A/N: Thank you guys sooooo much for the reviews. You're amazing. Honestly. I can't stress that enough. This final chapter is dedicated to anyone still reading that has read since the beginning. I'm absolutely ecstatic to finally finish this, but I'm terribly sad to see it end. I had so much fun with the storyline, and hopefully you had fun reading it. Anyways, this is the final chapter. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: For the 2349792374th time. No.
Anyone But You
Chapter Sixteen
I felt the cold, hard cement against my back as I retreated into that corner. My body ached entirely and there wasn't a place that was bruised or had been. I felt my eyes slipping further down. I couldn't keep them open anymore. I didn't have the strength in me to keep going. I needed something, anything to go off of. I wanted someone to be my knight in shinning armor, and I just wanted to hear the words in my ears. It had to be okay. There was nothing else in my thoughts except that it had to turn out fine. Something would happen, I could feel it in my bones. Something just wasn't letting me give up hope yet, not even when there was so little time left.
But my will was still disappearing. There was always the logical voice in my head, the one that told me not to wish so hard for my happy ending. The cards were on the table, and the results weren't looking so great. Excuse me for thinking this when I'm half alive in a darkened cement pit. I couldn't even count on that staying the same for long either. I couldn't count on anything anymore, not when I'd already been through all of this.
My breathing gradually became slower and deeper. My lungs were sore and my throat scratched every time the air came through. My ribs stung with an excruciating pain and I knew something must have been broken. My mind was wandering and I wasn't even sure if I was still in my own body. I felt like I could open my eyes and just look out upon myself. It felt like I was an entirely different person, and I had to admit that I wished I was. I wished I was someone else, that I wasn't Lilly or Lola. I wanted to be normal, and not have some interesting and complicated double life. I didn't want to be the object of desire for some sickeningly mislead police officer, and at this moment in time I didn't want to be in love with the bane of my existence. This wasn't how it was supposed to be.
I was supposed to be happy, alive, and enjoying my first days of being an adult. I was eighteen but I wasn't nearly old enough to deal with this. I still felt seventeen, for gods sake. It hadn't set it at all, and the maturity that I was supposed to have wasn't there. Eighteen year olds weren't supposed to cry and want their mothers and fathers. I should have been independent, and doing everything on my own, but not this. This was too hard. I think it would have been hard for anyone, even someone twice my age. How do you deal with being an obsession? To know that you've lead to the death of someone else? Even if I made it out alive, I didn't know if I would ever be able to live with the consequences of my actions.
Nate. His name played over and over and over again in my head. I could feel the sting beneath my eyes as I thought of him. The water crept up and I could feel it on my eyelashes. I didn't bother to try and dry them. The cool wetness seeped past the corners of my eyes and I felt it slide down, across my cheek bone. The breath I'd been holding in my throat begged to be let out, but I couldn't. Whenever I thought of him, he just did that to me. The though of him dying made it even worse. The breath came out and I sucked another one in just as quick. I shivered as the cold air rushed into my lungs. My eyes looked towards the ceiling, and I sniffled just a bit. The tears kept rolling. I couldn't stop them.
It was as if a slide show was going off behind my eyes. I could see him and only him. I felt a pounding in my chest at each mental picture and it hurt. It really, psychically, did. It pushed and pulled at the same time, and it burned and froze in the same moment. I would never be able to get him off my mind. This was true, and I never doubted it for a minute. His curls, I could still feel them through my fingers. And his lips were still fresh on mine with a softness and passion that would never be matched. I would never forgive myself for being the cause to end his life. I would always think of myself as the final nail in his coffin. It was a guilt that would weigh heavily on me forever and I wasn't sure that I would be okay with that.
I heard myself let out a retched sob at the thought of him. I could see his lively eyes cold and blank and I could feel his touch sending shivers down my spine in all the wrong ways. His lips would be blue, and his hair dull. I felt so detached from myself, imagining him in a morgue. It was something I was so desperately afraid of. I didn't want to have to identify him, or watch them lock him back into his own personal refrigerator in the hospital's basement. More than that I didn't want to have to witness a funeral. I couldn't bare to hear the crying and the sobs, and watch the room in black. I didn't want to hear all the wonderful words I knew everyone would say about him, and I didn't want to watch them lower him into the ground; the last I would ever see of him. I had never gone to a funeral before, and I had never had anyone close to me pass away. I didn't want the closest to be the first.
