Page 1 of Killian
Ellie
Ride or die.I'd used the expression often. I knew it to my core. That deep meaning of one person you stuck with through thick and thin; no matter what happened, you had each other’s backs. It resonated in my soul because I had my ride or die.
That was what Bri was to me. My person.
Brianna Waverly had been my bestest best friend since we were in third grade when she tried stealing my Oreo cookies at lunch when she thought I wasn’t looking.
I was, and we got into it. Full-blown rolling on the floor and pulling hair, yelling, and not stopping until teachers were yanking us apart—fighting, the real deal. Oreos were the best cookies of all time, and of course, I had to stand up for the chocolaty, creamy goodness. Nobody touched my snacks, ever.
Fun times, great memories. To this day we fought over them.
Needless to say our parents were called, and we were a match made in heaven from then on, bonded by a cookie. Through all the phases in life, she was my person. The one I’d do anything for, even take a bullet without blinking an eye.
It was the reason I was currently parked on the street in front of a well-lit house, wondering what the hell Bri had gotten into now. She could be a bit of a wild child and a free spirit. I loved her for it, but sometimes it landed us both up the shit creek without a paddle. Cars lined the streets on both sides, and music could be heard clearly; even though I was quite a ways away and my windows were up. None of this surprised me when it came to Bri. Apparently, it was a hell of a party.
One I could see Bri and I going to for a night of fun back in the day. We were a bit rambunctious, as my mother would say. She was using that term very loosely with me. Always said I was a handful the moment I came into the world, screaming and making my presence known.
Mostly my partying happened at my bar instead of these kinds of parties now, but Bri still went ‘living out her years,’ as she called it, getting in a few more before she got old. And who was I to judge, except maybe right now because of this.
Twenty-five minutes ago, Bri called from the bathroom of this house sounding scared out of her mind and needing me to come and get her. Even though I was at the bar working because there was a rush, I dropped everything and motored as fast as I could to get here. All the while my mind ticked off every passing minute worrying for my friend.
Bri was a wild child, and not much fazed her, so knowing she was scared concerned me because that wasn’t like her one bit. Therefore, I risked a speeding ticket just to get to her in five minutes instead of the twenty it would usually take.
The cell in my hand rang, and I answered, seeing Bri’s name. “Where are you?”
“In the bathroom.”
Saying “duh?” would only delay this process, and there was no time for that. “What side of the house are you on?”
“The right.” My eyes scanned down the right seeing light peer through the curtains into the night. “No wait. My right. Your left.” She went back on her first answer. I loved her, but if she didn’t pull her shit together, I’d get her out of this mess and strangle her.
“Bri, seriously. Focus, snap out it, and tell me what window I need to go to.”
We were opposites. I tried to think things through, where she was the walking definition of scatterbrained. Bri mostly went with the flow of things. Loved to have fun and just be. She had a very free spirit and sometimes was a bit forgetful. Loved her, but it was the truth. It added to her wild child ways, and one day they were going to catch up with her. Today wasn’t going to be that day if I could help it.
But now wasn’t the time for her to get confused. I wanted to get her and get out of here as soon as possible.
There was some rustling on the other side of the line like she was shaking her head, then she said, “Look at the front door, on your left side. I’m in the back corner.” Pulling her shit together, yes, that was my Bri.
Just then the sounds of banging on a door filled the line with muffled demands. “Open the fuckin’ door. Bitch, I’m gonna get your ass.”
“Bri?”
Her voice dropped low. “I’m okay, but I have to get out of here now.”
“You have some serious explaining to do.” I got out of my Jeep Wrangler, black with black interior and a ragtop. She was one hell of a ride. Quickly, I moved to the left side of the house. Luckily there was only one man outside smoking, and he was on the opposite end from where I was headed. Not that it would matter much, considering I had no weapon.
I should’ve grabbed my bat from the bar, but I didn’t think of it at the time. Being in a hurry and all. The least I could’ve done was grab a knife from behind the bar. Note for next time. Hopefully, though, there wouldn’t be a next time.
“Get ready to jump out.” There were more muffled words, but I concentrated on my surroundings. With the cloak of darkness hiding me well, I surveyed the home. The area was pretty dark with a few streetlights off in the distance giving a very eerie glow.
The first two windows had curtains, and I peeked through the tiny cracks of the first window and noticed it was a living room packed with people. I moved down to the second window and peeked inside, someone getting lucky in what appeared to be a bedroom. Nobody noticed me. A small stroke of luck, but I’d take it.
A puff of blonde hair came from the furthest window down, and my heart squeezed seeing my girl. I shoved my phone into my back pocket and raced to her.
“Thank god you’re here. These guys…” she said as I reached out for her.
“Later,” I ordered, hearing the door crack behind her from whoever was pounding on it like their life depended on it. They obviously were going to do anything to get inside, including smashing the door down. We didn’t have much time and needed to get the hell out of here.
