right now, I can’t care.

  The ride to the hospital is bumpy as we’re escorted to the closest ER. I barely get a full inhale in before they’re wheeling her away from me and to the OR for surgery.

  Standing in front of the closing doors with full SWAT gear on and a rifle strapped to my back, blood soaking my hands and probably clothes, I must look terrifying. I don’t care, though. My heart just rolled through those doors, and I don’t think I’ll be able to move until I see her again.

  If I see her again.

  Lola

  “See You Again" by Wiz Khalifa & Charlie Puth

  Agony burns a hole through my chest.

  Weightlessness carries me on a cloud of peace.

  Relief weighs heavily on my mind.

  It all burns through me, but something is missing.

  “Hey, Lol.”

  “Sammy?” I swivel. This must be a joke. “But, you’re…”

  “Dead?” His laughter is beautiful. Freeing. “Yeah, I am.”

  So that must mean… “Am I dead too?” I knew it was going to happen, but I wasn’t ready for it. Not really.

  “Maybe. If you want it to.”

  Do I?

  “I don’t understand what’s happening here.”

  “Well, I’m dead. A minute ago, you were alive. You need to decide which you want.” His honesty was always frustrating to me.

  “Where are we?” All I see is black with a spotlight on us. I must be dreaming, right?

  “We’re in the hospital.” He says this so logically.

  “Stop with the games, Sam. What the hell is going on?”

  A veil lifts, and we’re standing in the middle of an operating room where doctors and nurses are working furiously to save someone’s life.

  It’s not until I get a look at the messy blonde hair that I can never keep under control that I realize what’s happening. “You said I had to choose? Between life and death?”

  “Pretty much.” He shrugs a shoulder, but he appears happier than I’ve ever seen him.

  “I was shot,” I say, the events of the early afternoon unfolding slowly in my mind. “By Charlie.” My eyes water as I stare at Sam, recognizing the sadness on his face.

  “Charlie’s always been angry. I’m sorry you were in his crossfire, though. You know I’d never want anything to happen to you.”

  “You left me, Sam. I held your dead body in my arms. For days, all I saw was your blood everywhere I looked.” I sob, and my chest rattles as I watch the doctors try to revive me.

  Stepping forward, he drags me into his arms, holding me close. “I’m sorry, Lol, so damn sorry. If I could do it over, I would change my timing, but I don’t regret what I did.”

  Sniffling, I turn my head up to study his face as he gazes down at me. “You were always going to kill yourself, weren’t you?”

  It takes a moment before he speaks. “Honestly? I think so. I don’t know when or why I decided it was time, but I was so tired, Lol. I was in pain. And nothing helped. Here, I’m happy. I’m free. I don’t get beat up. I don’t get raped–“

  “Raped?” I gasp.

  He nods. “You remember that party you and dickhead invited me to last year?” My head bobs up and down. I remember it vividly. I was torn for days between wanting to love Bryce and being unable to. Then he changed and moved, and I never saw him again. “Well, Bryce and some of his jock buddies thought it’d be funny to attack me. Things escalated quickly.”

  “You never said anything.” My horrified whisper travels like an echo.

  “I didn't want to hurt you when you were already going through so much.” Sam draws back this time, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

  “I’m so sorry, Sammy. I failed you horribly as a friend.” I ache to my soul with how fantastically I let him down.

  “You never failed me, Lola, you were the light of my life. But I was in so much pain. I couldn’t take it anymore, and the last thing I wanted was to drag you down with me. Now, though? I don’t feel any pain. I’m accepted here, and I couldn’t ask for more.”

  I stare at him, my eyes roam his body, and I can see it. He’s relaxed. He’s at peace.

  “I love you, Sammy.”

  “I love you too, Lol. Not get back down there because I’m telling you those hunky men in your life will not have an easy go of it if you decide you don’t want to return. Theo and Nix will never recover.”

  “Way to guilt a girl,” I tease, but I know he’s right. I need to go back. No, I want to go back. I love my life even if, right now, it’s as tragic as it gets. I have family and friends who love me.

  “Will I see you again?” A bright light shines, nearly blinding us, as I face my body.

  I turn my head as Sam speaks, his form becoming transparent. “Not anytime soon, Lol, but I’ll be waiting for you when it’s your time.”