Why hadn't I just given Miller all the answers he wanted? I could have just ripped my wig off and exposed myself. Why did this all have to even happen to me? What was so alluring about Lola? No one else certainly noticed anything. At any Hannah event she had always been the star and I the side kick, or in her words, her 'right wing'. Looking back, even at my own surprise birthday she had been more popular than me. Why had it been Lola? Probably because Miley was smart enough to cover her tracks and Oliver was a boy. But why now? Why at my eighteenth birthday? I didn't mean to insinuate that I would have rather had this happen sooner, but I guess I kind of wished it had. I wished this entire thing had played out differently. Mostly I wished that I had never gotten Nate involved. He was innocent in all this. The only thing he was guilty of was trying to protect me that night, and instead I had gone and tied him up in this mystery. I'd killed him.
I could still vividly remember that night. The bickering at the snack table and his hands in mine. I remember feeling confused and afraid, but most of all I remember the feeling of comfort beneath that. I felt protected and I silently thanked him. He'd given up his life for mine and I would never be able to repay that. There would always be a place for him in my arms, my heart would always be his. There was no questioning that. He was insufferable and annoying, but he had a heart of gold. He put our differences aside that night and he never truly placed them back up again.
I thought deeper, and harder, trying to remember everything. I could vaguely recall coming back to his house, but not much. The thing I remembered most was the nightmare I had that night. I remember seeing the hit man, the one we'd seen on that night. In the nightmare I had fallen and Nate hadn't gotten to me quite fast enough. I'd woken up screaming. It was something I will always remember, even if I had never told Nate I recalled it the night Miley and Oliver slept over. He had rushed to me side so quickly. In that moment I couldn't remember any resentment or grudge, and I remembered that I loved it. He had been everything I had ever wanted, smoothing down my hair and whispering that everything was okay. I wanted to hate him after that, but I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to hate someone that had cared for me and comforted me in my time of need. I had been so vulnerable and he hadn't thought of it as a way to torture me and tease me like I would have done to him.
I still had the shirt. I didn't think I would ever give it back now. I didn't even know who Elvis Costello was, but it would always remind me of Nate. Even before I had remembered my nightmare, I was reluctant to take it off. I couldn't place why, but I loved how it felt against my skin. It was way too big for me, but the fabric was soft and smelled of something beautiful. I knew now, exactly what it was; him. I would never wash that shirt for the rest of my life, I was sure, and I was glad now that Joe had picked out that shirt for me that night. But thoughts of my birthday lead to the Sunday after, and I dreadfully regretted it.
I had woken up that morning in a sweat, having another nightmare and instantly remembering mine and Nick's encounter Friday night. I didn't want to remember and I didn't want to have the kind of feelings I felt myself having. I remember taking it out on him that night. The dinner party was a disaster and my mother had yelled at me for so long after. I'd pulled a bitch trip on him, releasing all the pent up aggravation. I was angry, mostly at myself, so I yelled at him instead. I had called him a jerk, and an idiot, and I had wished he was dead. I had needed to convince myself that I thought all these things, the things that I'd been thinking for so long and the things that had begun to change in one small moment. God, I missed how easy things used to be for us. And I sobbed some more.
I missed everything about him and I was sure I would miss it for eternity if this played out the way I thought it would. His smile was so bright and wonderful. It almost made me smile just thinking of it. His voice was.. I couldn't even describe it. It still sent shivers down my spine. My head tilted back to stop the tears from coming and I let out a terribly shaky breath. My arms found their way around my knees and I pressed them tight. I held myself, thinking how it would never match the way he held me. No one would ever compare to him in my eyes. I squeezed my eyes shut and the excess tears leaked out onto my stained cheeks. I swallowed a lump in my throat and held my breath again. Maybe if I held it long enough I'd die. I wished it would have been me, then I wouldn't have to deal with this. I wished that Miller would have seen through my bright red hair and connected the my face to the one he'd been studying in the folder. Why couldn't he have seen this so much earlier? Why couldn't he have matched Lola's face years ago to the picture of me and Oliver on Mrs. Oken's desk?
