Chapter 48

FORTY-EIGHT

L ifting Alek's ripped shirt, I press the blood-soaked material against his skin, trying to staunch the flow. Running probably didn't help, and I'm worried about how much he's losing. "Sorry, princess," I murmur as I lift the rags away, and they stick to the skin.

He groans. "It's okay. You can kiss it better later."

"Really? Right now?" Tommy mutters. "Not only am I being chased by a serial killer, but I'm feeling single as fuck. I might be single by choice because commitment scares me, and deep down I'm a whore who craves attention and love, but that's beside the point." I glance over to see him grabbing a pillow and tugging it closer.

Ignoring Tommy, I smile as I look back at the wound. "Hey, princess."

The edges are jagged and raw, and he'll need to go to a hospital soon, but he's right. It could have been worse. I think he must have turned when he was stabbed so it didn't go too deep or wide. Still, being stabbed isn't good.

"We need to fill the wound to stop the bleeding." Knowledge from past fights and TV fill my head, but I gnaw my lip as I look around before stopping on Alice, who is huddled against Lally, her bag still over her shoulder.

"Lally, check Alice's bag. Does she have a pad or anything?" I ask, my voice as loud as I dare. The police are coming, but that doesn't mean anything, and I'm not taking any risks.

Nodding, she takes Alice's bag and rifles through it, sliding it to me across the floor. "No pads, but there's a tampon. Will that work?"

I take it from her and push it from the applicator. "Maybe," I mutter, looking at the wound then Alek. "This will hurt, but we need to stop the bleeding, princess."

"Just do it," he mutters, eyeing the tampon.

"Hold him still," I order Lally, who presses against his side, holding him as I press the tampon into the wound. It absorbs the blood and expands, and when I'm done, Alek is panting, eyeing me and Lally as we high-five each other.

"Damn fruity friends," he mutters, making me grin.

Grabbing the bottom of my shirt, I tear off a strip and wrap it around his waist, leaning him forward to tie it at the back. "That's the best we can do. We are going to need to clean it, and you'll need to see a doctor, but you won't be dying anytime soon."

"Always great."

Wiping my hands on my jeans, I check on Alice, who is back in Lally's arms. Tommy rubs her back, while Skylar and Bones hit each other and whisper furiously.

Just then, a sound fills the air, making us all fall silent. I hold my breath, listening until I hear it again.

It's a door.

It isn't the police because they would have sirens, which means it's him.

There's another creak of a door—the stairs, shit. Sinking lower in the dark, I keep my eyes on the glass door into the lab. The desks shield us, but there are half windows along that wall, so if he looks closely, he will see us.

I check on Alek, whose face is grim as he reaches for the bat at his side. I grab the knife again, ready to protect him and everyone else if that's what it takes. Footsteps head our way, and we all freeze, barely breathing when he appears before the window.

He holds another knife in his hand, this one as long as a machete. The mask turns, the mouth tilted in a wicked smile and dripping blood, and I stare at him, certain he can see me. He stares at me for what feels like forever, and I don't move, then he turns and continues on, apparently not spotting me in the darkness. I slump, feeling relieved.

My phone starts to ring, the vibration smashing to the wood of the desk. With my heart leaping from my chest, I scramble to grab it, silencing it. I look back, waiting one beat then the next, and when he doesn't reappear, I slump.

Flipping my phone, I frown at the caller ID and quickly call back. "Evan?" Autumn says, sounding breathless.

"Hi," I whisper.

"I found out what you wanted. The name of the person who paid for the medical procedures for Mr. Wright was a Mr. Ford—Mr. Ellis Ford. His son is Stan Ford."

I frown, going cold all over, my eyes going to Alice. "The art teacher?" I whisper.

"Yeah, he was a member of Silent Rose. I looked. He's an alumnus, and he was in my brother's year. He was the one they suspected back then, but his father paid to cover it up and he got off. He's from money. It's him, Evan. He killed them. Where are you?"

Swallowing, I keep my eyes on Alice, who's staring at me worriedly. "At school," I croak. "The police are on the way. He's here."

"Get out of there now—" Her phone cuts off, and I drop mine as I stare at Alice.

"It's Mr. Ford. That's who is behind the mask."

"No, it can't be," she whispers. "He was always so nice to me. He genuinely cared—" She stops, realization coming over her as a shudder of horror rocks her body.

"But if he's a teacher," Alek starts, and I turn to see him, following his train of thought .

My eyes go to the door. "Then he has a card!"

