“Are you fucking stupid?” he screams at me as he throws his phone against a wall. Stacy and I back up to put some distance between us. “You didn’t think I’d fucking listen to you two?”
“Leo, please let her go. Please,” I plead as he walks closer.
“I believed you, Sadie,” he shouts.
“I fucking trusted you, too,” I scream. “You’re fucking insane. Just stop this shit already. I don’t want you. I’ll never want you.”
I don’t realize how big a mistake my outburst was until he stops walking and his face drops.
“Do you mean that? There will never be a chance?” he asks.
“Sadie,” Stacy says as a warning.
“Say it!” Leo screams. His face is bright red, and the veins in his head bulge in response to his rage.
“I don’t want you, Leo. I will never want you,” I say firmly. “Just let Stacy go and do what you need to do.”
Fear floods my system when Leo pulls a pistol from his waistband. He has his finger on the trigger, but it’s pointed down.
“If I can’t have you, you don’t deserve to live,” Leo says. “I could have saved you, Sadie.”
“Leo. Please let her go. Please, let Stacy go,” I plead with tears running down my cheeks. “I swear to God, I’ll do whatever you want me to. Okay? I’ll stay with you. I’ll try. I’ll learn, Leo. Please let her go.”
Stacy has a tight grip on my wrist to prevent me from stepping in front of her. I have to protect her, though. I can’t let her get hurt. I can’t let him hurt her. This is my fault that she’s here. I don’t want to kill my best friend. Todd would be so angry at me if something happened to her.
“It’s too late, Sadie,” he says softly. “I’ll always love you, Sadie.”
The world slows down as he lifts the gun. The realization that all eight of my friends are about to have to grieve my loss is sobering. If I die, will he let Stacy live? I can’t help but think of all the happy memories I have in the field with my friends. All the time we spent together at the cabin. I can recall all the movies we watched as a group and how Billy is secretly afraid of horror movies. I remember times when Mason would cheat in Monopoly, just to get under my skin when I’d have to pay him rent on his properties. Knowing I will never see my men again is painful. More painful than anything I’ve ever experienced.
Stacy screams something that my brain doesn’t register as she yanks me behind her body. A shot rings through the cabin, and we both freeze. Stacy groans and comes down to her knees. I see red flooding the front of the lace top she is wearing, and something inside of me snaps.
Leo points the gun directly at me as I stand frozen, but when he pulls the trigger, nothing happens. Stacy slumps to the cabin floor, and I scream. It is unhinged and filled with years of built-up rage. All of the years I’ve spent with the guys in the field have taught me that if I want to tackle someone, I put my weight behind it. I’m small, so I have to make it count.
I continue screaming as I run at Leo, catching him off guard when I slam into him. He immediately tries to turn the gun on me, but I grab the barrel and force it away from my face. He might be stronger, but I knocked the wind out of him when he hit the ground.
I am screaming something at him. My words are flying past my lips like venom as I pry the gun from his hands. As soon as I get it into my hands, Leo grabs me by the throat. I can’t breathe, so I swing the butt of the gun down on his face. He screams in pain, and blood pours from his nose. I keep swinging the gun down on him, screaming at him for all the pain he has caused me. All of the trauma he and Paul put me through.
And Stacy…
Poor Stacy.
It’s all my fault.
His body has gone limp, but I keep hitting him. His face is unrecognizable, but it doesn’t matter. He can’t keep hurting me. He can’t keep causing the world pain. He is sick, and there is no cure for his insanity.
Stacy’s pained groans snap me out of my murderous rage, and I toss the gun down to rush to her side.
“No, no, no, no,” I say, panicked when I see how badly she’s bleeding. “Why did you do that? Goddamn it, Stacy. Why the fuck did you do that?”
I place my hand flat over the gunshot wound and press in, making her cry out in pain. “Sadie,” she chokes.
“I have to stop the bleeding. There’s too much blood,” I say, sobbing.
“Sadie. Please,” she pleads, pulling my hand away from her belly.
“I can’t lose you. Why did you save me? He wasn’t…”
“Shhh. Sadie. Please,” she says. “I’m dying, baby. Please just lie with me.”