"Yes...I saw her yesterday." I told the police. "Yesterday was my eighteenth birthday...she called around nine last night. I was tired and had a really bad headache, so I went to bed early." I said slowly. "Now...can you tell me why you're here officers?" The two officers, one tall and medium built with blonde, shaggy hair, the other short and chubby with red hair, starting to bald, looked at each other and hesitated. "Your grandmother, Shyane, was this morning...dead. We think she killed herself." "What??? No! She can't be! She wouldn't!" I fell onto the couch. Tears were streaming down my face. Someone started knocking on my door. I went to open it. "Mariah! Answer your door!" I realized who it was instantly.
I opeed the door and there he was. Dan. My best friend. He has short brown hair. He's about five feet nine inches tall. I hugged him tightly before he could even get through the front door. "Mariah, what's wrong?" Dan asked, letting me cry on his shoulder. "Shyane...she's dead." Dan put his arms around me. "Oh my God..what happened?" "They said that they think she killed herself." I answered. "There's no way she would...she loves herself too much. She's a very self-centered person, she thinks that she is a greater creation than anyone else." Dan explained to Gerald, the small, balding officer. "What's your name, boy?" Jenkins, the tall, blonde asked. "Daniel Vaughn. I'm a close friend of Mariah's." he replied.
"Sounds like you didn't like Shyane." Jenkins said. "No, I didn't...no one did, not even her husband, Mitch. He started having an affair with a co-worker, Jenna Reilly. She hated Shyane more than anyone." Dan replied. "Enough to kill her?" Officer Gerald asked thoughtfully, brushing through his goatee. "Maybe. She's capable of more things than most people think she is." I stayed silent. I still had my face buried in Dan's shoulder. "Did you notice if Shyane acted weird her last days?" Officer Jenkins asked. Dan shook his head. That's when I lifted my head off of Dan's shoulder. "I did." "Come and sit." Officer Gerald suggested. We sat down on the couch. "Tell me, mam." Officer Jenkins pushed on.
"Well, she had seen Jenna that day...with Mitch, my grandfather. They were at the Silver Palm. A very well-known resturaunt. Of course, she comes crying to me about it. She-" Dan finished my sentence. "She unfortunately relied on Mariah. Expected her to fix everything. And if she didn't or couldn't, Shyane would put her down, tell her that she was worthless." I continued on. "Ya, and so she felt really bad about what she had said and asked for forgiveness yesterday...my birthday. My cell was dead all day until I got home. I plugged it in and fell asleep on the couch around nine. My phone showed that I had one message from her around ten. I listened to it this morning."
"Can we listen to it?" Jenkins asked. "Sure, of course." I put it on speaker. Shyane started singing, "Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday my dear Mariah, happy birthday to you! I love you sweety. I'm so sorry I said the things that I did. Please forgive me. If you do, give me a call back sweety. Goodnight, I love you." It ended. I hung the phone up quickly so they wouldn't hear the one Dan sent me. I hadn't gotten to listen to it yet. I started crying and laid my head on Dan's shoulder. "So I called her this morning to accept her apology, and she didn't answer." Then about an hour later you two showed up. Gerald looked at Dan and I and said, "Well, thank you Mariah and Dan. We'll be back as soon as we find out anything else." I looked at the clock...six pm. I got up and led them to the front door.
"Thank you so much officers." I said. "Oh, and mam? Happy birthday." I closed the door quickly. I slid down on the floor and started crying. Dan walked over and picked me up off the floor. He led me over to the couch and sat down with me. I buried my face in his shoulder. "It's going to be ok, Mariah...I promise...let me take you out somewhere to get you something to eat." Dan offered. "No, I think maybe we should stay here and order from somewhere that delivers. Could you stay with me tonight, please?" I asked, wiping away tears. "Of course I will." Dan answered.
He stood up. "I'll go order right now. What do you want?" "I don't care, you choose." i said, looking for a pen. "Chinese it is. I'll be right back." Dan said, starting to walk to the kitchen. "Wait...just out of curiosity, what blood type are you?" I asked. "AB positive." he answered. ok, cool, me too." I said, writing it down on my hand. Dan smiled and walked into the kitchen. "Mariah? Did you by chance kill Shyane?" Dan yelled. I knew Dan was a joker, but he would never joke about such a sensitive subject. "Hell no!" I yelled back. "Why would you even joke about that?" I walked into the kitchen and saw Dan with a bloody knife in his hands. "Oh my God!
Did you cut yourself?!" I asked, getting worried and looking him up and down for cuts or anything. "No, I didn't. I'm fine". This was in your sink." Dan said. He had oven mitts on so that his fingerprints wouldn't be on the knife. "That knife has been missing for like almost a week. We have to call Jenkins." I said. "No, we can't. Your fingerprints are on the handle." Dan said. I could tell that he was really worried. "No, I use that knife to cut meat. I always wear gloves so that the blod of the meat doesnt get on my hands." I assured him. "Fine...call Jenkins." Dan said, unsure of what to think. I grabbed my phone and called him. "We found a bloody knife in my sink. I've been missing that knife for almost a week."
