"Look how cute they are," Chloe grinned. She and Beca had bumped into Jaiden and Stacie in the lobby of the apartment complex and the couple had decided to lurk for a bit. Though Beca would never admit it, she absolutely loved seeing Jaiden in a relationship. That was about as vulnerable as Jaiden would allow herself to be with anyone, and her sister loved seeing that side of her. She loved the unaltered parts of Jaiden that still remained, because those were the ones she remembered.
"I know. I could see them getting married. I think this whole relationship thing has been good for Stacie too. It's probably been forever since someone's treated her right." Beca pointed out. Chloe nodded in completely agreement and couldn't help but smile as Jaiden stood on the balls of her feet and kissed Stacie goodbye. Her smile disappeared as she saw the two girls rip apart and she watched in confusion as Jaiden pushed Stacie behind her suddenly. Beca released her hold on Chloe's hand and rushed towards the door, her stomach tightening with unease. The brunette burst outside, leaving her confused girlfriend standing in the lobby, and she shivered as the chilly night air sent goosebumps up her arms.
"-go into the building." Beca caught the tail end of Jaiden's quiet instruction just as she made it through the door. The brunette squinted into the darkness and then froze when she saw the figure standing approximately 10 feet from her sister and Stacie. It was Ted. And he was holding a gun in his outstretched hand.
"No," Stacie held her ground and clung onto Jaiden's hand. She couldn't leave the younger girl out here with the man who had approached them out of nowhere.
"Stacie, please." Jaiden pleaded desperately. She pushed the older girl back with her free hand, trying to get her away from the threat in front of them. When she had heard Ted's voice from out of the darkness, her heart had stopped, but not out of fear for herself. Her first thought was Stacie, and the fact that he could hurt her. It was the same response she had had when Ted had come home that one night to find her with Cici.
"I'm going to give your dyke girlfriend five seconds more to get the fuck out of here, or I'm going to blow her brains out." The man grunted coldly. Jaiden's panic levels spiked again and she wrenched her hand out of Stacie's grip harshly.
"I'll go wherever you want, just please don't touch her." Jaiden begged. She stepped forward, unaware that Beca was watching from just outside the door, and cautiously closed the distance between herself and the man she had spent years fearing.
"Jaiden, no." Beca finally unfroze herself and pushed past Stacie, who was watching in mute terror as her girlfriend made her way towards the gun wielding man. Ted's gaze shifted from his target to the familiar voice and he smirked in realization.
"Beca, yes." He laughed. The tiny brunette forced herself to walk straight towards the gun pointed at Jaiden and stepped in front of the younger girl. Her pulse was pounding in her ears and she had no real plan, other than to step up and put herself between the two of them for once. He wasn't going to hurt her. Not this time.
"Step out of the way, you piece of shit sinner. You don't have to pay for your abominations. Not tonight, anyway." He gestured with the handgun and waited for Beca to follow his instructions. The drunken man swayed on his feet and Beca forced her own to stay planted on the pavement.
"Get the fuck out of here before we call the cops. If you do this, you're going right back to prison." Beca warned him. Her voice shook and she locked her eyes on the gun in her face.
"You really don't want to threaten me right now, you dumb bitch." He snarled. Ted's grip tightened on the gun and he glared at the girl in front of him menacingly. In a split second decision, Beca lurched forward and grabbed onto the black piece of metal with all of her strength. Ted yelled in surprise and the two began a lethal battle of tug-o-war, each of them with death grips on the gun. Beca clenched her eyes shut impulsively as the weapon fired and her blood ran cold at the scream behind her. However, the brunette couldn't afford to release her grip, and she instead aimed a random kick towards what she hoped were Ted's legs. To her relief, her foot connected with the drunken man's shin and he released his grip on the gun. Unfortunately for Beca, the weapon went skidding across the pavement, and Ted's drunken state of mind caused him to turn entirely on her. She hardly had time to brace herself before she was sent sprawling to the pavement by the enraged man. Her head hit the concrete with a sickening thud and her ears rang loudly, sending her into a wave of near unconsciousness.
Chloe's heart dropped as she heard the distinct sound of a gunshot from outside the doors and a scream of shocked pain that could only be Jaiden's. The redhead booked it out of lobby and lurched to a stop as she took in the scene before her. Stacie, who knelt on the pavement beside a very crumpled up and blood covered Jaiden, noticed her presence and stared at the frozen girl desperately.
"Chloe, get help!" The brunette screamed. Chloe was about to whirl around and run back into the apartment complex when she finally realized where Beca was. The small girl had cried out from her place on the concrete, and Chloe's stomach twisted as she watched an intoxicated Ted aim a violent kick straight into her side.
"No," Chloe rushed towards the man and shoved him away from Beca instinctively. He stumbled back a few steps and she balled her hands into fists at her side, bracing herself. Ted turned his attention towards her and then looked to his left, searching for something. Chloe took the opportunity to hurry to Beca's side while he was distracted and she put a hand on the hurt girl's shoulder cautiously.
"You two, into the building," Ted grunted without warning. Chloe looked up to see the end of a gun barrel and her blood ran cold at the sight. He was looking between her and Stacie and the two older girls exchanged silent glances. Walking away from this seemed impossible, but neither of them doubted the severity of his intent.
"Stacie, we have to." Chloe whispered finally. She could feel the sting of tears in her eyes and she stifled a scared sob when she heard the click of a gun behind her. Stacie whimpered and looked down at the girl in her arms before forcing herself to let go and stand up. Her dress was stained with Jaiden's blood and she waited for Chloe, who was still on the ground.
