Chapter 44

Natalie's POV

Xander and Xavier were on the floor, but when Xavier rolled over, I realized he had taken the bullet for Xander. Xander just lay there, shocked about the whole thing. Who knew this would happen?? The gun had long dropped from Lucy's hands when she managed to process everything, and she stood there dazed. Then began to mutter little incoherent things to herself while twisting her hair.

“I just murdered someone!” She said out loud before finally passing out, falling to the floor. I just stood there, dazed. Xavier's painful groan brought me back to the room. He was already bleeding.

“Oh, my God. No! “I muttered quietly as I went out towards him. He was shot in the stomach and when I tried to touch it, he groaned out loud. I stopped, my lips quivering.

“I'm sorry,” I mumbled and looked up at Xander, who was still staring at everything as if it was a movie. I walked up to him as well, shaking him roughly.

“Will you at least get yourself together? I need help here!” He slowly moved and stared at me.

“You don't understand, Natalie, that bullet was meant for me. He took it for me, Xavier took the god-damned bullet for me!” He said, tears clouding his eyes.

“I know... I saw it too. But if we don't do something now, things might get even worse. I need you to help me help Xavier and Lucy. You got that?”

He nodded, a tear escaping from his eyes. “Good,” I answered. “You brought a car right. I'm going to need the keys. Help Xavier up and I'll help Lucy up too. We don't have that much time.” I said, and we got to work. He passed me the keys, and I put them in my pocket. Then dragged Lucy up and, placing her on my shoulders, dragged her out. Xander was right behind me.

It was a long hard walk, but we finally got to the car, and I opened it and put Lucy in the passenger seat in front, then buckled her in, letting her head rest on the window. Then got in the driver's seat and started up the car while waiting for Xander and Xavier to get in. Eventually, they did, and we drove out.

“Apply pressure on the wound. “I began once we got to the highway. “We don't want him to bleed out,” I said and watched him do it.

“It won't stop bleeding.” He replied, troubled.

“Just keep doing it,” I muttered and drove even faster. Now I understand why my brothers refused to let me have my own driver's license, I am a crazy driver.

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Xander's POV

Natalie drove a bit faster while, as she said, I kept applying pressure on the wound. After a while, Xavier pushed my hands away and held them. I stopped and looked at him. He has tears in his eyes.

“No, Xavier, we can't stop now...” I whispered. “We haven't gotten to the hospital and.....” He shushed me, groaning.

“No Xander... You... You listen to me. If this is the end....”

“No!..”

“Just know that I'm very very sorry and I love you.”

“No, Xavier, you can't leave just now. Stay with me. I'm sorry too.” I said, and he nodded his head. Confused, I added, “We're both sorry. Just hang in there, okay?” I said and held his hands even more tightly.

“It hurts.” He muttered, groaning in pain.

“I know... I can feel it.” I muttered as well, and he let out a pain-filled chuckle. I tried to smile as well but failed miserably.

After a while, I called out to Natalie. “How long till we find a hospital.”

“I don't know... But it won't be long. Just make sure he doesn't close his eyes.” She replied, and I nodded even though she couldn't see me. We kept on driving for a few more minutes, minutes that felt like forever before Natalie pulled up at a hospital.

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Natalie's POV

I arrived at the first hospital I saw in sight and pulled up at their emergency ward. The nurses and doctors came and once and soon had Lucy and Xavier on a stretcher. We followed them as well, but after a while stopped us from entering the emergency room and we waited at the door. After a while, the doctor called up Xander, and I was left alone. I used that time to call up Ariana.

“Hey girl, how did it go?” Ariana asked the second she picked up the receiver. I could tell she was worried about the way she spoke.

“Um... There is a problem.” I began slowly.

“And what's that?”

“It's Lucy. She shot a gun, and it hit Xavier. Well, not hit Xavier exactly, Xavier took the bullet for Xander. We are in the hospital now. Thank goodness it wasn't a real gun. All thanks to Tricia.”

“Oh my gosh! Is everyone okay?”

“Well... yeah, they are still in the emergency room and Xander just got called in, so in the meantime everyone is fine.”

