Getting Away With You

Jimmy had called Freak and told him about everything, and he said he’d come by later because he was swamped with paperwork, so Matt, Jimmy Brian and I just waited for the next three hours as Sonny and his group searched the surrounding area of the house. There really wasn’t anything else we could do. We awaited a call from Chase, or a knock on the door, but it never came. We didn’t hear a word for three hours, not from Sonny, not from Freak, and nothing whatsoever from Chase. Brian had stalked off to the kitchen to get something to eat, Jimmy had fallen asleep, and Matt and I were on the opposite couch of Jimmy, listening to the weather on TV. Matt and I were as silent as could be, I was snuggled into his side, and I could tell he was afraid of being this close to me, but I had already reassured him that he wasn’t going to hurt me. Just as I nearly began slipping off into unconsciousness from exhaustion of the long day, there was a knock on the door. Matt and I both froze.

“It’s Sonny, open up!” Sonny’s voice boomed through, sending relief through both of us. Matt and I got up and went over to the door.

“Mission accomplished.” Sonny smiled as Matt opened the door.

“How many guys were there?” I asked cautiously, almost scared of the actual number of people Chase had spying on our every move.

“Not too many. They were spread out everywhere though. We’re taking care of everything out here; you guys get a call from Chase yet?” Sonny asked, slight worry in his voice

“Nothing yet, I’m beginning to think he was just trying to scare us.” Matt said, and Sonny nodded. We had all been thinking that; that Chase just said he was on his way here to scare us, and get us on edge.

“I have some things to get rid of, so I’ll see you two later. Don’t let him scare you.” Sonny smiled and turned and walked off of the porch. Just as Matt was about to shut the door, Freak pulled up and ran to the door.

“Hey, Freak.” I smiled and he grinned.

“Hey, you’re still alive!” He grinned and pulled me into an unexpected hug. I hugged him back and we pulled away.

“Surprisingly Chase hasn’t come.” Matt said and Freak nodded, getting serious.

“Good that means he was probably just bluffing.” Freak stated and we nodded.

“We hope that’s what it was. We haven’t gotten any phone calls or anything from him.” I said and he took in this information.

“Was that Sonny that just pulled out?” He asked, motioning over his shoulder.

“He brought some of his guys over and they got rid of all of Chase’s eyes and ears around here.” Matt said and Freak looked around, nonchalantly.

“He did get them all, didn’t he?” Freak asked, looking back at us.

“We hope so.” I said, truly hoping that he did get everyone that was out here.

“Sonny’s thorough, you know how he is, and he wouldn’t leave until he made sure we were okay.” Matt smiled lightly, seeming as if a weight had been lifted with this thought. “He’s like that.”

“Yea, he is. He’s pretty cool kid. Don’t think I’ve ever met someone who hates Chase that much, though.” Freak said, sounding kind of curious.

“He’s something else.” Matt added.

“Sure is.” Freak sighed. “Well, I gotta get back to work, bye.” The grin returned to Freak’s face and we said out goodbyes before he jogged off to his car. Matt shut the door and turned to me.

“Chase isn’t coming, is he?” I asked and Matt shook his head.

“I hope not.” He said, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. We walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. I looked over to the digital clock on the end table, and then rested my head on Matt’s shoulder. It was two minutes after six. Chase wasn’t coming. I was glad. That meant we were safe for now. I was safe for now. Matt was starting to calm down a little bit and relax a little more from everything that had happened today. He wasn’t as tense about being close to me as much. I was grateful for that.

“You shouldn’t worry about hurting me.” I whispered and he sighed.

“I can’t help it. I just do. I can’t control my emotions as good as I used to. Chase has fried my brain.” He said, and brushed a strand of hair out of my face.

“You’re not a bad person in my eyes, Matt; you’re still a good hearted guy.” I whispered, hoping he would take my words to heart, because they were the truth. I didn’t think of him as a murderer anymore, the care he showed towards me diminished that rather quickly. He was a wonderful human being, just caught up in the wrong life. Just like Jimmy and Brian, he was drug into this life and forced to live it. It wasn’t his choice, and that just made me even fonder of him. Knowing that he didn’t have a choice from the start made me believe that somewhere deep down he was still a good hearted person, and not this guy that Chase had made him be.

“You’re sweet.” He smiled lightly at me. “I’m going to get you out of this mess alive, Danielle, I promise you that.” He said seriously and I nodded. I knew he would, it wasn’t very difficult for me to put my life in his hands.

“I trust you.” I muttered and he took a deep breath.

“I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.”

