Chapter 34 The Showdown #2
However, he also knew that when you saw someone day in and day out, the changes in them were often so tiny, they were difficult to pick up, like someone’s height.
You didn’t notice your child’s incremental growth because you saw them every day.
But if you lived across the country and hadn’t seen someone for a while, then the next time you saw the child a year later, you’d be surprised by how tall they’d gotten.
Granted, he hadn’t seen Judah every day this summer, but he’d been around at least once a week because he was friends with Ezra. Guilt hit hard, though, that he’d been so caught up in his promotion and personal problems that he missed Judah crying out for help.
“You can’t help me, Dr. Vaughn. Not unless you can make Ryker fall out of love with Kennedy. Or make her love me the way I love her.”
“No one can make those things happen, Judah. We can’t make people love or not love someone. Love just happens.”
He thought fleetingly of Jess and the look on her face at the homecoming game. More signs he’d missed.
“I’ve loved her since I met her. Since kindergarten.” The boy was crying now. “I protected her. I did everything for her. Why can’t she love me?”
Against his better judgment, Lucas slowly lowered his hands. “She does love you, Judah. She’s your friend. She’s never not loved you.”
“But she doesn’t love me the way I love her. She should!”
He took another step. “I get that it’s breaking your heart, but if you love her, you’d want her to be happy, right? It’s not her fault.”
“What did I do wrong that she doesn’t love me?”
Judah was no longer rational. Although he stopped pointing the gun at Lucas, he was still waving it around as he talked, which was even more dangerous.
Another voice spoke up from behind Lucas. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Judah. We love who we love. And Kennedy didn’t do anything wrong either. She can’t help it if she can’t reciprocate at the same level.”
In the dim light, Lucas saw Judah’s eyes round in surprise at Elyxandre’s sudden appearance. She was covered in dust and cobwebs, and there was a ragged scratch along her left arm from where she’d run into something.
“How did you get up here?” The gun was now jerking between being aimed at him and Elyxandre.
She was next to him now, her hands raised to their kidnapper.
“This building is old. When they remodeled this portion of the school, they built over the original structure, and they left behind a staircase that was on the other side of the wall, between the stage and the old scene shop that went into the grid and the attic. It’s been sitting there, unused, since they put in wider, safer concrete stairs to this room on the other end of the new scene shop. ”
“You shouldn’t be here,” Judah whimpered. “Now things are even worse. It was just supposed to be Ryker I had to deal with. Now I have to deal with both of you too.”
“Why do you have to deal with anyone, Judah? We’re so worried about you. Kennedy can’t stop crying. Even Ryker’s worried.”
The mention of his rival’s name turned his despair to anger. “Ryker knew she was my girl. He should have stayed away.”
Another two steps. “He probably tried, Judah.” He didn’t know if that was the truth or a lie, but he understood she was simply trying to talk him down.
“Just because we know we should do something doesn’t mean that we can.
Humans are irrational creatures. Our feelings often override what our brains tell us is for the best.”
“This is all his fault. I should have just killed him as soon as he started sniffing around her, and then he’d be out of the picture. Kennedy would never have known, and this would never have happened.”
“It’s not Ryker’s fault either. The heart wants what it wants, and he can’t force it to want something else.”
“It is his fault! It’s all his fault!”
Her tone was commiserating when she spoke.
“I understand you’re upset with Ryker, but you’re hurting more people than just him.
I’d be upset too. I might even want to hurt someone who stood between me and the person I loved.
But you took it out on the wrong person.
You kidnapped Kennedy. You kept her here without food and gave her barely any water.
You don’t do that to people you love, Judah. She’s sick now because of it.”
It was a small lie, but he understood what she was doing. If she could get the boy to focus on Kennedy being hurt, maybe it would distract him.
“It wasn’t that long.” The gun pointed at Elyxandre’s chest and stayed there.
Lucas desperately wanted to shove her out of harm’s way, but he was afraid that might prompt him into shooting her simply by a reflex action.
“I would never hurt Kennedy. I was going to bring her more food and water, but then I ran into him.” The gun swung back to aim at Lucas’ chest.
