Consume my broken heart

Chapter 2

My hands tremble, sweat breaking free underneath my sweater. The only sound you hear is the breathing of the man in front of me. He was standing so close he could easily have a clear shot. "If I were you, I would put the gun away, or do you want to get caught by the police?" The voice cracked. It was a man.

I try hard to get a better view of him, especially because he's still pointing a gun in my direction.
With a trembling voice, I spoke silently, "Why would I do that? Put your gun away first."

"If you want to get caught for murder, I think it's best if you just obey." The man says, agitated. In the darkness, the only thing I had a clear view of his height. He must be six feet tall, the way he towers above me.

"Murder?" I ask, and then I realized the two loud noises a few seconds ago. "You, you did that?" I stammer, positioning myself against the wall for support. The man chuckles at my response.

"Who says I did that?" The man retorted. "If you shoot me, you are a murderer, right?"

"I uh," I stammer uncontrollably. Maybe he was just passing by. But that gun he has in his hand. This can't be a coincidence. The man lowers his gun and lets it disappear behind his back, probably in his pants. I can't believe this. I planned to kill myself, not to get killed by someone else... And the thought of him murdering me didn't give me peace at all. This would be so easy if he just shoots me.

In a blink of an eye, I would be gone. Away from my miserable life. His question brought me back to the present. "What were you doing here?" The man asks coldly.

"That's none of your business." I retorted shortly. Like I'm going to tell him the truth.

"It is now since you're here at night all alone with a gun in your hand. That weapon won't save you if you don't know how to use it." He explains.

"I can use it," I answer quickly, my gun still pointed toward him. I can use a gun because my dad taught me how to handle it.

"Do you think I'm scared now? I know what you were doing in the first place, but you will not set through with your plan, so put the gun away before you harm yourself or others." The man says boldly like he knows everything about me.

The silence stretched between us. I couldn't utter a single word. I'm talking to a stranger in a dark alley with a gun in my hand. The weirdest part is he knew what I was doing. Maybe I was a drug dealer, they all have a gun. Maybe I was going to kill an ex in revenge. But I'm that obvious, that transparent, I guess if a total stranger can see right through me."I'm going to set through. You don't know me." I reply after a while, determined.

"No, you are not. If you wanted to do it, you would have done it already." The man speaks dominantly, and I wish I could step further away from his suffocating presence. That stupid wall behind my back stops me from running away as fast as my feet can carry me. This man can kill me in a blink of an eye. His icy demeanor and deadly voice convinced me I was right. The man steps one step closer toward me, and I freeze for a slight moment.

"Don't come any closer, or I'll shoot!" I yell in a rush. No, he will not touch me. Nobody touches me ever again. The man stops, and I stop breathing for a slight moment. He turns his head toward the street, half of his face finally visible to me. The first thing I noticed was a scar that went straight through his eyebrow. He jerks his head back to me, and his face changes back into a dark, blurry cloud.

From afar, I hear sirens coming closer. "Give me your gun." The man spoke harshly. The voice wasn't rushed, it was calm and calculated. He was in control the entire time. Why does he want my gun? Is he scared I'm going to kill myself or that I might kill him accidentally?

"No, this is my gun," I say boldly.

"It's your choice. I think you're a coward if you do it." The man spoke calmly. Okay, he's scared I'm going to kill myself and he feels this urge to protect a damsel in distress. At this exact moment, I stare in shock at the shadow in front of me. He's like an evil angel that God has sent to prevent me from making the biggest mistake of my life.

"Why do you care?" I ask him, dumbfounded, not in the mood to discuss such manners with a total stranger in the middle of the night.

"I don't, but I know it's a poor decision." He says calmly and steps a few steps toward the street. The sirens are almost here. "I need to go," the man spoke in annoyance and walks past me, stopping beside me. He was so close he could easily touch me, abduct me, rape me...

Becoming rigid, I feel my legs having trouble holding me straight against the wall. With my nails I hold on to a few loose bricks behind me, my gun already fallen on the ground. I can't even hold the one thing that can save me.

"Have a nice life." The man says, and with that said he vanished into the darkness. Have a nice life? What the hell? This is so crazy...The sirens stop in the street a block away from where I was standing. I sigh and compose myself for a moment. I lower myself to collect the gun that was lying on the ground beside my backpack.

I need to leave or I'll be questioned about criminal activities. Hopefully, the gunshots were just used as a sign of alarm or to scare people away. With my backpack in my hand, I walk to my car, which was parked near the alley. Closing the door shut, I let my head fall against the headboard. What the hell just happened???