“It is.” I paused, looking into his eyes. “You’re a good person.” I leaned up and kissed him on the cheek and then snuggled back into his side.

“I guess.” He mumbled, and I struggled to keep my eyes from dropping. I was tired, and I closed my eyes for a moment, and I couldn’t open them back up before I fell asleep.

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^*Matt’s POV*^
I felt Danielle’s breathing slow down, and once I looked down at her, she was fast asleep. I watched her for a moment, wondering if I could ever really build up the strength to point a gun at her and pull the trigger. Chase had implanted thoughts in my head, and I didn’t like them. She really could be putting on an act, and just as soon as I leave her alone, she could call the cops, and turn us in. She could turn me in. I don’t want to spend a life in prison. That’s not a life at all. That’s why I gave her that gun. If I ever try to hurt her I want her to shoot me, go ahead and end my life for even thinking about killing her. She wouldn’t turn us in though. Something did tell me that, though I was still unsure. I gently picked her up without disturbing her and walked around the coffee table and up the stairs before turning and going into her room. I laid her down and reached my hand behind her back, taking the gun. I looked at it for a moment, contemplating my next actions. I could leave her with it, and give her a fighting chance if I ever decide to follow Chase’s orders, or I could take it, and make things easier on my part. When I decided, I didn’t know if it was the right thing to do or not.

“I’m sorry Danni.” I leaned down and kissed her forehead. “It’s going to be okay.”

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^*Brian’s POV*^
I was a wreck. A complete wreck. I didn’t come into the kitchen to eat; I came to cry my eyes out. Chase has a fucking hold on us and we can’t escape it. We can’t get rid of him, we can’t stop him, and the only way our battle with him is ever going to end is if we died. Hell, even if Chase was dead, he’d still find a way to fuck our lives up from the grave. Because that’s just how he is. Look at what he’s done to Matt. Matt just asked Danielle to shoot him if he ever tried to hurt her. Would he ever try to hurt Danielle? …I’m sad to say I can’t truthfully answer that. I can’t truthfully answer anything right now, because our lives could change any second. That’s what sucks the most about Chase and his sick lifestyle that he drags people into, you never know what’s going to happen next, you never know who’s going to die next, and you never know what’s going to try and kill you next. Everything is decided on a whim, and no one knows what’s happening next, regardless of someone’s previous actions. If this isn’t living life in a tank full of lemonade, piranhas, razorblades and salt, then I don’t know what is. Each moment is more painful than the next thanks to the element of surprise, each cut is deeper than the last with the death of each loved one, and each person that locks their sites on you hates you just a little more than the last. This is one of those lives that someone can live where death is a true escape; an only escape. When most people think all of their options are gone, they still have one more door to walk through that they refuse to go through, the door that’s different for each and every person. I’ve gone through that door. I walked straight through with a smile, thinking something was waiting on the other side for me. Instead, as soon as I stepped foot onto the black marble, I lost everyone I loved and ever cared about, I went through drug and alcohol addiction, depression, and I rose out of that just to be used as a rag doll; a pawn in Chase’s sick game. Now here I am, absolutely nothing left to live for, a gun with one bullet in it lying in front of me on the table. But I don’t see a gun, I see a door. Another door, different from the last, that’s going to lead me to a new life free of all of the burdens and pain I have to face now. All I have to do is open the door. Just grab onto the handle, and turn the knob.

Do it, Brian. Do it.

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^*Jimmy’s POV*^
I watched as Matt carried Danni out of the room, a slight look of adoration and care in his eyes as he walked out of my line of vision. As soon as I heard his footsteps go out of hearing range, I sat up, and rubbed my eyes. I wasn’t sure what had woke me up, but once I looked over at the clock and saw what time it was, I couldn’t help but smile a little. It was past six, and we hadn’t seen any sign of Chase from what I could tell. No sign of Chase. I let a sigh past my lips. This was my life; this was our lives, living on the edge every second of the day, not sure if you’re going to survive another round or not. This was life in Chase’s world. That’s where we lived now, not in our world, not in society, in Chase’s world. We lived with him, in his life. We weren’t allowed to have our own lives, because we could get him thrown in prison, and then we’d be ordered to death. Simple as- My train of thought was abruptly cut off by the sound of two gunshots, one from the kitchen, and one from upstairs. There were other noises, but I ignored them as I remembered Danni was upstairs. With Matt. I took off, running up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I rushed around the top floor to her door. I kicked it open and my heart stopped as Matt kept firing bullet after bullet.

“MATT! MATT STOP!”