Pentimento

Chapter 2 - James

James was back from his rounds for a while already and he was somewhere in the world between wakefulness and sleep.

"Hey, I'm going to do the second round. Go get some coffee!"

It took him a minute, but then he stood up from his chair.

"Yes, that may just be what I'll do." Rubbing his eyes, he walked behind Rose until she disappeared on a flight of stairs and he went to the small kitchen area where the only functioning coffee machine was stationed.

Rose made her way to the first floor, she walked slowly, doubting whether she would sit down to appreciate the art today. And if so, which painting would she choose? She looked over a beautiful landscape of eleven poplars painted by Mondrian. A loud bang came from downstairs. The hairs in her neck flew up. The sound echoed. Bang, bang, bang. It wasn't loud, but it sounded like trouble. She grabbed her taser. She was ready for action.

Then she moved her hand over to the phone. She wasn't allowed to investigate, she needed to call in the proper authorities. When it stayed silent, her thoughts flew around like beheaded chickens. Maybe James accidentally threw the coffee machine off the kitchen counter. That must be it. She laughed at herself for even thinking of a robbery. There hadn't been an art heist in years.

Relieved, her breath regulated again. With a slight smile on her face, she got ready to scold James on his old and useless muscles.

"James!" she screamed to the shadow walking from the kitchen area. As if in a slow-motion scene, the figure turned around. His eyes locked onto hers. The first thought that shot through her mind was: shit, I'm going to die. Followed by a sort of near-death clarity, which made her feel better than any of the drugs she experimented with in college. His eyes were just like the ones from a painting she used to look at in the school's library 'The Man with the Magnifying Glass' painted by Rembrandt, those piercing dark eyes.

In what felt like minutes, she watched the gun in front of her. His finger was around the trigger. She figured it would only take a few seconds for him to pull it. Her heart ached for the things she would never be able to do. She wanted to scream goodbye to James, but her throat was shut.

The finger around the trigger shook a little. Was he nervous to shoot her? She looked around. From the middle of the hall, there was no place to hide. Her breath fastened. This was it. She closed her eyes. As tight as she could. She wanted to die bravely, but she didn't want to die today. Suddenly, the shadow moved towards her. Her hand shot to her taser. She almost threw it at him. He was quicker. He jolted his gun to her head. She gasped in disbelief. She let out a piercing scream and fell to the ground.