Crawling across the floor to the door, I hold the handle, pressing my back against it. My eyes meet Alek's gaze as he kneels, his chest heaving. "Evan, get back here," he demands.

"No, we can't let him get in," I hiss. "The cops will be here soon?—"

Glass shatters next to me, and I jerk, my arm coming up over my face before I drop it to see a chair on the floor. In the next second, he's up and through the window. I leap to my feet, wanting to smack myself, my eyes landing on my knife by Alek.

"Get out now!" I yell at the others, then I throw myself at him, hitting him while I have the element of surprise. We hit the wall hard, and I slam my hand into his arm, trying to get him to drop the knife, but he elbows me, and I stumble back and then jump to avoid his wild swing. Bringing my arm down across his, I grab his wrist and twist, trying to break it to get the blade, but he switches it to his other hand and stabs.

Stumbling back, I watch Lally drag Alice out, Bones and Skylar following, making sure they are safe. Alek and Tommy hesitate, gripping weapons to try and help as I avoid his desperate slashes.

He comes at me fast, and I leap across the desk, then he rolls over it, following me. I duck and weave, moving backwards before grabbing a chair to hold up as a shield.

"Hey, asshole!" Tommy throws a chair. "Leave my friend alone, you sick fuck! "

Alek leaps over the desk, bringing his bat down on Ford's back, and I thrust the chair out. It hits him, and I run him into the wall, pinning him with a grunt as I glance back at Alek and Tommy.

"Tommy, get him out of here now!"

"No!" Alek roars, but Tommy grabs him.

"Go! I'm fast, remember? I'll catch up to you!" I yell, struggling as he fights to get free of the chair, his mask knocking to the side to reveal a familiar face.

Autumn was right.

Alek lets Tommy grab him, but at the door, he pushes Tommy out, gripping the frame. "Get out here now!" he roars.

Knowing he won't leave me, I push the chair with all my strength to keep Mr. Ford there, and then I turn and sprint, grabbing Alek's outstretched hand as we slide into the hall and run to the stairs, where Tommy is waiting.

"Go, go, go!" I yell, and he hurries down the staircase, holding onto the rail as he slips. Alek and I are slower due to his wound, and I won't leave him, but when we hit the stairs, a hand grabs my hair, throwing me back against the wall as he kicks Alek.

I hit the wall, crumpling with a groan as Alek is thrown down the steps. Horror fills me as he hits every stair and then lands in a heap on the next landing.

"Alek!" I scream, but he doesn't move. Turning my head, I look up as Ford puts his mask back into place. "Fuck you," I spit at him as I struggle to sit up.

"No, I'm going to kill you. She's mine. You can't have her," he growls, his knife pointed at me. "I saw how you looked at her, how you touched her in the dining hall. You're always hanging on to her. You can't have her!"

I smirk as he lifts the blade. "Neither can you."

I roll to the side as he brings it down, hitting the stairs and falling down a few before I stop myself and flip him off.

"You're dead, you sick fuck! Nobody fucks with Team Super Gay!" Tommy yells and runs up the stairs, hitting him with a fire extinguisher.

"Tommy, let's go!" I yell as I hurry down the steps and grab Alek, shaking him. "Wake up, now!" I hiss. He groans, and I glance back to see Tommy struggling, but then he loses the extinguisher, and Ford hauls him up by the throat. His legs kick in the air, and then he flies down the stairs. Tommy hits the wall hard, and I stare at him.

"Tommy!" I beg.

"I'm okay. I have a thick head." He crawls over and shakes Alek. "We need to go. Can you lift him? "

Nodding, I help Alek to his feet and glance back to see Mr. Ford stomping slowly down the steps, taunting us. Grunting under Alek's weight, I drag him to the first floor, where we can see the others outside the front door, nervously looking at us. Their shouts reach us, urging us on, and I grit my teeth, dragging Alek as Tommy takes his other arm.

"Go!" I yell at them, but they refuse, waving us on, those motherfuckers.

Something hits us from behind, and we go down hard. Scrambling back, I turn to see Mr. Ford waving with his blade. Fuck this. Looking at Tommy, I nod at Alek. "Get him out of here."

"No." Tommy climbs to his feet and searches for a weapon. Getting up, I rip off the rest of my torn shirt and wrap it around my knuckles, waving him on.

"Come on, you bastard." I move to the side, turning us around so Alek and Tommy have a clear shot at the door. "You're right, you know. I want Alice. She's so sweet. You should see her in the morning in these little shorts?—"

He lunges at me with a roar.

