“I don’t want you to move out,” Cayden King said as he stared at Mason Weber. “I liked having you live with me. It was fun.”

“It was,” Mason agreed, “but it’s time for me to be on my own now. I can’t live off of you for the rest of my life, you know.”

“I know, but you don’t have to move out so soon,” Cayden explained. “You could have waited a little while, you know. You could have waited until you saved up a little more money.”

“I could have,” Mason said with a nod, “but then I would have missed out on this place,” he said as he motioned to his apartment. “Don’t worry about the money, my grandmother sent me some more money. She wanted to help out.”

“What if I wake up in the middle of the night and need someone to talk to? And who’s going to eat all of the cereal and put the empty box back in the cabinet?” he questioned.

“Cayden,” Mason said with a smirk, “you need to relax. I’ll be a phone call away if you need to talk and I’m sure I’ll be over at your place eating all of your cereal anyway,” Mason explained. “It’s not going to be that bad, you’ll see.”

“That’s what you think,” Cayden said as he shook his head. “You’re going to forget all about me. We’ll never see each other again. My best friend is just going to fade away and leave me all alone in this big city. I’m going to be all alone,” he repeated.

“Come with me,” Mason said as he walked over to the front door and opened it, stepping into the hall. “I’m not going to be that far away,” he said as Cayden joined him. “I’m just moving down the hall,” he explained.

Cayden glanced down the hall to the door of his apartment. “Oh . . . you’re right, it’s not that far,” Cayden laughed, uncontrollably. Mason shook his head and whacked Cayden on the arm.

“I really thought you were upset,” Mason said as he rolled his eyes and walked back to his apartment.

“Well, I am upset. You’re moving out, that’s upsetting,” he responded. “But you’re right, you need your space . . . and I need mine,” he added reluctantly. “But the good thing is that you’re just going to be down the hall, so I can knock on your door whenever I want,” Cayden added with a smile.

“Why am I suddenly starting to think that’s not such a good thing,” Mason questioned with a smirk.

“Shut up,” Cayden said as he crossed the living room to the window. “This place gives me the creeps,” Cayden admitted.

“Why?” Mason questioned.

Cayden turned from the window and glanced at Mason. “Are you serious? Some guy killed himself in this apartment two weeks ago. Doesn’t that give you the creeps?” He questioned.

“Julia Taylor was killed in your apartment,” Mason replied. “Does that give you the creeps?”

“It used to,” Cayden answered. “Sometimes it still does,” he admitted.

“I’m not worried about it,” Mason explained. “I have a really great apartment in New York and it just happens to be just down the hall from my best friend in the entire world,” he explained. “I’m not going to let some dead person ruin it for me.”

“That’s what I thought,” Cayden said to himself as he heard a ruckus in the hall and ran to the door to check it out.

“Lift your end a little higher,” Gage Matthews demanded as he tried to move a sofa out of the elevator.

“I’m trying,” Jesse Martinez replied as he bent down to get a better grip. “It’s stuck.”

“Then unstick it,” Gage said, trapped in the elevator.

“Mason better give us something for carrying this couch for him,” Jesse griped. “This couch smells like a bum.”

“That’s what he gets for shopping at thrift stores,” Gage said as he tried to force the couch out of the elevator.

Standing in the doorway of Mason’s apartment, Cayden laughed at his two friends. Jesse glanced in his direction and shook his head. “Are you just going to stand there laughing, or are you going to help us?” He questioned.

“Oh!” Cayden said with surprise. He smiled. “I’m just going to stand here laughing.”

Stepping out of the apartment, Mason glanced down the hall at the two men trying to get his couch out of the elevator. “What are you guys doing? You’re going to break my sofa,” he said as he ran down the hall. Cayden simply smiled and leaned against the wall.

“I’m sick of cleaning,” Devon said as she stepped out of the bedroom and pulled a bandana off of her head. She sighed as she crossed over to the couch in the living room and sat down on it. “It doesn’t look like James ever cleaned his apartment, not once,” she said as she leaned back and caught a whiff of the couch. “What the hell is that smell?” She questioned as she sat up.

Cayden laughed as he cleaned the window in the living room. “It’s Mason’s couch,” he explained.

“Gross,” Devon said as she stood up from the couch and stared down at it with disgust. “It smells like shit. It’s one thing to clean a dirty apartment, but to go and buy furniture that smells like shit? What’s the point?”

“It should be fine,” Kathryn explained as she stepped out of the kitchen when she was done wiping every surface. “All we need is a little deodorizer, maybe some of that spray stuff.”

“I need food,” Gage Matthews said as he sat in the corner of the room tossing a sponge back and forth, “or else I’m going to pass out and die.”

“Then let’s starve him,” Devon teased as she smiled at Cayden.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Gage said as he gave her the finger.

“I’m with Gage,” Cayden said as he turned away from the window. “We need to take a break.”

“Listen to him,” Gage said as he pointed to Cayden, “the man speaks the truth.”

