Harry's POV
The bang was loud, echoing through the open space, and I heard a ringing in my ears afterwards. As soon as I heard the gun go off I scanned Charlie for blood and when I saw none, looked back at the others for any signs of pain. Each face was tense and surprised at the loud noise but they all appeared to be okay.
Something heavy dropping could be heard in front of me, and I blew out a breath of relief cause it meant it hadn't been one of our own that'd been shot.
"Fuck!" Lucy screamed, clutching her leg where the bullet had hit, "You shot me you fucking idiot!"
When I saw Peter distracted by his daughters cries, I took my chance and charged him. He looked back at me just in time for my body to collide with his and the wind was knocked out of me on impact. Peter grunted when we hit the cold grass bed but that didn't stop him from trying to push me away. I didn't hesitate to throw a punch to the right side of his face, the bandage covering my knuckles not cushioning the blow at all.
I hit him again, his face feeling way better then a punching bag for my rage. I went to do it again when I heard the click of a gun loading close to my left. I froze, my fist in the air, and I slowly looked over to Jack who had his gun trained on me. Behind him, the rest of the guys were fighting off Billy and Jenny and McKenna had a struggling Lucy pinned. From what I could see, everyone was still, for the most part, unharmed.
I saw his finger brush the trigger when Charlie collected her senses enough to slam her elbow into his gut and thankfully the gun did not go off this time. Jack mumbled a string of curse words before hitting her with the butt of the gun and crawling on top of her. She kicked her feet but Charlie's hands were still bound behind her back therefore leaving her defenseless.
I went to get get him off of her but Peter pulled me back and threw his weight enough to roll us over. I took a hit to the face and three more to the ribs before I even knew that I no longer had the upper hand. I felt a rib crack and I cried out as pain shot through my body and clouded my senses. Peter went to hit again but I caught his fist and twisted outward until I heard his wrist snap. He yelped and jerked back enough for me to push him off me. I struggled but managed to get to my feet and kicked Peter in the stomach to keep him down.
When I was sure he'd be down for a second or two, I grabbed a large rock from the ground. It was heavy, damp, and cold in my palm. In two big strides I reached Jack, grabbed him by the back of his collar, and hit him over the head so hard the rock cracked down the middle. A grunt left his mouth before he slumped over, unconscious. A trail of blood trickled down his hairline to his chin, the blond of his hair enhancing the blood's chrism colour. I let the rock fragments roll off my fingertips and shoved his body off Charlie. I hooked my fingers into the gag to remove it and my fingers brushed over her soft skin.
"Harry," She breathed once the barrier was gone.
"Baby, I'm so sorry," As gently as I could so that I didn't hurt her further, I got her to her feet and turned Charlie to that I could free her hands. I noticed her fingernails were laced with blood that she wasn't able to scrub off.
"You shouldn't have come," Charlie scolded but her voice lacked conviction.
"I'm not going to leave you. Not ever again." I finished with the knot and finally got her hands free. I winced at the sight of the red, irritated skin where the bonds had been.
"I can't believe you figured it out," Charlie said as she turned to face me.
I shook my head, "I can't believe I didn't figure it out sooner. I was almost too late. I'm so sorry. I should have believed you from the beginning."
"I know how it looked."
"It shouldn't have mattered-"
"Harry!" Charlie interrupted, putting her arms around my neck soothingly and I couldn't help but melt into her touch. I'd been yearning for the feel of her skin on mine for far too long not to.
"I forgive you."
I could hear a sharp intake of breath then realized that it was my own. I thought it would take years of begging and pleading to get her to forgive me let alone take me back. I wanted to question it but then again, why should I?
I tugged her to my chest and held her tightly. Charlie laid her head right where my heart is and I felt her body relax in my embrace. It felt like it had been years since I'd touched her. The heat of her skin seared through mine and blissful relief flooded me to have her in the safety of my arms again. For the first time in a long time, I didn't feel like my heart had been ripped from my chest. It turns out Charlie had it with her this entire time and now that she is back with me, so it my heart. And whether I liked it or not, it would always belong to Charlotte and only Charlotte
It didn't last though. A cry of pain brought Charlie and I out of our moment and we turned to see things weren't going as well as the had when I last looked at everyone else. Lucy and McKenna were a mess of limbs and I didn't know who was in worse condition, Liam was sprawled on the ground in a daze, Niall was fighting Jenny off with a large blood stain on his shirt, and Louis and Zayn were having many problems subduing Billy. Everyone was battered in some way or another and it was obvious that neither group was going to go down without one hell of a fight.
