Chapter Thirty-Two

Gunman

Ryan and I went over and tried to calm Nicole down as much as we could. We walked over to her and sat down beside her. I didn't like seeing her this upset. I also didn't know that her and Kyle were that close, she hadn't really mentioned him to me but when she did, she said that they sort of had a falling out after her and Jay split.

She was on her knees beside him and had her head resting on his chest. She was sobbing and her tears visibly soaked his shirt. I couldn't believe that Jay had just shot his best friend. I had told Everett to call for help and he said that they would be here as quick as they could, but they were swamped with calls. Apparently today was a bad day for Beckton.

I was rubbing circles on her back while Ryan was massaging her neck and shoulders. This was our lame yet desperate attempt to calm her. Ryan and I had taken our eyes off of Jay because he was clearly unconscious, which was our first mistake. Jay had gotten up and retrieved the baseball bat and the gun. He walked over quickly and quietly so that we couldn't hear him, hit Nicole over the head with the bat, and aimed the gun at me. He just pulled the trigger when Ryan jumped in front of me and took the bullet. Nicole fell unconscious.

I lunged at Jay, taking down his left arm which held the gun so that he couldn't shoot me. I tried taking the gun from him but his fingers wouldn't budge. They remained securely wrapped around the handle. Instead, I put my hand around his and put my index finger overtop of his on the trigger. I moved my hands so that the gun was pointed to him and he tried to push it towards me. I didn't want to kill him, but he killed potentially two people today. There almost wasn't another option since the police weren't going to be here for a little while. I used all of the strength I could find and pushed the gun at Jay, and when I had an opening, I pulled the trigger. Jay fell limp to the ground.

I scrambled to my feet and ran to Ryan. He was lying on the ground, still awake but probably not for long. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up so that he was sitting, back against a tree.

"Hey Ry. C'mon buddy you gotta keep your eyes on me got it? Eyes. On. Me"

"C..Chris" he managed "take care of Addison"

"No. You're gonna take care of her you got that? You're gonna take care of her"

Just then sirens blared and two ambulances and two police cruisers pulled up to the house.

"HELP" I screamed "He's hurt!! HELP PLEASE"

A couple of paramedics came over and put Ryan on a stretcher and wheeled him into the ambulance.

"Keep him alive" I pleaded to one of the paramedics.

"Of course" she smiled. She closed the door behind her and they sped off to the hospital.

They pronounced Jay dead on the scene, and it turns out I shot him in the head. I didn't really notice through the adrenaline rush. They took a little bit longer to examine Kyle and said that there still may be hope for him but a very small amount of it. They loaded him into the ambulance and sped after the other one. One other ambulance came and checked out Nicole even though she was still unconscious, and then they examined me to make sure I was okay. They said that Nicole may have a concussion and they were going to take her to the hospital as well. Addison and I climbed into the ambulance with her while Everett made sure everyone at the party got home safely.

Everett and Addison were inside the house when this whole thing happened and somehow, nobody on the inside knew what was happening outside. They felt absolutely awful and apologized about a hundred thousand times and said that if they would have known, they would've done everything they could to help.

I held Addison in my arms. She was shaking and terrified, as well as sobbing because her boyfriend may die, and her sister is unconscious and may have a head injury. I had to stay strong for her no matter how much I felt like curling up into a ball and dying. I assured Addison that everything would be fine and that the doctors would take good care of them both, even though I was unsure of this myself.

As we reached the hospital, we followed the paramedics into the emergency room and they wheeled Nicole into one of the rooms where they could give her a CT scan to check for any possible head or brain injury. Addison and I went to the receptionist and asked for Ryan Baxter.

"They just wheeled him into surgery. Are you family?" she asked.

"I'm his brother and this is his fiancee" I said. It wasn't technically a lie. He was pretty much my brother and him and Addison were completely mad for each other so it's only a matter of time before they're actually engaged.

"Okay well you can wait in the waiting room over there until he comes out but that may be several hours" she said.

"Well what about Nicole Collins? Can we see her?" Addison asked.

"Are you her family as well?"

"I am her fiancee and this is her sister" I said.

"Alright, they just put her in for a CT. She'll be out in about thirty minutes. You can wait outside room 627 that's where they will be putting her" she smiled.

Room 627. The exact room her mother died in.

"Thanks so much" Addison said.

I showed Addison up to the room.

"How do you know where you're going so well?" she questioned, a puzzled look on her makeup smeared face.

"Her mum was in this room when she died" I sighed sadly.

"Oh no" she said.

When we reached the room, I turned to her and wiped the wet mascara off her face and dried her tears. I pulled her into my chest and stroked her hair. We were very very close. Even though I hadn't seen her in three years, we have always been really close. Some people even thought that we were a couple.

We sat together outside of room 627 and waited for Nicole's arrival. After about thirty-five to forty minutes, they brought a very conscious Nicole into the room.

"Her memory of the accident may have been slightly altered so she may not remember it. But the rest of her memory should be intact" the doctor smiled. He looked familiar.

I read his name tag. Dr. Philips.

"Good to see you again Dr. Philips" I said shaking his hand.

"You as well Mr. Garrett" he smiled.

"She's going to be alright though?" I asked.

"Absolutely. She will make a perfect recovery and she'll be all yours in just a few days" Dr. Philips chuckled.

"Thank God" I breathed.

I waved goodbye to Dr. Philips and walked into the room where Addison was already talking to Nicole. Addison held her hand and re-told her about the party. I was thankful though that the last thing she remembered was our engagement. Addison asked her to describe how I proposed and she got it spot on. I couldn't be happier.

She looked over my way and her smile instantly grew.

"Hey darlin" I spoke "how ya feelin?"

"Better now that you're here" she said.

She sprung from the bed and leapt into my arms without caring about the headache she must have right now. I wrapped my arms around her little body and became suddenly aware that I could have lost her today. I squeezed her tighter at this thought and was extremely grateful that she was here with me.

Over the course of the next two or so hours, I filled her in on every detail of the party and the incident with Jay. I left out the part where I killed him. The police had said that since I shot him in the defense of myself and of others, I wouldn't be charged or jailed for it. She was blown away that Jay would do something like that and why she ever trusted him. She became extremely upset when I mentioned what happened to Kyle and she said that she could briefly remember what had happened to him.

"I remember Jay shot him and I ran over to his side. He..he said he loved me. Like really loved me and said that he trusted Chris to take good care of me if he couldn't. I told him that he was my 'brother from another mother' just like we used to as kids and that I loved him as my brother and he told me that he loved me once more before he died" she wept.

"He might not be dead honey, but his chances of living are extremely slim" I said cradling her in my arms.

"He's dead Chris. He was shot in the chest. He's dead" she said tears rolling down her cheeks.

"Hey!" I said "he will be if you keep thinking like that! The doctors are going to do everything they can to save him"

"Alright" she said "what about Ryan? Will he be okay?"

"I sure hope so" I said "I don't want to try living without him"

"Me neither" Addison piped up.

"I don't want to lose my other big brother as well" she sighed.

"You won't" I assured her. "You won't"

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Oh NO!! Ryan could die!!! Kyle might be dead!! But Nicole, Chris, and Addison are okay! :D

Thank the Lord above Jay is dead. I hope the devil kept his seat warm.

I would love to hear any predictions, ideas or questions about Lt. Garrett so keep commenting and voting!

There are about 14 or so chapters left of the story not including the two epilogues and alternate ending. It does sound like a lot and a lot happens in those chapters so it won't be over for a while :)

Happy reading!

Eagle_Eye_13 xx