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"I still believe in you,
and in this burning room,
I'll suffer trough the pain."
Leave Like That - SYML
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XXXVI.
\\ RESOLUTION //
Arden felt no pain.
It was strange to her, because she thought that she would have at least felt a fraction of a second of pain before dying. She was sure that pain would have beaten death to her.
"Arden!"
The silence was broken by someone crying out her name, and Arden became confused...wondering where the sound came from.
But that was when Arden opened her eyes, and she saw Zoe still standing in front of her with the gun pointed at her chest. Arden looked down at her chest where she should have felt pain, to see no blood, no wound...nothing.
She looked back up with parted lips and confusion in her eyes as her mind raced, trying to figure out where the shot came from.
"Hey!"
A voice came from up the hill and when Zoe looked back at them, Brandon grabbed Arden's hand, pulling her close to him as figures wearing animal masks started to make their way down. Swallowing nervously, Arden saw that some of them had guns, and the one with the sheep mask fired off two more shots as they made their way over.
Oh my God, they're here to kill us. The thought flashed through Arden's mind.
As if sensing the same thing, Brandon held Arden tighter, and Elisia and Rowan clung to each other, breathing in and out as the masked people made their way over to Zoe. The one with the sheep mask stood close to her as the others gathered around.
Zoe smiled triumphantly, happy that she now had some back up there to help kill them. Brandon kept his arms around her protectively, and Arden braced herself for everything to end.
But suddenly, the person with the sheep mask raised his gun and pointed it at Zoe, "Drop it!"
Arden's lips parted, and even Zoe looked back at them in surprise. Rowan, Arden, Elisia, and Brandon stood there, unsure of what was happening and who the people in the masks were.
"Drop it, Zoe!" Sheep man repeated.
Arden looked at all of the masks, confused, and that was when Rowan took the opportunity while Zoe had her guard down and snatched the gun away from her, pushing Elisia, Arden, and Brandon behind her as she pointed the gun at Zoe.
That was when the person in the sheep mask reached up, taking of their mask and revealing who they were. When Arden realized who it was, her heart leapt in her chest.
"Trevor." She breathed out in relief.
He looked over at her with soft eyes and gave her a comforting nod, letting her know that they were safe now. Then the others followed, taking of their masks as well, revealing Jai, Tessa, Jake, and Sean.
"It's over, Zoe." Brandon told her, "The idea's dead."
Brandon then looked over at Arden again, with a relieved look knowing he kept his promise that they were going to put an end to this, and Arden smiled, letting out a relieved breath, letting her head fall onto his chest.
"On your knees! Put your weapon on the ground!"
A police officer suddenly appeared, gun drawn, and they all raised their hands up in surrender, and those who had weapons lowering them. It was only then as Arden lowered to the ground when she realized just how much she was shaking, the adrenaline was slowly leaving her body and the reality of what just happened was setting in.
It was over. It was all over.
@ @ @
When they got back to the cabin, Arden was relieved to see the paramedics working on Hawk, who was still alive and breathing, and even more so when they told her that he was stable. The EMTs got him prepped quickly for transport to the hospital, and Arden watched as the paramedics rolled Hawk into the ambulance, quickly hopping in behind him. His eyes were closed, his face pale, and the oxygen mask covering his mouth, and seeing him like that scared Arden like hell, thinking she almost lost him. As they closed the doors and the ambulance drove away.
"Hey."
Arden turned to see Brandon walking over and she smiled, so incredibly relieved that he was okay. That they had made it out of all this.
Trevor also walked over, looking at both of them, "You guys okay?"
Arden nodded, smiling to him, "Thanks to you."
"How did you know we were here?" Brandon asked him curiously.
"I figured out the VHS tape. It was a message about camp." Trevor told them, then frowned, "Neither of you were answering your phones and I was worried that you might have come up here so...I didn't want to take any more chances. I called Jake and Jake called Rowan's dad."
Arden frowned a little, "And the masks?"
Trevor held up the mask and shrugged, "To help us get close enough to Zoe. When you hide your face, no one knows what side you're on."
Arden smiled, "Thank you, Trevor."
