I'm back!

I really have nothing to say this time. Nothing interesting has happened. Just make sure to have feels this chapter... you'll see... Refer back to last chapter for when you need it.

Three Months Later

Ray POV

Everyone on the cast spent their afternoons resting or practicing music in what I liked to call the Piano Room. Well, that was because a large thousand dollar grand piano sat in the smack middle of it. David, the best musician, especially with piano and guitar, sometimes played it for fun, and Clara and I would sing along to his music. Usually, it 'd be ruined by Scott, prancing inside the Piano Room, asking for us to buy his autograph. No way I'd buy anything from Scott Teich. Stuck-up rich celebrity. What does the term celebrity mean if everyone who has heard of him is from Germany? I never dared to ask him his real reason for coming to America with Amy, but I didn't want to ask anyways.

In fact, the only person I could truly trust on the Hit List cast had to be Clara. She stuck by my side no matter what, especially after that traumatic situation with the tour bus, which Clara still seemed to make a small deal out of. I, on the other hand, shook every time I thought of Draco's grin threatening my family. However, mornings and afternoon with my friendly Hit List cast-mates managed to release all of those fears into the music and dialogue of our script. The musical and those I surrounded myself with were both my saviors and my passions mashed into one.

Clara and I were early for rehearsal one day, and we hurried into the Piano Room, prepped for another tiring dress rehearsal. She wore a giant smile on her face, illuminating the pure joy of her personality.

"Three more days until the opening night! I can't wait!" Clara screamed, wrapping her arms around my chest. I chuckled as I softly pushed her away, overwhelmed by her enthusiasm. We took a plate from the food table, filling it with fruits and vegetables. What? I wanted potato chips, but I had to be healthy before the show.

After sitting down on the bench of the piano, I placed my plate of food on a nearby coffee table. I struck a random key, honestly surprised with the calming tune it played.

"Know how to play?" Clara asked, sitting beside me on the leather bench.

"No. Can't play an instrument. Can't mix music… can't draw… paint…" I paused, "Gaming…" Biting my lip, I thought of the only game I played: Minecraft. "I'm decent at. I've only gotten this amount of subs because I'm married to Mitch, and I've posted a few dozen videos of playing Hunger Games with him."

Clara smirked, "I've watched those videos." I snapped my head towards her, my right eyebrow lifted in shock.

"You have?" I hoped she hadn't seen my most recent one. Jerome and I had recorded a few games of Block Party on the Hive that ended hopelessly awful. Both of us failed on the second round in all three games. A game I named disastrously enjoyable. Those were too many words for Jerome, so he just called it Hell.

"The latest one with you and that Jerome guy was hilarious." Well, plan ruined. Maybe all hopes be given up.

Somehow, someone else happened to sneak into the Piano Room. I heard the step of their shoe, and I automatically thought it to be Dan. He always came early to rehearsals, even earlier than Clara and I, unfortunately. The girls, Clara and I, preferred to arrive early to eat all the food, including Hot n Spicy Cheetos, my personal favorite of all of the snacks, that the crew offered us.

But this person, she didn't want food. Believing this person was Dan, I spun myself around on the piano bench, glancing up to find the demonic grin of Ashley, my worst enemy. I hadn't seen her in a very long time, so I knew this reunion would be the end for one of us. I heard she'd been busy with kidnapping Fia and keeping her hostage while Adam and Seto frantically searched for any traces of her location. At that same time, I happened to be on the tour bus.

These thoughts caused me to zone out. Once I snapped out of my mind into the real world, Ashley suddenly pushed me down onto the hard wooden floor, using as much force as humanely possible from someone like her. She growled and glared down at me. I held my right arm, which had been minority injured from the fall. Clara looked on, desperately searching for a way to help me out.

"Allison wants you dead. Draco wants you dead. Why not make both of them happy by killing you… right here, right now?" Ashley laughed. I couldn't sworn she was possessed by a devil by the way her eyes lit up at the sight of my pain.

"What are you going to do?" I questioned in a whisper, fearing the worst.

Ashley looked at me, and reached in her back pocket, pulling out a black object. She wouldn't… not with that weapon… Ashley polished the shiny black pistol with her black shirt and loaded one bullet.

