Fearful Renegade

Nineteen

February 13th 2011

AJ leaned over across the arm of the couch and grabbed the phone.  “Hello?”  There was silence on the other end.  “Hello?” AJ spoke again as he sat up a little.

“Sing for me?” The voice said, it sounded distorted.

“Yeah” AJ replied and then hung up the phone.

“Again?” Siannah asked and AJ turned around on the couch and looked at her.  She was cooking again but this time she was making a meal that was suitable for them.

“Yeah, that’s number five this morning alone.” AJ sighed.  “Do we really have to call Charlie every time?”

“Yes” She replied. He rolled his eyes and picked up the phone dialing Charlie’s number and between last night and this morning he knew it off my heart.

“Hey Charlie it’s Alex…again.” AJ sighed and he heard Siannah snicker.  “Yeah, alright talk to you in ten minutes I’m sure” He hung up the phone and laid back on the couch. 

“Why do you think she’s calling so much?” Siannah asked.

He sat up and looked over the back of the couch at her.  “Probably because she’s not getting what she wants, so she’s pushing harder. That’s what Charlie said this morning when I first called him.”

“Do you think she’ll step up an attack?” She asked.

“There’s a cop outside twenty four seven, she would be…”

“Crazy” Siannah said and he looked at her.

Just then there was a knock at the door and AJ got up from the couch to answer it.  As he walked over to it he made it a point to look out the window, he saw the officer that was parked outside his house standing there.

“Charlie must have told him to make an appearance.” AJ said as he looked back to Siannah.  He opened the door and as he turned to greet the Officer the man tackled him to the ground.  He heard footsteps running past him and Siannah shout.

“What the hell dude get off!” AJ shouted as he pushed the man off of him.  The cop rolled to the floor and didn’t move.  Quickly he looked up and didn’t see Siannah but he heard scuffling from by the kitchen.  He jumped up to his feet and ran over by the Island; there he saw the stalker fighting with Siannah.  AJ grabbed the woman from behind and pulled her off of Siannah.  As he reached for her she shouted something and then he felt a stinging pain in the back of his head as he dropped to the ground.  Grabbing the back of his head as the floor beneath him spun he pulled his hand away and looked at it.

Blood.

As another sharp pain ripped through his brain he looked up and saw the stalker grabbing Siannah and tossing her out the door.  How the back door got opened he wasn’t sure.  He climbed to his feet and stumbled as his body went woozy.  Grabbing onto the island he held himself up.  With everything he had he walked over to the alarm and hit the panic button.  Then he stumbled his way across the house.  When he got to the door he saw the stalker and Siannah going at it.  A fist came flying at Siannah and she blocked it.  She brought her leg up and kicked the woman back.  The stalker came flying at her again but as Siannah threw a punch, the woman slammed Siannah down to the ground and he heard her grunt as her head smacked the frozen ground.  Then the stalker turned to AJ.

“You were supposed to come back.” The woman spoke as she stood over Siannah.  AJ looked down at her she was clearly out of it. 

“Come back?” AJ replied confused.  “Fuck you bitch; I don’t want shit from you!”

He went to lunge for her but she quickly withdrew another gun and cocked it.  “Don’t” She hissed as she pointed the gun at Siannah.  AJ stood there frozen as the light screeching of sirens were heard a ways away. 

“Please don’t hurt her” AJ begged.  “It’s me, right I’m the one you want so please.”

“So you beg for her life…” The woman said.  “But you didn’t beg for mine.”

“What?” AJ replied confused his breathing was quick and jagged, tears forming in his eyes, as he lightly shook. 

“You were supposed to come back!” She yelled.  “You were supposed to make it right, you were…” The woman paused and looked at AJ.

“What the fuck are you talking about you crazy bitch!” AJ shouted at her.

And then something happened, he wasn’t sure how his mind came to this thought, or these thoughts but as each one entered his mind they fit together like a puzzle.  Why he was suppose to come back for her, why he didn’t beg for her life, and why the bracelet ended up all the way out here.

Anger rose through AJ and he growled as he looked back to the stalker.  His body shook but this time not with fright.  His eyes burned a whole right through her and the woman gripped her gun tighter.

“You…you…” He wanted to say every dirty name he could think of to call her and first on the list was the dreaded ‘C’ word.  But he couldn’t.

He heard a loud thump and the stalker dropped to her knees.  He saw Siannah standing there holding a large branch.  As she brought the branch up to hit the woman again the stalker swung the butt of the gun and hit Siannah in the face.

“Sia!” AJ shouted as he started to run for her but there was a loud bang and he froze dead in his tracks.  “Sia!!!” AJ screamed as the stalker turned the gun at him.  “Sia!!!” He screamed again not caring.  “Sia stay with me baby please!”

“Shut up!!” The woman screamed as she cocked the gun again.

“Go head!” AJ yelled.  “Do it!” AJ shouted as he moved closer and put the gun to his chest.  “Do it!!” He screamed at her.  His eyes stared at the set of eyes looking back at him behind the black mask.  “Do it…Emily.” AJ said with a scary bitter tone. 

