* Please Review! Sorry it took so long. I had surgery on Friday and have been recovering.*
Van was running as fast as he could through the woods and towards her house. He was just praying she was there. She had to be because where else would she go? Could she be with Gideon? Before Van had went to bed, after she was already sleeping, Miles had called his house and told Van that Gideon had made bail and was supposed to be staying in the hotel in town. He reminded Van that the 'father' was not allowed to see or talk to Avalon but now she was missing, gone from his bed. She had to be with Gideon. Van didn't think she'd leave him if it wasn't for Gideon.
Soon, her house came into view and, although it was dark, Van knew she was inside. The tape on the door was ripped off and Gideon's car was in the driveway with the trunk up. A few bags were sitting inside it. Van's stomach was starting to hurt. Was she leaving him? Were they going to run away? How could she just leave after everything they had shared? Van frowned and slowed his steps. He needed to talk to her. If she was leaving, Van could talk her out of it and he knew it but he had to do it alone. There was no way Gideon would let him talk to her so Van was going to have to sneak in.
As carefully as he could, Van pushed open the door the house and held his breath to listen. He could hear Gideon moving around but wasn't sure where the other man was. Van silently pushed the door shut then started up the stairs. He knew her house by heart and knew just what stair would make a noise so he was able to reach the center of the house without Gideon knowing. Van quickly looked through her living room and kitchen then dashed behind the couch when he heard someone jogging down the stairs. He crouched down in front of it, watching as Gideon hurried towards the second set of stairs with two bags in his hands. Van waited until the other man opened then closed the front door, before running out and over to the stairs. He knew he only had a few minutes to reach Avalon and talk her out of leaving.
He took the stairs two at a time, reaching the top in seconds. He ran over to her door, seeing her door was partially shut. Van looked down the stairs then back at her door before pushing it open and whispering her name. He expected to see her packing a bag or two. He expected the bag to be on her bed and to see her going from it to her dresser and back again. What he didn't expect was to see her laying on the floor on her side.
" Holy shit!" Van whispered, sprinting over to her. " Av, Avy, wake up." He dropped down to his knees and slipped one hand around the back of her neck, lifting her head up. " Avalon." He leaned down, turning his head so he could feel her breath against his cheek. When he was sure she was breathing and alive, Van pulled away and shook his head. He didn't know what had happen to her but he did know he needed to get her out of there and fast, and without Gideon knowing. Van slipped one arm under her chest and his other one under her knees. He pulled her into him before he started to stand. He needed to make it to her sliding glass door out of her living room and fast. From there, he could run down the stairs at the back of the porch and into the safety of the woods.
" What the hell are you doing?!" Van spun around at the sound of her dad's voice. On impulse, Van drew her in more and took a step back. Gideon filled her doorway and through the moonlight, Van could see his frown.
" What happen? Why is she knocked out?" He snapped, hoping his fear wasn't coming through in his voice.
" She's sleeping. Put her down." Gideon ordered.
" She's not sleeping. She's knocked out. She was laying on the floor." Van said.
" And when did you become an expert on my daughter?" Gideon snapped. Van frowned and tried to force his heart to slow it's fast pace beating. He would not be scared. He couldn't be. His girlfriend needed him to be brave and he would be.
" She's not your daughter." He forced out. Gideon took a step into the room, making Van step back again.
" What did you say?" Gideon asked. Van cleared his throat and took a deep breath.
" We know the truth, Gideon. We saw the articles you kept." Van said, moving towards her bed. " We read the article about the missing girl, she's her, isn't she? She's Gabriella Gibson." He looked down at her face so Gideon won't see the fear in his eyes. He laid her down on the bed, wiping his hands on her blankets to clear away the sweat that was gathering there. He frowned and steadied himself as he looked back at her false father.
" You have no idea what you are talking about. You're just some idiot loser. Now shut your mouth and get out of my house." Gideon snapped. Van quickly reached behind him and under his shirt. He yanked out his dad's gun, one he had brought with him and kept hidden in his waistband. He pointed it at Gideon who threw his hands up right away.
" No, you shut your fucking mouth!" He yelled. " You're the idiot!"