“I guess I could use a break,” Devon said with a sigh, “and something to eat.”

Mason stepped out of the bedroom and glanced around. “What’s going on?” He questioned. “Why is everyone just standing around?”

“We’re tired,” Kathryn responded. “We need a break.”

“A break?” Mason questioned. “Come on, guys, we’re almost finished, we can’t take a break now.”

“We’re hungry,” Gage explained.

“Well, I’m ordering a pizza,” Mason said.

“Sweet!” Gage responded.

“But not until we’re done,” Mason assured everyone.

“Well, I have an idea,” Kathryn said as she stepped forward. “We need to pick up some stuff from the store to finish cleaning anyway. We can pick up a few snacks and some sodas and bring them back here to tide us over until the pizza comes,” she explained.

“Yes,” Gage said as she stood up and pointed to Kathryn. “Listen to this girl, she knows what she’s talking about,” he said.

“That sounds good to me,” Devon said as she started for the door. “I could go for some barbecue potato chips and an ice cold soda right now.”

“Well, I’m not going to the store right now,” Mason said. “You guys can take all the breaks you want, but I’m not stopping until this place is sparkling clean.

“Whatever,” Gage said as he and Cayden headed for the door. “Kathryn, you coming?” He questioned.

“Just a second,” Kathryn said as she motioned for them to wait. She stepped into the bedroom and crossed over to the bathroom door. Jesse hovered over the toilet holding a toilet brush as he tried not to vomit.

“Hey,” Kathryn said, catching his attention.

Jesse glanced up at her with a queasy expression on his face. “Hey,” he responded. “I think this toilet was white at some point,” he said as he motioned to the filth covered toilet.

“We’re gonna take a break,” Kathryn explained, “and run down to the store for snacks and more cleaning supplies. You wanna come?”

Jesse glanced down at the toilet brush in his hand, then back at Kathryn. “Definitely,” he responded as he dropped the toilet brush on the ground and bolted out of the bathroom.

“I’m getting some cheese puffs,” Gage said as he reached for the door of the convenience store and pulled it open. He stepped inside, leaving the door to close in front of Kathryn and Jesse.

“Jerk,” Kathryn said as Jesse reached forward and held the door open for her. “At least some people still have manners,” she said with a smile as Jesse followed her into the store.

Outside, on the sidewalk, Cayden paused for a moment and smiled. “Cayden?” Devon said, calling out to him as she hovered by the door. “Earth to Cayden. Are you coming inside?” She questioned.

Cayden glanced back at her and nodded. “I was just admiring the day,” he said.

“It’s cold as hell,” Devon retorted.

“But look at the sky,” Cayden said as he pointed upward. “It’s beautiful, almost perfect.”

“It’s still cold as hell,” Devon reminded him as she shivered beside the door. “Whatever, I’m going inside. You can stay out here and admire the perfect sky until you freeze your perfect little buns off.”

Cayden smiled and turned toward Devon. “Stop looking at my perfect little buns,” he said as they stepped inside of the convenience store.

“What are you going to get?” Devon questioned as she glanced around.

“Chocolate chip cookies,” Cayden responded as he glanced down the small aisles. “I think they’re over here,” he said as he stepped to his right.

“Screw that,” Devon said as she started down an aisle. “I’m going for the real chips, the potato chips.”

“Hey,” Cayden said as he glanced around for the cookies, “don’t knock my chocolate chip cookies. A glass of milk as some chocolate chip cookies always hit the spot,” he explained.

“Cayden,” Jesse said as he walked up to him. “You wanted me to show you how to make Spanish rice. Let’s get the stuff to make it now.”

“Oh, good idea,” Cayden agreed as he snatched up a package of chocolate chip cookies and followed Jesse to the aisle Spanish foods section of the store.

“You need some of these,” Jesse said as he stood down and grabbed a few cans and handed them to Cayden.

Glancing down at the cans, Cayden paused for a moment. “Tomato sauce?” He questioned. “You actually put tomato sauce in your rice?” He questioned.

“Of course,” Jesse responded with a smirk. “This too,” he said as he showed Cayden a can of beans.

“What are you doing?” Kathryn questioned as she approached them, holding a bag of salt and vinegar potato chips.

“Jesse’s going to teach me how to make Spanish rice,” Cayden responded.

“Cool,” Kathryn said as she glanced at the door and saw someone enter. She stiffened up quickly and cleared her throat to get their attention. “Don’t look now,” she whispered, “but I think we’re being followed.”

Cayden and Jesse glanced over at the door in time to see Szymon Skubisz enter. Jesse sighed and rolled his eyes when Szymon caught sight of them and started in their direction. “I’ll go get the rice and the rest of the stuff,” Jesse said as he handed Cayden the can of beans and walked away from him with Kathryn following.

“Hey,” Szymon said as he approached Cayden.

“Hey,” Cayden responded, slightly nervous. “What are you doing here?” He questioned.