"Move," Ted snarled at her. The redhead sobbed before standing up and making herself move back towards the building. Beca hadn't seemed to notice her appearance, nor her disappearance, and the small girl lay still on the pavement as she backed away slowly.
"Please don't hurt them," She begged. Ted ignored her request and trained the gun on her until she joined Stacie back in the lobby. The taller brunette was on the phone already, sobbing to a 911 operator and just barely managing to get the apartment building's address out.
"Get up. Get the fuck up," Ted ordered. He moved forward as the door across from him shut and pulled Beca to her feet. The tiny girl stumbled, but fought against his grip weakly as he pulled her towards his still running truck. The man shoved her into the narrow backseat section of the vehicle and then shut the door harshly. Beca cried out as it shut on her ankle and sent a shot of pain straight up her leg. Ted grumbled something unintelligible before pushing her foot inside and effectively closing the door. His vision swam from the whiskey he had built himself up with and he barely managed to stagger over to his second stepdaughter, who was attempting to pull herself towards the apartment building pitifully.
"Are you happy now, you piece of shit?" He asked tauntingly. The alcoholic leaned down and grabbed her by the hair, forcing her onto her feet. She clutched at her lower ribcage area, where the stray bullet had hit, and nearly fell as he drug her towards the truck.
"Please, stop." Jaiden begged. The man ignored her and instead forced her into the back of the truck on the other side. Setting his gun on the passenger's seat, he climbed in on the driver's side and peeled out haphazardly. Jaiden looked over at Beca, who was propped up against the door and fought back tears at the sight of the other girl.
"Beca?" She whispered. The smaller girl jolted at the sound of her name and she attempted to focus her gaze on her through the swelling that had already started.
"Come here," Beca said. Her voice was hoarse and barely audible, and Jaiden suppressed a scream of pain as she forced herself to scoot towards the older girl. She came to rest beside her, breathing heavily, and attempting to keep the bleeding under control.
"Where…where is his gun?" The older of the two asked.
"Passenger's seat," Jaiden murmured. Beca nodded slightly and then groaned in pain as she attempted to straighten up.
"I need you to grab it. I'll…I'll take care of the rest." Beca kept her voice low and she squeezed her sister's arm desperately. Jaiden glanced up towards Ted, who was focusing on the road and drinking from his flask at the same time. Despite the fiery pain at the slightest movement, Jaiden nodded and pushed away from her slowly. She clenched her jaw and peeked her head around the far side of the passenger's seat, eyeing the weapon. With one quick look up towards Ted, Jaiden reached a bloodstained arm around and slowly pulled it into the backseat. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath until she handed Beca the gun and released it. Blackness was beginning to cloud at the edges of her vision, and she attempted to focus on Beca in order to keep herself awake.
Beca gripped the gun in her hand, feeling its cold metal and willing it to rouse her from the daze she had felt since she had hit her head. She could feel that the truck was still speeding along and chose to lock her gaze on the man in the front seat. Beca's heart slammed in her chest as she stared at the man who, once again, had endangered her sister's life. Her hand clenched tighter on the weapon she held and her pulse raced as she felt the truck's brakes engage. They slowed to a stop, and the second that the truck fell still, Beca raised the gun and fired.
"Ms. Conrad? Ms. Beale? Can I get you a cup of coffee?" Both Stacie and Chloe looked up towards the doorway to the apartment as the officer in charge of the case walked back in. Both of their eyes were red from crying and they were absolutely exhausted from worry.
"Is there any news?" Stacie asked hopefully. She had managed to keep a positive outlook longer than Chloe had. The redhead hadn't been able to shake the feeling of dread since the police had gotten there, and every time one of them approached her, she braced herself.
"Actually, yes. The truck was located, and both of the Mitchells are on their way to the hospital. And our suspect was pronounced dead on arrival." He explained gently. Chloe's eyes widened at the news and she released a long breath of relief. She felt Stacie hug her from the side and got to her feet automatically, still trying to process the information. She had been preparing herself to hear that Beca was dead.
"Come on, we have to get to the hospital." Stacie tugged her stunned counterpart along and the two girls followed their officer out into the parking lot. They crawled into the back of his cruiser and fell into silence as the man turned on his sirens and sped off. Generally, he wouldn't have used such extreme measures for a hospital run, but he had picked up on the urgent need to get the two girls in the back reunited with the involved party as fast as he could.
15 minutes of fast driving later, the cruiser pulled into the ER lot and both Stacie and Chloe made a run for the doors. An officer was already standing inside, waiting for them, and Chloe once again found herself expecting bad news. Bile rose in her throat at the idea of losing either Jaiden or Beca, and she waited fearfully for him to speak.
"The younger Ms. Mitchell has been taken into emergency surgery to repair her bullet wound, but she is expected to pull through. The older Ms. Mitchell is currently in a CT, but will be out shortly in order to have her other injuries treated. A doctor will update you as soon as there's news, but for now you can both take a seat in the waiting room." The policeman gestured towards a few available chairs and then nodded at them respectfully. Chloe found herself shocked for the second time and she allowed Stacie to lead her over to the waiting area, trying to process the fact that Beca was still here. And now the only obstacle between her and her girlfriend was the waiting.
I wrote this when I was super hungover. Let me know what you think, okay? Also super open for suggestions for the rest of the story.