Vivian knelt down next to Marietta, who was still sitting on the floor, from when she passed out earlier.
"Do you want me to bring you another glass of water?" Vivian asked her, looking into her careworn eyes.
"I'm fine," Marietta replied. "Oh, that sounded silly. How could I be fine?" she wanted to know. "My daughter just found out that the father she's known for all her life isn't her biological one."
"That doesn't mean that Grant doesn't love her any less," Vivian noted. "I'm going to have a talk with Savannah when she calms down."
"That might be a long time," Marietta answered with a sigh. "How do you think you could help? Have you been in this situation?"
"Actually, I have," Vivian replied, matter-of-factly. She watched Marietta's surprised reaction. "I had no idea that you were the woman that Bob slept with all those years ago."
"Vivian, it was something that shouldn't have happened but it did," Marietta replied. "It was late, two people running on caffeine alone in the office."
Vivian felt uncomfortable listening to the details of the liaison. "Who knew that James met his sister when he went out to Minnesota a while back?"
Frankie watched as Georgia shook her head as she thumbed through the paper, and read the article.
"I can't believe this could be happening to us," Georgia muttered. "I can't even look at it."
"Let me take a look at that article," Frankie suggested, as she grabbed it from Georgia's grasp and walked over to the side and began to read. 'Oh, no… he left out the part about the chains,' she realized to herself.
Georgia looked around for James but he was no where in sight. Suddenly, Kevin walked up to her.
"I just went upstairs and knocked on the bedroom door," Kevin told her. "Savannah won't come out or even acknowledge me."
"Is she making any sounds at all?!" Georgia wanted to know.
"I think she's trashing Mom's drawers," Kevin replied.
Georgia put her hand to her head, and turned around to look once again for James. "Where is your brother? MY husband?"
"That's a good question," Kevin replied, as he seemed to look around the room, too. "Where IS James?"
Georgia was about to answer when a loud popping sound rang out, and the glass patio door shattered. "What the hell was that?!" she demanded to know, as she watched Kevin fall to the ground, amid gasps and screams in the room. "Oh, my God..." she muttered in horror, as she quickly knelt down next to him. hr>
"What was that?!" Marietta demanded to know.
"Stay down, Marietta!" Vivian shouted, peeking her head above the couch. "Stay down!"
"Vivian, what is going on?" Bob demanded to know. "This surprise isn't funny!"
"Do you think I know?" Vivian wanted to know, as she watched Grant trying to maneuver his way around the couch. "Grant, stay there!" she shouted, as another shot rang out.
"Frankie, get the hell down!" Trey roared, as he pushed her to the ground, and another shot rang out.
"Trey, what is going on?!" Frankie demanded to know, as more screams could be heard.
"I think someone's on the ground over there!" Ryan shouted.
"Who?!" Frankie shrieked.
"It looks like Georgia's on the ground," Ryan replied. "Oh, wait... she's kneeling over somebody, it looks like," he finished, as another shot rang out.
"OH, MY GOD!" Frankie screamed, as Trey grabbed her.
Augusta dragged her son, William, behind a couch and held him close to her.
"Mommy, Mommy," William cried out.
"You're going to be all right," Augusta assured him.
"Is the part where they throw the rice?" William wanted to know.
Augusta looked into his innocent eyes and buried his face into her chest, as she shielded his head with her hands. "Oh, my God," she whispered, as another shot rang out, and the vase above them on the mantle shattered, making the glass rain down on them.
Savannah ran down the stairs, as she heard the loud bangs from upstairs. She saw everyone crouched behind the couch, chairs, and then what caught her eye was Georgia on the ground by the patio door.
"I think something happened to Georgia!" Savannah screamed, as she ran down the stairs.
"OH, GOD, NO!" Marietta screamed, as Savannah helped her mother up and they ran over to the direction of Georgia.
"Marietta!" Vivian screamed, as she stood up, and watched them run towards Georgia. She noticed that Georgia was okay, but there was a man lying on the floor, and recognized the color of the jacket. "Oh, God, Kevin!" she screamed as she couldn't even bring herself to walk over there, but then felt Bob grab her arm.
Augusta was on the cell phone and called the police.
"Please get over here," Augusta begged on the phone. "A series of shots just rang out and I think someone got hit," she explained, as another shot rang out. "OH, MY GOD, ANOTHER ONE!"
Georgia screamed, as the bullet seemed to fly right past her head and burn a hole into the couch behind her. She then looked down at Kevin, where blood was beginning to form a puddle around his back.
"Kevin, no," she heard Vivian gasp, as she watched Vivian and Bob walk over. Vivian was completely wailing and Bob had to keep her steady.
"Kevin, we are getting help for you," Georgia promised.
"He's my brother, do something!" Savannah screamed.
Georgia turned her head and looked up at Savannah, as those words left her mouth. "Savannah, what you just said-"
Vivian took off her jacket and placed it over Kevin's chest. "We have to keep him warm," she announced. "Where the HELL are those paramedics?!" she demanded to know.
"Where's James?!" Georgia demanded to know.
"JAMES!" Vivian shouted. "Where the hell is he?"
Frankie felt Ryan and Trey's hands holding her back from rushing over to Kevin.
"Just let me go kneel next to him!" Frankie pleaded, between tears.
"Frankie, stay here!" Ryan ordered.
"But, Kevin got shot!" Frankie wailed. "Kevin got shot! It's all my fault!"
"How is this YOUR fault?" Trey wanted to know.
Frankie looked at Trey and didn't answer, as she looked at the paper and threw it into the fireplace.
Augusta opened the door for the paramedics and they rushed in with their stretcher and headed towards the patio.
