Emilys P.O.V
I can hear the thumping of my heart in my ears, and it feels like I've got a huge apple lodged in my throat.
I feel physically sick at the sight of Nick holding Tara against him with a gun held to her head like a crazed mad man.
He looks rough, he's unshaven and dirty, and he looks like he hasn't slept for weeks.
I hope the bastard has had to suffer, after everything, I wouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on him if the roles were reversed.
Tara looks terrified, her whole body shaking with fear while Devon scrambles up from the floor in front of them.
Hunter grabs my arm and forcefully pushes me behind him, acting as a human shield.
I know he's just trying to protect me, but acting like a cave man right now isn't going to help the situation.
"Good to see you Hunter, Em" Nick smiles in our direction before turning back to Devon. "Move, over there. Now" He says nudging his head in our direction and Devon does as he says, moving ever so slowly toward us.
I'm not sure Nick has it in him to actually Kill Tara, sure, he caused our car to crash but to actually kill someone with your bare hands is a completely different matter.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Hunter growls and I grab tight a hold of his arm so he can't make a move for Nick. We have to be smart here. "I swear, you hurt her and I'll rip your balls off and shove them down your throat"
Nick chuckles making me shiver. He sounds like a maniac. He is so unfazed by Hunters threat or even the fact hes outnumbered but then again he is the one with the weapon. "So violent Hunter." he smirks. "Not so tough now are you?" He asks goading Hunter.
I know Hunter has a temper on him, I seen it that day in the school hall way when he beat the shit out of Nick and mangled his face.
"How was your stay in Hospital Emily?" He asks politely and to anyone else, you'd think he actually cared. He's so psychotic to the point where I dont even know if he realises how fucked up he is. "Sorry about that by the way. Personally, you've never done anything to me, you were just collateral damage so I could get to those two." He says nodding towards the two men at my side.
I scoff at how fake he is but then remember I'm not in any position to be belittling him right now so I put my head down as a response.
"And the lesbians, you two look loved up, I bet you never expected your night to end with a bang, did you?"
Laura and Katie are the furthest away from Nick, they could actually run away and escape through the woods surrounding the property if they wanted to, but due to his instability and how unpredictable Nick could be, they stay put.
As hes occupying himself talking to Katie and Laura, I glance over at Sophie and Declyn who are in a pretty similar stance to Hunter and I, I notice she whispers something to him and a small, inconspicuous grin forms on his face but he quickly masks it.
It doesn't take a genius to realise they're planning something.
It's crazy how fast everything has changed, just five minutes ago I was wrapped blissfully in Hunters arms and now, my best friend could lose her life and we're all in danger.
"Nick" Hunter says calmly bringing the attention back to him. "I know you dont want to do this, think about what you're doing."
Nicks mouth twists and his lips scrunch up in thought and after a few seconds he finally lets out a huge, dramatic sigh. "You're totally right, I'm going about this all the wrong way" He says and I feel a little bit of relief seeping into my body. Maybe Hunter can get through to him and talk him out of whatever it was he came here to do...
"That's why I'm going to let you choose for me." Nick adds smiling at Hunter as if hes doing him a huge favour or something.
Fucking delusional prick.
"What?" Hunter asks not understanding what he means.
Nick suddenly throws Tara forward with all his strength and she falls to the floor just in front of us, I scramble to pick her up with Devons help, her eyes soaked with tears and her whole body shakes as she swallows the sobs that are threatening to come out.
"You're going to choose who I shoot first." Nick tells him, Hunter scoffs at the idea.
"You're more fucked up than I realised if you think I'm going to let you hurt anyone I care about"
"But you dont have a choice Hunter, choose, now. Or i'll shoot your pretty little girlfriend in the head."
I gulp as Hunter shakes his head, taking a small, hesitant step toward Nick. There's still quite a bit space between them so hes no threat but I grab the back of his jacket in an attempt to pull him back.
He turns to me, his eyes pleading me to trust him, my heart feels like it's going to explode and bile rises in my throat.
He nods reassuringly at me and I stupidly let him go, I've never been religious but in that moment I find myself praying that Hunter will be okay.
"I'm not going to choose, Nick." Hunter says firmly.
I notice Nicks eyes flicker rapidly between us all before returning to Hunter. His eyes are empty, showing no emotion and giving nothing away.
I see small movement coming from round the side of the house, because of the angle, Nick cant see. It's Candice and Dean and my heart rate suddenly picks up ten fold. They could either rescue us, or add to the bloodshed, depending on how smart they are. Dean looks around, presumably looking for something to use as a weapon but the only thing he comes up with is an old, almost rotten broken branch. It's big and hefty, so could probably cause some damage but it's no gun.
Candice's eyes meet mine and I try desperately not to stare for too long in case Nick clicks on to the distraction. She holds up her phone and then gives me a thumbs up, signalling she's called the police and for the first time since this all started, I feel my body relax a little.
We just need to keep Nick occupied for as long as it takes for the police to arrive.
"Well that's unfortunate. Guess I'll start with you then." Nick says pointing the gun directly at Hunter.
I rush forward and grab Hunters arm. "Please Nick. Think about this." I plead hoping with everything I have that Nick takes pity on me and I can stall him for a little while. "Please" I say again my eyes watering at the thought of something happening to Hunter.
