Chapter 5 (LW)

Stefan's hand was clamped tightly around Olivia's mouth as they hid under the bed in the guest room. Around them, police officers milled about, walking to and from the room, chatting and collecting evidence and remaining utterly unaware of the stowaways a few feet from them. Olivia felt her heart beating loudly against her chest as none of the of the officers thought to look under the bed, and the more time that passed, the more nauseous Olivia began to feel. In her mind, she prayed to any and all divine beings who may have been listening, begging them to have just one of officer think to look down. She prayed and prayed, and when that didn't work, she tried to will the officers to look under the bed using her mind. Staring at someone for long enough would make them uncomfortable enough to turn around and look at you, right?

So, she thought, maybe if I just stare at their feet hard enough, they have to notice me.

However, the officers in the room must not have been on the same wavelength as Olivia, because none of them showed even the smallest sign of suspicion. She thought about kicking or making noise to alert them to their presence, but the gun muzzle pressed firmly into the side of her head told her that she'd be much better off staying quiet.

"This is my fucking apartment!" she heard Brian yell in the other room. "I know every square inch of it, and there's no way that they could have escaped! I'm telling you, they're still in here somewhere. I can feel it."

"I understand that you're upset, sir," a gruff voice argued politely, "but there's just no sign of them. We've searched the whole place and there's no sign of them."

The whole place my ass, Olivia thought bitterly.

Suddenly, she heard the gruff voice call out, and Olivia watched as all pairs of feet in the room began to file out.

They're leaving, she realized suddenly, her heart leaping into her throat. Oh my God, they're leaving.

"Why is everyone leaving?" Brian demanded, as fear coursed through Olivia's body like ice water. "We're not done yet!"

"I'm sorry, I really wish I could do more. I do. But she's just not here." The voice sighed. "Please, Brian, just get some rest. I know you're upset, but David's offered you a bed until CSU is done with your apartment, and I'd recommend that you take him up on it. Just get some sleep, and I promise we'll have your apartment up and running again in no time. I know you're stressing about this, but we're doing the best we can. It's just gonna take some time."

Olivia held her breath as she heard Brian sigh in defeat.

"Yeah, you're probably right," he said. "Take care, Mitchell."

"Take care, Bry."

In a matter of seconds, everyone cleared out of the apartment, and as quickly as the cavalry had come in to her rescue, they were gone in the same instant. Stefan then waited for what felt like hours before he finally dared to drag her and himself out from under the bed. By then, the afternoon had come and gone, and night was starting to set in.

"Come on," Stefan ordered quietly, and yanked Olivia to her feet, though both of them were suffering from the stiffness of lying under a bed all day. Seeming to get his footing first, Stefan pulled on her again, this time more roughly. "Move it!"

But Olivia's heart was heavy, and her legs felt like lead when she tried to walk. Panicked thoughts raced through her mind.

I'm gonna die. He's gonna kill me, and no ones gonna know. No one knows where I am. No one knows he's here. Oh, why didn't anyone just check under the fucking bed?!

He grabbed his backpack from under the bed and led her into Brian's room, where he pushed opened the window began to push her through onto the fire escape.

"There, out you go," he said as she climbed slowly out. He began to come through himself, but his backpack got stuck as he started to climb out. "Here," he said, taking it off and handing it to her. "Hold this while I climb through. But don't think about trying anything funny. I've still got this gun, and I'm still just as willing to blow your fucking head-"

"HEY!"

Stefan turned around just in time to see Brian barreling toward him. Brian grabbed Stefan's shoulder and began to pull him back through the window as he shouted, "I knew it! I knew you were still here! I fucking-"

But he was cut off as Stefan grabbed his shirt collar and yanked him into the window. Brian's head hit the glass with a sickening SMACK. Stefan smashed Brian's head into the glass again and again, and Olivia screamed as Stefan let go of his shirt, and Brian crumpled to the floor, smearing blood on the glass as he went down.

"You killed him!" Olivia screamed, backing away from Stefan as he continued to climb out the window, continuing as if nothing had happened. "You killed him!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Stefan cried angrily, starting to reach for her as he stepped onto the fire escape. "Do you want the whole fucking neighborhood do die with your stupid boyfriend there? You've seen what happens when people get in my way, so you'd better hope that Cassidy's neighbors are a lot smarter than he was! Now give me my fucking backpack!"

He grabbed for the handle, but he jumped as a clap of thunder suddenly shook the building, and for the first time, both of then realized that it was raining. Thunder clapped again, and Stefan reached for his backpack, but when he grabbed it, Olivia just yanked on it harder, and as another thunder clap caused Stefan to loosen his grip, Olivia tore it from his grasp, only to slip on the wet metal floor of the fire escape. She fell into the old railing, which snapped under her weight. With nothing else to hold on to, Olivia felt herself falling, Stefan's backpack in her grasp, and nothing underneath her but damp, open air.

Notes: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry I took so long to update, but my life has been crazy, and it's been really hard for me to find time to write. But I've never forgotten about this story, and I'd like to thank you all for being so patient with me. I know it's incredibly frustrating to have me wait so long to update, especially since I adopted the story from someone else, but you also have to understand that I'm dealing with a lot in my life right now, and things like school and college applications and managing my health have to take first priority. But, that being said, I am working as hard as I can to keep my commitment to you guys. I made a promise, and I intend to keep it, no matter how long it takes. Haha it just make take a little bit longer than I'd like it to. :)

And please don't forget to leave a review! I'd love to know what you guys think about the story, and what you think is gonna happen. Who knows, you might inspire me. :) Plus, the email updates help to remind me that I have a story to get back to. Thank you for all of your kindness and patience, and Happy Holidays!