When Lauren and Stephanie got to the bottom of the steps in front of Harry's house, they paused to think about what to do next. Before Stephanie put her down, she tilted her head and said, "I think we should walk down the street a little, in case someone other than Sarah or Tip comes out."
Lauren nodded, "Good idea."
They slowly made their way to the corner, Stephanie being careful not to trip over the uneven bricks in the sidewalk. When they reached the end of the street, she crouched to put Lauren down on a set of stone front steps. Taking a seat next to her, Stephanie groaned, strained from carrying Lauren and still sore from the beating she had received earlier, before she was rescued.
Lauren put her hand on her back, soothingly rubbing it up and down.
"We need to call the police," Stephanie said, worried about her sister.
Lauren nodded and reached into her pocket for her cell phone. When she didn't find it, she switched to her other pocket. She wrinkled her forehead. "Shit," she muttered. "My phone must have fallen out when I fell. Shit!" Lauren thought for a second. "That's my grandfather's Mercedes double-parked over there," she pointed to the car. "But he didn't leave it running," she sighed.
Stephanie closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against her hand, trying to think of a solution.
"Do you know if there's a police department in walking distance?" she asked, looking at Lauren.
Lauren shook her head, trying to remember if she'd ever seen a station in the area. "I think the closest one is over near Government Center," she said.
Stephanie sighed, knowing she didn't have the strength to carry her all that way, not in the condition she was in right now.
Sensing her worry, Lauren said, "I can wait here. Just go without me."
Stephanie looked at her intently. "Baby, I'm not letting you leave my sight ever again. I'm not going anywhere without you." She leaned her face close to hers, their noses touching. "I love you," she finished, kissing her lips softly.
Lauren opened her eyes after the kiss and sighed. Her face still close to Stephanie's, she said, "I don't know what else to do. I'm basically an invalid right now." She winced, pointing to her feet.
Stephanie gave her a sympathetic look. "Well, at least we know you didn't break anything. You were able to put pressure on them. You just need time to heal, baby," she said, wrapping her arm around her shoulder.
Lauren leaned her head into the crook of Stephanie's neck and closed her eyes. Though her feet still throbbed, she felt calm in the girl's arms.
"I'm...I'm sorry, Steph," she whispered, her eyes still closed.
Stephanie, confused by the apology, looked down at her. "Why are you sorry? I'm the one who broke up with you...and, believe me, I'm the one that's sorry."
Lauren shook her head and sat up to look at her. She took the girl's hands in hers. "No, babe. This is all my fault," she said as tears began to form in her eyes. She swallowed hard, unable to continue. She felt so guilty.
Stephanie took her in her arms again. "Shhh," she cooed. "Let's not talk about this right now."
They stayed on the steps like this for a few minutes until they both jumped when two police cars and an ambulance wailed around the corner and down the street, stopping in front of Harry's house. They watched in shock as the police officers ran into the house with their guns in their hands. They looked at each other fearfully.
Lauren shouted, "Go!" to Stephanie. "Be careful!" she added, giving her a kiss before the girl leapt off the steps to get closer to the scene.
As she jogged to the house, she prayed that Sarah was okay. She was comforted knowing that they had only heard one gunshot and none after they left the house.
When she made it to the ambulance, she asked the driver what was happening. He shook his head and said, "Stay back, ma'am. There's two dead in there."
Stephanie's eyes bulged. "TWO?" she yelled.
When Lauren heard Stephanie yell, she panicked. Adrenaline rushed through her body as she struggled to her feet. She cried out in pain and began to hop over to the ambulance. Holding onto the brick buildings as she ran, her feet throbbed and started to become numb. Seeing Stephanie kneeling on the ground and sobbing, she mustered all of her strength to push past the pain and full-on sprint to her.
"Steph!" she yelled between her own sobs. When she got about 20 feet away, her feet gave out and she started crawling to her instead. "Steph!" she cried.
Stephanie, distraught and wailing, didn't look up. She pounded the pavement with her fists, shouting, "No! No! No!" at the ground.
Lauren, overcome with worry for her, crawled faster, pounding her knees against the road. "Baby!" she cried out. When she finally reached the girl, she pulled her into her arms and rocked her back and forth.
Lights in the other buildings started to turn on and neighbors came outside to see what all the commotion was about. They stared at the two girls in the middle of the road, looks of horror on their face.
