“No!”she screams.
I toss the knife aside and lift her out of the tub, crushingher against my chest.She was doing so well.What the hell caused this?
“It’s okay, sweetheart.”
“No!Just let me die!”
She struggles against me, pummeling my chest with her fistsas I take her to the bedroom.I sit her down on the bed and grab her upper arms,holding her in place.
“You listen to me and listen good, Casey Bryan.I amnotletting you go.If you’re going to take your life, you might as well take mine,too, because Icannotandwillnotlive without you.”
“You’ll get over me.”
I release her arms, sit back on my heels, and remove my gunfrom its holster.
“What are you doing?”she exclaims.
“If you want to do it, go ahead.”Uncertainty fills her eyesand she glances in the direction of the bathroom.I flip the safety and put thegun to my head, staring her in the eyes.“Just know that the moment you do, Ipull this trigger.”
Her eyes open wide in fear and she scrambles to the floor,kneeling before me.She throws her arms around my waist and buries her face inmy chest.
“Ethan, no!Please don’t!”
“I will.”
“Okay, okay.I promise I won’t just… put the gun away.Please.”
I flip the safety again and place the gun back in the holster.Horrified, she stares at me, tears streaming down her cheeks.I swear I havenever known fear until this woman came into my life.
“Don’t you dare leave me, Casey.You arenotallowedto remove yourself from my life.”
“I won’t, I won’t.I promise!”
“Casey?”
I turn and see Clara stumbling in, blood plastered to awound on her head.What the hell?I’m on my feet and at her side to catch herbefore she falls.
“Clara!”Casey shrieks.“Oh, my God, what happened?”
She rushes over, helping me get Clara onto the bed.I reachfor my phone and dial Charlie’s number.
“Get your ass over here now!”I shout into the phone when heanswers.
What the fuck is going on here today?Casey races to thebathroom, returning with the first aid kit.
“It doesn’t look too serious.I just need to clean theblood.Get me a bowl or something with some water.”
While I’m in the kitchen, Charlie storms in like a mousewith a cat on its tail.
“What’s going on?”he asks, urgency in his tone.
“You tell me!I come home to find Casey in the bathtub witha knife to her wrist, and then Clara staggers in with her head bashed in.”
“What the hell?”
“Exactly.Find Anna.Bring her to me.”
“Anna?”