Suddenly I was jolted out of my thoughts and my strange detachment. I heard creaks and my heart clenched. Miller had only left me here moments before and he was back for more. He was back to tell me that Nate was dead and that I was next. He was back to hit me, to scratch me, to touch me. I bit my lip, almost till it bled when I thought of the kiss he had forced upon me that first night down the the Police station's file room. I shuddered at the memory. I listened closely, not daring to move an inch. I heard the pounding and the movements and it sounded like a lot more than just Miller. Oh God, the other one was back too, wasn't he? I shuffled further into the corner, pressing myself deeper against the wall and trying to hold back my tears. I didn't want to hear the news, the news that would crush every hope I would ever have. The world wasn't fair.
Amidst the pounding I heard the yelling, but I couldn't make it out. It quieted and I couldn't help but sniffle and cry. I couldn't deny that I was terrified. The deep, menacing booms echoed on the stairs. My heart became tighter and the room became so much smaller. The footsteps clapped along the floor and then everything stopped. The door handle jiggled and I held my breath. Then nothing. And then I the loudest sound of them all. The wood of the door split and the crack bounced off every wall. I closed my eyes, pressing them together as hard as I could and I waited.
"No," I heard the voice. My breath still held, and my eyes stayed closed, but my heart released. It didn't have that tight, terrorizing feeling in it anymore, "No. Oh god." Yeah, that was the reaction I should have expected. I'd become so accustomed to how I looked that it wasn't much of a shock in the mirror, but it would have been a big one to anyone else. Especially the bruise on my face. Images flooded of all the times I'd been pistol whipped across the cheek, causing the black and blue print.
"Lilly?" I heard my name spill out of his mouth. Silently and slowly, I let my eyes slide open. He was someone I was definitely glad to see right now and his was the face that gave me an ounce of hope in this moment. His boyish features put me slightly at ease and I knew now that I'd be saved. I prayed to God that they had caught Miller, I prayed that they'd got there in time. I watched the door carefully, seeing Miley, Jason and Shane standing there, uneasy and shocked. I didn't see him. Nate wasn't there, standing next to them and coming to me to tell me that everything was over. Please, please God, let him be alive. Please let us save him in time.
My eyes moved to Oliver and I watched him with such an intensity. Knowing him for fourteen years meant that we didn't need words. All we needed was one look and we knew exactly what the other person was trying to say. In one look we knew every moment and experience. I could see the worry and the fear in his eyes. I caught everything he wanted to say, and I knew he was trying to apologize for not getting here quicker. He didn't need to. I would never blame him for any of this, it would never be his fault. He would always be my guardian angel just for trying.
"Your going to be okay Lilly," His soothing voice whispered to me as he knelt down. I felt his strong, comforting arms wrap around me and I tried to hug him back. I couldn't. I couldn't will myself to move at all, "I got you." The words eased me a bit, but it felt selfish. It felt so selfish to embrace this comfort when someone else's life was on the line. When someone I loved dearly was going to die. I couldn't find it in me to hug Oliver back, because every once of strength in my body was put towards these prayers. It was put towards my words to God, my words that he'd make it out alive.
"He's going to kill Nate," Was all I spoke back. It was the single thought on my mind and I whispered it quiet enough that Jason or Shane wouldn't overhead. I didn't want to scare them, or worry them. They seemed shattered enough just looking at what Miller had done to me. I knew that they deserved to know, but I couldn't put them through it. If they felt just a portion of what I did in knowing that, I would feel so utterly guilty. I didn't want them to hurt. I wanted to protect them from what they'd soon know for just a little bit longer.
Oliver leaned back and away from me. His eyes stared deeply into mine, searching for something that I wasn't sure I could give him. I watched him closely, intently, waiting for his response. All he did was look between my own eyes and something he held tightly in his hands. I wanted to look down, to see what it was exactly, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. I was afraid that somehow this would be just a dream and I'd wake up in that cold, awful house, or worse, here with Miller. And then he moved away.
"Jason!" His voice hit my ears and it the loudness shocked me slightly, "Stay here. Stay with Lilly." Jason was next to me in moments. I hardly even registered that Oliver wasn't here anymore because he'd moved away so quickly. I could vaguely hear the loud stomps as my best friend flew up the stairs and left us here. I wanted to run, to go after him, but I was crowded in almost seconds.
