𝐴 𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑙𝑦 𝐶𝑢𝑝 𝑂𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑒

  ***Trigger warning*** Active shooter***

It was early. Shane was not ready to face the day. She glanced over at her phone knowing it would quiet soon. Laying there in silence, she questioned how she become boring. The phone rang again. “If it weren’t for my ringtone" I would throw that damn thing,” she said to no one. It played the intro song of Sons Of Anarchy every time it rang. Again her phone silenced. She didn’t know long she laid there, but she did know that her phone went off 12 times before stopping. “Oh my God,” she exclaimed as she got up to see who was calling yet again. “This had better be good.” She unplugged her phone from the charger, it rang the 14th time. She hadn’t even looked at the name when she answered it. “What?!” She had gone from contemplating her life to pissed in just seconds. 

“Grouchy much?” she heard from the other line.

“Well don’t blow my phone up at 6 a.m. and I won’t be such a grouch, asshole.” She chuckled. She was still in a pissy mood. "What is so important Theo, that you have to blow my phone up so early?” 

“Just come over and I will explain.” Theo hung up before she could protest. Now, If she really wanted to know, she would have to get up and go see what it was.

“Sometimes I wonder if being your best friend is worth it,” she mumbled under her breath, even though he wasn’t there.

“Bam, Bam, Bam asshole,” she yelled as she banged on his door. 

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Theo rushed her into the apartment. “Are you crazy banging on my door like that?”

“I dunno. Are you crazy blowing my phone up like that?” she cocked an eyebrow at him. He glared at her. 

His glare softened as a grin slowly crossed his face. “Touche.” his grin widened. “You know? You’re a real…”

Her head snapped up as her eyes tore into his. “You better not even think of finishing that sentence.”

Theo laughed and threw up his hands. “Okay, okay.” he chuckled. “But you make it so easy,” he smirked as he continued to chuckle.

She frogged him in the arm. 

“Ouch! What was that for?” His mock shock making her want to laugh, but she held her ground and glared the best she could at him knowing he could see right through her.”

“For being a total prick.” She tried not to laugh, but it didn’t work. No matter what it was, a look, a few words, or even a grin, Theo always made her laugh. Even when she was trying to be serious.

“I have a surprise for you,” Theo waited on her reaction.

“Well? Spill it. I can’t stand here all day watching you look at me.”

Still, he stood there, staring at her intensely. She became uncomfortable and she began fidgeting. “What?” She asked. “What’s wrong? Do I have something on me? Is there something in my teeth?” She became embarrassed. “Omg, there is, isn’t there?” And still, he stood there, motionless, every-once-in-a-while he glanced around. “Oh I get it she said. I’m just as ugly as you!” she paused for a moment. “Nah, nothing could be that ugly.” That did it. He was getting angry. She tried to not laugh but it came in small bursts. 

“Okay, you got me on that.” his anger subsided. “I have set up a trip for us. It’s for singles. It’s a cruise.”

“You want to take me on a cruise? You? My master plan is to go, nowhere? That guy is taking me on a cruise?” Shane stood back, with her hands on her hips, and a cocked eyebrow. “Mmmhmmm, right.”

“Well, when you put it that way.” He laughed. 

******************

“So, ok, here’s the deets.” Theo handed her the ticket and the Itinerary.

She took the ticket. “We’re going on a Caribbean cruise?” Her enthusiasm was palpable.

“I just have a few stops on the way. There are a few things I still need to get.” He was embarrassed about not being completely prepared.

“Ok, but I would like to stop at Starbucks on the way.” She smiled at him excitedly.

They loaded the Uber and told the driver everything. He was as excited for them as they were. Starbucks was just ahead. They still had a couple of hours before they had to be at the airport.

Shane got out and saw Theo exiting the Uber as well. “I will get you one too if you want.” 

“Nah. I think I will come in too.” Theo looked at the driver. “Will you wait here? It’s early and I will buy you one also if you like.”

He perked up in his seat. “Sure. A latte would be great!” he smiled.

Putting his hand in the small of her back, Theo directed her through the door. Instantly they were met with hostility. The manager, an employee, and a random customer were arguing.

Shane started making jokes to make light of the situation. “I’m sure he would be the first.”

“The first what?” He glanced down at her.

“The first vampire to get up at the crack of dawn for a latte.”

Theo tried not to laugh. The situation seemed to be getting out of hand. He pushed her to the other line. The little girl behind the counter seemed distraught. 

Looking at Shane, she shakily smiled. “C-Can I-I h-help you?” she choked out. The girl was almost in tears. 

Theo listened to the people at the end of the counter. The man was mad about the woman employee leaving him. The manager held his ground and stood up for his employee. He seemed proud to have her on his team. But he didn’t seem very happy about another customer. His eyes kept darting to a young lady that was sitting at the table that the angry man kept going back and forth to. She seemed shifty. Theo didn’t like it.