Suddenly, I felt my feet being pulled out from under me. I landed hard on the damp ground, sending another wave of pain from my ribs rocketing through me, and felt a heavy weight crush my body into the dirt face down. I threw my elbows back but they were caught and flattened out with the rest of me, leaving me at Peter's mercy. Charlie went to help me when she was yanked back forcefully.
"I'm getting really fucking tired of you," I heard Jack growl. Damn it! The bastard should have been down longer! I continued to struggle as hard as I could, my muscles burning with the exertion. Charlie backed up a step with her hands up in front of her as Jack approached her.
"Get away from her!" I yelled then felt my face being pushed further into the dirt. I grunted in frustration and pain from the rocks and dirt digging into the skin of my cheek.
"You're going to watch this," Peter said into my ear, his hot breath on my neck making me shutter. My heart wretched at the words and I felt as if I were being burned alive.
Jack grabbed her by the arms and shoved her down onto her back and followed closely with the gun pointed to the middle of her forehead.
"No," She cried out as he pressed Charlie into the ground. I looked around for anyone to help her but things seemed to be taking a turn for the worse. I was practically heaving now. Panic was consuming me as I fought to be able defend the love of my life but I was losing.
Charlie caught the gun and turned it away from herself but only by inches. The gun was shaking as both tried to force it in the opposite direction. I heard Charlie whimper and she lost some of the ground she had made. The gun went off and I saw her body jerk then still.
I yelled incoherent words while throwing my body every way I could, desperately trying to get Peter off me, "No you bastard! If you hurt her, I swear to god-"
I felt my elbow connect with flesh and heard a grunt but it wasn't enough to get Peter off. In fact, he pinned me down harder. I could feel the shape of the knife under me and it frustrated me to no end that there is no way I can reach it.
"Come on," I whispered through gritted teeth, watching for movement. Please god, don't take her from me.
Charlie jerked again and I saw that the bullet had grazed her temple and down her scalp. That was way too fucking close. Blood flowed freely through the open wound, dying her curly hair a deep burgundy.
She reached up to push Jack's face to the side, trying to prevent him from seeing what he was doing or to get him to loosen his grip, while she used her other hand to turn the gun away from herself and towards him. He leaned back and out of her reach so that he could see again so Charlie then used both hands to redirect the gun just as Jack was doing.
"Go on, son, finish her!" Peter encouraged and I don't think I've ever been this infuriated, scared, and defenseless in my entire life.
Both continued to struggle, wriggling to an angle and now blocking part of my view. I couldn't see the gun or where it was pointing. I could see, however, Louis looking in our direction. He was being held down by Billy and was unable to stop what was happening. He had a deep gash on the side of his forehead and already a purple bruise was forming on his jaw.
Another bang sounded and I felt it all the way down to my bones. I felt earth-shattering, death-worthy, physical pain when I saw both people were still. Charlie's arms now lay still beside her and I saw a streak of blood trailing down the side of her face. Someone was breathing hard, practically heaving, but I couldn't tell who.
Finally, the weight was lifter off my back and I rolled over to see Louis had knocked Peter off me and was now hitting him from above. I looked back up and saw an unmoving Billy on the ground next to Niall who was trying to pry Lucy off McKenna. I ran to the still bodies closest to me and pushed Jack off of Charlie, my vision blurred because of tears.
Her eyes were wide and unblinking, body trembling, and she was sucking in as much air as she could. But Charlotte was alive. Jack, on the other hand, had a bullet hole in the center of his forehead.
I pulled her to her feet but Charlie didn't seem to be seeing me. She was in shock.
"Shh, baby. Look at me," I held her face and forced her to eyes to meet mine. I tried to wipe away some of Jack's blood that speckled her face with my thumb but only smeared it and made it worse.
"I....I....-" Charlie looked down at Jack's lifeless body and the air kept catching in her throat.
I forced her eyes back up to my face, "He didn't give you a choice, Charlie."
Her tears mingled in with the blood as she gazed up at me silently then, finally, she nodded. Charlie swallowed hard and bit her lip. I knew this was going to come back to haunt her when we get home.
