Page 87 of Fall
The banging continues.
“Open this door, Evelyn, I know you’re in there!”
The voice sounds like Caleb, but I can’t be sure. I side-eye Celeste, who is pointing her gun towards the door, albeit a little shaky, but she stands next to me without saying a word.
She’s a good friend.
“Angel… babe… It’s Micah. Open the door.”
My anxiety creeps higher. Did he know too? Was he in on it? My breathing gets short and shallow. Will this be it?
“Just open the goddamn door before I bust it open,” Caleb angrily shouts.
“It’s just the guys,” Celeste whispers, but I profusely shake my head.
“You don’t understand, Cele. The Beast was here.”
“Who?” she questions, never once lowering her gun.
Leaving my arms raised, I turn my head to face her. “One of the men who raped me.”
Celeste’s face turns pale, but her eyes burn in anger and her shaking hands still.
The next thing, I know our front door is being unlocked as Caleb, Micah, and Elijah rush in. They immediately come to a halt as soon as they see our weapons in hand. I watch as all three of them raise their hands in submission and try to walk forward.
Celeste is the first to speak. “If you cherish your life, you will not keep moving forward.”
“Are you really going to shoot me?” Elijah says, tilting his head and raising an eyebrow.
“She may not, but I certainly will,” I say, switching off the safety, and place my finger on the trigger.
Caleb tries to keep moving forward, so I fire a warning shot into the kitchen, making everyone jump.
“Get. The fuck. Out,” I say slowly.
We all stand there, waiting for the other to back down, when I hear a familiar voice walk over the threshold.
“What the heck is going on in here?” Taylor says, carrying bags and surveying the scene in front of him. “Why are you pointing guns at my brothers, Evie?”
As soon as she sees him, Celeste lowers her gun and whispers his name.
Elijah moves to one side, inching towards me, and I instinctively move back.
“Don’t,” I whisper.
Caleb moves to my other side while Micah stays perfectly still in front of me. The tension in the room is palpable, and I’m drowning in a sea of emotions that I can’t figure out. As I stare at them, my mind attempts to process logic.
Someone tried to hurt me. The Beast was here. I smelled him—I know I did. Elijah was there. How did Micah and Caleb get here so quickly? Why are they still on campus? Shouldn’t they be at the ski lodge? I let Micah touch me. Caleb kissed me. Where is the truth among the lies? Why does my heart hurt?
Taylor moves through the room, pretending to be completely unaffected by my raised weapon and unaware of the chaos in my mind as he stands directly in front of me.
“Evelyn, put the gun down.”
I shake my head. “I can’t,” I murmur.
“Evelyn, let me help you,” he says softly.
I watch as he slowly places his hand over mine and eventually takes the gun from me, putting the safety back on. Once I’m unarmed, everyone starts to talk at once. Everyone except Taylor, who’s still in front of me, staring into my eyes.