Ducking under his rapid swings, I bring my knee up, and he stumbles back. "I'm not an easy kill, you sicko." I grin. "And you fucked with the wrong family. She's ours. You can't have her, but I'll give her your head as a present."

He leaps at me again. He's strong and fast, but he isn't as trained as I am and is clumsily relying on his weapon. I duck under his swing again, sliding to the side, and bring my leg up in a brutal kick. He hits the notice board, the glass cracking, and then spins to me, swinging. I jump back, but he cuts my side. Hissing, I ignore the blood I feel running from the wound and focus on the blade as he comes at me again.

I avoid it as much as I can, but he lands another blow across my cheek, opening it. I want to fight back, but all I can do is avoid his blows. I can't even afford to look away for a second, but Alek calls my name, a groan, pained sound, and I can't help myself—I turn to look at Alek, and it's the opening Mr. Ford needs .

I hear the blade heading my way, and when I jerk my head back, I know it's too late to avoid it. It is coming right for me—a killing blow.

"Evan!" The terrified bellow stops my heart. I hate that he'll see this, that Alek will be brokenhearted again, losing another person he loves.

He'll blame himself. This is all I can think about as the blade heads for me.

Suddenly, a body appears between me and the blade, and when it makes contact, we fall back into the wall. I catch Tommy as he gasps, my eyes wide as I stare down at him to see a huge, gaping wound in his chest. His eyes meet mine as we slide down the wall, his weight dragging us to the floor. "I've got your back," he whispers, his face pale as he blinks in shock.

"Tommy." I slide out from behind him and sit him up as best as I can, my hands covering the wound as he blinks at me, blood bubbling from his lips.

I hunch my back to protect him as a kick hits my side. Grunting, I stay in place, holding the wound. We need to keep the blood in. We need to staunch it. He'll be okay. The police will be here soon. My side is hit again and again. Mr. Ford is just beating me, punishing me, but I don't care.

My eyes are on Tommy as he blinks. "Sorry, Evvie," he rasps. "I should have been faster."

"Shh." I lean over him. "You're okay. You're going to be okay, I promise. You'll be okay."

"I love you, Evvie," he whispers. "Thank you for being my family when no one else wanted to be." His words are too calm, and blood pumps through my fingers, too much to stop.

Tears flow from my eyes as I stare at Tommy. His head is propped against the wall, his neck at a weird angle, and his wound is still bleeding, yet he smiles at me. "We're brothers, right?"

"Brothers." I nod, pressing my forehead to his. "Always."

Another kick hits me, and Alek calls my name. I lift my head to see him barreling our way.

Alek hits him with a roar, the force sending them down the hall as I sob, my hands over Tommy's wound. "Evan, go!" he roars, looking back at me.

I look at Tommy, but his eyes are staring past me. "Tommy," I call, shaking him with my hands on his chest. "Just hold on, okay? They'll be here, then when you're better, we'll go skate at that park you mentioned. I'll be your wingman. We'll go to your favorite BBQ place. Just hold on."

He doesn't respond, and something inside me cracks.

"Evan, go!" Alek roars from my right, grunting as he struggles with Ford.

"Tommy," I plead through my sobs. "Tommy, wake up." Blood coats my hands, still pumping despite him being motionless. "Wake up! Stop joking. Wake up!"

He doesn't.

He doesn't move, and the pool of blood circling us gets bigger. Tommy's eyes are open and unseeing, and his lips are covered in spit and blood.

"I love you. I love you, brother. I'm right here. You're not alone. I'm right here. It's going to be okay." The words tumble from my lips as I press firmly against the wound, as if that can save him.

Sirens fill the air, the bright lights flashing around us. There are shouts, and Alek is at my side, but I don't look away, even as police drop beside me and others race down the hall after Ford.

My eyes are on Tommy's open, unseeing gaze.

"Tommy," I croak, shaking him. "Stop it, wake up."

"Evan—" Alek reaches for me, but I push him away.

"Tommy, Tommy, wake up," I beg, leaning into him. "Please, please wake up. You're my best friend, my brother, please, please don't leave me. I have no other family, please wake up. It's not funny anymore."

"Oh god!" Lally screams, dropping to her knees at my other side. "Tommy!"

"Tommy, please, I can't do this without you," I whisper, but he doesn't reply.

He can't .

He's dead.

He died protecting me.

Turning away, I crumple into Lally's arms as we both sob, Tommy's blood covering us as we stare at him.

Our best friend.

Our third.

Our brother.