  He disappears like he was never here to begin with.

  A jolt in my chest snags my attention.

  Buzzing electrifies my body.

  “Clear!”

  I heave.

  “Clear!”

  I close my eyes.

  Beep. Beep. Beep.

  Was it even real?

  10

  Theo

  “Lost in The Middle of Nowhere" by Kane Brown & Becky G

  If it were possible to wear a hole into linoleum by pacing, I’d have done it by now. It’s been four hours since they took Lola into surgery. Nobody is telling me anything because I’m not family. I’m not her husband, and fiancé isn’t good enough. I might have lied about that part but, I’m getting sick of this shit.

  “Hey, man.” Foster claps my back as he and Ryder enter the waiting area, where I’m sure I’m scaring everyone with my intensity.

  “You heard anything?” Ryder asks.

  I growl, and they both back away.

  I realize they were stuck at the scene filling out reports and helping clean up, but I don’t want questions. I want fucking answers.

  “Have you heard from Nix?” I ask them instead.

  “They won’t be here until sometime in the early morning.” Even with a private jet, it takes a long fucking time to fly back from Rio.

  This wait is fucking killing me. It shouldn’t take this damn long. What if Lola died on the table, and the physicians are delaying the inevitable?

  My body stiffens at the mere thought.

  “Oh shit,” I hear Foster say as I storm out of the waiting area and head towards the front desk.

  “Theo, don’t do this!” Ryder calls out as they chase after me.

  “Theophilus Adrian Burkhart, you do not go scaring those girls!” My body instinctively freezes at the familiar voice.

  “Son of a bitch,” I mutter before spinning around. “Mamá, what are you doing here?”

  “Don’t you swear at me, young man.” The nurses I’ve been harassing snicker at my mother’s scolding. “Boys, how are you?” Her tone changes entirely as she talks to my teammates.

  “Good, Mrs. Burkhart.” Ryder leans in to kiss her cheek.

  “Can’t complain.” Foster grins.

  “Excellent. Now, Theo, why did you look like you were about to bite these fine nurses heads off?” Both hands settle on her hips.

  Grinding my jaw together so I don’t bite her head off, I grit out, “They aren’t telling me anything about Lola.”

  “And who is Lola?” She cocks her head, already suspecting the answer.

  My eyes narrow. “Mine.”

  A huge smile lifts her face and showcases why she was a model for so many years before becoming a mother and wife.

  “Let Mamá work, dear boy of mine.”

  My father comes rushing in. “Ah! Son, there you are. She runs from me too much.” The man scowls at my mother.

  “Bampás, why would you bring her?” He grabs my arm and guides me away from the nurses' station, where my mother is working her magic. Which means she's turned up her charm or she’s threatening them with voodoo.

  “Your commander, Nix? He called, said something happened to his sister, and you both might need us. He arranged a flight. We came immediately.”

  I gaze over at Ryder, and he shakes his head.

  “So, this Lola, his sister, she means something to you? She’s why you haven’t given Mamá babies yet, yes?” I love my family, I really do, but times like this, I don’t like how in my face they are about everything.

  “Tell me Yiayia isn’t coming too?” It would be just like the old bat to fly over from Athens to plant her happy ass in my home until Lola pops a couple kids out.

  “No, no”—he shakes his head quickly—“we do not want that old bird to come. She will make life hell.” I love my grandmother, but my father's right. When she’s around, if she snaps her fingers, you’d better do as she says or risk a whooping.

  “Alright.” Mom enters the waiting area. “Your Lola…such a pretty name…is just coming out of surgery now. She must be in the ICU, but they will come get you when she’s ready.”

  “How’d she do that?” Foster whispers. The woman smiles at us as she sits in a chair and pulls out a magazine.

  “Kristo, go get the boys some food, our son is looking too thin.”

  “We’ll help,” Ryder says as they leave together.

  For the first time since getting Lola’s SOS, I feel like I can breathe again. I don’t have this crushing weight on my chest.

  “Sit, Theo.” She pats the seat beside her, and I do as I’m told. “Tell me about your Lola. I gathered from her brother’s tone and worry that she has had a hard go of it lately.”

 

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