"Your stupid fucking boyfriend made his decision." Nick snaps angrily at me, the rage burning bright in his dead eyes.
Suddenly, all at once, everything happens.
The gun bangs loud almost deafening me, my ears ring as Hunter falls to the floor beside me, blood pouring rapidly from his stomach.
I go to his aid instantly, letting out a loud, blood curdling scream, Tara is beside me crying, begging for Hunter to respond.
Declyn and Devon tackle Nick to the floor and I hear a few more shots go off, I gaze up at them, noticing Declyn sprawled on the floor, writing in agony, blood seeping from his arm.
Dean and Candice appear from their hiding place and as Candice comes to join us huddled around Hunters limp and bleeding body, Dean rushes to help Devon fight Nick.
The gun goes flying, not too far away but far enough that Nick cant get a hold of it and Devon punches Nick over and over and over again.
Even when his body goes still, effectively knocked out he still throws deadly blows towards Nicks head and face.
Sophie rushes over to him, screaming and begging for him to give up and eventually Dean manages to pull him away.
"Hunter" I beg him to answer me but there's no response. "Please Hunter!" I scream willing him to wake up and be fine.
But my efforts are futile. He's lost a lot of blood. Tara and I are covered and I'm even sure there's blood splattered on my face but it doesn't stop me from trying again.
"You need to wake up Hunter. I need you." I tell him in the hope that he can hear me. "You need to take me to Paris! There's still so many things we need to do together. You can't leave me!"
Dean comes over to us, his arm now wrapped up with material from his ripped shirt, and with some struggle and a little help from his wife, pulls off his jacket.
Sophie rips open Hunters shirt and she pushes down hard on Hunter's wound trying to stop the blood flow and I hear a little grunt coming from Hunter.
Under all the blood and gore, I spot a tattoo I've never seen before. It looks raw and new, a small layer of healing skin covering it.
I smile as I remember the time I drew the Mickey Mouse head on Hunters ribs, he actually got it tattooed for real, with my name written beautifully underneath it.
My heart soars.
His grunts of pain are the best and worst sound possible.
It means hes alive but hes in pain. I want to kill that fucker Nick for putting us through this.
I already lost three months of my life because of him, I already lost a little, innocent, unborn baby because of him, I can't lose Hunter too.
I hear the sirens of police cars in the distance and my rage begins to dissipate and be replaced with worry and concern for everyone around me.
Tara looks like she's about to faint. Her body is still and her cries have grown silent, she just stares at nothing in particular.
"He's going to be okay, Tara." I tell her but I don't know if I'm trying to reassure her or convince myself. "He has to be okay" I say barely above a whisper, my hand clutching Hunters tightly.
Before I'm aware of what's happening, she's gone from my side and another shot sounds, I instantly hide my face in Hunters bloodied stomach, the first thought that comes to me is Nick has woken up and hes going to try to kill us all.
When no more sounds are heard I look up, spotting Tara standing over Nicks now dead body with a whole in his chest.
Tara begins to shake, she drops the gun as Devon wraps her in his arms and she cries more than I've ever seen anyone cry. She literally collapses to the floor but Devon goes down with her, securely hugging her to his chest.
Police and paramedics are everywhere within seconds.
We're shoved out of the way while the medics work tirelessly on Hunters unrepsonding body.
He's strong. He'll get through this. He's strong. He has to get through this.
"We have a pulse" I hear one of the paramedics shout as more ambulance crew come over with a stretcher. "We need to get him to hospital. Now" the man orders.
I follow them to the ambulance in a daze, unsure of what's going on around me, I'm on auto pilot, I think my body has finally let the shock take over.
It's over. I keep reminding myself but it doesn't help.
Hunter is hooked up to all kinds of machines the minute we get into the ambulance. I just sit there, starting, dreaming of what our life could be like.
I imagine Hunter and I years from now, blissfully married. I imagine a couple of kids running round, happily squeeling as they play. I imagine growing old with him and telling him everyday how much I love him.
"Em" I hear his croaky, weak voice, at first I think Its not real, it's just my imagination, but then I hear it again. "Emily"
I move the few steps to his side faster than I can blink as the ambulance races toward the local hospital. "Hey you" I smile sadly at him as a stray tear escapes me. "Ive been waiting for you to wake up" I tell him repeating his words back to him that he used when I woke up from my three month sleep.
He smiles but it's weak and he coughs and splutters blood. He still looks handsome. He's gravely pale and his hair is covered in dirt and blood but he still looks like my Hunter.
"I love you Emily Carter"
"Don't say that! Why are you saying that like it's the last time? You're going to be fine." I scold him. I refuse to believe anything else.
"Ive got a whole in my stomach squirt, it's not looking good." He tells me and though I know what hes saying is true, I still shake my head.
"You dont get to die on me Hunter Evans. I plan on spending the rest of my life irritating the shit out of you so don't you dare die now. Got that?"
A small chuckle escapes him, but hes barely awake and more tears stream down my face. "Promise?" he asks gently, its only just audible so I lean forward as I reply.
"I promise" I whisper just before his body goes limp and I hear the machine beside him.
Beeeeeeeeep...
Please dont hate me!
Okay, so I know I said there was one more chapter but again I got a little carried away.
Next one is definitely the last chapter/epilogue.