~Tirzah's POV~
I jolted up from deep slumber. A seering headache creeped in as I tried to regain my senses which seemed foggy. Once the cloudiness in my head vanished, I finally recognized my surroundings.
I was in my room. Dressed in an oversized shirt, pajama pants and draped in a blanket.
How did I get here? I certainly don't recall changing into these...
What am I-
Memories of last night as well as the drastic realization struck me, intercepting my thoughts. My eyes instantly landed on the ring on my finger. It wasn't a nightmare after all.
Wait a minute.....
I squinted my eyes to scan the room. No sign of Brian. Where did he go? Logan and I were supposed to escape.... Shoot, what's the time!?
It was 6:35am, an eerie silence engulfed the room. Something was bothering me. I felt unreasonably uncomfortable by the minute. My mind drifted off to last night. He really left me without a choice, I had to say yes. The moment I did, he lifted me off the ground in joy. I couldn't help but feel defeated.
After he expressed his "overwhelming happiness" as I simply offered a fake smile, he raised a toast. Right after the champagne, everything else seemed like a blur. I remember feeling weirdly exhausted as I tried savoring the chocolate mousse. The entirety of it all is blurry but I remember flashes of when he carried my bridal style back to the house, then to the room and everything suddenly became black.
Did he drug me? Again? Why? Did he do something? I don't feel like I was... harmed. Then why?
I think I heard him utter something before I dozed off. What did he say? I pondered hard until fragments of his words slowly came back to me. I gasped when his words formulated into an actual sentence in my head.
I instantly made a bee line towards the door, down the hallway and to the room holding Logan. The door was left wide open, with no sign of Logan. I fell on my knees and sobbed bitterly. My heart dropped as his words echoed in my head repeatedly.
I'm sorry cupcake.... but I have to end him.
What if I'm too late? What if I'm not?
Thoughts of hope and doubt encircled my mind as I ran and screamed Logan's name. My ears desperate to hear his response but there was nothing. Nothing except the early morning birds chirping.
I halted to catch my breath whilst remaining cautious of my surroundings. They must be around here somewhere. Brian's car was still at the house. I don't know when Brian initiated his malicious plot nor do I know whether Logan is still alive but my heart was urging me otherwise. Deep down I knew he still lives but not for long. I was quite surprised to find bags tucked in Brian's car. When did he have time to pack?
With my adamant will and strong hope, I continued calling out his name despite the fact that I might be lost in this vast forest. Which direction was the house? Am I running in circles?
I continued jogging breathlessly when a startling, almost muffled sound emitted from the distance. If anyone else heard it they'd conclude it was the sound of popcorn popping rather loudly but I knew what it was. A gunshot. I ran in that direction as a distressing thought clouded my mind.
Who got shot?
~Logan's POV~
I managed to cut my restraints just enough to break it free when Brian walked in unexpectedly. His face was void of emotions which to me was a red flag. My sense were heightened and on high alert as he approached me. With the restraints still around my hands, I held onto it firmly so as to not raise suspicion. He strode over to me, knelt to my eye level and removed the restraints from my legs.
"What are you doing?" I asked, as he remained silent. Parts of the sky was illuminated by reflected sunlight, though the sun itself wasn't visible above the horizon. The beauty of morning twilight was something else.
I didn't even realize that I was already standing upright. He pushed me forward, gesturing me to move forward.
"Can you at least tell me what this is all about?" I spat angrily, glaring at his blunt face. He pocketed his hands as a smirk plastered his face.
"Just need to.... settle some unfinished business, don't you think?" He raised a brow maliciously, as I eyed him suspiciously.
Despite feeling the obliviousness of where I was heading, I admired the beauty of nature. Brian had been nudging me onward for the past thirty minutes or so.
We reached an open area which appeared to be a camping ground. Right next to the site was a larger stream of water that flowed freely downhill towards the lake.
The sound of a gun cocking behind me caught my attention. I turned around swiftly to find Brian brandishing a gun in his hands, aiming it at me. I held a irritable look but deep down I felt frightened of the prospect of how this will go down.
Will I die here? I didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to Tirzah....
I shook off the negative thoughts and firmly held onto the slight glimmer of hope.
"Huh... I expected you to beat me to death but a gun?" I smirked this time, maintaining a confident stance.
"Why don't you untie me so we can really settle things huh? Just you and me.... or are you too afraid to fight me?" My key goal lay in provoking him to the edge of anger so he could abandon the handgun.
Instead he threw his head back and broke into crazed laughter, while I quickly wiggled my hands out of the restraints. He suddenly fell silent with his head thrown back and slowly straightened his posture, a devilish look in his eyes.
"Oh I really wish I could but I've got a flight to catch and before my love awakens I must make sure her past.... remains her past" Brian looked like an entire different person. The person I considered my friend turned out to a calculated psychopath.
"I'm not letting a bullet kill you. No, no, no, no. Instead I'll wound ya and dump you into the stream there. You can imagine what'll happen.... blood loss, thrown against boulders and with restraints you'll obviously drown. A slow and agonizing death specially for you. But hey, the slower the death the more time for you to contemplate your mistake of taking what's rightfully mine......" He said proudly.
"If you think getting rid of me will make Tirzah love you? Then you better quit dreaming Brian. Nothing and I mean will ever change the love we share. Killing me will make her despise you more" I spoke in between gritted teeth. I saw his eye twitch in anger as he clenched his fists.
His finger rested on the trigger as he uttered his next words-
"Shut up Logan! She will love me! I will make sure of it! It's the end of the road for you Logan..."
Just as Brian was about to pull the trigger, a faint shout caught his attention. I took the opportunity to kick the gun out of his hands before swiftly delivering a cross punch to his face. He stumbled backwards but recovered quickly, giving a jab to my stomach. Before I knew it, his knee came in contact with my head causing my to stumble backwards.
I groaned a bit and glanced up to see Brian trudging towards the gun. He grabbed it and pulled the trigger but I quickly dodged it. Before he had the opportunity to shoot again, I quickly sprinted towards him, and tackled him to the ground. The gun was within a risky distance. I reached out to grab it but was pulled back and turned over. He tried straddling me but I pushed him off me and delivered a blow to his face, bruising his cheek.
The gun lay within a hands reach and we were both struggling against each other intensely. It became uglier by the second.
I wiped of the blood on my lips and continued fighting him. This time I managed to straddle him and began throwing punches as he shielded his face.
"LOGAN!?" I heard Tirzah's voice echo somewhere in the distance and I glanced in that direction but she wasn't in sight.
By the time I looked back at Brian, the gun was firm in his hand and he fired.