She walked up to him and gave him a hug, which he returned to her, happy that she was okay. That all of them were. And she was so grateful to Trevor, for finding them and being able to put an end to all this.
As he let go, he playfully nudged her, "What are siblings for?"
She chuckled, feeling happy tears settling on the brims of her eyes as Trevor offered her a smile before stepping away, heading towards where Sean was standing on the porch of the cabin.
As Arden watched Trevor join Sean's side, she looked around the grounds, seeing Ash holding Elisia as Jake leaned against the car, relieved she was okay. Rowan was hugging her dad, Jai and Tess sat on the steps leading up to the cabin in each other's arms. Everyone was safe. Everyone was alive. And that alone felt like a five ton weight lifted off Arden's shoulders.
"You okay?"
Brandon's voice brought her back to where she was standing, and when she looked back at him, she saw him looking at her softly, with concern about her.
Her mind went back to the moments that Zoe had them tied up in that room, and she thought about everything that had happened between Brandon and herself...and she felt an ache inside her chest.
"Brandon...I'm so sorry. For everything." She looked up at him, "You were right, the other night...I ruined your life and I'm—"
"Arden, hey...it's alright." He said softly, "Please, don't apologize, okay?"
She looked up at him, her lips parting a little, "You're not mad?"
Brandon shook his head slowly, looking at her like the idea of him being mad at her was not something he could even think of.
"I know why you did it," His voice was soft and understanding, "You were protecting Rowan, Elisia, and Hailey. You were doing what you thought would keep them safe from something I started and was unable to stop."
His words fell slowly over her, and Arden felt tears rushing to the brims of her eyes. And in that moment, Brandon reached out to her, cupping the side of her face in his hand. His own eyes began to water as he stared into hers.
"You didn't ruin my life, Arden." He assured her, "In fact...I'm pretty sure you saved it. In more ways than one."
Arden felt everything inside her collapse under those words. Because for the longest time, she had to fight against this overwhelming feeling that she ruined the lives of anyone and everyone who got close to her. Hearing him say the exact opposite, mixed with the grateful feeling she felt that he was alive and okay...made her start to break down right then and there.
Brandon wrapped his arm around Arden's waist and pulled her close into his chest. She looked up at him as he reached up and tilted her chin up with his thumb. He leaned in and pressed his lips softly on hers, kissing her gently. Arden smiled just as softly as her lips moved against his.
"I thought I was going to lose you," Brandon whispered, his voice breaking a little, "I don't know what I would have done if..."
He drifted off, unable to complete the sentence. Arden looked up at him with tears in her eyes, remembering the moment Zoe held the knife up to his throat. It was just starting to hit her, everything that had happened...and she couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I was so scared of losing you, too." She cried.
He wrapped Arden in his arms, hugging her tightly. She laid her head on his chest, tears streaming down her face as she tightened her arms around him, returning his warm embrace.
He rested his chin on the top of her head, "You're safe now."
Smiling, this was the first time Arden let herself believe those words, as she stood there, wrapped in his arms and felt shielded from all the bad things out there. Keeping Arden's head against his chest, Brandon breathed out slowly, allowing his own words to sink in and trying not to imagine what a world would have been like without her in it.
@ @ @
After hours of extensive questioning at the police station, filling them in on everything that had happened down to the very beginning, Arden was completely exhausted both physically and mentally. She, Rowan, and Elisia gave brief statements, enough to give police enough to start on, and then they would need to come back to the police station the next day to be interviewed more in depth.
The police also got a few witness statements from Brandon, Trevor, Sean, Jai, and Tessa to help corroborate everything.
By the time they finished up, it was almost 11pm at night and a couple deputies were assigned to taking all of them home. Brandon and Arden were given a ride by the same deputy since they lived across the street from each other. Trevor had decided to stay with Sean for the night so it was just the two of them in the back of the squad car.
The ride was quiet, and it felt weird to Arden how much time she had spent in the back of a police car today going to and from the police station. She sat next to Brandon, their hands intertwined, and she rested her head on his shoulder, resting her eyes. Brandon leaned the side of his face against the top of her head, focusing on the sound of her breathing in and out slowly.