“Theo!” Shane’s voice broke into his thoughts. “Earth to Theo.” she waved her hand in front of his face. “What do you want?” Theo turned to her and the girl behind the counter.

"Um… I'll have a mocha latte." Shane smiled at the nervous girl and elbowed Theo. "Seriously. What do you want?" 

"We need to leave." Theo tried to gently push her toward the door. The woman the manager kept glancing at stood up and pulled a gun. The man at the counter pulled one and shot the lady behind the counter and shot at the manager. 

People scattered, some being hit and others trying to hide. Theo pulled Shane over the counter. She was hit in the leg. He took his bandana he had put in his pocket out and wrapped her leg tightly with it. That morning, he grabbed the bandana, not sure why, but he felt he was going to need it.

Shane and the girl wouldn't quit screaming. "You have to stop!" Theo whispered at them. Looking around, assessing their surroundings, Theo saw a door a few feet away. They would have to go around a small wall. "Where does that door lead?" He was shaken. "Come on. Compose yourselves a bit." He gently shook them. "Where does that door lead?" He implored the girl.

 They needed to find a place to hide or a way out. He knew the people were still in there they could hear shots here and there. The man sounded crazy. "Samuel. I know you're in here. I know I didn't kill you yet."

Theo remembered barely making out the manager's name-tag, Samuel.

"We have to find your boss." He regained the girl's attention. "He's not dead."

"Omg, omg, omg. We're going to die." Shane sobbed. "We're going to die and I can't move." She cried. 

Shaking Shane, he gently grabbed her chin to make her look at him. "We are not going to die. I need you to do everything I say. No questions, just do it. You are not fatally wounded. We need to get out and get some help. I'm sure the driver took off when he heard the gunshots." He tried to stay calm and remember his active shooter training from his job. 

"Follow me." The girl told him where everything behind the counter was. 

"Before we get to the small wall with the door, there's a built-in refrigerator on that wall." She pointed to the wall across from them. "Samuel may be in there. There's an office, that's the door you see. There's a phone and a window in there bit too small for us to fit through. We could yell for help. At the back of the store, there's a room with the cleaning supplies and a sink. The back door is in there." 

They still heard people shuffling and the guns going off. The man was taking his time. Play mind games with those that were still alive. 

They made their way to the office door. Theo shoved them inside and told them to lock the door. 

"But how will you get in?" Shane asked worriedly.

"Do you have your phone?" Theo turned his to silent.

"I will find the rest of you." The man yelled. 

"You are not going to survive!" Their psychotic voices made the girl sob more and Shane cringe.

Shane took out her phone. Her hands were shaking. She fumbled it trying to put it on silent. "On silent" she whispered. 

Placing his large hand over hers, Theo reassured her with a look. "Stay here, lock it. When I get close I will send this text." He held up his phone showing a text he had just typed out. He kissed her and slowly crawled off toward the fridge. He slowly opened the door. It made a cracking noise. He heard a series of shots and some yelling. "Finally," he muttered. The door cracked open. He stopped moving when he heard more shots. When they stopped, he opened it more and went in. Samuel sat there, pale, freezing, and wounded. He was about to pass out. He wasn't sure if it was from the wound or the cold, but he figured it was both. 

Theo evaluated Samuel's injuries. He felt it was safe to move him. He seemed to be slipping deeper into shock, and if no one was with him, he would pass out or worse. 

He got Samuel to respond, and he told him what they were doing. Samuel was in his early twenties. He was a bit nerdy. He would not survive this alone. 

As they got to the fridge door, they heard a voice whisper.

"Damnit!" 

Theo looked up, fear in his eyes. They knew they had been found. 

"Shhhh." They saw a man put his finger to his lips. "They might hear." There was another employee with him. Two other people made it behind the counter. It was too late for the woman, her teenage son trying to wake her. 

The man waved Theo over to help him with the kid. "Shhhh. She's gone son. There's nothing we can do." The man said.

He was familiar. Then it hit him. He knew who the man was.

"What did she do to deserve this?" The boy questioned. "She died thinking I hated her. We argued about going to see my dad and I told her I never wanted to see him again and if we went, I hated her. That's where we were headed when we stopped here. She wanted to stop here so she could calm down" he broke down with his head in Theo's chest.

Theo led the boy to the office. His name was Jason. They crept slowly as the man kept Samuel coherent.

Theo hit send. The door opened too late. They heard a gunshot. Theo was hit in the chest on his right side. He struggled to breathe. Shane screamed. 

"Who are you?" The girl asked.

 Shane was stunned. "Y-you're the Uber driver?"