“Drop you weapon!!” He heard someone shout but his eyes didn’t break from hers. 

“Put the weapon down.”  One Officer said calmly. 

The woman dropped the gun, the officers ran in around them, as one officer put her hands behind her back another took of her mask.  “You were supposed to come back” Was all Emily said as they dragged her off.

AJ looked back to Siannah and he saw Peter and another EMT working on her.  He stood there watching, waiting and then…

“We’re loosing her!” Peter shouted.

“No, no” AJ whispered in shock.

“Alex” Charlie said from beside him.

“Siannah” AJ spoke but it was meant to be a yell ignoring Charlie. “Siannah!!” AJ yelled this time as he took a step forward.  “Sia please!!” He screamed as Charlie grabbed him.  “Siannah stay with me Babydoll please!!!” He cried.

“What did she say?” He heard the other EMT say to Peter.

“She’s crashing; we gotta get her outta of here!” Peter shouted.

“Crashing…” AJ said as he watched Peter get up on his knees as start CPR as another person put air into her lungs with a hand pumped oxygen mask.  He went to take a step but the emotion, the fear, the fighting, the whole thing had just been too much and he dropped to his knees.

“That’s a pretty big cut Alex; let’s get you to the hospital.” Charlie said as he helped AJ up.  He looked up as he heard the cart roll by.  Peter was running along side of it still performing CPR on her.  He closed his eyes tightly and started to cry.

The memory of only a couple of hours before played over in his mind as he sat on the hospital gurney.  The nurse, who cleaned him up, stitched him up and bandaged him up, had left the room and now it was just him with his thoughts. 

“She’s crashing!” Peter shouted and he closed his eyes trying to trap the tears but as the image of Peter giving Siannah CPR tortured his mind, they fell.

He looked up when he heard the curtain open and he saw Charlie walking in.  Wiping his eyes he calmed himself and then looked back up at the Officer.  He wanted to ask if she was ok but then again he didn’t.  He didn’t want to hear Charlie say she didn’t make it, didn’t want to hear Charlie say…

“She’s holding on right now.” Charlie said and AJ sighed as more tears fell. “She’s still in surgery; they got the bullet out now they’re trying to stop the internal bleeding.”

AJ started to cry harder.

“I also got the report from the Detective that questioned Emily.” Charlie said and AJ looked up at him.  “Turns out Alex, it was her all along.”

“What?” AJ replied confused.  “What?...How?...she was pushed down the stairs.”

“She paid someone from the Sunset Strip to push her, five hundred dollars and a homeless junkie will do anything for you.” Charlie said to him. “She set it all up, the gifts, the calls, the letters, she wanted you to be her hero, she wanted you to save her and when she told you to leave the hospital…”

“I was supposed to come back.” AJ replied hearing her words shout at him. 

Charlie nodded.  “When you didn’t she searched you down and when she found you.”

“She saw me with Siannah.” AJ replied.

“Had to sting a little.” Charlie said with a sigh.

“I guess I’ll head to the waiting room.” AJ said as he slowly climbed down from the gurney.

“Wait Alex there’s something else.” Charlie said and AJ stopped and turned around.  His heart raced and his palms got sweaty, what else could there be?  “Her Dad and Brothers are here.  They’re pretty pissed.”

“Pissed?”

“At you” Charlie told him.

“Me? Why?” He asked confused.

“They blame you for putting her in this danger; they don’t want you near her.” Charlie said.  “If you want to go home I can call and keep…”

“Go home? The hell I am, I’m staying here until Siannah comes out of the operating room.” AJ snapped.

“Alex, her father is her emergency contact, what he says goes; if he doesn’t want you there he can have security escort you out.” Charlie told him.  “You wouldn’t be allowed back in…ever.” AJ sat there quietly as his more anger went through him.  “If you go home, let them cool off and hopefully Sia will pull through this, and then you can come back I’m sure.” Charlie told him

“Fuck this shit” AJ said as he jumped down the bed and walked out into the hallway.  He made his way down to the waiting room and when he entered he was ambushed.

“Charlie I thought I told you not to bring him around here.” Bret barked as he walked right up at AJ.  He went to grab AJ but he blocked Siannah’s brother’s arm.

“I’m staying here until she gets out.” AJ snapped.

“No you are not” Bret said.  “This is your fault, you said you cared about her, even loved her yet you put her in this danger!”

“I told her to leave, I didn’t…this was the last thing I wanted to happen but she wouldn’t listen to me, she told me she wasn’t scared and she made her choice.” AJ snapped back.

“Get him out of here!” Bret snapped to Charlie.

“Go ahead kick me out but what are you going to tell her when she gets out and wakes up?” AJ yelled.

“You won’t need to worry about that.” Bret told him and then he looked at Charlie.  “Get him out of here before I call security.”

“Alex let’s go.” Charlie said as he took AJ’s arm.

“This is bullshit!!” AJ shouted as he pulled away from Charlie and walked away from the waiting room.