Page 106 of Griffin
I move quicker than I thought I ever could. I throw my arm over the gun, and it goes off. The gunshot vibrates around the neighborhood, and I feel heat searing through my shoulder. But I pay it little attention as I lift my other arm and throw it in his face.
His nose smashes into his cheek, blood spurts out instantly, and he falls to the ground with a resounding thud. Not dead but unconscious. Pity.
Melissa screams as I lunge at her next. But I’m not going for her; I’m going for my child. I hear steps, people running at me from behind, but I have tunnel vision.
“Give him to me.” My vision is dark, my eyes on my son. Melissa’s trembling.
“Please…” she starts to wail, but she doesn’t hand him back. His face is covered by her sweater as she holds him tight. She’s suffocating him and doesn’t even know it.
“Release the baby, or we’ll shoot…” the officer says from over my back shoulder. Melissa’s eyes plead with me, tears falling, but I’m stone.
“Give me Tommy,” I tell her in a gentler tone.
“But… he’s my baby… I always wanted a baby…” she wails when I try to calmly reach out as I get closer.
“Melissa, give me Tommy,” I say more urgently as the police surround her. It’s over. This is the end. She needs to let him go now.
She nods, crying, doing the right thing now that Tommy’s wailing too, his cry the biggest I’ve ever heard as I reach out and pull him from her arms. The police surround her, pushing her to the ground, yelling at her as I step back, and for the first time, I look up and outside.
There are people everywhere. Neighbors, police, our friends. I spot Savannah, held back by Tanner, and I stride down to her, knowing she needs Tommy. Fuck, we both do. As I walk to her, I lift Tommy to my lips, kissing his head, my heart beating so hard I feel lightheaded.
“I saved you this time, buddy. I’m sorry I couldn’t do it last time. I’m sorry I couldn’t save you then. But I’ve got you now, little man. You’re safe with me and your mama.”
Tommy’s screaming stops, and he snuggles into my chest as I finally make it to my wife, her cheeks tearstained as she reaches for him. I pass him over, seeing her cry into him and cuddle him tight.
“Thank you, Griffin. Thank you for saving our boy. Thank you for saving Tommy…” she chants to me through sobs, and I pull her close, the two of them held to my chest as we stand there with the ruckus surrounding us, knowing that they're the only ones who matter.
“Best get that looked at.” Tanner nods toward my shoulder, and I look down, seeing my shirt coated in blood. I feel the pain now that he mentioned it, the burning.
“Oh my gosh! Griffin!” Savannah gasps, pulling back. In all the craziness, she must have missed who got shot.
“I’m okay, baby. We’re all okay.” I kiss her head, then turn to Hudson. “Do you know anyone who can stitch me up?” Adrenaline, shock, and anxiety are clearly making me sarcastic.
Savannah shakes her head, pressing a kiss to my chest, avoiding the blood, whispering how she loves me. I hold her tighter.
“You know how to give us all heart failure, don’t you?” Hudson sighs as he walks over and peels back my shirt as the paramedics pull up.
“This is bigger than any movie I’ve ever done…” Sutton looks around before pulling his cap low.
“I’ll see you back at Whispers,” I tell him, because I know he and Charlotte have the media following them and don’t need this extra drama, but I’m grateful that they came, ready to step in if needed.
I spot Victoria and Daisy on either side of Savannah, talking to her in hushed tones, rubbing her arms and Tommy’s head as Lacy and Annabelle look to be getting things for her, water, a blanket. She’ll need our friends. We both do, and I’m so glad we have them.
Our friends. Our family. Our home in Whispers.
44
Griffin
I hiss at the cool contact.
“Oh, so now you're a big baby?” my wife remarks as she changes my bandages. My wound is healing nicely.
It was a straight through and through, the bullet missing all the important bits, slicing a bit of muscle, meaning my time on the hammer drill has been paused for now. It’s been almost a week since everything went down, and Tommy hasn’t left our sight since.
“Speaking of babies… Where did mine go?” I look at this child who sits happily on my lap, looking around the room, the chandelier above him taking all his attention.
“Hmmm, he’s a strong boy, supporting his head already, basically a fully grown adult at this point.” She humors me. God, I love her. I’m so proud of her. With the shit she’s had thrown at her, all her life, to come out and be stronger, be a proud, strong mom to her son, and an amazing wife. We’ve both had a session with my therapist. Savannah’s now going to start individual sessions too. There’s a lot of baggage we both need to unpack from our past. Neither of us wants to bring any of it into our future. Into our new life.
