"From the second I was born it seemed I had a loaded gun." -Imagine Dragons, Shots

THE WAIT IN THE HOSPITAL ROOM is agonizing. I feel like every nerve in my body is electrified, rising in volume of intensity every time the door opens, just to fall again when no one approaches Jas and I. A couple of other people are in waiting room, too. Mr. Wilson is sitting on a chair across from us, eyes focused on the ground, looking unfocused and unaware. I'm pretty sure he's in a damn deep shock, which he has every right to be. First his wife, then his son, and now his daughter.

Lucas is there too, pacing the waiting room anxiously, a worried look plastered onto his face. Anyone else who wanted to wait was not-very-politely asked to leave by Mr. Wilson. I'm more than surprised that he had allowed me to stay- maybe it was because of our earlier encounter at his house, but even after that, I had assumed he wasn't too fond of me. I guess not.

Jas shifts beside me on her uncomfortable chair, sighing. She leans her elbows on her legs, burying her hands in her hair on either side of her head. Shaking her head, she mutters to me, "This never should have happened. This isn't a coincidence."

I've never seen Jas look so undone. Even in her lowest moments, she has made a point of looking her best. But now, her hair is knotty and her curls are unrecognizable, her makeup is smudged and her clothes are wrinkled from her longs nails digging into them. I know why, though. Because she's right.

"I know," I mutter back quietly, threading my fingers together, trying to keep them from shaking. "Someone cut her brakes. They... They had to know Ford came back at one point."

"Or maybe they didn't," I whisper lowly. "Maybe they just knew we were involved, and he had made contact with us."

"Either way," Jas sighs, her eyes dark, "They know we're part of it."

Just then, James appears in the doorway. Jas jumps up from her seat, her demeanour changing in an instant to one of pure relief, throwing her arms around James as he hugs her back tightly. My eyes skip to Mr. Wilson, who merely glances up and then casts his eyes back down, not bothering to tell James to go.

"I brought you a muffin," James smiles, handing Jas a brown bag. She takes it from her hands, peeking inside and rolling her eyes, kissing his cheek.

"You're amazing," she claims.

"I know," James replies with a laugh. His smile dies a little when he turns to me, his face changing to one of concern as his eyes flicker between his girlfriend and I. "Are you guys okay? You both seemed really shaken up at school. I thought I'd come by to check on you."

"I love you to death," Jas says. "I'm okay. It was just a shock."

James turns to look at me, and I just nod.

"Okay," James says. He changes the subjects. "Have the doctors said anything?"

"She finished her surgery a couple of hours ago," I tell him, gaining his full attention. "She's unconscious right now, but she's going to live."

"Thank God," he exhales the breath he was obviously holding. "How bad was it?"

"Internal bleeding," Jas supplies. "Broken leg. Serious cuts."

James shakes his head, looking mortified. "God. That's insane."

"Tell me about it," I mutter.

James' eyes flicker to me. I know I'm being rude, but I can't help it. I'm angry. I'm angry at myself for not being able to keep Ford and our secrets hidden well enough. I'm angry at Jas for telling me about Molly and ruining my day with a simple sentence. I'm angry at the person who started this in the first place, who hurt Ford mentally, Molly physically and Mr. Wilson emotionally.

I take a deep breath, trying to get myself under control. I need to calm down.

James and Jas take a seat. James asks, "Do you know exactly what happened?"

"Police say someone cut the brakes," Jas says. "Thank God she wasn't going at a fast speed. Otherwise, she would be dead."

Lucas, who had went down to get a coffee, comes back into the room, spotting James. They fist bump, Lucas sighing and taking a seat beside James, his usually happy and outgoing personality seeming toned down as he stares down at his coffee, unblinking.

"I thought Cailbridge was safe," Lucas finally mutters out. "We moved here because it was safe. We were tired of living in the city, always fearing for our lives. After my big brother got jumped, we moved here since we were told no drama occurs in this failure of a town." Lucas huffs out a laugh bitterly. "Now Ford is gone, probably dead. Molly's brakes got cut. Not to mention, Mrs. Wilson was murdered, and it was never solved." Lucas tilts his head up, his blonde hair falling in front of his green eyes. My heart skips a beat as he looks right at me as he says, "I just don't get it."

Lucas looks genuinely lost and upset. There's no way this guy had anything to do with it.

But the way he looks right at me as he speaks, as if he knows something I don't, tells a different story. I hold Lucas' gaze, trying to seem defiant as I say, "I don't know, Lucas. I really don't know."

