There was something wrong with his voice. It sounded different. It wasn’t just about its shakiness or hoarseness.
“Serene,” he called again.
Dreaded, I summoned some courage to take a glance at his face. I moved my neck slowly, pushing him a little. My eyes catching the green color in his, I gasped. I gawked as well, holding onto him as he almost fell. He shut his eyes, and maybe passed out.
“Kenneth!” I cried. “Ryan, come over here! Hold him for me!”
As soon as I said that, Ryan hurried over to me. He held Kenneth, and let him lay on the floor, just close to Jessica. They were both bleeding, but Jessica was still conscious. “Call the ambulance,” he ordered.
“Stop! Leave me, you idiots!” I turned to Sherri when I heard her scream. She was struggling with the police, wailing at the top of her voice, crying her eyes out. “I swear, this isn’t the end! I’m gonna get back to you all! I’m gonna kill you guys for making me insane! I’ll kill you all! I’ll kill you! Aah! Aah!”
Indeed, she was insane. This was exactly how a lunatic would behave.
“Miss Alan,” officer Rita called, rushing over to me. She breathed hard, swallowed, and pulled a sad look. “I’m so sorry about this. I-I’m really sorry. The ambulance is outside, and I can assure you that things would be fine.”
“Okay.”
“Kenneth! Oh my gosh!” Unexpectedly, Marsha came in through the main door. She ran as fast as she could, hurrying over to Kenneth. She held his neck, crouched beside him, sobbing as she wept. “What happened to him? D-Did he get shot? My gosh! Why?! What did he do?!”
“Calm down, please,” I whispered. I doubted if she had heard me.
Soon, the paramedics came over to us. They put Kenneth and Jessica on the emergency beds, carefully pushing the beds out of the mall. I felt very bad to see Jessica struggling to live, and Kenneth looking dead, but I just had to stay strong.
Why in the world had he taken the bullet for me? Even Ryan hadn’t done that.
“Ryan, what’s this? Why would she… come here? Why?” I sobbed.
He sighed. Seeming equally worried, he moved close, and pulled me into his chest for a warm hug. “I’m so, so sorry. We would find a way out of it, okay? Don’t cry. I’m sure they’ll be fine.” He cupped my jaw, and pecked me on the cheek. “I’m pretty sure the police would be more careful.”
I nodded, trying to feel better. “I hope Kenneth survives. H-He was unconscious.”
He nodded too. “Let’s go now. We should help them out.”
I pulled Marsha up, as she sat on the floor and wept so much. I wasn’t even aware that she and Kenneth were friends once again. I felt really bad, knowing that Kenneth had risked his life for me. Why would he do that? Why?
“It’ll be fine,” I assured her.
Together with Ryan, we made our way out of the mall, heading to the hospital.
***
I was so used to visiting this hospital. It was the same hospital mom and dad were. Since the doctors were busy treating Jessica and Kenneth, I had decided to pay mom and dad a visit, so they would comfort me with their kind words.
I sniffled, squeezing mom’s hand in mine, seated beside her bed. “I’m so scared. I mean, what if they don’t survive?”
She gave me a small smile. “They will. I can assure you of that. Your dad and I managed to survive, although we were in a coma for a really long time. So, what makes you think they won’t survive as well?”
“I don’t know.” I exhaled out loud, glancing at dad who was smiling at me, as he sat on his bed. “Particularly, I feel bad for Marsha and Ryan. They’re both worried. I know Ryan is scared, but he’s hiding it. If anything happens to Jessica, he’ll be so shattered. If Sherri had wanted to harm someone, why didn’t she do it to me? Why was she careless?”
Mom gave me a curt nod. “Let’s wait to hear what the doctors say, okay? I’m pretty sure they’ll be okay. At least, the ambulance reached the mall in time.”
The door sounded, so I turned to look at who had come in. As expected, it was Vicki. Spotting a small smile on her lips, so much delight beaming in her eyes as well, I had a feeling that something good had happened. I hopped from my seat, not thinking twice before dashing over to her.
I took a deep breath. “Any news?”
She nodded quickly. “Yes. The doctors were able to remove the bullets from Jessica’s arm. Luckily, the bullet didn’t penetrate so much into Kenneth’s body.”
“Thank God!” I exclaimed. In excitement, I grabbed her hands, squeezing them so much. “Has Ryan heard about it? I’ve been so nervous to go to him.”
“He’s with his sister.” She grinned. “Actually, Kenneth’s not awake. The doctors said he’s still weak, but they made us know that he’ll be fine. I think Marsha feels better.”
“Aw…” Tears formed in my eyes. They were tears of joy. “I’ll go and see them right now! This is amazing!”
Running past her, I ran out of the room. I was really, really excited. Well, when we had come to the hospital, I was starting to think I was bad luck. First, my parents, then Kenneth and Jessica? I was really puzzled and upset. However, now, I had a feeling that things would be fine. My parents got saved, same as Jessica and Kenneth.
Opening the door of Jessica’s room, I ambled to her bed. Ryan was sitting beside her, holding her hands, and the better news was, he was finally smiling.
“Oh, Jessica, I’m glad you’re okay.” They turned to me when they heard my voice. I stood beside Ryan, smiling as well.