One bullet meant to kill me.

She pointed it at me, helpless on the ground.

Desmond Harper from Ty's wedding was a sign. She knew about the plan. She knew Ashley would kill me in the midst of my opening night. It was impossible for me to imagine the pressure it took to sneak out a gun and shoot an innocent girl in the light of day.

Bang!

I didn't feel the pain. But the bullet had been shot.

"No!" Clara yelled at the top of her lungs, blocking the bullet with herself. Ashley, shaking with horror, stared at my friend, dropping the pistol. She panted for a split second before walking backwards outside of the room. Once at the door, Ashley ran away for her dear life, which would be ended by my fist… Then I remembered I needed to focus on my friend.

On impact, Clara fell to the ground, her face cramped in pain. Only at this time did I realize what Clara feared. I ran over to her as she descended lower towards the floor, holding her left side with her hand. I slipped to my knees, beside my friend, who at this point lied on my lap. Unexpectedly, her face gleamed up at mine as if it hadn't been happier than that one moment.

"Clara…" I cried, tears streaming down my cheeks. As I rubbed my hand over her shirt, I lifted up my hand to see a red stain appearing. "She shot you!"

"If it's one of us… it should be you that gets a life."

"Clara, no! Please don't leave!"

"You have your brother… your husband… your friends…"

I held tighter on her hand. "But what about you?"

Clara shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. "I never had a good life… I was teased in elementary and middle school… became a loner in high school…" She smiled, "…college and Hit List have been great because of you, Dan, and David…" ending with a sigh, "...but if there's someone who gets to live their life to the fullest… Rachael Hughes, live your life… not just for me, but for yourself as well."

"Clara…" I whispered again, fainter each time I spoke her name.

Clara took my hand with both of hers, looking up into my eyes with contentment. "Don't worry about me. I'll be fine. You're on your way to Broadway. Live your dreams. Please. For me."

I barely formed the words along my lips. "For…. you…"

"Yeah. That's right. Do it for us," Clara inhaled before singing, "And now I'm falling baby through the sky… through the sky…" I closed my eyes, imaging all of the times we could've experienced if I hadn't dragged Clara into my insane life.

"Now I'm falling baby through the sky…" I was about to sing more as my friend's eyes glazed over, a small smile on her lips, looking up towards the ceiling. Was she really gone? It couldn't be! Days before the show even! Why would Ashley have the nerve…? Sobbing, I slowly lifted my fingers over her eyelids and slid them over her eyes. Glancing at Clara's face from a distance, she seemed content with saving me. Sacrificing her own life for mine… Clara would remain a true hero for all to come.

My first instinct upon coming to the sad realization that Clara had passed, I called up Mitch. My cheeks were wet with tears, my eyes red from crying so much.

"Ray?" Mitch asked on the other side of the call. I paused, speechless. What was I doing? Mitch could try to help me with this pain, but I figured that no one could help in this situation. Not even my husband, or my brother, or Fia, who had helped so many times before. No one.

"Ray?" Mitch questioned a second time.

"Dead…." I whispered.

"What happened?!" Mitch yelled through the phone, distressed with worry. "Where are you?!"

"I'm backstage at the theater." I managed to speak my first sentence in that call.

"I'll be there as soon as I can. Who's dead?"

"Clara…"

"I'm…" Mitch stopped, "I'm sorry. I know she meant a lot to you."

I burst out in tears, nearly dropping my phone due to the water dripping on the screen. "I need you, Mitch. Please."

"I'm coming, Ray. Do you want me to stay on the phone?"

"No. But please promise me that you'll never leave me unless you have to."

"Of course." Mitch leaned in closer to the speaker on his phone. "I would never ever let you face the pain that you had in Arizona. I know it's worse now… but I promise you… when I said those vows during our wedding… I meant it. Ray, I really do love you, and I'll do anything to make sure you're as happy as you can."

At that moment, my heart both fluttered in happiness and dropped in pain of someone losing a life because of me.

It's 12 in the morning as I'm typing this. I'm exhausted and just need more time off school to write and gather ideas, but that time just isn't there anymore. It just isn't there.

Time is precious... as shown in this chapter... and you need to make sure you spend it right... #wisewordsoftheday