Calista

The rest of the night was a blur. It felt like an out of body experience. Blood rushed to my ears. The roaring drowned out the rest of the world around me and all I could focus on was the barrel of the gun.

Lincoln's voice was quieter now. Pleading.

Claudio replied to him. But I couldn't understand him. Everything was muffled, as if I were underwater. Everything was so far away. The gun clinked in his hand. The sound echoed over the erratic beating of my heart. It took everything in me not to take a step back. Lincoln shoved himself away from Andrew to stand between us. I wanted to shout at him to move–to get out of the way–but my throat was painfully dry.

I sucked in a deep breath. Trying to focus on anything but the weapon being pointed in my direction.

"You think I won't?" Claudio challenged, an eyebrow raised.

Lincoln didn't waver. "I know that if you kill me you're going to have to find someone else who's okay with doing your dirty work."

"You're right," Claudio muttered. "Guess I'm going to have to make a sacrifice."

He was prepared to shoot his own son. Bile threatened its way back up.

Would he stop at Lincoln and I or would he end up killing everyone? I was thankful that Ella and Sadie had managed to slip out to safety, but my eyes darted around the room to gauge where everyone else was. Was there a chance they could sneak away while Claudio was focused on Lincoln and I?

Andrew was still to our right and the furthest away from the front door. Amelia was in the kitchen, too frozen in shock to acknowledge my silent pleads for her to run. But when I turned my head to locate where I had last seen Harper, she was nowhere to be found. A sliver of relief had fluttered over me. Perhaps she had managed to get out with Ella and Sadie.

I went to return my attention to the present danger. Claudio and Lincoln were still exchanging words when I finally spotted Harper. She slunk along the living room wall, a mere few inches from where the gun-wielding mad man stood. Claudio's fiery gaze was so focused on Lincoln and I that he hadn't noticed my best friend approaching him from behind.

What happened next played out in seconds.

Harper grabbed hold of the barrel of the gun and gave it a firm twist. It dislodged from Claudio's grasp, a misfire sounding as it clattered to the floor. Without hesitation, Harper kicked it across the carpet with the heel of her sock-clad foot.

"Fuck!" Claudio roared, gripping his wrist with this other hand.

Lincoln didn't hesitate. As soon as his father was unarmed, he crossed the room, landing a blow to the side of Claudio's head. The sound of flesh hitting flesh caused my heart rate to excelerate. I don't know how long I stood there, eyes wide before Harper had appeared next to me. In her right hand was the throw blanket that had once resided on the arm of the couch. It was crumbled into a ball, as if it was wrapped around something.

Harper grabbed my hand, pulling me from the scene unfolding. "Let's go," she rushed out, giving me a tug.

I planted my feet into the carpet, turning my head towards her with wide eyes. "He'll kill him," I whispered.

Harper paused to peer back over her shoulder. Lincoln was now completely on top of Claudio, hammering blow after blow into the man. I could see her take a withering breath at the sight.

"Let's go," she repeated in a firm tone. She gave my hand another tug.

When I didn't budge a warm hand landed on my shoulder. "Go," Andrew urged over the sounds of struggle. "I'll make sure he doesn't take things too far."

"Please," I said to Andrew, eyes burning. The last thing I wanted was for Lincoln to end up in prison due to the hatred he had for his father.

Andrew gave me a stern nod along with a gentle shove. I was aware he cared about Lincoln as much as I did. He wouldn't let anything happen to his best friend. That was the only thing that gave me the peace of mind I needed to leave and I allowed Harper to guide me out the front door to safety.

→

Not long after we made our way outside the flashing of red and blue lights appeared down the street. It felt like an eternity as we waited in the snow, huddling together, but there was a collective sigh of relief as Claudio was escorted out of the building in handcuffs. His face was already beginning to swell, a trail of fresh blood leaked from his eyebrow. Then came the questioning.

Thanks to Coach Whitmore, a case was already being established against Lincoln's father. And, as weird as it was to say, this would be the event that was finally able to put everything in motion. Claudio was being charged for attempted first-degree murder with a firearm. From what Lincoln's lawyer told us, he was looking at a minimum sentence of 5 years. But they seemed to believe he would be put away for much longer than that.

