Page 108 of Whispers of Obsession

I know I have to act fast.

Summoning the last of my strength, I slowly heave myself up the basement steps one by one, dreading the scene that awaits me at the top. Sean had the gun, Cora ran, the gun went off. I don’t think for a second that Cora could overpower Sean and get the gun off him, so I’m praying with every breath I have left that he missed.

I reach the top of the stairs, my heart pounding frantically but growing weaker by the second, and feel for the doorknob to the basement door. It’s closed, but I’m not surprised that Cora tried to keep me safe even as she ran for her life. I brace myself as I turn the knob, push the door open, and step out into the hallway.

The sound of a struggle fills the air, and I try to keep my footsteps quiet as I make my way to the front foyer. I can hear Sean’s voice raised in anger and pain, and my heart sinks as I realize that Cora must have been caught.

I can’t see her, but I can hear the sound of someone fighting for breath. My heart breaks for her, but I know I can’t let her down now. I can’t lose her too.

I take a deep breath and grab and raise the heavy vase of flowers on the console table, hoping it will make enough noise to distract Sean when I smash it.

As I begin to throw it, I hear another gunshot ring out, and my heart stops. Cora’s screams fill the air, and I know it’s too late.

My knees hit the tiled floor, jarring my wound painfully, but everything is hazy - even the pain. The world tilts on its axis and the scene before me seems to swim in and out of focus as my brain tries to take it all in.

Cora is crying, shaking, holding on to someone as they stand over my father’s prone body. Cora’s mom holds a smoking gun in her hands, and my father is gurgling his last pained breaths on the floor, a pool of blood rapidly spreading under him.

Cora is okay. She made it. She’s safe.

It’s the last thought I have before everything turns black.

My eyes flutteropen as the doctor enters the room, a warm smile on his face. “You’re finally awake, Slater. How are you feeling?”

I manage to reply through gritted teeth, “Like I’ve been hit by a truck and run over again.” The pain is still fresh, but I know I have to be strong for Cora.

The doctor chuckles lightly. “Well, that’s not entirely unexpected after such a traumatic experience. Your body has been under a lot of stress. Particularly the exertion you put yourself through after being shot.”

Cora is sitting beside my bed, her face a mix of relief and concern. Our eyes meet, and I see tears welling up in hers. I try to smile reassuringly, but it comes out weak.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” she whispers, reaching out to hold my hand.

The doctor seizes this moment to exit the room, giving Cora and me some privacy.

“What happened?” I ask, my voice cracking.

Cora sighs, bracing herself before she speaks. “Your father was going to...he shot…he had other things planned for you. He was behind it all. Everything you went through with Heather…he said it was to keep you busy and away from me so that he could have me to himself.”

My heart sinks. I knew my father was a monster. But to discover that he was responsible for everything my aunt put me through? I don’t even know how to begin processing that…

Cora continues, “My mom turned up. I rang her after I called you from the office, I was on the phone to her when he caught me. He was so mad at me, but he laughed and said he’d kill her too when she showed up. She created the distraction that got him out of the basement. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to me. We fought back. She got the gun away from Sean. He went crazy after that. And she pulled the trigger when he came at me with a knife.”

I shudder at the thought of what happened. Cora and her mother fought against my father, with both of them risking their lives to save me. I can’t even imagine the pain and fear they must have felt.

“And then?” I ask, my voice barely audible from days of not being used. My throat is so dry and scratchy, but I don’t want to distract Cora from telling her story by asking for a drink.

Cora takes a deep breath and continues, “Once we knew he was definitely…gone…we called for an ambulance. I don’t know if you remember, but when my mom shot Sean, you obviously heard the gunshots and you dragged yourself up the stairs to the foyer. And then you collapsed.”

I nod. That bit I do remember. The blind panic that gunshot set off in me is something that will haunt me forever. Thinking my father had shot Cora…I shiver. I can’t think about that.

“You suffered internal bleeding from where the bullet nicked something inside, and you had to have surgery to remove it and fix everything. You’ve been out for three days. I was s-so worried.”

Her voice breaks at the end, and she dissolves into quiet sobs. I glance down at my hand, still holding Cora’s, and feel an overwhelming sense of gratitude. I owe my life to her and her mother. Without them, I wouldn’t be here now, resting in this hospital bed.

I pull Cora toward me, but she resists, and for a moment panic flares in my chest that things are still fucked up between us. I mean, I know they are, but I didn’t just almost die to lose her all over again.

“I’m not allowed on the bed, Slater,” she whispers.

“I don’t give a fuck,” I growl, pulling her from her seat so she has no choice but to stand. I’m so relieved that she’s pulling away from me because she’s scared of being told off by the hospital staff, and not because she hates me. “I almost died. I think that entitles me to bend the rules a little bit while I have a cuddle from my girlfriend.”

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