“Shopping,” Szymon responded.

“Sorry, I just figured . . . I don’t know.”

“That I’m following you?” Szymon questioned. “It’s okay, I guess I’d be thinking the same thing if I were you,” he explained. “No, actually, I’m just here to pick up some snacks before I head to my weekly poker game. It’s my turn to bring the chips and stuff,” he stated.

“How was your Thanksgiving?” Szymon questioned. “I mean, the rest of your Thanksgiving,” he questioned.

“It was great,” Cayden responded. “How was yours?”

“It was fine,” Szymon answered as he glanced further down the aisle at Jesse and Kathryn. Jesse glanced at them and rolled his eyes and Szymon. Turning his gaze to Cayden, Szymon reached over and pulled him to the side.

“I wanted to tell you something,” he said softly.

“If it’s about what happened at my place on Thanksgiving, I want you to know that . . .’

“Don’t worry about that,” Szymon interrupted him. “You’re seeing somebody, I understand that.”

“I’m not seeing anyone,” Cayden explained. “Elijah’s just my friend. He stays over sometimes when his roommate hooks up. Nothing happened between us.”

Cayden could see relief in Szymon’s eyes as the man simply smiled. “You don’t have to explain yourself to me,” Szymon said to him.

“I want to,” Cayden said. “I wanted you to know . . . just in case . . . just in case you needed to,” he added. He stared into Szymon’s eyes for a moment.

With a smile on his face, Szymon nodded. “I did,” he admitted, “I really did.”

“So now you know,” Cayden smiled.

“Cayden,” Gage called out from the other side of the store. “Pepsi or Coke?” He questioned as he held up two bottles of soda.

Cayden smiled and shook his head. “Coke,” he responded. Turning back toward, Szymon, he apologized. “I’m sorry, we’ve been helping my friend Mason move into his new apartment and we all needed a break so we came down here to pick up some provisions.”

“It’s fine. I’m actually glad that I ran into you,” Szymon stated. “I was going to call you earlier, but I got tied up with a few things at the office. I guess now’s as good a time as any, though,” Szymon said.

“What is it?” Cayden questioned.

“You don’t have to worry about being a target anymore. The department can’t waste any more time investigating Julia Taylor’s death. All of our leads have gone nowhere and we don’t have enough evidence to charge anyone with her death. The department has officially labeled it a cold case.”

“What?!” Devon James questioned as she stepped up next to Cayden. “Are you serious? You son of a bitch!” At the back of the store, Gage heard what was going on and ran toward Devon. Kathryn and Jesse followed.

“What happened?” Gage questioned when he reached her side.

“Detective Skubisz just told Cayden that they’re dropping the investigation into Julia’s death,” Devon informed everyone.

“You’re what?” Jesse questioned as he stepped forward.

“Are you serious?” Kathryn questioned.

“You can’t do that,” Jesse said.

“I’m sorry,” Szymon said to all of them, “but we don’t have enough evidence. We’re not dropping the investigation,” he corrected, “but we don’t have anything to go on right now. We have tons of other cases that we’re working on and we can’t continue to investigate something that is leading us nowhere,” he explained.

“So that’s it?” Devon questioned. “You can’t catch the killer so you give up? Nice,” she said as she shook her head. “Really fucking nice.”

“This can’t be happening,” Jesse said. “No way is this happening.”

“Detective,” Cayden said as he glanced apologetically at Szymon, “I think you should leave,” he said as he glanced back at his friends. He felt sorry for them because he knew they wanted to find Julia’s killer, but at the same time he felt sorry for Szymon because he knew that there was nothing that the detective could do about it.

“I’m really sorry,” Szymon said as he stepped away. “I know how hard this must be for all of you.” He glanced at Cayden and nodded and Cayden nodded back at him. “Excuse me,” Szymon said as he stepped away and grabbed several items off of the shelf and took them to the cashier at the front.

Cayden watched as Szymon left, then turned back to his friends. “You guys, I think we should finish up and head back,” he said softly as he headed toward the cashier.

Cayden waited patiently as the cashier scanned the items being purchased by the woman in front of him. He glanced behind him where Devon stood and tried to offer her a weak smile. “I’m sorry about what happened,” Cayden said to her.

“It’s not your fault,” Devon responded. “Besides, we don’t need the police, we have Julia’s diary.”

Cayden’s eyes widened. “Not so loud,” Cayden said to her. “I don’t want everyone to know.”

“Why?” Devon questioned.

Cayden thought about what he had read from Julia’s diary and the idea of letting everyone know about it gave him pause. How could he let Jesse know about the diary and then not let him read what Julia wrote.

“The less people that know about it, the better,” Cayden explained.

Devon nodded. “You’re right, I’m just pissed off.”

“It’s understandable,” Cayden said with a nod. “I’d be pissed off too.”

In front of him, the cashier had just finished bagging the woman’s purchases and she reached for the bag and headed out of the store. Cayden placed his stuff down on the counter as the woman began to reach for the door.

