This Can't Be Love

Chapter 27: Endgame, Part 2

"You can turn around again now. Face up, come on."

Aaron turns over and his face is expressing the most excrutiating pain. His watery eyes and grinding teeth insist that he does not want to move his body but he does so anyhow. Samantha's monotone voice shows no concern, even though her words are of inquiry...

"Now... Can you move your fingers?"

"What is all this, Sam? You're--"

"Don't be stupid, Aaron. Just wiggle your damn fingers. See if both hands work."

Aaron does what she says yet again, and moves his fingers on both hands.

"Good... That means nothing's broken. I wasn't sure that would work, but you're okay. Now go. You have some cleaning to do."

Aaron gets up from the bed and slowly walks toward the spiral staircase while holding his arm in pain. He begins to walk upstairs and Samantha looks at him with a furrow of her brow.

"The mess is down here, Aaron. Why are you going upstairs?"

"I'll be right down. I need some pain killers... And... The keys to your belt."

"You're letting me go?"

"Yes... You're finally showing me how much you really love me, so... I'm keeping my word."

Samantha sits in bed looking carelessly at the two dead bodies across the room from her. Her eyesight scans the room as her eyebrows come closer together with a hint of concern. She notices that the steps that lead to the outside are wet and rain is falling in, which means the storm doors are still open.

She gets up from the bed and walks over the access door. She can hardly reach the door itself since her chain only goes so far, but she manages to pull on the two ropes that hang from each metal door, slamming the storm door shut. She engages the lock from the inside and secures the metal clamp, then ties the two ropes together.

Samantha returns toward the bed while dragging her feet and chain as she walks. Aaron has come downstairs and is now just a bit more awake than he was when he left. He has two large leather bags with him and is wearing a new clean shirt.

"You didn't need to close that door. It'll be more difficult to get these out of here through the main entrance."

Aaron proceeds to slide one of the leather bags around the body of Officer Russo.

"Can you give me a hand, Sam? I need you to lift her feet to--"

"I am not going anywhere near that. Don't confuse this for anything other than what it is. I am not your sidekick."

"Other than what it is? What is it?"

Samantha sits in the middle of the bed with an expressionless face that lets her eyelids lower half way. She crosses her legs in close and begins massaging her own feet while staring at Aaron without any hint of emotion. Aaron makes silence and does his best to get Russo's body in to the bag. He zips the bag up and begins to repeat the process on Officer Stack.

"... Why did you do what you did to Russo? You kept saying you wanted me dead and that even you would kill me if you had a gun in your hands but yet... When you got your hands on one, you used it to help me..."

"Aaron, you over-analyze everything. Just shut up... Unchain me... And take these bodies out of here..."

Aaron runs his hand down his face while exhaling and stares at Samantha with a raised eyebrow and recoiled lips.

"Samantha Lawrence... You have always intrigued me but right now you are just confusing me... You want me to let you go just because you saved my life... Okay, yes I am grateful, but why wont you just admit that the reason you saved my life is because you love me?"