IF YOU HAVE THE GUTS

Valerie's hand shook as she held the gun. It was true that she had never shot at anyone before, but she knew how to use a gun and she would not hesitate to do it.

She wasn't weak like Andre thought; she had struggled so hard to get to where she was, and she wasn't going to let him ruin that for her.

From what he had said, she couldn't take any chances. If she were trapped in there, her life would be ruined forever. What about her brother Julius? He would be devastated without her since she was his world.

At his age, he had never pursued a romantic relationship because he wanted to spend all his time taking care of her. No, she needed to make it out. How could she trust Andre to keep his word?

"How can I trust you to keep your word?" She asked. "I mean, you kidnapped me and forcefully brought me here. For crying out loud, I finally got my dream job, and now you want to ruin my life.

How can I trust that you will let me go when you get better? For all you know, you can just kill me."

She kept pointing the gun at him but didn't get any reply. She touched his body, "Hey, wake up." However, he did not make any sound.

"Shit," she cursed when she realized he had lost consciousness. She began looking around but had no idea where he kept the medical supplies he had spoken about.

She ran into the rooms that were not locked in the house, checking each one until she noticed a room with the inscription "medical supplies" boldly written on the door.

However, the door was locked. She tried to open it but couldn't. She ran back to his side, picked up the gun she had dropped, returned to the door, and shot at the lock, opening it instantly.

She rushed into the room and was amazed to see that it had everything a doctor would need. She took out all the medical supplies she needed and returned to him. She dragged him toward the couch and quickly stopped his bleeding before carefully removing the bullet.

When she was done, she took off her gloves and sat beside him, staring at him, breathing very fast.

"You have to wake up no matter what, please wake up." She knew that he was out of danger. She had done everything she could for him, but it was up to him to open his eyes.

She sat beside him, waiting, but when he didn't open his eyes after a while and his pulse became weaker, she leaned her head on the couch and began to cry, "Please don't do this to me, don't ruin my life. Whoever you are or whatever you are, I have struggled so hard to get to where I am.

I have to go back. If I do not get back tomorrow, I may lose my chance forever. They will think I am not serious. Please help me, you have to open your eyes."

"I already told you that you can work anywhere you want as long as I survive," he replied without opening his eyes.

She sat upright. "Oh, you're awake. Um, okay, what do you need? Do you need anything?"

"Just help me to my room," he said.

"Which one is your room?" she asked.

He pointed to one of the rooms.

She looked at the room which was at the far end of the house and said, "Actually, it's not a good idea for you to move in your condition."

"I need to lie on my bed," he insisted.

"Okay, I will take you there, sir." She got up to help him up.

"You can call me Andre."

"Okay, Andre, I will take you to your room."

She led him slowly to his room with his arm around her shoulder and helped him lie on the bed.

She put a pillow under his head and said, "You're okay now. Please tell me the code I need to go."

Andre laughed. "I am okay? I am not okay. You're not leaving here until I am fit enough to care for myself."

"How long will that take?" she asked.

"I don't know. Probably a week, two weeks, a month, six months."

"No, please don't do this to me. My brother will go crazy without me." She begged.

"Do not worry, I will find a way to get a message across to your brother. He will not worry about you."

"No, please. Please don't do this to me." Valerie cried.

"Get out of my room, you're being a nuisance," he replied.

Valerie thought she heard wrong, "What?"

"Get the hell out of my room!" he snapped. "Are you deaf or something? Get out!"

She stared at him, surprised at how he had changed so suddenly. He reached out his right hand and pulled open one of the drawers beside the bed.

He took out a gun, pointed it at Valerie who was still unmoving, and fired a shot into the wall, right beside her. She finally ran out of the room and shut the door.

She sat in the living room heaving in anger until she began to cry. After a while, her eyes went to a gun. It was the same one she had used in opening the 'medical supplies' room and it was lying on the couch where Andre earlier was.

She quickly picked up the gun and hid it in her clothes. Then, she went to the door and tried to open it, attempting different codes, but none of them worked.

She tried to remember the code Andre had used, but he had deliberately blocked her view, making it impossible for her to see what he was typing. She kept trying until she received a warning that continued attempts would trigger an automatic lockdown.

Realizing she couldn't open the door, Valerie reluctantly moved away from it and sat down, contemplating her next move.

"What am I going to do? How do I get a message out to my brother?" she wondered.

She remembered her phone, which Andre had put in his jacket, which was also left on the couch. She had taken off the jacket before tending to him.

Hurriedly, she searched the jacket's pocket and found her phone. Relief washed over her as she opened it. She discovered a text message from her brother which he sent almost five hours ago, asking about her interview and mentioning that he hadn't gone off work yet, and reminding her not to skip her lunch.

Valerie tried to reply to the message but there was no service. She attempted to make a call, but there was no signal either. Frustrated, she moved around, hoping for a better connection, but all her efforts were in vain.

Exhausted and defeated, she collapsed to the ground, sobbing. She heard Andre coughing in his room but paid him no attention. Wiping her tears, she sat back on the couch, contemplating her escape from Andre, who clearly had no intention of letting her go.

After a while, Andre emerged from the room, noticing Valerie sitting on the couch dejectedly.

He rudely asked, "Didn't you hear me coughing? Why didn't you come to me?"

Angrily, she retorted, "Didn't you ask me to leave your room?"

He scoffed at her response, saying, "You really have an attitude."

Valerie shot back, "Well, so do you."

"I can see now that you're very arrogant. Anyways, I'm feeling pain from my injury. There must be something I'm not taking," Andre complained.

"Well, the pain is what comes with a gunshot wound. You can't help it," Valerie replied bluntly.

Frustrated, Andre turned to leave, but Valerie stopped him, saying, "Hold on, Andre, or whatever your name is. Tell me the code. We had an agreement. You brought me here to save your life, and now I've done it. Let me go back to my own life."

He smiled and looked at her as he responded, "I am not telling you the code, not with that attitude anyway. Besides, I was the one who brought you here, so I'll decide when to kick you out."

Andre turned again to walk away, but Valerie pointed the gun at him, determined, "If you take one more step, I'm going to shoot you. Tell me the code, Andre, or your life will end right here."

He smiled at her, unafraid, "Well, if you kill me, you'll never get out of this place."

Valerie, unfazed, replied, "I guess I'll take my chances then. Tell me the code. I'm counting up to three. If you don't tell me, I'm going to blow your brains out."

Andre coolly responded, "Alright, be my guest. I won't tell you the code. Shoot me, if you have the guts

Valerie stared at him for a while, and to his surprise, she cocked the gun and pulled the trigger.