Lucas doesn't push. He just nods, accepting the answer and looking back down at this coffee. I feel an elbow lightly dig into my side and turn to look at Jas, who simply shakes her head. I know what she's thinking: it's not Lucas.

We sit there for what seems like hours before a doctor comes out and finally addresses us. "Are you here for Molly Wilson?" he asks.

Mr. Wilson is the first to perk up. "I'm her father," he says, eagerly getting up from his seat.

The doctor smiles and reaches out to shake his hand. "I'm Dr. Yu. It's nice to meet you."

Mr. Wilson doesn't bother returning the gesture. "Is Molly okay?"

"She's alright," he assures. "She just woke up. You can go see her, though for her benefit, I'd suggest there not to be much of a crowd," he finishes slowly, eyes flicker to Lucas, James, Jas and I.

We get the clue. After one last goodbye to Mr. Wilson, we make our way outside.  Jas decides she's going to go with James, but before she does, she pulls me aside.

"You're going to have to tell Ford," she tells me. When I open my mouth to protest, she interrupts. "No. No excuses. He needs to know this. He needs to know what we're dealing with, and to be even more than careful now. Go tonight."

I know there's no point arguing with Jas. Besides, she's right.

Jas turns to leave, before biting her lip, changing her mind and turning to me again. '"Oh, and Ava? Check your brakes before you go. In fact, just be careful, okay?"

"I will," I promise. "You too, okay?"

Jas nods, and after a quick hug, we part ways. Lucas is already gone, and once James and Jas pull out of the parking lot, it's just me, leaning against my car and twirling my car keys in my hands. Finally, I work up the courage do get in the car, deciding I should just get this over with.

x

"What's wrong?" Ford asks the second I enter his room.

"That obvious, huh?" I ask, dropping the car keys onto the wooden nightstand by his bed and plopping onto the mattress, exhausted. Ford closes his laptop and shifts his body to face me. I let myself bury my head in the pillow for a couple of seconds before finally pushing myself up to look at him.

"Ava," he tries again. "Did something happen?"

I sigh heavily, moving my head to look at him. Ford follows my lead and stretches out, laying his head on a pillow to get on my eye level. I smile sadly at him.

"I'm sorry," I whisper.

Ford intertwines our fingers, waiting.

"Don't blame yourself, okay?"

Ford frowns. "Ava, you're scaring me."

I exhale. I need to tell him, I know I do. I just hate knowing just how much pain hearing this is going to cause him. I brush the pad of my thumb over the top of his hand.

"It's Molly," I whisper.

I expect his reaction to be instantaneous. It's not, though. He blinks slowly, once, twice, and then again. The whole time, I stare at his eyes. At first, the were curious, but now they slowly grow deeper and richer in color, the grey intensifying into a swirl of mixed emotions. In a hoarse voice, he asks, "Is she alive?"

"She's alive," I assure, squeezing his hand. My thumb moves from the top of his hand to his wrist, where I search for his pulse, noticing how quick it has become. "Someone cut her brakes. She wasn't going too fast, thank God, but her car is destroyed. She was in surgery, but is fine now. Your dad is with her."

Ford looks at me. His face is expressionless. I search his eyes to see what he's thinking, but he closes them, so instead I go for his pulse, noticing it's still racing. "How bad was it?"

"Broken leg," I tell him. "Internal and external bleeding. It sounds worse than it is, Ford."

Ford keeps his eyes closed for a couple of moments. Our hands are torn apart when he sits up, swearing loudly.

I sit up too, keeping my distance from him. He gets up, pacing the room, muttering curses underneath his breath. "My fault," I manage to catch in between the foul language. "Should have never called you, should've just left and never called anyone-"

"Ford!" I stand up too. "Don't say stuff like that!"

Ford explodes. "It's true! This is my fault, Ava." He makes his way towards me. "I was selfish to call you. I was desperate, but that's no excuse for putting my family's, yours and now Jas' lives on the line!"

"If I wanted to turn away from this, Wilson, I would have done it the second I got that text from you," I all but growl at him. "But I didn't. So don't give me that crap, got it, Wilson? I don't want to hear it. None of this was your fault. It's not your fault that you got thrown into this mess, that this person is out to kill you, and that none of us know who it is! It's not. So don't act like it is. You're too good to be blaming yourself for this."

Ford's face goes slack. I'm not sure what I'm expecting. Maybe for him to retort some more, drag out an argument with me? Maybe simply turn away from me, not wanting to see my face anymore?

Whatever it is, it's not for him to grab my face and pull me into a kiss that seems like it's trying to convey anything he's ever failed to say in words to me. But then again, Ford Wilson has never been known for the expected.

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