"Lola," Jason looked me over, eyes wide. Shane came and knelt down next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. Miley walked over, looking scared. Her eyes were watching me, looking at every bruise and cut, and in utter shock. I wonder how she'll look when she realizes that we're wasting time while Nate is dying. I wonder how she'll look when she sees his dead body in the morgue and remembers this moment when we could have been trying to save him. I was only slightly bitter.
"I-" I couldn't even get the words out. I felt my arms flail mercilessly at my friends and they backed away. Their eyes narrowed in confusion and they shared glances at each other. They must've thought I was crazy. Jason was the first to move closer after my attack. He was not only the oldest, but was stronger than Miley and closer to me than Shane, so it seemed only fitting. I tried to fight him off, and I hit my fists against his chest. He persisted still though. He didn't fight back, he only took what I dished out. I felt his hands hold my wrists gently, and his arms wrapped around me, hugging me tightly. We swayed lightly from left to right and it calmed me, if only slightly. I felt that familiar sting against my eyes as I calmed down enough to actually think. I cried.
"Your fine," Jason whispered to me delicately. He breathed in my hair, and I felt the care in his grip. He held me so protectively, as if he didn't want to ever let me go. I could tell that he was so glad to have me back, to be able to hug me and see me, and know that I was alive. But that wasn't enough for me. It wasn't enough for me to feel safe, to know that I was okay. I wasn't okay with just being rescued and taken home, or to the police station, or where ever we would go. I wasn't okay unless he was okay.
"Nate's not," I whispered in response, choking back a sob. Jason stiffened and the rocking stopped. I felt his warm, nervous breath against my neck and I held my own. I didn't want to hurt him anymore than he already was. He was still so in the dark about Nate.
"I know," He breathed full of remorse and regret, "I saw the news report." I wanted to yell. How could he be so stupid? This wasn't my Jason. I mean, Jason could be a bit of an airhead sometimes, but that wasn't really him. That was him being silly, and I knew that. He was an intelligent guy and he couldn't have honestly believed that we were dead because of that news report. Especially after seeing me here, alive, he should have realized that Nate still had a chance. A chance that was getting so much smaller as the clock ticked away. So I shoved him away.
"He's not dead!" I cried. I refused to believe it. There was still a chance and while I may have been going out on a limb, I was going to take that chance. I wasn't going to give up on Nate, and I never would. He had cared for me and protected me from the very start, from the nightmares to the very end. Now he needed me and I couldn't turn away from him, I couldn't give up on him, and I couldn't sit here, just hoping that things would turn out okay. I had to do something.
I tried so hard to get to my feet. My legs hurt and I leaned against the wall for support. Miley, Jason and Shane all stood up around me, trying to convince me to sit back down. They wanted me to stay here, to wait for Miller to kill Nate. Not a chance in hell.
"Get away from me!" I screamed. My voice was scratchy and it hurt to yell. I didn't care. They all seemed shocked and stepped away automatically. My arms were out in front of me, keeping them at a distance. Again, they exchanged glances as if they thought I couldn't seem them. I knew. I was aware that they thought I was crazy, and out of my mind. If only they knew the kind of serious danger their brother and friend was in. If they did, I bet they wouldn't think I was so insane.
"I-" My voice cracked, "I have to get to Nate." They all eyed me and Shane moved forward first.
"Lola, it's okay," He told me softly, his hands out towards me cautiously, "Oliver knows where he is. He's getting police and everything, okay?"
"No!" I screamed, "You don't understand!" My heart clenched and my tears came lurching forward. The police couldn't help, not when Miller was a cop himself. He'd find a way to twist it around. He'd find a way to make himself seem innocent in all of this. He'd probably kill Nate and then make it seem like he was 'too late' to save him from the killer, who happened to 'get away'. If Miller could fake two celebrities deaths, then he could easily fake this.
"Lola-" Shane began again, but I hastily cut him off, sick of hearing it.
