All was perfect, and nothing could possibly ruin this. Or... so they thought. The perfect dream that they had been experiencing suddenly turned into a horrible nightmare.
As the last rays of the sun disappeared, Miley sighed and smiled contently. Nothing can go wrong now, she thought, it's been the perfect day! Startling the both of them, a loud booming noise rang out, breaking the silence. Miley jumped slightly, wondering what that was. The same noise came again, and almost right after, Miley felt a searing pain in her leg. "Ahh!" she gasped in pain, falling to the ground. "Miley!" Jake cried. Miley figured out what the noises were. Gunshots. "Jake, you gotta move!" she exclaimed, clutching her bad leg. "Wait, I'll get you out of here too," he reassured her. Another gunshot rang out, and this time, the bullet met its intended target.
Jake fell to the ground, unconscious. "Jake!" Miley screamed. "Jake! Wake up!" Jake showed no sign of responding. Miley crawled over to him and said again, "Wake up!" She was crying now, out of fear and sadness. What if those people shot her too? What if Jake dies? What if she can't get help in time? So many 'what if' questions were in her mind. Help, she thought, I need to get help. Should I call Daddy? The ambulance? She decided to call the ambulance first, and then call her Dad, since he was close-by. Little did she know that Robbie Ray had seen the whole thing and was running down to the beach at that moment. "Miley!" Robbie Ray called. "Daddy! Jackson!" Miley cried. Jackson knelt next to his baby sister and asked, "Miles, what happened?" Miley sobbed, "Jake's hurt! Jake's hurt, and I couldn't help him!" Robbie Ray comforted her, "Shh, it's OK, Bud, it wasn't your fault." "Are you all right?" Jackson asked. Robbie Ray then just noticed the blood staining Miley's jeans in the faint light. "Miley, you gotta get help." Miley cried, "I-I already c-called for an am-ambulance."
Soon, the flashing sirens of the ambulance and the police cars were there. The paramedics had to call another ambulance for Miley, who protested, saying she wanted to stay with Jake. "I'm sorry, miss, you'll need to get in the other ambulance," the paramedic told her. Miley was about to protest again, when Robbie Ray put a hand on her shoulder, and said, "He'll be fine, OK?" Miley (very reluctantly) agreed to go into the second ambulance, watching as Jake was lifted carefully onto a stretcher and put into the other ambulance. On the way to the hospital, Miley's leg wound was examined, thoroughly cleaned, and bandaged. She was then asked if she had been hurt in any other way. "I'm fine now, thanks," Miley replied.
Once they were at the hospital, Miley had to wait with Robbie Ray and Jackson for any news about Jake. Soon after, Lilly and Oliver arrived. "How'd you guys know?" Miley asked. "Jackson called us," Oliver replied. "Thanks," Miley smiled weakly at her older brother. "No prob, sis," he replied. Robbie Ray had gone to the hospital with Miley in the ambulance, while Jackson ran back to his car, and followed the ambulance. "Are you OK, Miley," Lilly asked with worry in her voice. "I'm fine now, just nervous about Jake." Oliver comforted her, "He'll be fine." Miley nodded sadly, and waited.
A police officer came to Miley and asked, "Excuse me, Miss, would you mind telling us about the incident of the shooting?" Miley took a shaky breath and said, "Well, we were just standing on the beach, and we heard gunshots. The first one missed, the next one hit me in the leg, and the last one hit Jake." The officer nodded and scribbled something down on a pad of paper. Miley leaned back in her chair, and held her head in her hands, thinking, I hope he'll be all right. "Miss Stewart?" Miley bolted up at the sound of her name, as did everyone else. "How is he?" Miley asked, jumping straight to the point. "We're afraid he's in very critical condition. He's unable to breathe on his own. He's in the ICU."
"Could we see him?" Miley asked nervously. "I'm afraid you can't just yet. We'll see if his condition improves. You could come back tomorrow, and we'll tell you if he improves." Miley nodded sadly and Robbie Ray led her out of the hospital. Lilly asked her parents if she could spend the night at Miley's, to support her best friend. Her parents automatically said "Yes," as they knew what had happened. Soon, the two of them were in Miley's room, lying on the floor in their sleeping bags.
"Are you OK?" Lilly asked. "Fine," Miley nodded. "Come on, Miles, I've known you since we were in sixth grade. You're not 'fine.' Really, are you OK?" Miley sat up, so did Lilly. "I... I'm just so worried about him, Lilly," Miley started. "I mean, I hate it, not knowing if he'll be OK. In my head now, I keep asking myself: What if he dies? I just -- I can't stop thinking about what happened." Lilly noticed Miley had tears sliding down her cheeks, so she said, "Miles, you gotta focus on the good side of things. I mean, I know it's practically impossible to find one in this situation..." Miley let out a tearful laugh and Lilly continued, "He'll be OK, Miley." Lilly gave her best friend a comforting hug, and Miley thought, Thank you, God, for giving me such a great best friend.
(A/N: Did you like that chapter? Please review!)