When a police officer came outside and started to hang yellow tape around Harry's front door, Lauren's heart sank.
Two more police cars and a crime scene van pulled up to the house, coming down the opposite side of the one-way street. Stephanie's wails got louder when she saw them, sobbing and panting into Lauren's chest.
Lauren, desperate for answers, shouted to a police officer nearby. "Sir! Please!" she pleaded. "Her sister's in there. Please tell us what happened!"
He walked over to them and crouched. "It's two white males," he said. "I didn't hear anything about a female." He left with a nod and a look of sympathy in his eyes.
Stephanie, hearing his description, stopped crying so hard and looked up at Lauren, who had a look of shock. Knowing that Sarah wasn't hurt, she wrapped her arms around Lauren now.
"What if it's Tip?" Lauren said, staring off in the distance.
Thinking that she would have been more concerned that her grandfather's car was parked in front of the house and that he could be one of the deceased men, she was baffled by Lauren's more pressing concern for Tip instead.
Stephanie began crying again, this time for her friend. It's two white males, rang through her head. She squeezed her eyes shut, praying for this nightmare to end.
She opened her eyes and saw an officer holding open the front door. She held her breath when the first stretcher appeared, a long black bag on it. Shortly after, a second stretcher with the same contents was wheeled out and placed into the ambulance. As the EMT slammed the doors closed, she let out a long breath. Lauren still lay in her arms, her face buried in Stephanie's neck.
When the front door opened again, this time she screamed when she saw Tip and Sarah walk out, hand in hand.
"SARAH!" Stephanie yelled.
Lauren's eyes widened when she saw Tip. "Tip!" she gasped.
When the two saw the girls laying in the road, they both ran to them. Sarah crashed her body into Stephanie's arms and Tip did the same to Lauren. All four of them exchanged hugs and tearful looks, taking turns holding onto one another. The reunion was interrupted when an officer approached them.
"Sir, Ma'am," he said to Tip and Sarah. "We'd like to take you to the station to fill out a report." They looked at each other before nodding to the officer.
Tip pulled out his keys and handed them to Stephanie. He gave her a tight hug and said in her ear, "It's so good to see you. Take Lauren back to my apartment. We'll be back as soon as we can." He smiled at her sadly and got up, taking Sarah with him.
Lauren looked at Stephanie. "You're not going to tell the police what happened to you in there?"
Stephanie shook her head. "He's dead now," she shrugged.
They got up and walked the two blocks to Tip's apartment. Lauren, stumbling and leaning on Stephanie for support, was now able to put more pressure on her feet.
Once inside, they fell onto the couch, sighing from exhaustion. They remained silent for several moments, the weight of the day's events catching up to them. Lauren stared at the black television screen, until Stephanie's voice drew her attention.
"What are you thinking about, Laur?" she asked softly, pulling the girl's feet into her lap and gently rubbing them.
Lauren slunk down further into the cushions and watched the massage. When she didn't answer, Stephanie didn't press it. Instead, she stood up and said, "I'll be right back." She pointed at her with a small grin. "Don't go anywhere."
Five minutes later, she appeared again and held her hand out. As soon as Lauren took it, she was being led to the bathroom.
"Thank God Tip isn't cheap and pays for a housekeeper. That tub was sparkling clean," she said with a tone of delight.
Lauren's mouth dropped when she saw a bathtub filled with bubbles and a few candles lit around it.
"Don't get the wrong idea," Stephanie said, smirking. "I'm not trying to seduce you right now. I just think we could both use a bath and I'm never letting you out of my sight again, remember?"
Lauren smiled lovingly at her, touched by the thoughtful gesture.
As they each sat at their own end of the bathtub, their tense muscles unwinding in the warm water, they didn't say much, only giving each other small looks and smiles every now and then.
The candlelit bathroom was dim and it wasn't until Lauren splashed her way to Stephanie's end that she noticed a red wound on her arm. She gasped when she got a closer look and saw how raised and swollen the skin appeared. Her brow furrowed when she read the name it spelled. Brushing her fingers around the area, careful not to touch the cuts, she looked up at Stephanie.
"Did he do that to you?" she swallowed, trying not to cry.
Stephanie closed her eyes.
Lauren continued to circle the wound with her fingers.
"Why did he put your mother's name on you?" she asked, confused.
Stephanie gulped, remembering the last thing she saw before she awoke in Harry's sitting room that night.