From the corner of his eye, Cayden King saw a man step into the convenience store and push the woman onto the ground. His eyes widened when he saw the man raise his arm and point it at the cashier.

“Everyone get down on the ground!” The man yelled. “Now!”

“What the fuck?” Devon gasped as she jumped back, nearly knocking Kathryn over in the process.

“I said get down on the ground!” The man ordered. The woman he had pushed to the ground began screaming and he stepped over to her. “Shut up, bitch!” He demanded, causing the woman to close her eyes and force herself to stop screaming.

“Everyone get down, if you cooperate, I won’t shoot you. I just want the money in the register, that’s it,” he explained.

“Get down,” Devon whispered to Cayden as she reached for his arm and they slowly got down onto the ground. Kathryn and Gage got down as well, but Jesse remained standing.

“Jesse,” Kathryn said, “get down.”

Jesse Martinez was frozen in place, his eyes fixed on the man’s gun. He seemed entranced somehow, and unable to move.

“Jesse,” Cayden said to him. “Jesse, get down.”

The man pointed the gun directly at Jesse. “Get on the ground or die,” the man explained, turning his attention away from the cashier. Behind the counter, the cashier reached underneath and let his finger glide against the smooth surface of a shotgun. He swallowed the lump in his throat as he kept his eyes on the gunman and his hand on the shotgun.

“Jesse, get down!” Cayden yelled as he reached back and grabbed Jesse’s hand, pulling him to the ground. Jesse blinked as if stirred out of a daze and realized what was happening.

“You’re lucky your friend is smarter than you are,” the man said. “Now,” he said as he turned back to the shop owner. “Give me the money in the register.”

With a scared expression on his face, the cashier held a shotgun in his hands and aimed it at the gunman.

“Get the hell out of my store,” the cashier demanded. “Get out!”

The woman with the spilled groceries began freaking out. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God! Let me go!”

The cashier glanced at her, and in the moment where he took his eyes off of the gunman and glanced at the woman, he realized that he had made a mistake. Without hesitation, the gunman fired. A single bullet struck the man behind the counter in the forehead and he slumped to the ground with a sickening thud.

The woman who had been screaming, began to scream louder. “Holy shit,” Devon whispered. “This is really happening.”

The gunman rounded the counter and opened the register. “Everybody just chill out,” he demanded. “Stay down and you won’t be hurt,” he explained as he grabbed as much money as he could and shoved it into his pockets.

He came around the counter and headed for the door. “Just stay down and I’ll be out of here in no time,” he assured them as he reached for the door. As he did, he saw lights flashing and heard someone yelling from outside.

“This is the police. Drop your weapon an come out of the store with your hands in the air.”

“Fuck!” The gunman yelled as he moved away from the door.

“It’s Szymon,” Cayden whispered as he recognized the voice.

“That son of a bitch is going to get us killed,” Devon seethed.

“You,” the gunman said as he grabbed the sobbing woman.

“Let me go!” The woman argued, but the man pressed his gun into her side and she stopped fighting as the man lead her to the door. He lifted the gun from her side and held it to her head as he cracked the door open slightly.

“Get out of here or the lady gets it,” the gunman explained.

On the street, Szymon Skubisz held his gun ready. “Let’s just calm down here,” he said softly. “We can work this out. Let the woman go,” he said.

“Fuck you!” The gunman retorted. “I’ll kill her if you don’t leave,” the man announced.

On the ground by the counter, Jesse motioned to Cayden. “We should do something.”

Unable to find the words to respond, Cayden stared at Szymon and shook his head.

“I’m not going to do anything that’s going to get me killed,” Devon whispered.

“Devon is right,” Kathryn interjected. “We should just do what he says.”

“We can’t just sit here and do nothing,” Gage said as he started to get up from the floor.

“Gage,” Devon whispered. “What are you doing?”

Cayden realized that Gage had stood up from the ground. “Gage,” he said as he tried to reach for the other man’s arm. “No . . .” He couldn’t reach him and found himself standing up to follow. He couldn’t let anything happen to him.

Gage crept behind the counter with Cayden close behind him. The site of the cashier with a bullet in his head was almost enough to cause Gage to throw up, but he stifled the urge and reached for the shotgun and glanced back at Cayden.

“On three,” Gage said to Cayden. “You distract him and I shoot him, okay?”

Cayden nodded, despite the fact that he couldn’t understand what Gage was saying. There was a pounding in his head that was so loud it drowned everything else out.

“One . . . Two . . . Three . . .” The two men behind the counter sprung up and Gage aimed his gun at the man by the door only to realize that the gunman was standing there aiming his gun directly at them.

“That was really stupid,” the gunman said as he aimed at Gage. “Because now you’re doing to die.” With his gun pointed at Gage, the man began to squeeze the trigger. Without warning, Jesse leaped from the ground and tackled the man in a struggle for the gun.