"It's Lilly!" I yelled, completely off topic, and then shoved past them. I couldn't waste any more time. I moved quickly past the door, faster than I probably should have the way my body was beaten, and up the stairs. The three of my friends followed, trying to coax me into coming home with them, and resting. I understand that they were worried for me, but the way I saw it was that I was okay, so Nate should have been the concern, not me.
When I got to the top of the stairs Oliver was gone. The car he'd came in had vanished and I assumed that he was already on his way to wherever me and Nate had been held. I felt so defeated, like there was no way that I could help because there was no way I could get there. I had to though. I had to find a way and I was determined to. I found a car in the garage, how typical. This is the only time in my life that I had ever been thankful for the week I'd spent in Henderson before Christmas vacation. The trip that I'd gone on to see my brother and my dad that had made me miss my winter formal was also the trip that my brother taught me to hot wire a car. I never thought I'd need it and I never knew exactly why he told me the bits of information, but I found it coming in extremely handy right now.
The three of them, Miley, Jason, and Shane, I mean, were almost put to ease. I climbed into the car and they thought that would be it. They figured that without keys, I wasn't going anywhere and they could keep me safe here until someone came to get us. Jason was already dialing out for someone to pick us up when the car roared to life. Jason's head shot up from his concentrated call, and his jaw was slacked. None of them could believe that I had just done that. They stared at me for just a minute before I shocked them back into action.
"Are you coming, or not?" I barked, and Jason immediately grabbed the front seat. Miley and Shane slid into the back of the car and I pulled out of the driveway nicely. However, that was the only driving I did nicely that day, because once we were on the road, I floored it. Speeding wasn't a concern for me, Nate's life was. And if the cops pulled me over, good. Then I could just get them to follow me there, to wherever I was going. And where exactly was I going?
"Jason," I glanced over and I caught his eye momentarily, "Where's the place." Jason looked at me, confused, as if I should know. I knew why he thought I should know, but if only he had seen where we really were. Without any more hesitation, he called Oliver on his phone. He held the speaker to his ear, his other hand gripping the seat as we weaved expertly in and out of cars. I didn't care if it was illegal, because I was pretty sure that murder was worse.
"Seventeen Seventeen Cresthaven," Jason told me, clicking off from his conversation with Oliver. I was pretty sure that I could actually see Oliver's truck a few cars up.
"Its in the industrial neighbourhood, just outside of Malibu," I could only nod, keeping my eyes on the road and trying to keep us out of an accident. With each car I cut off and each lane change the beat of my heart quickened. We were getting closer and closer, and I wasn't sure just what would happen when I finally stopped this car and got out. I was almost afraid of what I would find when I got to 1717 Cresthaven. Would I find him dead, or alive? I desperately crossed my fingers for the latter.
It was just forty five minutes later when I found the car pulling up in front of the warehouse. I didn't bother to park nicely, instead merely stopping the vehicle on the property close to Oliver's. Oliver had also called the police sometime during his drive here and I knew they were on their way. I jumped out of the car, my hands nearly shaking. I felt a hand slip into mine and I looked up to find Shane smiling down at me. He squeezed and I squeezed back. Neither of us knew what to expect once we stepped inside those doors, but I had a better understanding than most. I knew somewhere amongst the maze that Miller had likely set out for us, there was a house, a replica- we just had to find it.
Cautiously, the five of us walked forward. Oliver pried open the door and it creaked unnaturally loud. He held his gun in his hand, and you could really see that he was his mother's son. He lead the rest of us down a grimy hallway that looked no better than the outside of the warehouse. The ceiling leaked some kind of liquid and it created an incessant drip as it hit the floor. It made the scene all the more tense and my heart clenched at every moment, my hand still in Shane's. None of us knew where we were going and which way was which, and it made me nervous to know that Miller had the upper hand. He knew how to get around, how to sneak up on us. And then I saw it. It was a rather large, plain door with a blue spray painted line on it. It wouldn't have stood out if I hadn't known. I remembered it. It stood out in a memory, but I couldn't remember which. It was somewhere between being in the police file room and waking up in 'Shane's' bedroom. Immediately I stopped, staring at it blankly. This had to be it. I squeezed Shane's hand, and my eyes met Oliver's. Deep breaths, Lilly, deep breaths. My eyes shut, the air filled my lungs, and then I pulled the door open.