"Did someone break into your house recently?" Jenkins asked. "No, not that I know of. Although I was away in Colorado with friends for four days." I replied. "Is there anyone to confirm that?" Jenkins asked. "Ya, Dan. He was with me." I answered. "Ok, we'll be there in fifteen minutes." Jenkins assured me. "Ok, thank you." I hung up. "He'll be here in fifteen minutes." I told Dan. A knock at my door. "Hm...It's only been about five minutes." I said to myself. Dan went and answered the door. I heard a gunshot. "Dan!" I screamed as I ran through the house to Dan. Dan was laying on the floor with a gunshot wound on the left side of his chest. The pool of blood was rapidly growing. I leaned in to listen to listen to Dan's heartbeat. He groaned softly. "Dan?! Dan!!" Dan opened his eyesd a little bit. "Dan!!!" I ripped my shirt off and wrapped it around his chest to slow the bleeding. There were tears rolling down my face. Another knock on my door. "Who is it???" I screamed in between sobs. "It's Officer Jenkins!" I opened the door and hid my face in his chest. "There's someone in my house! There's someone in my house!!! Dan opened the door and I heard a gunshot!" I cried. "Dan got shot in the chest." "Is he still alive???" Jenkins asked. "Ya." I answered quickly. "Please help me!" Jenkins got out his gun and motioned for more police officers to come in. I sat back down on the floor by Dan and was trying to keep him awake. They checked all through the house. Then I heard someone yell, "Found him!"
I jumped up. "Maybe it's better that you stay here." Jenkins suggested. "No! I want to know who shot him! I'm gonna kill him!" I screamed, more tears falling from my eyes. "Now, Mariah, don't sink down to his level." Jenkins warned. I ran over to the police officer that had ahold of the man. "Laiden?!?" I screamed. "He was under your bed mam, do you know him?" One of the officers asked. "Ya, this is Laiden, my ex boyfriend...of three years. He's always hated Dan. He thinks that there is something going on between us." I said. "Laiden, did you shoot Dan?" Officer Jenkins asked. "Well, there must be, the way you cling on to him so much!" Laiden yelled at me. "Well, there isnt...the difference is that he was there for me when my dad died and when my mom and siblings moved away! All the shit I've gone through, and you haven't been there...not once!!!" I screamed back.
"Laiden! Did you shoot Dan?" Jenkins asked again. "Hell ya, I shot him. And I'm proud of it too." Laiden laughed. "You sicken me!" I cried and smacked him across the face. "I hate you!" I walked over and sat back down on the floor by Dan and grabbed his hand. "Stay awake, Dan, stay awake, please." I said quietly to him. I looked up at Laiden as they passed by with red, wet eyes. A single tear fell from Laiden's eye as they took him away. I looked back down to Dan. "Don't worry Dan, I'm going to take care of you." Dan smiled weakly and closed his eyes. I laid my head on his shoulder. "Long day." I laughed nervously. Dan laughed softly.
"Think you want to remember this?" I asked, just trying to get him to talk. "Hm...ya, actually I do." he said. "Why?" I asked. I was confused. "You're taking care of me. What's there not to like?" Dan smiled. "Um, maybe that you're in a lot of pain." "Really? Well seeing your face takes the pain away." Dan said weakly. He lifted his hand and put it on my face. I put my hand on his hand. He closed his eyes slowly. Then his hand fell limp. Dan started having a seizure. "Oh my God...help! Help!!!" I screamed. "Get an ambulance!" Jenkins yelled. "Now!!!" "Dan! Please stop. Dan!" I started crying. I laid my head on his shoulder and held on tightly to his hand.
I saw people gathering around Dan and I. I started getting light-headed. Then I fainted. I woke up in a hospital room. I was laying in a chair right next to Dan, who was in the bed. I was still holding onto his hand. "Mariah." Someone whispered. It wasn't Dan. He was asleep. Jenkins and Gerald walked in. "Oh, hi." I said, not taking my eyes off of Dan. "So, how are you doing, Mariah?" Gerald asked. "Well, as hard as it may be to believe, I'm doing horrible. My ex tried to kill my best friend, how would you be?" I said, wiping away tears.
"I understand what you're going through, Mariah." Jenkins said. "No, actually you don't. You see, because if I lost Dan, it would kill me. My mom moved away after my stepdad died, and my dad died in a car crash a few months ago. My siblings were in the car with him. They lived. They live with my mom in Arkansas now. I'm supposed to be getting them in a couple weeks. They want to live with me. My mom is just too much of a wreck to take care of them. And now Shyane. So don't you tell me that you understand what i'm going through. You have no idea. I have no one left but Dan." I said, wiping away more tears. "You have Mitch." Jenkins reminded me.