Freed from her captor’s grasp, the woman fell to the ground and struggled to get up. As they struggled for the gun, it went off. Jesse tried his best to subdue the man with the gun but a swift punch to the cheek made his eye feel as if it wanted to explode and he paused as the pain defeated him. The man shrugged Jesse to the ground just as the woman got to her feet and ran for the door.

A single shot entered her back and her eyes widened as she slumped over and fell to the ground. Kathryn began to shriek but Devon grabbed her and covered her mouth with her hand. “Get a grip,” Devon demanded. “Stop screaming.”

Kathryn nodded, her eyes wide with fear as Devon slowly removed her hand from the woman’s mouth. “Stay calm,” Devon said softly. “Just stay calm.”

Behind the counter, Gage dropped the shotgun and it clattered on the ground. He took a step forward. “Gage?” Cayden said as he stepped forward.

Gage glanced over at Cayden then down at his shoulder where a fresh gunshot wound began to seep with blood. “Holy shit, Cayden,” he whispered. “They shot me,” he said as he fell to the ground in shock.

“Oh my God,” Cayden said as fear overtook him and he scrambling to get away. He leaped over Gage and ran to the door but the man with the gun grabbed him and held the gun to his head.

“Where do you think you’re going?” He questioned. Turning back to the door, he held the gun to Cayden’s head and opened the door slightly. He pushed Cayden outside just enough so that the police could see him. “The woman is dead,” he informed them. “If you don’t do what I say, the kid is next,” he explained.

Szymon Skubisz watched in shock as a man held a gun to Cayden’s head. His heart began to race uncontrollably at the sight. “Let him go,” Szymon demanded as he held his gun aimed at the store robber.

“That’s not going to happen,” the man responded. “Step away from your car, I need to borrow it.”

“I can’t do that,” Szymon said as he shook his head.

“Then the kid gets one in the back of the head,” the man said as he pressed the gun harder into Cayden’s head. Cayden winced with fear and cringed as tears rolled down his cheeks. “Step away from the car.”

It was all Szymon could do not to Cayden and hold him in his arms. “I can’t do that,” Szymon said again. “Then he dies!” The store robber said as he pulled Cayden back into the store and shut the door.

A single gunshot echoed from within the store and Szymon Skubisz felt his heart drop to his feet. “Cayden!” He cried with despair.

Cayden King stumbled backward and stared at the gunman in horror. He glanced down at his arm where the bullet grazed him and saw the blood. Staring back up at the gunman, he stumbled toward the counter and fell to his knees. The shock of almost being killed was beginning to hit him like a ton of bricks.

“Cayden,” Devon gasped as she saw her friend stumble to the ground.

“Everyone just calm the fuck down,” the man demanded. “I have to think.”

“Think about what?” Devon questioned. “You can’t get out of here. You killed two people and you shot two others. They’re not going to let you just leave,” she explained.

“Shut up,” the man said as he shook his head and walked back and forth.

“Give yourself up,” Devon said. “You know they’re not going to let you go.”

“Shut up,” the man repeated.

“They’ve probably got this place surrounded by now,” Devon said. “There’s no way out.”

“I said shut up!” The man said as he stepped toward Devon and held the gun aimed at her face. “Shut the fuck up!”

“Devon . . .” Kathryn said as she reached up and placed her hand on the other woman’s shoulder. “Stop,” she said softly.

Devon stared up at the man with the gun. There was a look of pure hatred on her face. She wanted to say more. She wanted to call him a coward for hiding behind his gun and shooting innocent people in the back, but she remained silent and glanced away.

“That’s right,” the man said. “Just shut up and let me think.”

Several feet away from Devon and Kathryn, Jesse sat on the ground with his hand on his cheek. “Jesse,” Devon said, “are you okay?”

“I said shut up,” the man repeated.

“I’m just checking on my friend,” Devon replied.

Jesse nodded at Devon. “I’m fine,” he said. “How are you.”

“We’re okay,” Kathryn responded. “Gage? Cayden?” They turned to glance at Cayden who sat on the ground mere inches from where Gage was.

“I’m okay,” Gage assured them. “I’m okay.”

“Cayden?” Devon questioned as she glanced at her friend. “Are you okay?”

“He’s fine!” The gunman said as he stepped toward Devon. “And now you can shut the fuck up,” he said as he aimed the gun at her.

“I’m fine,” Cayden managed as he held his hand against the wound on his arm.

“We’re all just peachy fucking keen,” the man said as he glanced out of the window and saw two police cars pull up. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, “looks like we’re going to be here for a while.”

Cecilia Nakamura pulled over and turned off the engine. Stepping out of the car, she caught sight of partner. “Szymon,” she said as she reached his side. She could see in his eyes that something was wrong. “I heard it over the scanner,” she said as she glanced at the convenience store. “What’s the situation.”

“There’s . . . there’s one guy . . . from what I can tell,” Szymon responded softly. “I’m not sure if there’s anyone working with him . . . he’s got hostages.”

