Masterpiece Theater

Searing pain blazed through me, a fire in my veins. I pressed my hand to my shoulder as I pushed myself to my knees, trying to get my breathing under control. Brian stripped off his shirt and pushed it against the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

“Finn...fuck.” I hissed. “What...the hell…”

“What the fuck are you doing here, man? You could have killed her!” Brian shouted, standing up to face him. Finn laughed.

“She got in the way. She’s always been a stupid bitch.”

I gritted my teeth and pushed myself to stand. If I couldn’t face him on my feet, then he might as well have shot me in the head. I stepped forward and he lifted his gun, arm completely steady.

He may have been drunk, but his shot was better when he was drunk.

He followed Brian around with it as Brian tried to step up to him.

“Bri!” I hissed. “Don’t!”

“Yeah, Bri, don’t.” Finn mocked. “Laurel is my wife, and she’s coming home with me now.”

“I don’t fucking think so.”

Blood painted my hand. I pulled it away, the t-shirt having soaked up enough to stick to the wound on its own. I couldn’t tell if there was an exit wound; right now it didn’t matter. What mattered was getting Finn away from Brian, because if anything happened, it would be my fault.

Pain shot through me as I took another step towards Finn. He was looking at me, but had his gun pointed at Brian. Brian held his arm out to stop me from getting closer.

“It’s a good thing you’re not paid to think, then. You’re paid to look pretty. I’ve been watching her, you know, to see who would come to her rescue. Her brother I expected, but you? I didn’t think it was anything to worry about. Synyster Gates and one of many. Couldn’t possibly have lasted, right? I took her to the hospital and waited, and to my surprise, you showed up and hardly left her side.”

"Finn…" I growled. "Leave him...alone. You don't...want to...hurt him. Just...me."

"But darling, hurting him does hurt you. So what will you do to stop me from hurting him?"

I looked at Brian. He shook his head. His eyes were wide, full of fear, for me. He was pleading with me not to say anything, or do anything.

Brian was fast, and if Finn didn't have a gun, Brian could take him, but bullets were faster and did more damage. The second Brian moved, to reach me or the switchblade he kept in the nightstand drawer, or his phone to call for help, he'd be dead, no doubt about it.

"Tick-tock, Laurel." Finn shot at the nightstand, splintering the wood. Brian jumped, moving closer to me, turning his back to Finn.

He looked me over, peeling the shirt away from the wound. I winced, trying to catch my breath. The blood had already started to clot, but I was growing more dizzy by the second. I was only half coherent.

"Bri…" I whispered.

"No."

"I have to-"

"No, Laurel. You can't...don't. Please."

I kissed him. His hands, covered in my blood, wrapped into my hair. I cupped his face, brushing my thumb over his cheek, smearing more blood.

The only reason Finn watched and did nothing was because he knew we were saying goodbye. He knew I wouldn't let him hurt Brian or Jason or anyone else.

Brian pulled away first, pressing his forehead against mine. His eyelashes fluttered against my skin as he breathed deeply, forming a final memory.

"I love you." He whispered. "Always.'

I nodded. Between being on the verge of passing out and not wanting to cry, I couldn't say anything. When he kissed me again, it was wet and his lips were salty from his own tears.

I pulled away with a shuddering breath and walked around him, to face my tormentor.

"You win, Fintan. Let's go."

"Atta girl. Now, do you have a kiss for your husband?"

I swallowed, jerking my chin in a single nod of obedience, and leaned in to kiss him.

I wanted to puke, and I felt bile rising in the back of my throat, but I knew Finn wouldn't leave until I kissed him in front of Brian, so I did.

I made a choice and it was probably going to kill me.

Outside, he searched me, making sure I didn't have my phone. He shoved me into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut, hurrying around to the other side.

"Here." He opened the glove box and handed me an orange prescription bottle. The label read Percocet 7.5 mg, prescribed to Fintan Walsh, twice daily as needed for pain.

I took two and passed out.

**********

Three Months Later

"So, where are you?" I asked Ali on a laugh, swiveling around in my chair.

"I am on Christian's jet. He has his own, you know."

"I did not know. And where exactly are you and Mr. Tate headed?"

"Your neck of the woods, actually. He has a photo-shoot and invited me to come."

"You're coming here?" I sat up in my chair and pressed the phone to my ear.

"Yup."

"To Chicago?"

"That's right."

"No."

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Yes, and when I get there, we have to go out. Dinner, dancing, don't even think about backing out."

“Oh my God!” I squealed. “Of course not! I can’t wait to see you! This is...this is great!”

People in the stacks looked around to see what the commotion was. I hunkered into the table, pretending to mark down on my spreadsheet for inventory.

“Listen…” she started, calmer now. “I don’t know if you want to know but...Brian called me a couple days ago. He said he had something to give you, but he didn’t know how to find you, and he wasn’t sure it would be the best idea. He asked me to pass it along.”

My hands stilled. I hadn’t heard anything about Brian or Avenged Sevenfold from Ali or Jason since I’d come back to Chicago. Finn made sure I deleted all their music and got rid of any evidence that they’d ever been a part of my life.

He kept me in a bubble. He still hit me, and he tried-and failed-to have sex with me, but he made sure I was never far from his reach. He didn’t even let me drive to my kind of shitty job at Borders. He insisted on dropping me off and picking me up. He had all the time in the world now that he’d been taken off the force after what happened in California.

I pressed charges but, as always, they miraculously disappeared.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” I choked out. I cleared my throat. “Yeah, I’m fine. Um...did he say anything else?”