" Just put the gun down, Son. You are no match for me. I am giving you an out here, you should know that." Gideon said, walking into the room more.
" You're giving me a out? I have a gun, in case you don't see it!" Van shouted. " I'm taking her out of here! You aren't going anywhere, you understand me!"
" You say you saw my articles, right? Than you should know that I killed all those women with my bare hands! Now the police know it and in a few days, she will know that she isn't mine! I have nothing to lose now! So you think I'm scared of your little gun!" Gideon yelled back.
" Don't come any closer! I will shoot you!" Van yelled.
" Than do it! Shoot me! And let me tell you what will happen! That little girl on that bed, " Gideon yelled as he continued walking forward. " will hate you for it! It won't matter to her that Randy fathered her because she loves me! In her eyes, I am her dad and you will be the one who shots me so do it!"
Van's finger reacted on it's own. It tighten on the trigger but his arm jolted up and the bullet missed it's mark, lodging into one of the closet doors instead of Gideon. Gideon jumped and covered his head, shocked that the young man had actually fired the gun. Avalon groaned in the bed, making Van look down at her. She blinked her eyes open only to see the gun go flying from Van's hand as he tumbled back, being tackled by Gideon. She groaned again, bring a hand to her head as confusion and a headache from hell rolled through her. She rolled over onto her side as her boyfriend and father started to fight.
" What's...happening?" She barely got out. Her stomach pitched as her head pounded. She closed her eyes and placed on hand on the bed to try and steady her world. Her other hand travelled through her hair to the back of her head. She felt along a small caved in section of her head and knew she had a concussion.
" You should have minded your own business and listened to your daddy! You should have broken up with her!" Gideon yelled.
" Fuck you!" Van hissed up as they rolled across the floor, ending with Gideon on top of him.
" Let him go!" Avalon yelled when she opened her eyes again. " Daddy!" A wave of nausea hit her, making her eyes shut again.
" You did this!" Gideon snapped, wrapping his hands around the young man's throat.
" Gideon!" Avalon yelled, tumbling off her bed to the floor. She landed on her stomach, pushing the air from her body and making her gag.
" Fuck...you." Van managed to get out in a whispered gasp for air. He clutched at Gideon's wrists and kicked his legs. He tried twisting his hips to try and rock Gideon off him but the man was a solid mass on top of him.
" Gideon, stop!" Avalon yelled.
" I'm going to kill you!" Gideon gritted out. He yanked Van up only to slam his head down again. In the background, he could hear Avalon gagging and begging but was completely ignoring her, focusing on the task at hand. He needed to kill this boy then whisk his daughter again. He needed to get them into hiding, that was all that matter now.
Avalon gathered everything in her, pushed past the pain in her head and the boiling, white hot nausea in her stomach. She pushed herself up, spying the gun laying on the carpet. She reached out, slammed her hand down on it hard. She closed her eyes and tried to take in a deep breath through her nose. She would not throw up, not now, not when Van needed her.
Blackness threaten to cloud Van's vision. He swiped one hand up and weakly slapped at Gideon. Gideon was frowning and sweating as he squeezed harder on Van's neck. Van grunted and tried again, willing his hand and arm to work. He swung as hard as he could, barely coming into contact with Gideon's jaw. Gideon lifted Van's head up again and slammed into the carpet. Pain blasted through Van and he felt himself start to slip away. This couldn't be happening to him. This wasn't how he was supposed to die, not on the floor of his girlfriend's bedroom, at the hands of her kidnapper.
" Let him go!" Avalon yelled as she pressed the gun into the side of Gideon's head. Gideon frowned but stopped squeezing Van's throat.
" Put the gun down, Avalon." Gideon said without looking away from Van who started gasping for air.
" No. Let him go and get off him." She snapped. Gideon brought his hands up and turned to face his daughter while he sat on his knees beside the boy. Van scrambled away from him, grabbing at his throat with one of his hands and coughing.
" I let him go now put the gun down and let's talk." Gideon said gently.
" Talk? Are you serious!" Avalon yelled. She and Van grabbed at each other with their free hands, the gun still pointing at Gideon. The couple wrapped their arms around each other with their hands grabbing at one other. Together, with both shaking, they started to stand. Van's throat was burning and he could tell it was bruising up already. " You hit me with a gun and tried to kill Van! What is there to talk about!"
