Lyra Parish - Weak Without Him

"Jennifer. Jennifer, please wake up."

Abbot's men surrounded us as gunfire shot through the room. Each of them split off to clear the room and surrounding hallways. They took people out one by one, and the only part of me that still cared held Jennifer. Luke stared at Jennifer and me on the bed. We were the only ones in the room. We couldn't leave until I knew we would make it out safely.

"I'm so sorry," Luke said.

I swallowed, and as I formed my words, that's when Jesse came up behind him from the shadows. She held a pistol to my brother's head with an evil grimace on her face that was directed at me. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion, but all too fast.

"Jesse?"

Shock covered me and I barely comprehended the scenario.

"You should have fucking loved me back, Finnley."

She loaded a round in the chamber, and I heard it click.

"You should have fucked her, Luke. I told you not to cross me. I warned you," she said and burst into laughter. "I told you not to make me question you."

I moved Jennifer from my lap, laid her on the bed, and stood.

"Jesse."

"You broke my fucking heart," she screamed. Tears streamed down her face.

"I loved you. I would have done anything for you. I would have died for you. Killed for you. Oh… I will kill." Her words trailed off, and I knew that what I was dealing with was more than an infatuation.

"Jesse. Come here." I opened my arms. I would hold her. I would squeeze the fucking life out of her if I got my arms around her, but I needed my brother out of the line of fire. I would lie.

"Come here. Come to me. I care for you."

She lowered the gun, and for a moment, I thought she would do it willingly.

"No. You're a fucking liar." She moved the gun from my brother's head and pointed it directly at me. Her nostrils flared with rage, and I opened my palms to her.

"Please, Jesse."

"You know why I took her? Because I wanted you to hurt the same way you hurt me. I wanted you to be without something that you want. I want you to understand what it feels like to lose someone you love."

"I know what it feels like to lose someone I love. My wife. I loved her, Jesse, and she's dead. I may not love you the same way you love me, and I'm sorry for that, but I do care about you," I said.

"No, no, no. I'm sorry," she said and slowly squeezed the trigger on the gun. Luke turned around and slammed his fist into her face, and when the gun went off, I felt a burning sensation rip through my side. I hunched over and fell to my knees. I touched the side of my shirt, and my hand came away red. Another man appeared from the shadows and began fighting with Luke. He was able to pull the gun away from Jesse, and the man and Jesse struggled to get away. Luke chased after them. I heard shots being fired in the distance. The last thing I remembered was the gun dropping to the ground, and Luke laying me down and pulling up my shirt. The look on his face when he saw it. I looked down and saw ripped flesh and blood. The pain was too intense.

"You'll be okay," he said. "Mean people always live forever."

"Asshole," I whispered, and he smiled.

"That's you. I'm going to get you out of here."

"And Jennifer."

"Yes, and Jennifer, I promise."

The pain shot through me more intensely when I tried to sit up, and I sucked in a wavering breath. Screaming and yelling filled the room when Abbot and his men entered.

"Bloody hell. I can't leave you two alone for five minutes."

Sable, a bulky man with a handlebar mustache that curled on the ends, helped me to my feet. Once I was standing, he wrapped his arm around my waist and steadied me. Luke walked beside me with Jennifer dangling in his arms.

"You were going to fuck her. You bastard," I mumbled.

"I wouldn't have. Abbot told me to play along, that he would be here tonight. I didn't think I would be in a room full of people though. That threw me for a fucking loop," Luke said.

"I wish you would have told me."

"I know. I'm sorry. I had to do this. Jesse wanted to kill her and almost did several times. If I wouldn't have been here..."

I turned my head and looked over at my brother. Seriousness covered his face.

"Jesse is a fucking sociopath. A lunatic and egotistical maniac. We aren't safe. She won't stop until we are all dead or until she has you."

I swallowed and saw actual fear in his eyes.

"Neither of those things will ever fucking happen."

Strong hands held my body tight. Slightly tilting my head to view my capturer, I saw a face that I had learned to disregard. My hate lingered. Luke said he tried to save my life, but after everything, could he really be trusted? What part did he play? He wasn't the ringleader, but rather a caged tiger. With everything I had, I slammed my slack hands at his chest. Weak from the drugs, my world shook.

"Shh. It’s going to be okay," Luke said.

We traveled forward but weren’t alone. Several footsteps shuffled as we walked, but I couldn’t see who surrounded us. The show must be over. Did Luke have sex with me? I wanted to remember. I needed to remember what happened, but the memory didn't exist. Each time they incapacitated me, they took away a little piece of my life. Life. Jesse would end mine without thinking twice.

I panicked.

Could Luke really save me from her and the men that seemed to do whatever she said? I let out a whimper as fear consumed me.

"Jennifer?" A voice, one that I never thought I'd hear again, spoke.

I couldn’t see Finnley because of the way Luke held me in his arms, but I tried. I struggled. I needed to see him. I needed to know he was real and not a figment of the drugs that mingled with my blood.

"You’re safe now. I’m here."

I stared at him. Water streamed down my face, and I realized I was crying, crying because he had come for me. He wiped away the tears that continued to fall.

"Are you real?" I whispered, not sure if I spoke or just imagined it.

Finnley laughed. Then his face distorted and he winced. "As real as I'll ever be, Miss Downs."

A man with blond shaggy hair grabbed Finnley's shoulder and spoke into his ear. "We have to get the fuck out of here. Now. You need a doctor."

I tried to focus on Finn, the man who visited, and sometimes haunted, my dreams. He pushed out a smile and tucked a few loose strands of hair behind my ear. "I’m never letting you out of my reach again." His words echoed and everything dulled. Good, I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs, but no words formed.

My eyelids were like glue and once they closed, I couldn’t open them. I dove back into an unconscious pool of my fears. I screamed to be released, to wake up, to be back in the dank hall looking into Finnley’s eyes wondering why he needed a doctor. But instead, I was in a horrible inescapable realm.

A woman stood in front of me: my mother, bruised and broken. I focused on her face and eerie smile, as she transformed into Jesse. My blood curdled. The drugs allowed the dark thoughts to capture me and run freely. I hated it.

I felt pain shoot through my body, and I was back in the hallway. Luke didn't hold me anymore, and the cold cement felt icy on my half naked body. Finn leaned over me with fear in his eyes.

In the faint distance, a gunshot resonated and screams confirmed Finn's expression.

"Can you walk? Jennifer. Focus. Can you walk? The exit is straight ahead. Right up those stairs."

More gunshots resonated behind us and with every ounce of strength I had, I forced myself into a sitting position. Although my world shook, I knew I could do this. I didn't want to die here.

My balance wasn't right, but Finn steadied me. I wrapped my arm around his waist and felt something wet on my fingers. When I looked down, I saw dark liquid, blood. We made eye contact, and he shook his head no.