My eyes saw nothing but stairs. I spared a glance at everyone around me and Oliver came to my side. We walked down together. Each stair made a noise as we let our weight fall onto it, but we tried to stay quiet. In those seconds, you couldn't hear a breath, or a heartbeat. There was nothing but the tiny taps of our feet on steel stairs, until we hit the bottom. The door was marked with another blue line and I felt my heart beat faster and harder. We were getting closer and I was so nervous; so scared. Prayers ran through my head at a mile a minute as I wrenched that next door open.
Computers and monitors surrounded us. My eyes immediately scrunched into a confused face. Slowly, I treaded into the room, having no recollection of it. The monitors showed absolutely every room in the house, at every possible angle. We all shuffled into the confined space. I watched the monitors almost in awe, until my eye caught just one. No.
The quiet room heard me suck in a tremendously large breath, and then I shuddered. I had to grab onto a nearby desk to keep from falling over. Shane's hand was on my shoulder, and Oliver was on my other side. Each of them looked at me, scared for a moment. They rushed questions at me, asking me if I was alright, but all I could do was stare at that screen. It was on the third row, the second monitor from the left, but it didn't matter because it was the only one I could see. He stood in that hallway, stock still, and calm. He watched the gun as it stared him down and he didn't do a single thing about it. I watched their mouths move but I couldn't hear anything. Frantically my eyes shot down, searching the buttons and slides on the control desk beneath me. My hands played around with several in a few moments, and then I hit the right combination. I heard just what I didn't want to.
"Just don't hurt her," Run through the speakers of the control room. The sob escaped my throat and I felt my knees weaken. Oliver and Shane grabbed me before I had the chance to fall. Their eyes immediately followed my gaze once they knew that I was steady. Everyone watched carefully as nothing happened. I waited for something, anything at all, but neither Nate nor Miller moved an inch.
"Pull the trigger! Do you need an invitation?! What the fuck are you waiting for?!" Nate's voice rang out. I ran. I didn't wait any longer to see anything else. The only other door in the control room, besides the one we'd come in through, was ripped open and I ran inside, followed by Oliver. There was a hallway in front of me, and a staircase to my left. I flew up the staircase without a second thought until I reached the landing I was trying to reach. There were four doors lined along the wall, labeled nicely in case Miller forgot which was which. I chose the one labeled, "Upper Hall J" and with a click of the lock, whipped it open. It slammed with a bang, and I heard it connect to something. With an instant, I knew exactly why we had never been able to get into Jason's room.
I breathed easy when I saw Nate standing up against the wall. The ease washed away when the red came and I watch it seep through his shirt with absolute horror. My breath shuddered as I took it in, my eyes wide and my mouth gaping. Miller was against the ground. The door had swung into him, knocking him down and shocking him into pulling the trigger.
"Nate!" I screamed, lunging forward towards him. His face was blank, and his eyes darted down to his side. He pressed his hand against the wound like it was nothing. He raised his hand to his face, looking at the vast amounts of blood on it before letting his eyes wander to me. He breathed in deeply and then his knees began to give out. I tried to catch him as best I could, but he was much too heavy for me. Somewhere in the back of my mind I registered that Oliver was holding Miller at gunpoint and that Miller wasn't completely objecting. Miller knew it was over as well as we did. The cops were coming and he was still shaking from placing a bullet in Nate. He was talk, he talked like he was some huge criminal, but he didn't even have the guts to hurt someone that he knew wasn't involved. He still had some good cop in him.
"Nate? Nate, hey," I spoke to him. His head rested in my lap and he looked up at me with those gorgeous eyes. I ran my hands through his curls, mustering up my best smile to send to him. I tried to be of any help to him, trying to make up for everything he had given me throughout this entire ordeal.
"Your going to be just fine, okay," He gently nodded, grimacing as the pain began to spread through his body. I pushed his hair away from his forehead, trying to keep him distracted until some kind of backup arrived.
"The police are coming," I spoke gently to him, trying to keep his focus on me, "They're gunna get you to a hospital. They'll fix you, you'll be fine, okay?" I couldn't keep myself from crying. I felt the prickles behind my eyes and I knew I wouldn't be able to stop it. The silent tears spread from my eyes and they hit my cheeks.
