“Asher,” I whispered. “Jeremy, he shot him. Solomon shot Asher. I was trying to get help and I heard it and…”
“Let’s go,” he said.
I nodded and ran, trying to explain to Jeremy where to go. I didn’t even know where, barely knew how to navigate the bookstore storage warehouse, but Jeremy seemed to get the hang of it. He knew something, maybe a sixth sense? I don’t know, not exactly, but we rushed back to where they were and I saw Beatrice kneeling at Asher’s side.
He was dead, there was blood, and…
“I don’t hate you,” Beatrice said, pushing back his hair. “I never really hated you, Asher. I wish we had talked more. Maybe… I just don’t hate you. I don’t know why Solomon did that. I don’t want you to die.”
“Step back,” Jeremy said, fording his way through and reaching Asher’s side. “What did you do? Is he dead?”
“He’s not dead, you idiot!” She glared fiercely at Jeremy, but upon seeing us both, seeing me, she softened. “He’s not dead. I… I pushed Solomon aside before he shot. Asher fell, though. He scraped his hand. It’s only a minor cut, it’s not deep. It all happened so fast and Solomon left so I don’t think he really understood what happened. You’re alright, though, right?” She looked down at Asher, touching her fingers to his cheek.
Asher croaked, his voice coming out in dry, harsh sounds. “Is Jessika alright?” he asked.
Beatrice frowned, just for a second. “She’s fine. Jessika is fine. She came back for you. Jeremy is here, too. Everyone is fine, Asher.”
“I’m going to call the police,” Jeremy said. “Don’t think you’re off the hook, Beatrice.” He looked at me and added, “Jessika, watch her.”
“I won’t go anywhere,” Beatrice said. She shuffled to the side, leaving me a space next to Asher. “Go ahead.”
Jeremy left, running through the backroom to the store to Robert. I wandered over to Asher, still scared, but so very happy. He wasn’t dead, he wasn’t…
I knelt next to him and sat on the backs of my heels and thighs, smiling.
“Jessika,” Asher said. “Oh God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t think something like this would ever happy. I just… I don’t even know. I shouldn’t have put you in danger like this. We should have called the police. We should never have come here.”
“No,” I said. “It’s fine. I understand. You wanted to settle things without resorting to that. You had hope.”
Asher nodded slightly from the ground, his cheek shifting across the tile floor. Then he closed his eyes and remained silent.
“Did he hit his head?” I asked.
“Maybe. I think so,” Beatrice said. “He must have. I’m not sure. I didn’t see it happen exactly. Everything happened so fast.”
“He tried to love you,” I said. “He really did.”
“Yes, well, I never tried to love him,” she said. “Maybe I should have, but I didn’t. You’ll think that’s mean, but I’m just telling you the truth. I was too angry to love him.”
I tousled Asher’s hair. If he had a concussion, he needed to wake up, and soon. As reluctant as I was to do it, I knew I should shake him awake and keep him aware until medical help arrived.
“I think he loves you very much,” Beatrice said. She looked sad and alone and I felt a little bad for her, but she’d brought this upon herself. She knew full well what the consequences to her actions were before she started this. “He kept asking about you. I didn’t know what to tell him.”
And then, as I shook Asher’s shoulder to make sure he was awake, Beatrice whispered, “I’m glad Jeremy came. I’m glad you’re alright. I never wanted Solomon to kill anyone.” She held Asher’s cell phone in her hand, squeezing it so tightly that her knuckles turned white.
#p#分页标题#e#
…
When we arrived back at the Landseer estate after the police showed up, I immediately went and sat on the couch in Asher’s guest home, slumping onto it. I was so tired, physically and mentally exhausted, and I wanted to go to sleep. But, no, I couldn’t. I had things to do, and I needed to do them soon before I changed my mind.
Asher was alright. He’d declined going to the hospital. After the paramedics checked him out, they said he should be fine to leave, but to take it easy and be careful. If anything happened, anything at all, they wanted him to rush to the emergency room. Jeremy practically had to force him to agree while I stood and watched on, too shy to say anything.