Safe Haven ↠ h.s

Chapter Forty Three

Tickticktick

Ticktickticktick

The noise of the gas stove being lit wakes me up, a splitting headache becoming extremely obvious as it pounds against the inside of my skull.

I reach over to sit up until a sharp stab of pain shoots through my ankle, as well as my other leg.

Crap, I fell on my ankle!

I move the hair out of my face as the memories from the past day came to mind, one by one.

The drinking and smoking.

The glass, the blood-soaked carpets.

The second daffodil in a week. Well, the whole bouquet, each iridescent yellow petal now crushed to pieces and ground into my carpet.

The note.

And most importantly, the gun.
The gun pressed to my best friend's temple.

My eyes widen in fear as I struggle to flip my body to look at Josh. Eventually, I turn enough to see that Andrew is no longer there. I can't decide if that's a good or bad thing.

"Ugh," a raspy voice moans. Josh turns on the couch, awakening from his drunken slumber. He must have passed out as soon as we got home, before I realized my room had been destroyed.

His eyes flutter open and he moves around, stopping to look at me. His eyes widen and he begins to talk, but I press my finger to my lips and shake my head vigorously. He doesn't get to hint to shut up.

"Aubrey, why are you on the - " I make motions with my hands in attempt to quiet him. "Huh? What?" His eyes widen in confusion. They then look down to my bloodied leg, and up to the kitchen when Andrew trips into the dishwasher.

"Who the fuck is in here," he scowls lowly. I don't say anything. "Who?"

"Be quiet," I whisper, pleading. "Don't get us killed."

"Oh, look who woke up!" Andrew sings loudly from the kitchen.

"Your fucking leg, Aubrey!" Josh exclaims quietly. I nod.

I slowly try to move to my phone without being to obvious. But Andrew notices, of course, causing me to stiffen immediately.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He asks harshly. I look at him, terrified.

That's when I notice that he moved back to the living room, and the gun is pointed at me. I can almost feel the coolness of the metal as anxiety pulses in my stomach.

Adrenaline pumps through my veins. My brain goes animalistic, thinking of each and every way I can possibly escape this situation. My heart races at an incredible rate and my breathing is off the walls.

"Please, please," I beg breathlessly. "Please, come on... We can work something out, anything, please," I beg.

Andrew smiles an evil grin but it quickly turns to a frown as Josh sits up.

Andrew spins on his heels and aims for Josh's head. Josh raises his arms in surrender and leans back into the couch.

"Stop, stop," I plead. "Please, Andrew, we can work something out. Anything you want, really. Do you want money? What do you want?" I beg, holding my hands together in front of me. "I'll give you all the money I have, I swear."

I'm not even worried about my own life that much. It's moreso Josh, whom I love more than my own life. I'll do anything to save his pure soul. He spent years helping me get up on my feet and I'll spend my life paying him back.