"Don't cry," His voice floated upwards. His mouth tipped into a small smile, the best he could give through the pain. It made me cry more. Even now, with the side of his body seeping in blood, he tried to comfort me. "I'm okay, you don't have to worry," he scratched out. My sob came out as a half laugh, and I wiped gently at my tears. He was too good to me. And then it came to me, in that moment. My mind sorted through the words and my mouth prepared to say them.
"Nate," I sniffled, wiping again at my cheeks, "I'm sorry." He looked confused. "It- it wasn't a-" But my sentence was cut short. Everyone's eyes shot to the open doorway that showed the hallway that I'd just come in through. The door was thick and covered in sound proof foam, but since it was open, we could hear everything. I heard the pounding and the sirens, and the hoards of police as they barged their way through the control room and headed upstairs. Everyone's eyes remained on that doorway except mine. My vision traveled instead to Miller. I watched him closely, and my heart sped up as he reached for his abandoned gun. I stayed quiet, observing and then it all happened in a hurry. His nervous eyes shot to me and Nate, and then the click of the trigger. The blood spattered over us and then the police rushed in.
---
Hours later, I sat cross legged on a hospital bed. My blond hair was pulled back into a ponytail and I had on a baggy t shirt and a pair of sweatpants. I had already been examined and I would make a full recovery. Miraculously, nothing was broken, just seriously bruised. I had a few bandages, but the only noticeable one was the one covering the right side of my forehead. I sat stiff inside that room, staring at I don't even know what. I was concentrated on the thoughts going through my head, and the memories that wouldn't stop repeating themselves. I couldn't say that the experience had been terribly long, but it had been terrible. It had been painful, and agonizing and one that would haunt me forever. It was also one that I would be forever grateful for.
I snapped out of my daze when I heard a knock at the door. My head shot up and my lips turned slightly upward when I saw him. Oliver was standing there, leaned against the door frame. His hands were crossed over his chest and he was grinning at me broadly.
"Hey," He spoke, untangling his arms and walking into the room, sitting next to me.
"Hey," I imitated. My hands played with the edges of the blanket on my bed, as my eyes shot downcast, "How is he?" Nervously, I looked up again to meet Oliver's eyes. I'd been waiting for so long to hear something on Nate. No one could tell me anything because I wasn't family. I was furious, and scared, and everything all at once.
"He got out of surgery about an hour ago," Oliver explained, "Jason said he's sleeping."
"Oh," Was the only response I could come up with. It was lame, I did admit, but I had too much on my mind to worry about that.
"Um-" Oliver began, joining in on playing with the blanket edges, "How're you holding up?"
"Well, I'm covered in bruises, scarred for a lifetime, extremely worried about Nate, and I just watched a man commit suicide," I explained rather rudely, "but...I'm okay," It ended off with a tiny sincere smile in Ollie's direction. He shot one back.
"That's my Lilly," He leaned forward and pulled me into a careful hug. He didn't want to put any pressure on my bruises and hurt me accidentally, but I still appreciated the gesture. "You don't know how glad I am that your okay, Lilly," He spilled. I only hugged him back harder.
"Lilly! Nate's.. oh-uh, sorry. I'll come back.. uh, later?" Miley's guilty voice flooded the room. The girl was standing in the doorway, out of breath. She had apparently wanted to tell me something about Nate, but once she saw me with Oliver she stopped. I guess she thought she was interrupting us. Well, she kind of was, but I had been waiting for any kind of news for what seemed like forever now.
"Go," Oliver nodded knowingly. I smiled both thankfully and apologetically to him, getting up from my bed and brushing off my shirt. My feet found their way to Miley and she started rambling off everything.
"Um, Nate got out of surgery about an hour ago," She spoke, I responded with a simple 'I know'. "He's awake now. He's been asking for you." She led me down the hallway and we silently rode the elevator together. She walked me to his room and smiled at me, gesturing for me to go in.
"Have you seen him yet? Is he...?" I asked. She just shook her head. She gave me an encouraging smile and touched my arm before walking away. I took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself. I closed my eyes and felt my hand around the knob. I turned it, and slowly the door cracked open. I slide inside silently, my eyes covering every inch of Nate.