“Maggie called. I told her you were with a friend but that I didn't know who. I told her I'll call again after I found out where you were. What do I tell her now?

“Well, tell her that friend that I was with, passed out and now we are in the hospital. Don't worry, I'm fine.” I breathed out. “At least, I think I am.”

“Okay, I'll call you later. Bye.”

“Bye. I said and hung up. Pacing around the hallway a bit, I waited till Xander got out. Once he did, I went over to him, my eyes questioning.

“What did the doctor say?” I asked him. He sighed despondently.

“Well, he said. Xavier would be taken in for surgery, to remove the bullets after that he'll be moved to a private ward and checked constantly from there.” He answered.

“Well... “I muttered, “that's a good thing,” I said quietly. But Xander didn't look so optimistic. It was later I noticed he was sobbing quietly.

“I don't know what to think, Natalie. What if something goes wrong? I can't lose him too, he's the only one I've got.” He said to himself, and I walked up to him, holding him by the cheeks.

“Hey, hey. Listen to me.” I began staring into his eyes. “You're not going to lose him; you're not going to lose any one of them. Just have faith, okay?” I said, and he nodded, then I hugged him, patting him on the back. O hurriedly cleaned off the tears that were forming in my eyes.

“I'm going to call up Mira and Darren now. Just stay here okay?”

“Okay.”

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Ariana's POV.

The second Natalie hung up, I felt anger swell up in me... At Tricia. All thanks to her super plan, someone almost got hurt! I wonder what would have happened if Natalie and I didn't sneak up on it..... She would have planned her first murder at high school! Too bad I can't do anything now because she's still out. I smirked devilishly, it won't be long before you wake up Tricia, because I have a little plan for you my dear... And I know you'll like it.

Bella walked up to me when she noticed I was no longer on call.

“Who was that?” She asked.

“Natalie.”

“Oh good... Where's she? She is supposed to be back by now.” She continued.

“She's in the hospital. Lucy lost it and pulled a trigger, and Xavier ended up taking it. So right now there are in the hospital.” I explained.

“Oh my gosh!” Bella exclaimed. “That is bad.” She muttered.

“It is bad, and Tricia would have had it hot from me if I didn't knock her out! So I'm going to wait.”

“Tricia is getting out of hand,” Bella muttered. I glanced at her.

“Wait, a sec... Who is Tricia's real parent in this whole marriage stuff, anyway?”

“Her mom,” Bella replied. “Why did you ask?” I raised my brows.

“You might want to call her up. Tricia has lots of explaining to do before things get out of hand.”

“Okay... I'm on it.”

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Natalie's POV

A few moments later, Mira and Darren arrived at the hospital with a change of clothes just like I had requested. I quickly went to change in the hospital's female restroom, using the limited supply there to my best. Packing my hair in a messy bun, I put my old clothes in a polythene bag and walked down to the office reception where the rest were seated and waiting. I joined them.

The air was thick with tension, and you could almost cut it with a knife as we waited for the doctor to come out and at least say something. Eventually, one of them did and walked directly towards us. We all rushed towards him.

“How's Xavier and Lucy?” Xander asked, and the doctor sighed.

“Well, they are both out of danger now. The bullet has been removed from Xavier and he's been stitched up, but he's still unconscious. He'll be awake probably by tomorrow.”

“What about Lucy?” Mira asked.

“She's also been stabilized. Surprisingly, there wasn't any serious brain damage, so she'll also be good as new once she's recovered, but we've induced some temporary comatose.”

“Well, thank God,” Darren muttered.

“You can all go home now. You'll check up on them tomorrow.” The doctor said and dismissed us. We thank him and leave.

Once outside, we all engaged in light conversations to lighten up the mood. Darren was the one who brought Mira, so he drove her home as well, leaving me and Xander.

“Want me to drive you home?” He offered, but I shook my head.

“No thanks. Ariana is on her way to pick me up.”

“Oh... Okay. By the way, thank you a lot. I really can't thank you enough for all you've done.” I smiled back.

“You don't have to thank me. I'm glad things didn't get too bad.”

“I'm glad too. I'll get going now.”

“Bye. Take care.” I said and waved. He waved back and drove away, leaving me alone there. Soon Ariana pulled up the driveway.

“Hey, girl... Where did everyone go?” She asks as she walked up to me, taking me by the hands and swinging it.

“They just left. “I replied.

“Aww, I really wanted to see them.” She whined. Then glanced at me.” What about Xavier and Lucy? How are they?”

“They're fine. The doctor said they are out of danger now. We'll see them tomorrow.” I answered, and she smiled.

“Hm. I guess you must be feeling proud of yourself.” Ariana said as we walked towards the car. I glanced at her and chuckled.

“What did you expect? Another mission accomplished.” I said as we fist-bumped. Just as we were about to enter the car, Ariana stopped and called me.

“Oh... And by the way, we aren't done yet. I still haven't shown Tricia the stuff I'm made of.” She said.

“How do you intend to do that?”

“You'll find out tomorrow.” She said and smirked. I shrugged and shook my head. This girl never forgets to be extra... The good thing is, it always makes for a good laugh, and I need something to lighten up the mood right now. We got into the car and drove home.

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(Next day.)

Neither of us went to school today as we all visited Xavier and Lucy since the doctor said Xavier will be waking up today. When Ariana and I got to the hospital, we discovered that the rest of them were already in Xavier's ward, including Tricia and Celine, although they were still out. We walked in and greeted all of them, sitting down on whatever we saw would make a good chair.

After some time, Xavier stirred, and his lashes fluttered open. His gaze was unfocused for a while but then it registered, and he was soon staring at all of us.

“Hey, Xavier.” I greeted. “How are you?”

“Fine.” He mumbled, “but still sore.”

“It'll pass.” Ariana chipped in. He glanced at all of them, bewildered.

“Aren't you guys supposed to be in school? What are you all doing here?”

“School can wait for today,” Darren answered. “Besides, what's school when you know one of your friends isn't okay?”

“That day in school is the worst day ever!” Mira said, and we chuckled. Then his gaze settled on Tricia and Celine, who was still sleeping.

“What about those two? They are still sleeping.” He pointed out.

“Oh... Leave them there.” Ariana said. “I plan to use them in my new comedy show since they'll make great actresses.” She explained. We all made an 'oh...' expression and kept quiet, staring at each other.

“But wait... Aren't we forgetting something?” Darren spoke up. “All of this happened, and we still haven't found who's responsible for it!”

I was about to say something, but just then, Tricia stirred. The effect of the tranquilizer was wearing off. We all stopped and looked at them. To be honest, they looked really funny while waking up.

“Where are we?” Tricia sleepily asked as she yawned. Celine too was waking up as well. When she saw the different faces staring at her, she widened her eyes and straightened up. I cleared my throat.

“What... Where... How did I end up here? What the hell am I doing in a hospital!?” she shrieked, which made Celine wake up as well. We all burst into full-blown laughter now.

“Hi, Tricia. You shook?” Ariana asked between gulps.

“Hey... You! You were the one who came to my house last night and knocked me out! You witch!! I'm going to kill you!” she threatened and tried to catch Ariana but fell face flat on the floor, still clumsy. Another round of laughter erupted.

“Now I will do the honors,” Ariana said as she stood up. “Darren, please have this on video.” She said, and immediately Darren brought out his phone. This looks interesting.

“This girl over here....” she began, pointing at Tricia, who was still on the floor, “Is snakier than any snake I've ever thrown at Darren!” Darren stopped and frowned.

“You seriously did not have to use that inside joke on me.” He said and Ariana smiled smugly. “Don't take it too personally. Back to my story. This girl here is behind what happened two years ago. And I found that out yesterday. Lucy wasn't feeling too well and had left her pills back at Xander's house since they were dating. So, she went over to pick it up... And Tricia saw it as the perfect opportunity to strike. She knew Xander won't be home, then called up one of her goons to go over, drug Lucy and Xavier, and made it look like they had sex!” The entire room was dead quiet.

Xavier clicked his fingers together. “I just knew I didn't sleep with her.” He muttered. Xander looked at him apologetically. He nodded as if saying he understood.

“Of course, Xander came home and met them that way, and since neither of them couldn't remember what happened the night before, they couldn't deny it. And that caused the scandal. Lucy had to leave for therapy, and the brothers were on terrible terms for the rest of the year.” She completed.

Mira gasped.” So the evil being had been with us all this while....”

“Yes, and as if that wasn't enough for her, she planned another one the second Lucy returned. If we didn't sneak up on that offer as well, she would have killed someone for real.”

“So... It was all a plan?” Xander asked.

“Yeah... Tricia herself masterminded the whole thing... And used Lucy as the bait, knowing she'll be too weak to resist.”

“Not to mention, she sending goons to rape me as well...” I added, glaring at her. “The whole staff was planned out. We changed the number you had originally given Lucy to a friend of my brother, gave him a fake gun with rubber bullets because we knew how cynical you could be. So if you thought you were smart, guess what? We just got smarter.” I said as I kneeled close to her.

“Liars!..” Tricia screamed. “You two are lying! I did nothing!”

“Well, we are lying until you find out that Bella herself told us, not to mention she helped us as well... Oh and is planning to tell the cops. There's no denying this one whatsoever.” Ariana said as a matter of fact. “Without forgetting, you can't run away from this one, too. You're right in our trap.”

Tricia widened her eyes and picked herself up, and like a flash bolted out of the room. The rest of us stood up.

“She's running away!” Mira called out but Ariana just smirked.

“You might want to let her run... But we all know she can't outrun me.” She said and dragged me out of the ward, swinging my hands. I chuckled. Ariana is a mistress when it comes to setups. Darren was right behind us, still videoing the whole thing.

We were quick to catch Tricia being pummeled down by little kids and I glanced at Ariana, who was laughing.

“What? I told them the hospital allowed them to run around in the morning?” After that incident, Tricia headed head first to exit, but that was exactly where danger loomed.

“Hey, Tricia! You might want to look up!” Ariana yelled. Tricia stopped and just then, a bucket of water poured on her, then flour and eggs. It was a very funny sight to see, and everyone couldn't stop laughing. As if that wasn't enough, someone emptied garbage on her head.

“And don't forget to say cheese!”

“Cheese!” Everyone echoed, and immediately a bucket of cheese was emptied on her. By the time we got to her, she was all dirty and was on the floor, crying and cussing.

“My turn,” I muttered and knelt not too far from her.

“You wench! I swear am going to get back at you! I promise!” She threatened. I shrugged it off.

“I remember telling you when I first arrived at your school that if you didn't stop, I might send you to juvenile prison,” I said, and she froze, trying to look at me, although it was impossible with her eyes sealed shut.

“Well, guess who is taking you there?”

“Who??” she asked, perturbed.

“Your mom!!”

“No, no, no! Anyone but my mom!!!” she pleaded. So the almighty Tricia could plead.

“Oh look, she's already here... With the cops too. Have fun in prison.”

“Tricia Williams!!” her mom bellowed as she entered the hospital. She looked down and saw on the floor.

“Oh, I see. Your friends are beginning to put you in your place. Well, guess what, Young lady, they are right... You might be spending the rest of your life in jail, you monster of a daughter!”

“Mom, please... I promise I'll change! “She begged, but her mom was having none of it.

“Cops, please cuff her.” She said, and the cops swooped into action. Then she walked up to us. “I'm sorry for the inconvenience Tricia must have caused you. How's Lucy?” She asked worriedly.

“She's fine,” I answered. “Although she's still unconscious. The doctor said they were no damages caused to her brain, so she'll survive without any harm.”

“Oh thank God...” She breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you a lot for looking out for her. You don't know what this means to me. If her dad found out... Things won't be so good.” She said despondently.

“Well, I'm glad things aren't that bad. Although you might have to warn Tricia, she's beginning to get out of the hand.”

“Oh trust me... I'll do that. Thanks again.” She said and left with Tricia in a police van. For a second I felt sorry for her. We stared at them for a while before sighing.

“And that's how you deal with bitches....” Ariana muttered victoriously. “By giving them a taste of their own medicine.”

I glanced at her and smiled. She did too. “Pound it.” We said together as we made a fist bump.

Game over.