This was the part he didn’t understand. He got, in a twisted sense, that Judah thought he was protecting Kennedy. He understood kidnapping Ryker because, in Judah’s mind, he was standing in the way of the romance. But why him?
“What did I do, Judah?” he asked.
The boy advanced two steps toward him. “I asked you to let me take Kennedy’s punishment, but you wouldn’t let me.”
“I couldn’t give you her punishment, but we did soften the penalty for Kennedy.”
Elyxandre added, “You told us her father was beating her, and we didn’t want her to be at home where he could hurt her further. But you lied to us, Judah. He wasn’t beating her. He loves Kennedy. Why would you lie?”
“He was keeping her from me! You all were.”
The gun flicked back and forth between him and Elyxandre, and the hand holding it was shaking.
Whether it was from anger, fear, or exhaustion, he didn’t know.
What he did know was that these next few moments were critical in getting both of them out of here alive.
Because if Judah pulled the trigger on him, he had no doubt in his mind that the boy would then turn the gun on himself.
“You were all keeping her from me!” Tears were flowing freely now as Judah struggled through his answers.
“Her father wouldn’t let me in the house.
Said I was being too overprotective. Too controlling.
She tried talking to him, but he wouldn’t listen.
Then she got it into her head that she should go away to college, make something of herself.
She could do that here!” he screamed. “She could do that with me! But she told me you both started showing her options that would take her away from San Antonio. Away from Texas. Away from me!”
“None of what we showed her was meant to take her away from you, Judah. It was to keep her safe. Keep her from getting hurt. We just didn’t realize that she needed to be safe from you and not her father,” Lucas told him.
“Not helping,” Elyxandre warned from the corner of her mouth.
“I would never hurt Kennedy!” Judah screamed.
“I know you didn’t want to,” Lucas continued. “But you did, Judah.”
“No,” the boy insisted. “I loved her!”
“So then why take her prisoner?” Elyxandre asked.
“Because she hurt me! She kissed him! She let him touch her! She wouldn’t let me do those things, and it should have been me, not him!”
Lucas knew that this was officially the end.
The tears Judah had been crying were gone now.
In their place was only cold rage. Judah Lawson, as everyone had known him all his life, was gone.
In his place was a broken young man with a mission he intended to see through.
Kennedy and Ryker were out of his reach, but Elyxandre and Lucas were not. They would have to act as surrogates.
He pointed the gun at Elyxandre again, waving it back and forth. “Move to the back. Don’t turn around. Just keep stepping back slowly.”
She raised her hands and took two steps back.
“You too, Dr. Vaughn. Back up with Officer Hookstead.”
Lucas mimicked her posture and movements.
Judah began muttering to himself. He was watching them, but he was beyond hearing them.
When they were back against the far wall, Elyxandre whispered to Lucas, “On my signal, drop flat to the floor. Do not look up. Do not get up. No matter what you hear.”
The teenager’s rage dropped for a few seconds, then he aimed his gun at Lucas.
“Drop!” Elyxandre screamed.
Both Lucas and Elyxandre dove for the floor, and at the same time, the crack of a rifle broke on top of the bang from the gun in Judah’s hand.
At first, he couldn’t hear anything from the deafening reports of the two weapons, one of which was close in proximity to him. Then he heard groans of pain and scuffling.
“Lucas, stay down!”
He stayed, but his eyes peeked out at the scene in front of him.
A gun lay on the ground, pointing in his direction.
Elyxandre was rolling Judah over onto his stomach, restraining his hands behind his back.
A figure came flying out of the darkness near the door and toward them.
He could see that it was Lieutenant Axton, and he dropped to Elyxandre’s side to assist her.
By the time they had Judah cuffed and sitting up, another officer came running through the regular entryway, his rifle slung over his shoulder. He helped Lucas to his feet. “It’s a good thing kids gossip, or we never would have known about those secret stairs.”
“I didn’t even know they were there.” He brushed himself off. “Thank you for not killing him.”
“He’s just a kid. Even if I hadn’t been under orders not to, I wouldn’t have,” the man said. The officer took him by the elbow. “They’ve got Judah. Let’s get you downstairs so the medics can check you out. I’m sure Axton’s got lots of questions for you, but then we can get you home to your son.”