“Do we know how many?” Cecilia questioned.

“Six, maybe seven,” Szymon said as he shook his head. “I don’t know . . .”

“Yeah? So what went down?” She glanced at Szymon when he didn’t respond. “Szymon, what the hell is wrong with you?” She questioned.

“He shot Cayden,” Szymon responded softly.

“He shot who?” Cecilia questioned.

“Cayden is in there,” Szymon explained as he glanced into Cecilia’s eyes. “I spoke to him and then I left . . . but Cayden didn’t leave. He was still in there.”

Cecilia regarded Szymon with a sympathetic look. “Cayden is going to be fine,” Cecilia assured him as she glanced at the convenience store.

“He’s dead,” Szymon said.

Cecilia turned toward Szymon and stared at him. “How do you know that?” She questioned.

“Because he was holding a gun to Cayden’s head,” Szymon responded. “He wanted to show me that he had a hostage. He said he would kill Cayden if I didn’t give him my car. I refused. He pulled Cayden back into the store and then I heard a gunshot,” Szymon explained.

Cecilia paused for a moment and shook her head. “Did you see him shoot Cayden?” She questioned. Szymon simply shook his head in response. “Okay then,” Cecilia said. “That doesn’t mean that he killed Cayden,” she assured him, despite the fact that she felt like she was lying to her partner.

“Cici,” Szymon said as he turned to stare at the convenience store. “If he hurt Cayden in any way . . .”

Cecilia Nakamura stared at her partner for a moment before nodding her head. Szymon didn’t have to say anything else, she knew exactly what he was thinking. “For his sake, I hope he didn’t,” Cecilia said.

“Are we going to die?” Kathryn questioned as she sat beside Devon.

“No,” Devon responded. “No one else is going to die today,” she assured her as she glanced over at Jesse and nodded at him. Jesse nodded back and glanced at the man holding the gun.

“How can you be sure?” Kathryn whispered. “I bet that cashier and that woman didn’t think they were going to die today and look what happened to them,” she said.

“Kathryn,” Devon said, “if we’re going to get out of this alive, I need you to calm down,” she said as she glanced at the other woman. Kathryn’s eyes were filled with fear and her hands were shaking.

“I’m trying,” Kathryn responded, “but I can’t help it, I’m scared.”

“Listen to me,” Devon said. “We are going to get out of this, Kathryn. Are you listening to me?” She questioned as she saw the other woman glancing around the convenience store. She reached over and grabbed Kathryn’s arm and shook her.

Kathryn yelped and nodded her head and she glanced at Devon. “I’m listening,” she said. “I’m listening.”

“Just try and stay calm. You won’t be any good to anyone if you start freaking out,” Devon said.

“But I can’t help it,” Kathryn responded as tears began to slide down her cheeks.

“Kathryn,” Devon said as she shook the woman again. “Look at that woman,” she said as she pointed to the body that lay on the ground beside the door. When Kathryn wouldn’t look, Devon shook her more forcefully. “Look at her,” she demanded. Kathryn hesitated, but finally glanced at the woman on the ground.

“She couldn’t stay calm,” Devon reminded her. “She freaked out and she got shot because of it. Do you want to end up like her?” Devon questioned. “Do you?”

“No,” Kathryn said as she closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Then try to stay calm,” Devon demanded as Kathryn began to sob.

Jesse glanced over at the two of them and saw the state that Kathryn was in. He looked at Devon, and with just a glance, he begged her to get Kathryn under control. Devon looked backed at him and shook her head. There was nothing she could say or do.

Jesse looked at the gunman, who continued to pace back at forth. Working up the courage to move, Jesse slowly began to crawl toward Devon and Kathryn.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” The man said as he stepped forward, aiming his gun at Jesse.

Jesse paused and looked at the man. “My friend is crying,” Jesse responded, “and I know that you want us all to be quiet so that you can think,” he continued. “Just let me crawl over to her and I’ll get her to be quiet,” he assured the man.

“Do it,” the man said as he motioned to Jesse to hurry up. “Get her quiet.”

Jesse crept beside Devon and Kathryn and reached out to put his arm around Kathryn. “Shh,” she whispered softly. “I need you to stop crying. Can you do that for me?” He asked. Kathryn nodded and did her best to stop crying.

When she had stopped sobbing, Jesse gave her a gentle squeeze. “Good, now just relax. I won’t let anything happen to you,” he said. Glancing at Devon, he reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I won’t let anything happen to either of you,” he assured them.

“Cayden,” Gage whispered as he sat by the counter with his hand firmly pressed against his gunshot wound. “Why is this happening?” He questioned.

“I don’t know,” Cayden answered honestly as he too kept his hand firmly pressed against his own wound. “I really don’t know . . .”

“Is this how it ends?” Gage questioned. “Trapped in a convenience store with a psycho? Is this how we die?”