Eventually, the deputy pulled onto their street and parked the car right in front of their houses. As soon as the car stopped, Brandon lightly nudged Arden, causing her eyes to flutter open. She picked her head up from his shoulder and saw that they were back, and the two of them got out of the car.
"Have a good night you two." The deputy told them as they exited.
Arden looked back, offering him a smile, "Thank you."
As the deputy pulled away, disappearing down the road, Arden stood on the curb and looked up at her house, seeing all of the lights off and knowing no one was inside. Trevor had decided to stay at Sean's for the night...and her mom and Trevor's dad were still on honeymoon for another couple days. As it settled in that she'd be spending the night in that empty home by herself, her stomach lurched.
She looked back at Brandon, who was looking at her in concern, wondering if she was okay.
"Can you...stay with me?" She asked him softly, "I don't want to be alone."
Brandon nodded, "Of course."
Arden half-smiled, slipping her hand in his and interlacing their fingers together. They walked hp her driveway and she led him inside.
As soon as they stepped inside, Koda immediately greeted them at the door, which made Arden smile because for whatever reason, seeing him so happy to see her was comforting for whatever reason.
The two locked up behind themselves and then made their way down the hallway to Arden's room. They both were exhausted and immediately wanted to get themselves ready to sleep, knowing that tomorrow would be a full day at the police station.
Arden changed in the bathroom while Brandon found some of his extra clothes he'd left in Trevor's room from last time he stayed over.
Once the two of them had changed, Arden sat down on her bed, crossing her legs under her and Brandon leaned across the foot of her bed, resting his head in his hand as he looked up at her.
"So, when is your mom and Trev's dad supposed to get back?" He asked curiously.
"The police called them when we got to the station," She told him, "The earliest flight they could get is for the day after tomorrow."
He nodded, "Did the police tell them what happened?"
"At the cabin, yes." She nodded, "All the other stuff leading up to it...that's going to be a conversation I have to have with my mom."
"There's just so much I kept from her," Arden looked down at her hands in her lap, "I just...don't know how she's going to react when I tell her the truth."
Arden's mom knew little to nothing about what had been going on in her life. She thought that keeping her in the dark would keep her mom safe. But now that it was all over, she was worried about the damage all the lies and secrets might have done.
Brandon then looked at her softly, "Are you going to be okay?"
"I, um...I think it's going to take some time but..." She looked up at him, "Now that it's finally over...I think I can finally figure out how to move on with my life."
It felt weird feeling relaxed, not worried about what might be lurking around the corner. Arden had been living her life constantly looking over her shoulder, and now that she had nothing to be afraid of...thinking about getting back to normal was almost overwhelming.
"What does moving on with your life look like?" He asked her.
When she looked back at him, she saw a hint of nervousness in his eyes about what her answer might be.
"Well...I can finally focus on school...and things like college." Arden started, "I can hang out with my friends and talk about normal teenage things instead of theories about who might be coming after us. I can walk through town without worrying about being followed..."
Arden drifted off, and then she felt her heart picking up pace in her chest as she looked at Brandon, thinking about all of the possibilities that laid ahead of her.
"Most importantly, there's this guy that I'm falling for..." She smiled softly, "And I'm hoping that he still feels the same way about me..."
Brandon smiled as well, adjusting himself so the he wasn't leaning across her bed anymore, but sitting across from her on the bed.
He reached up, cupping his hand over her cheek as he whispered, "He does."
Brandon leaned in, brushing his lips softly over hers. She smiled against his lips, feeling his hand on her waist, pulling her closer to him. Arden wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him deeper, and letting herself feel every single emotion he ignited inside her.
The things she felt for Brandon threw her through a whirl wind. At the same time, it was exciting and scary, comforting and challenging...it was consuming and insatiable, filled with both happy and painful moments that made up who they were together.
She felt extremely lucky for each and everything she felt for him. And to know that he felt the same way for her...made her even more grateful.
They spent the rest of the night kissing and holding each other until they fell asleep in each other's arms.
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"You left behind more than memories,
Now when I sleep I'm only dreaming of your face."