Which is where the problems started.

In a last ditch effort to lessen his sentence, Claudio did the unthinkable. He blew the doors wide open on the dirty little secret that was hidden beneath Fenton University. It wasn't clear what his intentions were. Whether it was an attempt to lessen his sentence or a last ditch effort to punish Lincoln, no one could be sure.

But it worked.

My leg bounced as I waited in the blue velvet armchair outside of the Dean's office. The lavender diffuser on the other side of the hall did nothing to ease my anxiety. The walls were a dull beige that did nothing to brighten my mood. I had been staring at the heavy, wooden french doors for the better part of twenty minutes. The ticking of the clock was a sorry reminder of how long Lincoln had been in there.

As I considered going to grab some water from a nearby dispenser, the lock to the double doors clicked open.

Lincoln made his way out of the Dean's office, the door shutting behind him. I rushed over to meet him.

"What did he say?" As soon as the question left my lips, I realized I already knew the answer. Lincoln's face was sombre. There was a distant look in his eyes as he stared down the long hallway.

"I've been expelled," Lincoln murmured. "Indefinitely."

"No," I whispered. "He can't do that."

Lincoln let out a humorous tuff of air. "He's the Dean, California. Of course he can do that."

"How can he expel you after all the crap you've been through?"

"Fenton's reputation is far too important to be dealing with this kind of press, apparently."

"Screw their reputation," I sputtered.

I hadn't even finished speaking. Lincoln was already making his way down the stretch of carpeted hall. I hurried after him, trying to keep up with his long strides.

"Did you tell him everything? About how your father was blackmailing you?"

Lincoln stuffed his hands deeper into his pockets. "Yeah. I told him everything. He responded by saying that while he sympathises with my situation, he can't simply sweep this under the rug. All students and staff involved will be dealt with accordingly."

I grunted. "That's bullshit."

The corner of Lincoln's lips twitched at my use of a curse word. "He made it pretty clear that the only way they would be able to absolve me of any criminal charges was if I was removed from my program."

"Criminal charges?" I echoed, coming to a stop on the blue carpet. "They can't be serious. They're going to pull this shit so close to graduation? You've got to be kidding me."

"I've come to learn that life isn't fair, California." Lincoln paused, turning around to face me. "I'm not going to lie to you. It fucking hurts to be put out like this so close to graduating."

"Of course it does. You put so much work in to get to this point."

A sad smile broke out on Lincoln's face. He glanced down at his dressiest sneakers, shaking his head. "I really didn't. I didn't put much effort into anything but boxing until you showed up."

His dark eyes latched onto mine. "You made me work for it, California. You gave me the hope that there was something more for me out there. And now there actually is."

"But your degree," I said, taking the few steps I needed to bring us closer together.

"Means nothing if I have a criminal record. I'd rather not have that kind of stain following me around. I can always finish my degree somewhere else."

I drew in a deep breath. Complaining about the situation wasn't going to resolve anything. "So now what?"

"I live my life, free of the monster who made it hell for as long as I can remember," Lincoln moved towards me and gathered me up in his arms.

I cocked my head to the side, appreciating the little scar nestled in his eyebrow. "That sounds like a pretty good plan."

"Almost perfect."

"Almost? What would make it perfect?"

A close-lipped smile bloomed across his face. I couldn't help but return it. "You."

"I'm all yours," I promised.

"Are you sure you're not just using me for extra credit?" He teased, brushing the tip of his nose against mine.

I giggled, my lashes fanning against my cheeks as he leaned in to kiss me. "No promises."

* * * * *

author's note:

Not very much more to go! I'd love to hear your thoughts/opinions. It really will help me when I go back to do the edits. There's already a list of things I want to change/expand on, but I value your opinion as my readers and book-obsessed friends.

I'm going to try to have both the last chapter AND the epilogue out on Friday. But I can't make any promises. Chances are I will have to wait to post the epilogue when I get back from my trip to Nashville. Regardless, I wanted to give you guys a heads up that I will be doing some sort of hangout/live the day that it is posted. I'll give you all more details closer to the date.

Thanks for being here. I'll see you Friday!