Mend My Heart (Currently being edited)

Mend My Heart: Chapter 21

The police officer grabbed his gun and aimed it at the kid. But before the officer could do anything, the boy grabbed Tessa by the arm and pulled her to him, aiming the gun at her head.

Tessa cried, but stayed still.

“Tessa!” Robbie and I shouted.

 I wanted to run to her, to push her behind me and tell her everything was going to be okay. She was one of my best friends, and if necessary, I would die for her.

Connor whimpered and started to retreat, but the kid aimed the pistol at him again.

“Don’t you move, Goddamit!” he shouted.

I stepped around Adrian, despite his protests and attempt to keep me where I was, but I dodged him. “Come on, Kid, you don’t want to do this.”

“Don’t call me Kid! I have a name!” he cried. The tears were falling down his face and into Tessa’s beautiful, blonde hair.

“Okay, what’s your name?” I said calmly, trying to diffuse the tension.

“Ben,” he choked out. “You left me. You left me to get beaten up. How could you do that?”

I nodded, sadly “You’re right, Ben, I did. But you see, I regretted that the moment I started walking away.”

“Then why did you?” he screamed. “You should have helped me!”

“I know,” I said, tears brimming in my eyes. “I was a coward. I was broken and in need of fixing. I wasn’t myself. I hadn’t been since the day my boyfriend died. And I am so sorry that I let you go through that.”

“I’m invisible. No one gives a shit about me. They never did,” Ben sobbed, the gun shaking in his hand.

The police officer, whom I was surprised hadn’t either shot Ben or attempted to talk down, was still pointing the gun at him.

“That’s not true,” I told him. “Sure, people get their kicks out of harassing other people. But that doesn’t make you invisible. I care, Ben. So why don’t you put the gun down?”

I could see the indecision in his eyes. He wanted to listen to me, to put the gun down. But one look at the police officer and he shook his head.

“I can’t.”

“Then why don’t you let Tessa go? Do you really want to hurt her?” I asked, trying to play at his heart strings.

He shook his head. Slowly, he let his arm drop from around Tessa. She ran over to Robbie, throwing her arms around him, sobbing hysterically. He pulled her behind us, out of the guns path and into protection.

Ben trained the gun on the police officer. He was scared out of his mind. His whole body shook.

“Come on son, put the gun down,” the officer chipped in.

Ben shook his head violently. He looked over at Connor, who was cowering in fear. “He deserves this.”

I shook my head. “Connor deserves a lot of things, Ben. But death? Who are you to decide that?”

Adrian took a couple subtle steps forward. I knew what he was planning. Before I could stop him, Adrian ran forward and grabbed Ben’s arm and yanked the gun up, away from everyone.

“Adrian, no!”

Ben punched Adrian in the stomach and he doubled over, bringing Ben’s arm back down with him. They struggled for a second, both trying to take the other down. When the shot rang out, my world fell apart.

Adrian looked at me, eyes wide. Then he looked down at his stomach, sprouting blood. His knees buckled and he collapsed onto the hard gymnasium floor. Ben dropped the gun, unsure of what he had just done.

“Adrian!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

Tears sprang to my eyes and I ran to him, falling down to his side. “Oh God,” I sobbed, putting my hand over the wound in Adrian’s stomach. The blood was warm and oozed out. I applied pressure, trying to keep the blood in but it just seeped through my small fingers.

“Oh God, no, please God, no!”

Adrian’s eyes were slits now. He breaths were coming in harsh gasps. Sweat was forming on his forehead.

“Adrian, please, hang on. For me, please, don’t go, please, I need you, please, please, please,” I begged, crying.

My heart was breaking all over again. My eyes swam with tears and I felt like vomiting. Not Adrian too. I prayed that God wouldn’t take him too. Why was this happening again? What had I done to deserve this?

“Jamie…” Adrian whispered, coughing slightly.

“Don’t talk, Adrian, save your energy. Don’t worry, help will be on the way,” I told him.

I looked around. Everyone was staring at us. No one was moving. “Somebody call an ambulance!” Silence. “Help me Goddamit!”

The police officer had subdued Ben, who was sobbing.

“Jamie…” Adrian insisted, putting a bloody hand on my arm. “I have to…tell you…something.”

“What?”

“I…love…you…” Adrian’s eyes closed and his head lulled.

“No! Adrian! Wake up, wake up, please! Don’t die on me now! Please, no!” I shook him violently, but it was no use. I sat there, numb and scared. If I lost Adrian, I didn't know what I would do.

I heard sirens. Thirty seconds later, someone pushed me aside. “Sorry, miss, but we’re going to have to take him.”

A paramedic started checking Adrian’s vitals and applying pressure to the wound. They picked him up and placed him  on a stretcher. When they loaded Adrian and themselves into the back of an ambulance, waiting outside, I jumped in after.

“Miss, you can’t be in here.”

“I’m going with him. He’s my boyfriend.”

“Miss, you can’t—”

“I said I’m coming with him!”

He nodded and I sat by Adrian. “Don’t worry, baby. You’re going to be alright.”

And I held his hand until his heart stopped beating.

_______________________________________________

Authors Note:  Hey guys. I just wanted to say, I sincerely hope that this chapter does not offend anyone in light of recent events. If so, I apologize deeply. I hope my story will help fight against bullying and help in the prevention of school shootings. Thank you and God bless.