"Yes." He was working to stop the bleeding on Theo's chest. 

Shane was in tears. Please Mr. Please help him. I can't lose him, he's my best friend."

"Im doing my best darling." He glanced at her. "Sergeant Jake Stafford, infantry field medic, retired."

Shane was shocked. 

"The police should be on their way." He said. "Follow me. Young lady, can you help me with, what's his name?" He stared at Shane, waiting for an answer.

"Theo and yes." She answered.

They started moving toward the back door, crawling. Jake and Shane tried to keep Theo awake. It was getting harder and harder for him to breathe. 

"I think he has a punctured lung." Jake assessed Theo every time they stopped. 

It felt like hours had gone by. In reality, it had only been a few minutes. Shane was feeling better the closer they got to the door. 

"Hold it!" They heard a gun cock. "You ain't going anywhere." The male shooter said. "Shane felt something on the back of her head. 

"Don't move," Jake said as he slowly raised his hands. "Im not threatening you in any way. Let these people go, and you can keep me." His words were confident. 

The man twitched and Jake kicked the gun away from Shane. "Run!" 

Shane ran as fast as she could with one arm on Theo as he tripped a few times. "Please be ok, please be ok, please be ok." She kept repeating as they ran out the door. 

Shane was approached by police and EMTs. Others ran in trying to subdue the gunners. They brought the man out in handcuffs. The other shooter killed herself. Jake carried a child out that had been hit but was alive. 

"You're a hero," Shane said to him as he passed her walking toward the ambulances. 

"Nope. No hero. Just someone that cares." 

He made sure Shane and Theo were stabilized and ready to be taken to the hospital. Shane waved goodbye to their heroic Uber driver as the ambulance doors closed. 

------------------------

She didn't know how long she was out but realized she was at the hospital. She didn't remember making it there. She must have passed out. Pulling her IV out, she stood. The nurse came flying in, trying to make her lay back down.

"Theo!" She shouted. "Is he?" She questioned. 

"He's going to be ok ma'am." The nurse reassured her. "He has made it through surgery and will be as good as new."

"I have to see him." She struggled with the nurse. 

"You've also had surgery on your leg. You can not walk on it yet. Please, ma'am, lay back down." The nurse struggled with her. 

"I need to see." The door opened slowly interrupting Shane's struggling. "Theo!" She yelled. He was being pushed into her room in a wheelchair. Sobs started coming. She was so happy to see him. 

"I was wondering if we were going to lose you to sleep." Theo chuckled and winced. "Oh, that hurt. I can't laugh yet."

"Me? You were the one that had a punctured lung." Shane smiled.

"Yeah, but you were the one that was losing the most blood. That's why I wanted to get us out so quickly. You were bleeding to death. The bullet hit an artery. And thanks to my new friend, we still have each other."

"You're new friend?" Shane cocked an eyebrow.

Jake pushed Theo the rest of the way into her room.

"Jake? Omg!" Her tears wouldn't stop. She sobbed as she remembered that day and how Jake saved them. "What about the boy? You know, his mom was killed?"

"He's ok," Jake said. "He has a new understanding of his father."

The boy walked in. "Yeah, dad here seems to know how things work."

"Jakes your dad?"

"Yes. When he called me son that day, it wasn't just to comfort me. And I know now that my mom getting killed is not my fault and that I judged dad here wrong. I just thought he chose not to be around. But he was saving people just like he did that day." He smiled at Jake.

"I think we have a new family, Shane," Theo stated. "And I don't want to be your best friend."

Shane's heart dropped. She didn't know what to do. How could he not want to be her best friend?

"Please don't cry." He wiped a tear from her face. "It's not that bad."

"But you don't want to be my friend anymore." She gasped, barely able to speak.

"I never said that. I just said I didn't want to be your best friend anymore." Theo's smile was so big, he was about to burst.

"But why not?" Shane glared at him.

Reaching to his pocket, which was hard in a wheelchair. Theo took out a small box. He looked at her, held out the box, opened it, and said, "because I want to be your husband. Will you marry me, Shane?"

Omg, she was shocked. "What is going on?" The thought ran through her head. "What's happening?" Her head was swimming. "Yes!" She said to herself.

-------------------

Shane's eyes fluttered and she saw Jake and the nurse standing over her. "She's ok," Jake said.

"What happened?" Shane placed her hand on her aching head.

"Um, Romeo here asked you to marry him, and you passed out." Jake laughed. "Either that's a yes, or he disgusts you."

"Shut up. I'm not disgusted by him." She looked at Theo. "Yes. Yes, I want nothing more than to marry you. I've always loved you. I just didn't know you felt the same way."

"What happened to us made me realize, life is too short not to go after what you want. And you are what I want. We have a long road of healing ahead, but we can do it together with our newfound family.