Landon slowly starts to unbutton his white dress shirt, his head lifted.
“What are you doing?” I ask, pointing the gun between him and his father. Landon pulls on his sleeves and yanks his shirt off. He slowly turns, showing big, black wings staining his back. A strangled cry leaves my mouth, my knees threatening to buckle as I take in the wings that haunt me. My eyes catch one white feather on the bottom. That doesn’t match my dreams, though. My legs shake and my blood rushes to my chest, trying to keep up with my racing heart.
“No,” I whisper, shaking my head.
Landon turns and looks at his father.
“See. I didn’t kill your mother.” Miller looks at Landon and smirks. “He did.”
Tears flood my eyes. “Is that true?” I question, my voice cracking with emotion.
“It’s complicated,” Landon starts.
“Yes or no. Did you kill my mom?” I scream, my throat hurting.
Landon lowers his head and swallows.
“Yes,” he whispers. My body goes numb. The only feeling I register is the ache radiating in my chest. I lift my head, my chin trembling with emotion as my finger pulls the trigger. A loud bang echoes through the room and a bullet slams into Landon, causing him to fall to the floor.
The sound takes me out of my shock, and I scream and drop the gun. I shot him. I fucking shot him! My ears drown out all sounds. All the hollering from Roman, Miller, and Veronica. Silence. Everything slows down, my vision wobbling as I take in Landon’s family panicking.
Roman, Miller, and Veronica all rush to Landon’s side in what seems like slow motion. I see blood creep out from under Landon, and I sob, my body shaking as I cry loudly.
“I didn’t mean—” I swallow hard and look toward the door. I glance back at the Blackwells and see Roman on his phone. At that point, I know I need to run. I look back down at Landon, not moving. I strengthen my legs and sprint out of the office, out the front door and toward a black car parked in front. I climb behind the driver’s side and pray there are keys inside. My hands search the steering wheel, and when my fingers find them in the ignition, I cry harder with the relief.
Starting the car with trembling hands, I peel out of the driveway and race toward Jayden.
I just killed Landon. My mother is dead. I have to run. Those three things are on repeat in my head as I drive toward the city.
***
I head to the strip where the sidewalks are littered with people going in and out of casinos and shops. I park the stolen car on the side of the road and get out, knowing I can’t drive the car to my place or pass the heart of Vegas without a cop seeing the stolen vehicle.
I shot Landon, probably killed him. I close my eyes, the look of shock racing across his face as he fell to the floor flashing behind my eyes. I didn’t mean to shoot him. I was in shock, my finger reacting without real thought. My heart aches knowing I might have killed the only person in this world I deeply care about, maybe love. The heat of the day instantly warms my skin when I step out. A woman with a tube top for a shirt and designer-looking jeans slows her stride, her eyes scanning me from top to bottom before her lip curls in distaste and she walks on. I furrow my brows at her reaction and look down at myself, curious at what she was looking at when I find myself in a camisole and PJ shorts, no shoes. I’m standing out like a sore thumb.
“Fuck,” I whisper, running my hand through my hair in agitation. My eyes catch a door swinging open in an alley way, a guy in an apron and chef hat swinging a garbage can over his head and emptying the contents into a dumpster. Without another thought, I sprint down the alley. I can’t walk along the strip in this; I’ll cause too much attention for sure. I run. I run until my head throbs, my clothes are soaked with sweat, and my feet feel like they’ve been thrusting against razor blades. I run until I finally reach the shitty apartment I shared with Jayden.
My chest wheezes for air while I slowly climb the stairs. I open the door, which isn’t locked, and find Jayden curled up in her bed, sound-asleep. The smell of home soothes my panicked state. The house is a mess. There are clothes thrown everywhere and empty boxes of food all over the floor.
“Jay,” I pant, tripping into the apartment. Jayden pops up, her hair sticking up everywhere and eyes half-closed.
“Hmm.”
“Jayden. We gotta, we gotta—” I can’t seem to spit the fucking words out.
“Charlie? Oh, my God, are you okay?” She hurries out of bed and grabs me by the elbow to steady me.
“I’m in trouble, and I have to get out of town. I have to hide.” I heave, sitting down on my old bed, trying to catch my breath.
“What happened? What do you mean?” Her eyes are wide, her head shaking back and forth in confusion.
I swallow hard, my dry tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth, and I choke. I slowly tear my gaze from the dirty floor to Jayden’s panicked eyes and let out a breath of air.