Jenny screamed when she saw what had happened and I watched as she dropped to her knees and clutched at her sons body. Zyan, who had been holding her, didn't stop her from doing this. They may be horrible, awful people but they still loved each other in their own sick way and a part of me almost felt bad for them them for losing one of their own. Almost.
"Jack!-" Lucy cried then cut off when McKenna tased her in the chest, taking the opportunity when Lucy was distracted. Her body jolted a couple of times then fell to the side and didn't move again. Whether it was on purpose or not, McKenna had tased her directly to the heart. Chances are, it was no longer beating.
Jenny screamed again - a pure pain filled cry.
Peter let out an enraged growl then Louis grunted behind us and I turned in time to see him fell off Peter with a knife wound in his stomach. The knife lay a couple feet away from him, coated in blood. Peter got up and took a hard step towards us when blue and red lights flashed and the screech of tires were heard.
How the hell were the police here?
"How...?" I heard someone mutter.
"I texted Niall's Mom to call the police on our way here before we lost signal," McKenna said as she got up and brushed herself off, her eyes obviously avoiding the blond girl at her feet. That was brilliant. McKenna, Niall, Liam, and Zayn moved towards the cars as the police got out with their guns drawn. Even Louis was able to stand and stumble to the vehicles while clutching his stomach. I reached out to take Charlie's hand and lead her to the others but all I caught was air.
I turned back to see Charlie's back pressed against Peter with the gun Jack had dropped pressed against her still bleeding temple. Her lips quivered and her body was as stiff as a board, clearly afraid that an inch of movement would cost Charlie her life.
"Step back!" When I didn't, Peter yelled again, "Step back or I will kill her!"
"Okay," I took a couple reluctant steps back with my hands raised.
"Further," He waved the gun, telling me to move back to where the others were standing. Could I do that? I promised I wouldn't leave her again. But if I didn't, Peter would surely shoot her.
"Please Harry, do what he says," Charlie whimpered, seeing my inner turmoil. I felt a pair of hands pulling me back and I couldn't decide if I was thankful for them or not.
"Put the gun down and let the girl go!" One of the cops shouted. Half of their guns were on Peter and the other half on Jenny, who was still with Jack.
When the polices' presence finally registered with her, Jenny kissed her son on the cheek, stood, and looked around at her children who lay at her feet. I didn't know if Billy was dead but he was, at the very least, unconscious. But Jack and Lucy were dead.
Jenny sniffled, glanced at Peter, then back to the police with her hands raised. Was she going to surrender? No, instead she started to reach behind her slowly with one hand which was surprisingly steady.
"Keep your hands in the air!"
She didn't stop. Jenny kept reaching to her back, making it known that there was a gun tucked in the back of her pants. She paused when her hand was behind her back, blew out a breath, then whipped her hand out. Several gun shots rang out and hit her square in the chest. I noticed, before her body dropped, that her hand was empty. There was no gun.
Peter shouted but it was too late. Jenny, along with most of the rest of his family, was dead. He was the only one left standing.
Peter shuffled his feet, looking between the police and his family. He looked torn as he continued to make small whimpering sounds. He made eye contact with me and his features hardened. Peter straightened up and pressed the gun closer to Charlie who winced.
I couldn't think, couldn't move. I was absolutely fucking powerless. If I did something, anything, she would die. Standing here useless was the best and worst thing I could do for Charlie.
"Put the gun down!" One of the cops repeated, the authority very strong in his tone.
"Guys, get back here," Another cop hissed and ushered us back behind the open car doors to block any shots that could be fired. I felt myself being tugged back again which I didn't fight but didn't do willingly either.
Once I was behind the safety of the door, I saw the look in Peter's eyes had changed. The icy blue gaze of his chilled me to my core. His eyes told me that he had decided what to do.
I hated myself for it but I closed my eyes. I couldn't watch the girl I love get killed. I couldn't have that replaying in my mind for the rest of my life like a broken record, over and over and over until I was driven insane with grief and guilt.
I heard a bang, a body drop, and the final gun shot of the night faded into silence.
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Holy shit, that was the final cliffhanger of the book! Seriously, where did the time go? I could have sworn I just wrote chapter one like a month ago? Lol apparently not.
The next chapter will be the epilogue and there will be no sequel. I'm sorry, I know that's disappointing but I felt like their story ends here. Whether it's a happy ending or not is a different matter....guess you'll find out when the last chapter is posted.
Please fan, vote, and comment!
I hope the climax did the book justice and did not disappoint :) As always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed!