But it was too late at night, and this was actually supposed to be a quiet part of town. Most people were home and in bed, getting ready to work the next day. No one was just walking around unless they had shady business to tend to.
"One more thing," Mike yelled as he raised a very working phone to his ear. He mumbled in it and then stashed it back into his pocket before finishing his thought to me. "Times up."
At his words, I heard a gunshot behind me. Giselle was in there and she clearly wasn't alone. It took me an instant to hate myself for turning my back on that door. A combination of fear and self-loathing seemed to be snaking its way through my chest.
“Giselle!” I screamed again, so loud I hoped I could be heard on the other side of the mile long park.
I started pounding at the glass on the door, urging it to break. If it shattered, my football season would shatter with it because I would be sliced into a millions pieces. Still, I beat on it and begged.
I sure as fuck didn't want to leave her alone with my brother lurking and someone else inside, but I had no choice, I was going to have to run for help.
Looking back at where my brother was standing, I noticed he was gone.
Disappeared.
There was nothing but stark darkness and still air.
Someone was still inside with Giselle, but I could no longer worry about who or whether they would get away. I had to run, I had to find help. There was a flashing open sign the next block over and I started a full sprint, hoping they were actually open and would call the police.
By the time I approached, I realized it was a mom and pop sandwich shop that closed at nine and had just left their light on.
Fuck!
I kept running, knowing if I got to the other side of the park, there were always people milling around out there. This was Atlanta, one of the biggest cities in the United States. Giselle's corner was quiet, but that didn't mean the city was abandoned. I just had to get on the right side.
When I was sprinting down the road and attempting to cut across the middle of the park, police cars started coming by, racing to get to the direction I had just come from. Considering someone must have heard the shot and called the police, I ran back, hoping to see that Giselle was safe, that the shot had been a warning. Because I was still in denial that my brother would kill or hurt her.
As I approached, the cops had already surrounded the area and a cop stopped me from going any farther.
"Sir, this is an active crime scene. You will have to turn around."
"My girlfriend is in there, there were shots fired and I went to get someone."
"Your girlfriend was the one shot?"
"She was hit?"
"Sir, I will have a detective come talk to you. We can’t let you past because this is an active crime scene and we need to keep it secure.” He turned to head back toward Brisé but must have taken pity on me because he stopped and added, "And yes, someone was hurt. I am not sure of the extent, but the woman will be transported to the hospital as soon as possible."