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Running to the side, I watched as Daniel struggled with Jordan Kerr. Well, in reality, it wasn t
much of a struggle. One was a guy with a bit of a gut who probably spent most of his day lying on the
couch watching TV, the other was a highly tuned professional athlete.
Daniel punched Jordan, over and over, until the man lay bleeding on the cement floor of the
parking garage, moaning in pain, blood spurting from his obviously broken nose.
Kylie, are you ok? Daniel asked, coming towards me when he had finished beating Jordan to
a pulp.
I nodded. Oh my God. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Oh my God, you saved my life.
Daniel took the gun from me, gently, then put the safety back on it.
Hey, it s ok Kylie. It s ok. You can calm down, it s all going to be fine. I m going to call the
cops, ok?
I nodded, still in shock from what had happened. I couldn t believe it. Had this really
happened?
Daniel made the phone call then came over and wrapped his arms around me.
Hey, it s going to be alright,ok?
Yeah. I just, I think I m in shock. I can t believe he... I can t believe that...
I know. I know. It s ok, Kylie. Just breathe, ok? He s out cold now, he can t hurt you anymore.
The police will be here in a few minutes.
You saved, you saved my life, I whispered, the realization of just what Daniel had done
dawning upon me.
I doubt it, I don t think he would have dared to shoot you. You would have been fine. It s just
scary, I know.
Yeah. It is scary.
That s when I broke down and started sobbing. I thought this was over. I thought I was done
with it. I didn t want to have to keep reliving that night over and over for the rest of my life.
Strangely enough, though, I realized I wasn t really reliving it. The memories of that night
flashed through my brain, yes, but they didn t come with any of the accompanying pain. I couldn t feel
the absolute devastation that ran through me when I had realized that I had killed my little sister. I
couldn t feel any of it. It was like it was a memory in someone else s life. If I didn t know better, I
would almost say I was moving on.
A couple minutes later the police showed up. Daniel stuck by me the entire time, his arms
wrapped around me, a warm, comforting cocoon. I knew I wouldn t have been able to do this without
him.
I went through with the officers what had happened, almost as if I was on autopilot. I was in a
daze. I still didn t understand exactly what had happened. I had almost died. I had almost been killed.
That would have been it, the end of my life. I would have never been with Daniel again.
Although the paramedics tried to get me to go to the hospital, I refused. All I wanted was to go
home. I wanted to forget this had happened, I wanted to erase it from my mind. I was exhausted.
When Daniel finally pulled into the driveway and we went into the house, I collapsed onto the
couch.
I ll be right back, I m going to get you some water, Daniel told me, returning a moment later
with a glass full.
Thanks, I smiled up at him as he handed me the glass and sat down on the chair next to me.
Not just for the water. You saved my life. Don t tell me you didn t.
Even if I did, it was selfish of me. I couldn t imagine living without you, Kylie. I would have
done anything to save you.
I leaned up against him and inhaled his scent. He still smelt like soap from his post hockey
game shower. It was funny, it felt like the game was eons ago, and yet it had only ended a couple of
hours earlier.
It s weird, you know? For the first time ever, I actually thought about that night, the night of
the accident, and I don t actually feel the need to drink, I finally told Daniel, needing to tell him
about it.
That s good, isn t it? It means you re starting to move on.
Yeah. I guess so, I started, but I wasn t convinced. It s funny, I ve spent the last couple of
years thinking that feeling would never go away. I kind of thought it would just be a part of my life
forever. Now that it s gone, I feel weird. I feel like I should still feel the pain, I feel guilty for not
feeling it anymore.
Daniel held my shoulders gently and looked into my eyes.
Kylie, you have absolutely nothing to feel guilty about. Time will dull that pain, of course.
You re not any less of a person because you re moving on with your life. Do you understand?
I nodded.
Good. You re an amazing person. In a couple of years you re going to be a doctor. You re
going to be able to heal people, and you ve already healed me. The feelings you felt so strongly
fading away as you get back to your life is normal, Kylie. It s absolutely normal.
You re right. I should be happy, if it means I don t have to fight the urge to drink as much.
Absolutely. I mean, you ve been completely fantastic about making sure you go to your AA
meetings, resisting the urges even when you ve been under pressures that I can t fathom, but it would
still be wonderful if the urges reduced still.
We should go up to bed. We still need to pack before the flight tomorrow morning.
Are you sure? I m happy to listen, if you need to talk.
Thanks. I am sure. I think I just want to go to sleep. It s weird, thinking about the fact that I
was only moments away from no longer existing on this Earth.
I m so glad you re still here, Daniel replied, his soft lips finding mine, sending a current of
electricity running through me. We went upstairs and decided that packing could wait until the
morning.
* * *
The next day Daniel decided to go off the grid completely. I understood one hundred percent.
After the reports came out of a shooting involving the star of the Sea Lions in the underground parking
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