I couldn't help but smile. He laid on that hospital bed perfect as ever. His hair was messed up and his curls were sticking out at a few odd angles. He still had that one, amazingly awkward and yet cute curl that hung down into his face. His eyes were closed, and his chest rose and fell at a steady pace. He was absolutely glowing to me. He looked fine, except for minor bruising around his neck, and you would have never guessed he'd been shot. My eyes watched him closely and with adoration. This was my rescuer, my knight. He'd been the one who had protected me through it all, and he'd been the one who had successfully stolen my heart, even in the worst of times. I loved him and I wouldn't of had it any other way.
"Hi," Was all I could say, smiling at him. I stood next to his bed, my hand trailing lightly over the covers. His eyes opened slowly, and he turned to face me, groaning lightly as he shifted his sore body. His look of discomfort spread into a large smile the moment his eyes met mine.
"Hi," He responded. It was oddly reminiscent of another memory of ours, one that was clear in my mind. I watched him pat the space next to him, but instead I took a seat at the end of his bed. I didn't want to get in his way or cause him any more pain than I already had. I figured that sitting at his feet would give him all the space he needed. He seemed a little taken aback at the space I'd put between us, but it looked like he let it go.
"I- uh- well,- Nate, I-" I bit my lip, stuttering out words. I didn't know what to say to him. I didn't want to screw this up more than I already had. I looked down to my hands, which were playing with each other. I was dreadfully nervous about this confrontation. The fight was still fresh in my mind, and I wasn't sure if he would forgive me.
"Shh," He spoke, a light smile playing on his lips. It had the apologetic hints too it, I could tell, "It's okay. You don't have to say anything." My eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I was sure he didn't already know, unless he was a mind reader. I watched him curiously as he sighed, and let his eyes slip shut. "I understand that it was a mistake. You were scared, and afraid, and-"
"No," I whispered, shaking my head. His eyes opened to meet mine, confused. Blue met hazel and I stared at him so deeply. "It wasn't a mistake." The sad smile became so much more sincere and genuine. It became ecstatic and overjoyed, but it wasn't getting its hopes up.
"Nothing with you was ever a mistake. I meant every word and every touch and every kiss." His smile grew bigger. As if he had no ounce of pain, he sat up in that bed, coming closer to me. My eyes shot down to my hands again, playing with them. Part of me was still afraid that he was hung up on me not being who he thought I was. I was half worried that he still wouldn't forgive me for that and his smile didn't convince me in this particular moment. I contemplated this, moving my thumbs in awkward patterns until his hands took mine. I looked up to him and his eyes met mine. I saw everything I ever wanted to see in them and every emotion I could ever wish for. I smiled back.
"I am so utterly and completely in love with you," He whispered, his hand moving up to touch my face, "Lilly." He stressed, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I smiled the biggest I ever have, and I felt my eyes well up with tears for the countless time. It was something I had never known I'd wanted to hear until Sunday, and it was something I wanted to hear forever and ever. I bit my lips, trying to contain my smile, but I couldn't. His thumb wiped away a lone tear and we just watched each other.
"I'm glad," I laughed, and he knew exactly the moment it was from, "Because I'm utterly and completely in love with you too, Nathaniel Gray," I heard his chucked. He didn't wait a second longer. His lips fit so perfectly with mine, and I couldn't imagine never feeling this again. Nothing would ever compare, or come close. I was elated, and I didn't think I could get any happier than I was then. When we kissed, the world stopped and there was only us. There was no past, no future, no arguments or grudges. This was a feeling I would always love, this was a moment I would never forget, and this was a boy I would spend my life with.
"Never anyone but you," I whispered, our foreheads pressed together, smiling. And then the only thing that had been missing in this moment came: The butterflies.
A/N: Its done. That was the last official chapter and I hope it met your standards. I'm a little iffy on the last Nilly scene because it really couldn't compare to the Nilly scene in chapter 11 and 12 no matter what I did. I really hope you guys enjoyed it. Even if you haven't reviewed at all, if you've been reading, please leave a review and tell me what you thought of the story as a whole. I'd love your thoughts. Long reviews make me smile.
Ps. There is potential for an Epilogue if enough people would like it.
Review please! Thank you guys so much for your time in both reading this entire story and reviewing for it. It really means a lot.