" You know I love you." Gideon said. He hadn't moved from his spot on his knees.
" No, you don't! You love a little girl who isn't me! I was never Abby! I will never be her, no matter much you want me to be!" She yelled.
" Shut your fucking mouth about my baby!" Gideon yelled but still didn't move.
" We need to go." Van said, pulling on her arm as they backed towards her doorway. Avalon shook her head, staring at the man she thought was her father. Tears burned her eyes seconds before they started to fall.
" I loved you." She said.
" Stop this, now!" Gideon snapped.
" You need help, Daddy. I'm going to get you help, I promise." Avalon said.
" Do not leave this room!" Gideon yelled.
" You kill all those women, my mom and you kidnapped me. You are sick." She said as the couple backed away from him with her holding Van's gun in her hands.
" Avalon!" Gideon yelled.
" It's going to be fine." She said as they stepped out of the room.
Van grabbed the doorknob and slammed the door shut. She reached above the door and grabbed at the key they had kept there. Her house was old and all the doors could be locked from outside the rooms. With Gideon yelling from the other side of the door and her hands shaking, she quickly thrust the key into the keyhole and locked the door. Van took the gun from her and tucked it back into his back.
" We need to call the police." Van said with his throat sore. They faced each other quicky and grabbed at once another. Her arms went around his neck while his went around her waist. They started to whisper to each other, making sure one another was okay. Avalon pulled away to grabbed at his face and crushed her lips to his. A second later the door rocked As Gideon slammed himself into it, making them jump.
" Avalon! Open this door, you ungrateful bitch!" He screamed.
" Come on." Van took her hand and together they started running down the hall to the stairs. They were half way down the stairs when shot rang out. They both whipped around in time to see wood from the wall opposite her room splinter away. Another shot rang out before Gideon yelled out,
" I will fucking kill you!"
They didn't waste anymore time. They turned and started sprinting down the stairs with both their hearts beating hard. Gideon fired into the door again and was still yelling and threatening them. Avalon's head was spinning, from the concussion and the shock of the events. In that moment, Avalon knew the man she had known through her life, the man she thought to be her dad was gone and a new man had taken his place. This man was dark and angry and not someone she wanted to mess with.
As the couple hit the door leading to the outside, they heard her bedroom door slam open. They threw open her front door and took off into the night, not yet knowing where they would go. They ran as hard as they could, with their arms still in tangled and their hands wrapped up into each other. The night air whisked past them as they ran as hard as they could, sweat already starting at their hairlines and down their back.
" What do we do!" Avalon whispered.
" Come on! I have an idea!" Van whispered.
" Avalon!" They heard Gideon yell and knew he was outside the house.
Van pulled them in the direction of his old house. As the sound of a car roaring to life hit the night sky, Van knew he had to get them some place safe. Gideon had lost his mind and there was no doubt in Van's that the other man would kill them both then disappear into the night. He knew what he was doing, had spent years hiding his crimes and the girl he kidnapped, he could do it again now. Van wasn't about to let himself or his girlfriend be killed.
They reached the stairs to his house in no time, with both panting from fear and the run. They sprinted up the old, cracked stairs and over to his front door. Avalon grabbed at the back of his shirt as he dug through the pockets of his shorts. He started swearing right away while she looked at the road. Gideon's car could pass the house at any moment and she was scared, for the first time in her life, she was scared of her dad.
" I don't have the keys!" Van whispered.
" What!" Avalon asked in a panic. Another idea hit him. He reached down and snatched up a rock. He stood back up then tossed the rock into the window next to the door. An alarm started screaming out right away, making her jump. " What are you doing! He's going to hear that!"
" Yeah, he is." Van said, reaching through the window to grab at the door's lock from the inside. " And so will other people and they will call the cops. We just need to get inside and hide until they get here."
" Van!" She panicked. He unlocked the door and threw it open, whipping around to grabbed at her again.
" Trust me on this, Avy, please." He begged. Avalon paled but let Van pull her into the house and slam the door shut.