Motel 6 // n.h

[63] The Forest

  "You think we're going to give up all of this time and effort because you expect us to pity you?" Kate asked. The look in her eyes was inhumane- it was like she had this rush from the fact that she was going to commit murder. It was then when I saw the devilish look in her eyes that I knew she was seriously messed up.

  "It's not pity, it's the truth." I argued. Jake's grip tightened around my neck and I coughed loudly. If it weren't for the fact that Niall had a gun on him, he would have rushed to my aid and tried fighting Jake off.

  "Do you want to know something?" Kate asked teasingly. I stayed silent.

  "I don't care." She continued. "And if you're wondering, this isn't the first time I've killed someone. Actually, there has been two people before you and they both asked the same question; why? And the only answer I have for you- a good killer never tells."

  "You're insane!" Niall spat, his fists still clenched at his sides.

  "Maybe," She shrugged. "But I'm also the one with the gun, so I'd shut up now if I were you." This caused Niall to shrink back a bit in intimidation. Meanwhile, I thought I was either going to have a heart attack or pee my pants. I also wasn't sure which one it was going to be. 

  "So, any volunteers to go first?" Kate asked us, a menacing gleam in her eyes. "Aw, no takers?"

  "Wait." I spoke up. "Before you... do this, I need to say something." I gulped, even though my mouth was feeling completely dried up. 

  Suddenly my body was pushed into the ground and I put my hands in front of me to break my fall. I turned around to face Jake and saw that the gun was aimed straight at me, but there was a hint of regret in his eyes. I could see it and I knew that this would be my last chance to save Niall and I's lives.

  Taking a shaky breath, and with shaky legs I stood up and faced Jake. Niall and Kate probably had no clue what was going on, but that didn't matter. If I could get some sense into Jake, it could be life changing. If not, it would surely be life ending.

  "Just let me say one thing." I begged, my voice barely above a whisper.

  "S-September 19th." I began, not sure exactly where I was going with my speech. "That was when you first asked me out, to homecoming. Me and my mom went shopping for a dress and got everything perfect, and that night you came to my door wearing your dad's old suit. You had these wilted flowers in your hand and your mom honking the horn of her minivan in the background, but I was so happy.

  "For the first few months, everything was perfect. You were such a gentleman- surprising me with things on my doorstep, opening the car door for me... all the other girls were jealous. You'd leave me these dumb notes in my locker but I kept them and loved them. Girls would come up to me and gush about how we were such a perfect couple, and we were.

  "But then things changed. We started going to parties and we grew older, and I realized that we weren't the perfect couple that everyone thought we were. Our image might have been perfect, but the intimate relationship between you and I just clashed. You made some bad decisions that lead us to this, but I think I just need to remind you of something before you go ahead and do this.

  "You don't have to do this. You can turn away from this and change your life. You can go back to being the guy that every girl loved and every guy envied. You don't have to be this person, it isn't too late for you. But if you do go through with this, life is only going to get worse for you. The only person with the power to decide how your life goes is you. You only have one life, and by doing this you'll ruin it, I promise you that."

  By the time I was done speaking, there were tears in my eyes. I had literally just made that up as I went but I was hoping that he'd take it to heart. 

  Suddenly, I heard the shrill sound of a police car alarm in the distance. It didn't seem to be that far off, even though I felt like we were surrounded by miles and miles of forest.

  Kate gasped and looked over at Jake, who had a panic look in his eyes. He turned back to me and raised the shaky gun in the air, his eyes never leaving mine. It was odd, for the most part, I only felt a strange sense of peace.

  Maybe this always happens before you die.

  I turned to Niall and mouthed an 'I love you' as Kate struggled to keep him back from standing in front of me. Jake cocked the gun and then closed his one eye, aiming at me like I was a doe and he was the hunter.

  "Hurry up, I've still got this one left and the cops will be here soon!" Kate panicked.

  "Shut up." Jake growled, turning his attention back to me. 

  I closed my eyes. I figured that if I tried to keep my mind on something else, something peaceful, that would be the best way to go in this situation. My last earthly thoughts would be of something nice while I was suffering this horrid death.

  A gunshot rang out through the forest.

  I did not feel any pain. When you get shot in the right place- such as the heart or the head, it's said that you don't feel anything. That was the way that I had hoped to go if it came to this, and I guess I had been right. My whole body felt numb from how much panic I had been in.

  It took me a few seconds to realize that I wasn't dead. I could hear things all around me and I opened my eyes. The scene in front of me was similar, although instead of standing in front of me, Jake was now lying on the ground in a pool of dark red blood. I gaped and scrambled to my feet, watching as Kate looked at his body in horror. Her gun was still pointed on Niall, which only meant one thing;

  Jake had shot himself.

  "No!" Kate screamed, and all at once we were surrounded by men in uniform. My heart was drumming so rapidly in my chest and my thoughts were all a jumbled blur. One of the men I recognized to be Sam, who had a very scared looking Aimee in his arms. I wasn't sure if I was going to pass out or throw up, I hunched over and started to cough, my whole body shaking.

  It took the men a few tries, but they wrestled Kate to the ground before she could do any harm to Niall. The gun that was once in her hands was now taken from her and handcuffs were immediately placed on her wrist. Everything seemed to be happening so quickly that I couldn't wrap my head around it.

  Someone touched my shoulder, and I spun around to see a man in uniform with a concerned look on his face. He had a moustache. It's funny, that's the one significant thing that stuck out to me about him.

  "Are you okay, miss? Let's help you onto a stretcher." He said.

  When he reached out for my hand, I shied away from him. My eyes wandered around the crime scene for Niall, but I couldn't see him. My heart was pounding and I felt so dizzy. The man's eyes were filled with concern and he mumbled something into a walkie-talkie that I didn't hear. My only concern was the safety of my friends and family.

  "Where's Niall?" I demanded.

  "Your boyfriend, child, and friends are all being escorted back to the ambulances. Please, miss, we need to check for any injuries." He offered his hand again. Another officer approached me and held his hand out as well, and so this time I complied, letting them pull me up and lead me back through the woods to the Motel 6.

  The last thing that I saw before I turned away from the scene was Jake's dead body lying on the ground.

.

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  a/n:

  you guys should be lucky that i didn't turn this into a tragedy. PRAISE THE LAWD JAKE IS DEAD, AMMIRITE?

  ps, tweet using the hashtag #heydelilah to tell me your thoughts on this chapter? my twitter is @_delilahmae_

  - delilah