“We’re not going to die,” Cayden assured him. He wanted to make his words sound confident, but he found that he couldn’t. He realized that he was just saying what Gage wanted to hear, but both he and Gage knew that he had no idea what he was talking about.

“Liar,” Gage said softly. “I don’t want to die like this,” he admitted, “alone and scared. If this is how Julia felt, then I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy,” he explained.

“You’re not alone,” Cayden reminded him, “and you’re not going to die. We’re going to get out of here and we’re going to eat those damned chocolate chip cookies and those potato chips,” he said.

Gage laughed. “That’s what I like about you, Cayden, you believe that things will always work out for the best. It’s cute, a little naïve, but cute,” he said with a smile.

“I’m not naïve,” Cayden responded.

“You are, but that’s not a bad thing,” Gage explained. “It’s actually a good thing. Most people live their lives knowing that they’ll never amount to anything or do anything, but you, you do the exact opposite. You believe that all of your dreams are going to come true. I’ll never be like that,” Gage explained. “I’ll never amount to anything, but you . . . you will.”

“Don’t talk like that,” Cayden said to him.

“Why? I’m just being honest,” Gage explained. “I know that I’m a nobody. My family hates me,” Gage explained. “They kicked me out. Sure, they send me an allowance because they feel bad about it, but I can never go back home. I’m not welcome there.”

“Why not?” Cayden questioned as he stared into Gage’s eyes.

“Because I’m a fuck-up,” Gage responded. “I fucked up, Cayden, I fucked up really bad,” he explained.

“What did you do?” Cayden questioned.

“I fell in love,” Gage explained.

“That’s not so bad,” Cayden assured him.

“It is if it’s one-sided,” Gage said. “I was in love with her, but she didn’t even know that I existed. I thought that if I could make her see that she loved me every bit as much as I loved her, that she would realize that we were meant to be together. I was so stupid,” Gage explained.

“I don’t think that’s stupid at all,” Cayden admitted.

“I followed her everywhere that she went. I stood outside her bedroom window at night. I wanted to be with her every minute of every day. Then one day I worked up the courage to talk to her and she turned me down. I got so pissed off that I e-mailed her and sent her letters and called her all the time telling her how much I loved her. I didn’t understand why she didn’t love me,” Gage explained.

Cayden glanced at his friend as he told the story, but chose to remain quiet. How much Gage wanted to tell him was up to him. Cayden didn’t want to pressure him.

“One night I followed her to a party and saw her making out with some other guy. I got so pissed off that I followed her in my car when she left. I didn’t want to hurt her,” Gage explained, “I just got so mad. She realized that I was following her and she sped up. I didn’t want to lose her, so I sped up too. She lost control and hit a tree, because I was chasing her. I made her lose control of her car. She fractured her pelvis and broke both of her legs.”

Gage paused for a moment before continuing. “My parents had to pay her so that she wouldn’t press charges on me, and I was told to stay away from her, and I tried. It was the hardest thing in my life,” Gage explained. “One day, a few months after she got out of the hospital, I saw her on the street with her boyfriend and it crushed me. After that, I met up with some friends. They decided to get high so I figured I’d try it. Man, you wouldn’t believe how nice it felt that first time. I forgot about everything. I forgot about her, I forgot about all of my problems. I forgot about everything,” Gage explained.

“After a while I found that I didn’t think about her as much as I used to. I traded one addiction for another,” Gage admitted. “When my parents found out, they kicked me out. I became the black sheep. They got me an apartment in New York and told me that I could live there and they’d pay the bills and they’d give me money, but the only restriction was that I couldn’t go home and I couldn’t call them for any reason.”

“That’s horrible,” Cayden said.

“That’s family,” Gage responded. “Don’t get me wrong, the money’s great. I don’t have to work and all of my bills get paid, but sometimes I miss my family,” he explained. “I miss being with them.”

“I know what you mean,” Cayden responded. “I miss my family too.”

“At least you still have a family that will welcome you home with open arms,” Gage explained. “All I have is a monthly allowance, that’s how I know that I still have a family.”

“That’s horrible,” Cayden repeated.

“I . . . know,” Gage responded as his eyes began to flutter. It was becoming harder for him to keep them open. “Cayden . . . I’m getting sleepy,” he said as he loosened his grasp on his arm.

“Gage,” Cayden said as he turned to him. “Gage, come on. Talk to me,” he said as he reached over and patted his friend on the face. “Stay with me, Gage. Talk to me. At Thanksgiving, you said that you have a new family, right?”

Gage shut his eyes and smiled. “I do,” he responded softly.

“Well your new family wants you to stay awake,” Cayden assured him. “We need you to stay with us,” he explained.

“I don’t . . . deserve you guys . . . I almost ruined everything . . .” Gage whispered as slowly turned his head toward Cayden.

“What did you do?” Cayden questioned, hoping that he could keep Gage awake by asking him questions.