He smiled harder, turning back to her. “For a moment, I thought I’d lose you. I’m sorry about this. Sherri’s court trial begins tomorrow. I know she’ll be punished severely.”
“I hope so. She’s such a dick,” Jessica said.
As we continued to speak about Sherri’s craziness, it came to my mind that I had to see Kenneth as well. He wasn’t awake yet, and I knew Marsha would still be worried.
“Guys, I need to check on Kenneth,” I informed them. “Will be right back.”
“Wait.” Ryan stood up, twitched his lips for some reason, his smirk turning to a smile. “Um, I’m glad things are fine. I’m still a bit uneasy, knowing that they actually got shot. But, I don’t want that to affect me.”
I raised my eyebrows in confusion. “Yeah, yeah, I understand that. But, is there… something you’re trying to point out? I’m a bit…” I laughed weirdly. “Confused?”
Still trying to understand his words, the door opened up. To my surprise, Praise, Tracie and Vicki walked in. How in the world had they gotten here? Dazed, I turned to Ryan.
He was smiling. Again. This was so confusing! “Called them over.” He shrugged as if nothing was weird about all this. “I told you I have something for you. I’ve been willing to do this, but I wanted to do it in front of my sister. To make it more fun, I decided to call your best friends over.”
I laughed weirdly. “What’s going on? I’m very, very confused.”
He stepped close, took my hand, cleared his throat, and started, “To be honest, I wish you could know how much I love you.” Oh. That was weird. Anyway, it was better if I kept listening. “I’ve known you for almost two years. Even before we began dating, being with you has brought me out of the shadow of my solitude. I was a protective boss, but you had no idea that every one of my weird behaviors was because I was in love with you.”
“True,” I affirmed.
He breathed out. For some reason, his breath was shaky, as if he was nervous. “I’ve done certain things that are annoying, and I know that as I continue to be with you, I’ll slowly become the man you want me to be.”
I smiled heartily. These kinds of words made me blush. “Thanks,” I said.
“There’s one thing I wanna do,” he continued. “I wanna give you assurance. I wanna take another step. I want a bond that’d prove that I’m yours, and just yours forever.”
“Aw…” My cheek flushed in red color. I hoped I wouldn’t burst.
Again, he cleared his throat. He took a step backwards, dug his hand in his pocket, and pulled something from it. I blinked like a confused dog, waiting to see what he was doing. With a smile on his lips, he went down on his knee. Shocked, my jaw dropped.
“Serene, will you marry me?” he proposed.
A huff left my nose. This was unexpected. Only this afternoon, his sister and I had been talking about marriage. Now, he was doing this? What a miracle!
“Yes, yes, yes!” I exclaimed.
His smile turned to a grin. Putting the ring in my finger, he pecked my knuckles. Of course, Vicki, Praise and Tracie began to rejoice. Probably because Jessica was still quite weak, she didn’t react as much as I would have expected her to.
He stood straight, wrapped his arms around my waist, and pulled me close. “Thanks for accepting my proposal. Now, my day is complete.”
“Thanks as well. For everything.”
He tucked some strands of my hair behind my ear. “I just want you to know that no matter what gets to happen in the future, I’ll always be here for you. I’ll always appreciate you. I’ll always support the good things you do.”
“I love you. I just do. You’ve got such a big heart. I wouldn’t have thought that you’d ever forgive me, after what I did. I’m in awe. Thanks so much for this unconditional love. As I’ve promised before, I’ll make it up to you. I surely will.”
“Love you too.” And then, he leaned close, locked his lips to mine, and kissed mildly. As usual, our kiss was filled with so much passion. It made me feel on top of the world.
Pulling away, Praise and Tracie hurried over immediately.
“Welcome to the club, baby!” Praise squealed. “Gosh, I’m so excited for you. This is extremely amazing! I’m glad you’ve finally found your happiness.”
“Thanks,” I said.
“Congratulations, hun!” Tracie chirped as well.
“Thank you.”
I turned to Ryan, held his hand, and grinned. “Come on, let’s break this news to my parents. They’re gonna be so happy. I’ll call my sis later.”
“Okay,” he said.
Before leaving the room, Jessica and Vicki congratulated me as well. Vicki snuggled me, and even accompanied Ryan and me to our parents.
As we headed over to their room, I couldn’t stop smiling. I didn’t know why. I just had a conviction that I had made a very good choice. I felt on top of the world. It felt like I had achieved a great aim.
I looked at him as we walked in the hallway. “Thank you,” I whispered to myself. Uncontrollably, tears formed in my eyes. Joyful tears.
It was hard to believe this. He was actually willing to marry me, after everything that had happened between James and me? Though I had tampered with his reputation?
I looked away, blinking away the tears in my eyes. Indeed, heaven sent this man to me. He was just the best for me. And, someday, I would be the best woman for him.
He would be my husband? What a dream come true.
After breaking the news to mom and dad, we went over to Marsha and Kenneth. It took a while for Kenneth to wake up, but he was eventually fine. Sherri didn’t succeed in harming him. But, the confusion was, I didn’t figure out why he took the bullet for me. We weren’t even close friends anymore.
***