"Hardly...he's too busy with Jenna. They're away on a cruise now. They left this afternoon." I said. "Damnit! Ok when are they getting back?" Gerald asked. "Um, next Friday, I think. Last night Mitch was going to stay at my place. I kicked Jenna's ass out on the road. Mitch got really pissed and left." I said. "Well, you failed to mention that this morning." Jenkins said sternly. "You never asked...and besides, I had forgotten about the cruise. The important thing is that I told you. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to take care of Dan." I said coldly.
"Ok, Mariah. We'll leave for now, but we'll back later." Gerald assured me. "Bye." I said. I was still holding Dan's hand. He started squeezing my hand, then let go. His heart rate went flat. "Oh my God...Help!" I screamed. Doctors started rushing in and out. "Let go of his hand, mam! We have to shock him!" one of the doctors yelled. "No!" I cried. Jenkins had to pry my hand out of his. "Dan!" I screamed and tried to fight my way back to him. But Jenkins had a firm grip on me and pulled me back. He turned my face away from Dan so I couldn't see them shock him. I hid my face in Jenkin's chest. The tears were streaming down my face. I could hear and feel the electrocution that was going through his body. They had to shock him four times. "I have a heartbeat!" One of the doctors yelled.
Dan took some really deep, yet calm breaths. I broke away from Jenkins and ran over to Dan and grabbed his hand. "Dan!" I cried happily. Dan groaned. "I thought I lost you." I said in between sobs. Dan smiled weakly. "You're not going to get rid of me that easily." I wiped away more tears. Doctors started leaving. Before long, they were all out of the room. I felt the sudden impulse to kiss him. But Gerald came up behind me and grabbed my shoulder. "That was quite a scare, wasn't it?" he asked. I thought to myself, "That's not Gerald...Oh my God, that's -" I slowly looked up at him. Laiden.
Jenkins and Gerald were already gone. "Asshole. Aren't you supposed to be in prison?" I smirked. "Yes, but I had to finish something..." Laiden pulled out a gun and pointed it at Dan and pulled the trigger. I didn't even think about it. I jumped out in front of the bullet. What got me in the stomach would have gotten Dan in the head. I curled over on the floor in pain. Laiden dropped the gun. "Oh my God...what have I done?" He ran out the hospital door. "Mariah!" Dan yelled. It echoed in my head. "What's going on in - Oh my God!" A doctor screamed. "We need more doctors in here. Fast!" I was in so much pain that the room was spinning. My eyesight was going in and out of focus. There were doctors running around and surrounding me. They started lifting me onto a stretcher. It took all of my strength, but i grabbed Dan's hand and wouldn't let go.
"Mariah." Dan said gently. "Go with them, I'll be ok." I couldn't see straight. "No..." I said weakly. "Mam, you are losing blood fast, you could die." A doctor said, trying to sound calm. "Mariah, go, I'll find you...I promise." Dan said. I hesitated. "...ok." I let go of his hand. I could see that Dan was crying as they rushed me away. I was crying too. I didn't want to leave him. "Where - where's Laiden?" I asked weakly. "Laiden, mam?" the doctor asked as she rushed me to another room. "Yes, he tried to..." I lost conciousness in the middle of my sentence. I had lost too much blood.
I woke up the next morning. Someone was holding my hand. I looked over. It was Dan. I groaned. "Am I alive?" I asked. I didn't know what else to ask. I felt light-headed. "Well, I would hope so." Dan smiled. I smiled back weakly. There was an IV in my arm. I looked up. AB positive. Dan pulled up his sleeve. "Dan?" I asked. "Ya?" he replied. "Thank you. So much." "You're very welcome. You saved my life. I kind of owe you." Dan said. "Mariah?" Dan asked. "Yes, Dan?" "I -" Dan was cut off by a doctor coming in to check up on me. She wrote something down on a clipboard. "How are you feeling, Mariah?" She asked. "Really good." I answered. "That's good, very good." Then she walked out, right as Jenkins and Gerald walked in. "Mariah, who did this?" Jenkins asked. I looked at Dan and back at Jenkins. "I have a question. Did you by chance have an escapee?" Jenkins hesitated. "Ya, Laiden escaped this morning."
"Wow...just to think, if you had told me when you came in earlier...all of this could've been avoided. You know that, right?" I asked coldly. "Are you saying this is all my fault, Mariah?" Jenkins asked. "Well, not all...I mean there's no way you could've know that he'd come back and try to kill Dan again, right?" I asked sarcastically. "I don't need your sarcasm." Jenkins started lifting his voice. "Just leave, you have your information." I said. "Fine, come on Gerald." They started to walk out the door. Jenkins turned to Dan and me. "One more question...if he tried to kill Dan, why did you get shot?" "Pretty much he tried to kill Dan and I took the bullet." I answered. "Ok...and I'm sorry Mariah." Jenkins apologized. "It's fine." I answered. They walked out of the room.
"I still can't believe you took the bullet for me...what were you thinking?" Dan asked. "Just what i'm always thinking -" I stopped when I heard someone scream, then saw someone falling from the roof. I jumped up out of bed, holding onto my wound. Dan got up and helped me to the window and we both looked out. It was Laiden. He had jumped from a ten story building. "Oh my God..."