Gage whispered something to Cayden, but Cayden found that he couldn’t hear him. Slowly, Cayden leaned over so that his ear was just above Gage’s mouth. “What did you say?” He questioned. “How did you almost ruin everything?” Cayden questioned.

“I . . . I had sex with Julia Taylor,” Gage whispered before he fell unconscious.

Pulling away from Gage, Cayden stared at him in shock. “Gage,” he said as he reached over and gave his friend a gentle shove. “Gage, wake up,” he said.

Across the room, Devon, Kathryn and Jesse glanced at Cayden as he hovered over Gage, beckoning for him to wake up.

“Cayden, what happened?” Devon questioned.

“Gage?” Cayden said again. “Gage . . . wake up . . .”

“What happened?” Devon questioned as she stared across the room at Cayden.

“He won’t wake up,” Cayden responded as he tried to shake Gage back to consciousness.

“Is he? Is he dead?” Kathryn inquired.

“I don’t think so,” Cayden responded as he scrambled to make sure. “He has a pulse, he’s still breathing. I think he lost a lot of blood,” Cayden said. “We have to get him some help,” Cayden said as he got to his feet without thinking and crossed over to the door, pushing it open.

He took one step out onto the street and stared up at the sky. What had once been a beautiful blue sky was now gray and cloudy. “What happened to the perfect sky?” Cayden asked himself before he glanced at the sea of police cars on the street and locked eyes with Szymon Skubisz.

“Cayden,” he heard Szymon say, but his voice was distant, as if he were far away. The world around him seemed to be moving slowly and he felt someone grab him from behind and felt a gun pressed firmly into his side.

Everything came rushing back to him as he realized that the gunman was holding him. Cayden stared out into the sea of faces on the street, searching them for the one that would help him. “HELP!” Cayden screamed as his glance came to rest on Szymon. He reached out to the officer as if doing so would ensure his safety.

Szymon wanted to reach out and grab hold of Cayden’s hand, but he couldn’t.

“If I don’t get a car, the kid dies,” the man said.

“Hold your fire,” Szymon called out. He knew that the man was serious and he couldn’t risk Cayden getting shot.

“Put down your weapons,” the man ordered.

Reluctantly, Szymon Skubisz began to lower his weapon as he stared into Cayden’s eyes. Cayden looked back at him, and he could see that Cayden wasn’t ready to give up and be someone’s hostage.

Without thinking, Cayden stomped on the gunman’s foot, loosing his grip on him. Quickly, Cayden ducked and threw himself to the side. In the next moment, Szymon Skubisz saw his chance and he took it.

The sound of the gunshot brought everyone to silence as it struck it’s target, sending the man falling backward and crashing through the window of the corner store. As Cayden hot the ground, police officers swarmed in. His chin struck the pavement and he winced in pain.

Szymon ran forward, placing his gun in his belt and knelt down at Cayden’s side, scooping him up into his arms. “Cayden,” he said as he stared down at the young man’s face. “Cayden, are you okay?” He questioned.

“You saved my life,” Cayden responded as he reached up and grabbed Szymon, pulling him into an embrace. “You saved my life,” he repeated as a swarm of police officers entered the store.

“I don’t know what I’d do if something happened to you,” Szymon said as police officers began to escort the hostages out of the store. “When I saw that man holding the gun to your head, something inside of me snapped.”

Cecilia Nakamura stepped over to Szymon and Cayden and gave them a moment before interrupting them. “Szymon,” she said finally. “There are two casualties, a store clerk and a customer,” she informed him.

Szymon nodded and glanced at Cecilia. “I’ll be there in a minute,” he said. Turning toward Cayden, he reached over and wiped the tears from his eyes. “You need to go to the hospital,” he said as he glanced at Cayden’s arm. “This is a gunshot wound.”

“I’m fine,” Cayden said, “the bullet just grazed me, but he got Gage in the shoulder.”

“He’s going down to the hospital too,” Szymon said. “All of you are.”

“But I’m fine,” Cayden assured him.

“Cayden,” Szymon said. “You were shot. You almost died. I need to make sure that you’re okay . . . I need you to be okay,” he said.

Cayden stared into Szymon’s eyes for a moment and saw the fear. He nodded at the older man. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll go.”

Standing up, Cayden saw the EMT’s carting Gage out of the store. Kathryn, Devon, and Jesse were standing beside an ambulance. Cayden walked toward them and Devon grabbed him and threw her arms around him. Kathryn and Jesse encircled them with their arms as well. They watched at the EMT’s wheeled Gage into the ambulance.

“You’re going to be okay,” they told their friend. “Everything is going to be fine.”

As Cayden and the others were lead to another ambulance, Cayden heard his cell phone ringing in his pocket. He reached in and answered the call, holding the phone to his ear. “Hello,” he said softly.

“Where the hell are you guys?” Mason Weber questioned. “I cleaned the whole apartment and the pizza’s here. You guys better have one hell of an excuse for skipping out on me like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Cayden laughed despite everything. “We got held up.”