33. SARAH
Exiting the women’s restroom, I take a left while looking down at my phone, scrolling aimlessly, when I clumsily walk right into someone.
“Oh, I’m so sorry—”
“Don’t scream.” Greyson grips my upper arm as his free hand pushes something into my side. Something cold, hard, and deadly. I swallow the lump in my throat, immediately knowing what it is.
All the air leaves my lungs as I’m discreetly dragged away from the crowd, with Greyson’s fingers digging into my skin, holding me hostage. My eyes take in his worse-for-wear appearance, deranged and unhinged. His hair is askew, deep purple bags appear under his eyes, a dark five-o’clock shadow covers his usual smooth skin, and a slight tremor vibrates in his touch.
“G-Greyson, please don’t—”
“Just keep your mouth shut and come with me.” He doesn’t give me a chance to say anything more as he forces me down the long hallway, eventually pushing open a large wooden door and yanking me into the team’s locker room.
“On your knees,” he grits out, shoving me down. I catch myself on my hands and knees before my stomach touches the ground.
“Please don’t—”
“I said, on your fucking knees! If you make me repeat myself, we’re going to have a problem,” he sneers.
He pushes the gun harder into my side, and before he can do any harm to my baby, I immediately prop myself up on my knees. The overflowing jersey covers any sign of a baby bump, and I hope to keep it that way.
I won’t let him harm my baby.
“I really don’t like being made to look like a fool, Sarah.” He shakes his head. “You thought you would get away with it. You thought I wouldn’t know that you erased everything from my hard drives. You have no idea how much you and your precious boyfriend fucked up.”
“I didn’t—”
The cold metal of the gun smacks me across the cheek, sending my face flying to the side as I catch myself with shaking hands.
“Don’t lie to me!” he shouts, fury lacing his words.
I push myself up, kneeling before him, as I taste the metallic flavor of blood from my split lip.
Placing the gun in the back of his pants, he takes out a roll of duct tape.
“Hold out your hands.”
My fingers tremble as I hold them before me, deciding it’s in my baby’s best interest to do whatever he tells me to do.
The tape digs into my skin as he wraps it around my wrist over and over again, ensuring I can’t move.
Furiously, he rips a piece off and then slams it across my mouth, smacking it onto my skin before tapping my cheek like his little plaything. Tears slowly dribble across the tape, falling onto my chest.
“I like you better when you’re quiet.” His jaw clenches as he looks down at me, proud of his hasty tape work. “Much better.” He removes the gun from his waistband, places it on the bench, and then sits beside it, resting against the wall. “And now we wait.”
My head rotates, facing him. Every part of me is a shaking mess, but his words have confused me.
Wait for what?
“Ah, let me explain.” He rests his forearms on his thighs, leaning forward, becoming insufferably too close for my liking. “You’re just the bait.”
I don’t understand. Why would he need me as—
My eyes widen, understanding jolting through me.
“You’re a smart girl. Knew you’d connect the dots.” An evil grin appears as he watches me. “Paul will notice you’re missing soon enough. It will be impossible for him not to since he’s been watching you like a hawk these past few months. And when he comes running in here, ready to be the hero who saves you, well…” He shrugs his shoulders, leisurely picking up the gun beside him and waving it in my face.
I shake my head furiously, murmuring an inaudible plea into the tape. There’s no way in hell I’m letting him touch a hair on Paul’s head. Even if I am entirely immobile, there has to be some way for me to stop this. Moving my eyes around the room, I search for anything.
Something that will make this nightmare end.
“You see, it took me a little while to figure out how you got into my computer in the first place. Or, more accurately, how Paul did. I had to think long and hard about it, and that’s when it—”
But his words are cut off as we both hear feet running down the hallway. My breathing rushes out of me in panted exhales through my nose, leaving me lightheaded as though I’m about to pass out. When Greyson stands beside me, smiling triumphantly, reminding me of the monster I’ve feared, I know only one thing.
It’s too late.
“It’s showtime.” Greyson presses the barrel of the gun into my temple, eliciting a whimper of pain from me.
The door slams open, and Paul emerges before me, suddenly stopping as he sees the scene in front of him.
His eyes darken, narrowing in on me, observing everything Greyson has just put me through.
I widen my eyes, waiting for his eyes to lock onto mine, and they finally do as I silently beg for him to leave.
Please leave. Please leave. Please leave.
It’s the first and only time in my life that I want someone to leave me. To let me go. To get the fuck out of here as fast as he can.
But he won’t.
I know he won’t.
Because of what I stupidly made him promise me.
More tears fall silently down my cheeks, knowing he won’t leave.
He never will.
Thunder roars in my ears from my vigorously pounding heartbeat as Greyson clicks the gun’s safety off and says, “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Paul’s eyes move to Greyson, staring him down. I see a slight tremble in his fist, tightening by his side. His jaw furiously clenches as tension builds in his shoulders. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Greyson?”
Greyson casually waves the gun in the air as though it’s a toy. “Well, you made a mistake when you once again took something that was mine. And I decided I’m not letting you get away with it this time.”