“Not really. He was in a hurry, or nervous as hell. He misses you.”

“I know.”

“Do you miss him?”

“Of course I do, Ali, but I can’t do anything about it.”

“How’s the divorce coming?”

“It would be a lot easier if I was actually able to leave the house. I can’t do anything without being watched.”

“Okay. We’ll talk about it more when I get in. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Yeah, see you.”

I hung up and set my phone on the table with a sigh. Ali was coming, and she was bringing a gift from Brian.

Brian…

I missed him. My heart ached for him. Leaving was the hardest thing I’d ever done. Even if I was allowed to have contact, I had no idea what I would say to him.

Everything was my fault, and I deserved to be in the situation that I was in.

“See who?” Finn’s voice startled me out of my thoughts. I hadn’t even heard the bells indicating he had come in.

“Ali is coming for a visit. We’re gonna go out and have a girl’s night.” I explained. I stood, grabbed my things, and punched myself out at the register, my replacement punching in next to me.

“You made plans without asking me?”

“Yes, Finn, I did. It’s just Ali. A little drink, a little dance, no big deal. Besides, you said you had your cousin’s thing tonight.”

We stopped next to his car. He stared me down, clearly not happy, but not having a good reason to tell me I couldn’t go.

“Gimme a kiss.” He demanded. I leaned up and pecked his lips, but that only annoyed him. He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me harder, pushing me up against the car door.

“Fine.” He said when he was satisfied. “Just not too late, alright?”

“Of course not.” I mumbled. He opened the door for me, kissing me again after I got in. The ride back to the apartment was silent, but his knuckles were white while he gripped the steering wheel.

Thankfully, Finn left before I did, because he had to drive an hour out of town. Even if I hadn’t made plans with Ali, I still would have gone out to enjoy the rarity of freedom.

I watched out the window and waited for his car to pull around the block. He could just be waiting somewhere, ready to follow me, but by the time he caught up, it would be too late.

I dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and my beat up Converse. I packed a suitcase, enough for two weeks, and my new passport, having told Finn that I worked when I did it in order to get it. I wasn’t allowed computer access without full monitoring and he regularly checked my phone logs. I couldn’t delete anything because he still had connections who owed him favors. He’d find out anyway.

I did have a P.O. box that he didn’t know about, though, and my manager checked it religiously for me, even covering for me if Finn called the store while I was out, or off. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it worked, for now.

I made sure I had everything of immediate importance: birth certificate, social security card, marriage certificate, copies of numerous police reports I filed, the divorce papers that he refused to sign, hospital records and photographs.

I only had one shot at this and it had to go perfectly.

I chain smoked as I waited outside for Ali. At six sharp, she pulled up in front of the building in a white limo, courtesy of her sometimes boyfriend, the ever-present model, Christian Tate.

The car stopped, but the driver didn’t get out. Time was of the essence. I bolted towards it, Ali throwing open the door for me. My suitcase went in first, and then I dove in after it, landing sideways on the bench seat. The door slammed and Ali was shouting at the driver to go.

“You ready for this?” She asked as I regained my breath and situated myself in a more civilized manner.

“Definitely.” I pulled my phone out of my pocket and factory reset it before shutting it off. I knew that Finn had the GPS location turned on. Looking out the back window, I didn’t see anyone following us. His car was too recognizable, but it probably hadn’t occurred to him to switch vehicles.

As soon as we were on the interstate, going eighty miles an hour, I rolled the window down and threw out the phone, watching shatter into a billion pieces.

**********

It took three months in New York for my divorce to be finalized. In that time, I didn’t talk to anyone except Ali. I was staying in a condo, under Christian’s name. I was assured that I didn’t have to worry about anything except making sure I wasn’t found.

New York authorities, much like California authorities, took domestic violence and assault more seriously than Chicago did. The Monday after getting to New York, I presented everything to a divorce lawyer, the best in the city, according to Christian; he would take care of it.

I was granted a divorce, even without Finn present. Of course, it was more technical than that; he still needed to be tracked down and arrested, but I was able to get everything done that I needed to do without having to be in the same room as him, even as I had to fly back to Chicago for all the finalities.

After my divorce, I changed my name. I cut and dyed my hair, got colored contacts, the works.

He wouldn’t be able to find me and he wouldn’t be able to recognize me, even if he did manage to weasel his way out of jail and come looking.

Ali and Christian were planning their wedding. It had been more serious than I’d ever thought possible, which explained why he was willing to put up all the money for me that he did. I was Ali’s only family.

She passed on word to Jason, who wasn’t happy, but reluctantly understood. She told him that as soon as I got settled wherever I finally ended up, I’d be in touch, but for now it was too dangerous. He’d come out to Chicago when he found out what had happened from Brian, but when I refused to leave with him, he stormed out of the bookstore. It was the last time I spoke to him.

News from Ali said that he and Ian were living together, that he was still working on tracking down our mother, and that he still talked to Brian. He just didn’t want anything to do with me until I was out from under Finn’s thumb.

I didn’t blame him. I just hoped that he was staying sober and coping better without me there.

One more flight, one way, solo. This was the one trip that Ali couldn’t make with me.

As I stared out the window of Christian’s jet for the last time, I fingered the bracelet on my wrist, the one that Brian had given Ali to give to me.

I hadn’t taken it off since she gave it to me on the plane that night. It was the only thing I had left of him and I intended to hold onto it.

Saying goodbye had been hard enough. I wasn’t going to disrupt his life again. He had too much going for him and I needed to start a new life. Far away, from everyone I knew.

One day, maybe I’d be able to go back, but for now, London was calling, and I answered.