A series of sirens could be heard, as a swarm of police officers soon entered.
"They're over there!" Augusta directed a few of the policemen. "William, it'll be okay," she told him in a comforting tone, as she rushed back over to him and noticed he had a minor cut on his forehead from when the vase shattered. "Oh, William!"
"My house turned into a crime scene," Vivian continued to sob to the police and paramedics, as they lifted Kevin onto the stretcher and did the necessary procedure. "Oh, Kevin, you'll be okay. I promise that you will. You'll be okay!"
Bob placed a hand on Vivian's shoulder, as Vivian looked into his eyes and embraced him.
Georgia looked around for James once again, and then turned to one of the police officers.
"Excuse me, Officer," she said to one of them. "My name is Georgia Caldwell, and I am so worried right now. I can't find my husband anywhere! I don't know if he's okay or not!"
"We'll find him," the officer told her, as Georgia watched him head outside.
"Which direction were the shots coming from?" another officer asked her.
"Outside, apparently!" Georgia shouted. "Look, the window is all shattered. There had to be at least five shots. At LEAST five."
"Georgia, we're going to go to the hospital with Vivian and Bob," Grant announced. "When you find James, meet us there."
"I will," Georgia affirmed. "Take Savannah with you."
"I'm going to wait here with you," Savannah replied.
Georgia noticed Augusta and William sitting by the fireplace and ran over to them. "Are you okay?" she asked them, fully concerned.
"I think so," Augusta replied. "William has a tiny cut on his forehead but it's nothing that a band aid won't fix."
"Maybe you should take him to the hospital," Georgia suggested.
"He's fine," Augusta sternly said.
Frankie waited for Georgia to finish conversing with Augusta and the little boy before approaching her.
"Georgia," Frankie called out. "Is Kevin in bad shape?"
"I don't know, Frankie," Georgia replied, seeming honest. "We were just standing there talking when the shot rang out, and he fell to the ground."
Frankie put her hand to her mouth and began to cry. "I want to be there at the hospital for him," she announced. "Trey, will you take me?"
"Of course," Trey replied.
"I can take you, Frankie," Ryan suggested.
"No, it's okay," Frankie quickly replied, turning back to look at him before walking out with Trey.
Ryan raised his hands in the air in the frustration, and let them hit his sides before following them out.
Vivian stood next to Kevin's stretcher in the ambulance, before moving to the front.
"Bob, I'm so concerned about James now, too," Vivian let him know. "Where is he?"
"Georgia is waiting," Bob reminded her.
Vivian took a deep breath, and tried not to cry as the ambulance began to speed away with the siren blasting.
James opened his eyes, and was met with vines, leaves and wild grass. He had a burning sensation on his forehead and felt like someone had hit him over the head with a brick.
He slowly got up and realized he was in the middle of the woods, but couldn't remember how he got there.
He looked down at his hands and noticed that a gun was fixed in his right hand with his finger placed over the trigger.
Before he had the chance to drop it or even question himself, a flashlight was shown on him and police officers swarmed around him.
"We got him!" one of the officers exclaimed.
"You're coming with us!" another one of the officers shouted.
"Where?" James wanted to know.
"You're under arrest," one of the police officers told him, as he slipped on gloves and took the gun from his hands, and placed it into a plastic bag that another officer was holding.
"For what?" James demanded to know.
"It's no wonder why you were missing in action, James," one of the officers told him. "That is your name, isn't it?"
"Yes, it is," James confirmed.
"Harrison, do you want me to do it?" one of the officers wanted to know.
"I will," Harrison replied, as James watched him walk up to him and slap on handcuffs. "James Neelan, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Kevin Neelan and firing several shots into the household. You have the right to remain silent… anything you do or say will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can not afford one, the court will appoint one for you."
James took in the words, and couldn't believe a word of them. There was no way that he could have shot Kevin, there was no way in hell.
Georgia walked into the backyard, as her worries about James began to grow. Where was he?
As she looked off into the woods, she could see flashlights and two policemen leading a man out.
"Oh, good," Georgia muttered. "Maybe they caught the psycho who did this. Let me get a good look at his face."
Georgia walked up a little closer, as the police officers brought the man out. She gasped when she realized it was James that they were bringing out, she then looked down at his hands and noticed shiny handcuffs locked around his wrists. "What the hell is going on here?!" she demanded to know, as she ran up to him.
"We got him," Harrison declared.
"No, you didn't!" Georgia shouted. "That's my husband!"
"I'm calling my lawyer, Georgia!" James shouted, as the officers kept moving him along. "We'll be together by the end of the night, I promise!" he called out, as she watched him being lead toward the police car.
"JAMES!" Georgia shouted at the top of her lungs, before she fell to her knees, as she sobbed uncontrollably.
Savannah heard Georgia cry out and ran outside and saw her on the grass, crying her eyes out.
"Georgia, what's wrong?" Savannah wanted to know, rushing up to her and cradling her. "Did something happen to James?"
"He's- he's- been arrested for this," Georgia managed to reply.
Savannah pulled back and made Georgia look directly into her eyes. "Georgia, you listen to me," she began. "I won't let anything happen to James, I'll promise you that!"
"Why did this happen?" Georgia questioned, as she tore off her veil and laid it down on the grass. "Savannah, you can't promise me anything. We don't know what's going to happen."
"Hey!" Savannah interceded. "If I said I'll make it happen, then I will. Do you hear me? I promise you that."
Savannah felt Georgia wrap her arms around her, as they both sat on the grass with tears streaming down their faces.
Chapter 31
Non-Nsync Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
Email Tracia