Engaged Chapter 9 Die Trying
There was a flash of blond up ahead in the tunnel of darkness, her blond hair giving off an almost halo-like glow, glistening in the non-existing light. Every time he got closer, she seemed farther away from his reach. He turned the corner, then the next and the next, feeling like he was running in circles, maybe he was, never losing sight of the blond women in front of him. She disappeared from view, and his heart clenched tight. Where did she go?
Slowing down, he caught sight of a door, looming in front of him. It looked like one of those doors in scary movies; you know them, the ones that look black in the dark room, with bright light shinning behind it, almost daring you to find out what is behind it, waiting for you.
Hesitating, he reaches out for the doorknob, slowly turning it, breathing deeply before he pulls it open, and steps through. Bright blinding light flashes in his eyes, and he quickly shields his face with his arms, blinking rapidly. As if someone turned a switch, the light disappears and he’s left blinking tiny black dots away. His vision cleared, he sees the women with blonde hair standing in front of him, her back to him.
‘Mom?’
Slowly she turns around and he gasps. Her eyes are rolled up behind her head, she’s white as a ghost, except the small trickle of blood running down her face from the gunshot wound on her forehead.
‘L.J, run!’ She screams, before crumpling to the floor.
‘Mom!’ He screams, but then there’s a man in a suit, aiming a gun at him, and he can’t see his eyes behind his dark sunglasses. Kellerman. The man who killed his mom, and so many others.
Then everything goes still, like slow motion, and L.J is running towards him, anger, revenge and tears in his eyes. Kellerman pulls the trigger and L.J can literally see the bullet flying through the air towards him. His dad and Uncle Mike flash through his head, praying they got to safety, before the bullet pierces his side.
It’s black. Everything is black surrounding him, why can’t he see? He opens his eyes, but then everything is too bright, there’s too much light. There’s someone staring down at him. His dad. He’s saying something, why can’t he hear him, why won’t he talk louder?! And then everything comes back, as if he pressed play on a movie, sound came screaming back, picture was clear. The pain in his side exploded. He cries out in pain. He can hear his father saying, ‘It’s going to be okay,’ over and over again, almost like he was trying to convince himself. The pain was unbearable. Spreading through him, like a thousand knives stabbing him.
‘L.J, L.J stay with me, stay with me buddy, can you do that for me, just stay with me,’ He hears his dad say before he blacks out once again.
For the second time, he forces his eyes open and tires to sit up, but falls back on the bed in pain. Wait, bed? It was then he takes notice of his surroundings. They were in a small room, one bed, desk on the side, TV up front, window on the right with tacky curtains, shielding them from the hot sun. They were in a motel room.
‘How long-‘ He can’t finish his question as he starts choking and coughing, his throat was dry. His father quickly hands him a cup of water, while he rubs his chest soothingly. The cool liquid felt nice against his dry throat.
‘How long have I been out?’ He tries again, passing the sup back to him.
‘A day,’ He replies, ‘I didn’t know what to do, I tried to stop the bleeding the best I could, it just grazed your side, thank god for that. If it weren’t for your mumbling in your sleep, I would have thought you were dead. I called Jane as fast as I could,’ Lincoln explained, ‘She walked me through what to do and directed me to a safe spot to stop.
‘Jane is here? She’s here now? Where is she?’ L.J asks, looking around the room as if she might appear out of thin air.
‘Yeah, she’s here, got here a few hours ago. She went to get a few supplies,’ Linc answers him.
‘Here, you must be in a hell of a lot of pain, take these,’ His father hands over two tablets, offering the water again. He takes them gratefully, placing one on his tongue and chasing it down with the water, doing the same with the other. After he finishes swallowing, he tells his father that the pain isn’t as bad as he expected.
‘Well, Jane gave you a shot, but it’s probably wearing off now.’ Just then the door opens, and a women with blond hair walks in, carrying bags. He knows it’s just Jane, but he can’t help being reminded of his mother, and his dream.
‘Hey Jane,’ L.J says
‘Hey kid, how’re you doing?’ Jane replies,’ Did you give him the pills, Lincoln?’
‘Ya,’ Was his brief reply.
L.J knew from the first time he ever met Jane that there was something between his dad and her. His dad’s whole body language changed, and sometimes catches him just staring at her, almost observing her. He knows his dad is still trying to move on from Veronica, and is still in pain over losing her, but if there is something between them, He would be happy for him. He liked Jane, she was cool, and although she’s an ex-agent, she still knew some pretty handy moves, some dirty fighting skills.
‘Where are we exactly?’ L.J asks them, wondering how far they had gotten.
‘Not as far as I would have liked, but I have everything we need, so there’s no point in staying here. A few more hours rest and then we should be on our way,’ Jane replied.
***Later
Linc is sitting beside L.J, watching over him as he sleeps, hoping they can get through this, that he doesn’t have to go through this shit anymore, that he can start his life over, get a clean break, somewhere. All his life he just wanted to protect him, even if that meant from himself.
He tried giving Michael a good life, a good education, but look how that backfired. Landed him in the chair, and Michael in prison. They deserved so much more, and he kept dragging them down with him.
He sighed deeply before turning around, grabbing his cell. Pressing a button, he let the speed dial connect him to his brother. It went straight to voicemail. That’s weird, he thought, Mikey always answers his phone, especially when he would be the only one calling him, that he would call only for emergencies.
‘Hey Mike, It’s me, ummm…we kinda ran into a problem, so uh, call back as soon as you can.’ Snapping the phone shut, he resumes his spot beside his son, snaking his fingers through his dark hair, as he watches his chest rise and fall softly. He looked so peaceful sleeping. Right then he made a promise to himself that he was going to get his happy ending for his family, and he’ll damn well die trying.