“Greyson,” Paul grits out, his chest heaving. “Just put the gun down, and we can talk about this.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.” He points the gun back at me. “As I was just telling Sarah before you rudely interrupted, I know it was you who hacked into my computer. I had to piece together everything, but it finally clicked. That night you stormed into the bar, trying to beat me to a bloody pulp, was when you found my collection of videos, including hers.” He laughs manically. “It was my favorite video, too. God, I would watch it on repeat. Couldn’t get my fill of her.” He strokes the end of the gun over my cheek, and tears gather in my eyes, blurring my vision.
My eyes latch onto Paul as his whole body vibrates in rage. I’m desperately trying to get his attention with whimpers and head shakes, but no matter what I do, he won’t look at me.
And I can feel him falling deeper into Greyson’s trap.
Greyson’s riling him up, waiting for the right moment to strike.
“Don’t fucking touch her.” The deep tenor of Paul’s voice sends an icy chill in the air.
“Or what? I don’t think you’re the one in this room who can make demands right now,” Greyson responds, sliding the gun down my head to the side of my neck.
“What do you want?”
“What do I want?”
“Yes!” Paul roars. “Fucking name it, and it’s yours. Just don’t fucking hurt her!”
Greyson’s hauntingly eerie laugh echoes around me. “I want things to go back to how they were before you came to this school. Before Paul fucking Weston graced Linrey University with his presence, everything was perfect. But then you had to fucking come and ruin everything. Because of you, I was demoted to co-captain. Because of you, the scout from Boston who used to be interested in me gravitated toward you. And how can anyone fucking notice me when all eyes are on you?” Greyson’s free hand wraps around the ends of my hair, tugging my head against his leg. “I’m fucking tired of you taking things from me!”
His body trembles beside me, rage engulfing him. “You don’t deserve your position on this team. You’re only here because of your last name. You know it. I know it. The whole fucking team knows it. But now, because of you, I’ve lost any shot with Boston. My chances of getting into the NBA are gone. And it’s because of you. You fucked everything up for me!” Greyson snarls, shoving the gun harder into my skin.
“That’s what this is about?” Paul asks incredulously. “Take my fucking position in the draft. I don’t fucking care about any of it. The only thing that matters to me is her!” Paul’s unrecognizable voice bellows in the room, pure terror laced between every word.
“Don’t you think I know that?” Greyson coolly answers, a frightful calm overtaking him.
Paul’s eyes narrow in on Greyson as he suddenly realizes his mistake.
He just revealed his greatest weakness.
The only thing in the world he cares most about.
The one thing he would jump in front of a bullet for.
Me.
I pinch my eyes closed, feeling the gun slide up the side of my head and then push into my scalp.
“And that’s why I’m taking her away from you just like you took everything away from me.”
Those are the last words I hear before I’m knocked onto the ground, headfirst into the floor, as the loudest bang I’ve ever heard in my life fills the room, quickly followed by a second one.
Just as I try to turn my body over, something heavy lands on my back, keeping me in place.
Peeking to my right, through blurry eyes, I see Greyson’s body lying lifeless on the floor just a few feet away from me, bright crimson blood coating the checker tile floor around him. Realizing it’s Paul who fell on me, I maneuver my body, twisting until I come face to face with him.
“Are you okay, baby girl?” His breaths come out shallow, his face paling.
I nod, unable to say anything with the duct tape on. He reaches up, his unsteady fingers quickly removing it from my face.
Sucking in a deep breath, I stutter, “P-Paul. Are y-you okay? What happened?”
His lips curve up the tiniest bit. “I’m okay because you’re okay, Sarah. You and our baby. That’s all that matters to me.”
Something warm and wet drips on my exposed stomach, and when I glance down between me and Paul, I see blood.
Lots and lots of blood.
But I know it’s not coming from me.
It’s coming from Paul, who rolls off of me, landing on his back beside me with a thump.
“Paul? No. No. No!” His eyes are half closed as he tries to focus on me.
“I love you, Sarah. Promise me…you’ll let Lily know her daddy loves her so much.” His lips start turning blue as he gasps like a fish out of water, searching for any ounce of oxygen in the room.
Shaking my head, I choke out, “You can tell her that yourself!”
He smiles softly. “I don’t…think I can.” His hand quivers as he touches my cheek, ghosting his fingers across my skin.
“You promised me you’d never let me go,” I sob, bringing my face down onto his chest, not caring about any of the blood soaking my skin and hair. “You can’t fucking leave me, Paul. You promised me.”
Using my bound hands, I lift Paul’s shirt, revealing my worst fear. The bullet hole is directly in the center of his chest.
I bring my wrists up to my mouth and start tearing at the tape with my teeth like a ravenous animal, acting off of a pure adrenaline rush. The sting of my raw, bruised flesh is nothing in comparison to the pain circulating in my chest right now.
But I can’t get the tape fucking off.
I try to stand on my shaky legs but immediately fall, tremors wracking throughout my body.
“Help!” I scream through a sob. “Somebody help us!” I place my head on his shoulder. “Please. Anybody,” I beg again, feeling his chest slow with each last breath he takes.
“Please don’t leave me.” I kiss him softly. His beautiful brown eyes, appearing distant and withdrawn, close right after I whisper, “I love you.”