"Holy shit" I mumble as my mind replays the sight of Myles tumbing backwards out of the window in slow motion.
Over and over I watch his legs kick back with the force.
"Oh god, Rome.... Holy shit" I tremble.
I try to rethink the distance to the ground, he has to be dead, if not the bullet, that fall would kill a man.
I picture the dense shrubs and thonry branches below us.
Myles is dead, surely he's dead.
The red haired fairy dances and swirls around the dementor like this is a joyous event.
"Oh god, I'm hallucinating..... Rome, I hallucinated that.... right?" I pray.
Rome still stands in that same position, his arm outreached and gun pointed in the place Myles once stood.
"No, sweetheart. You didn't" he speaks low and cracked with a dry throat, shock holds him in place.
He just killed for me.
A man who devoted his life to healing, to preserving life, just ended one...... for me.
Hey, Luce?
Remember that time you spent six whole years training yourself to know how to deal with people suffering traumatic events?
Maybe use that knowledge now?
I take a deep breath and exhale slowly, I place my hand on Rome's elbow and hold on when he flinches. I trail my hand down his arm and wrap my fingers around his wrist, I watch his face as I cover his hand with mine.
"Its okay, Rome" I whisper and use gentle force to lower is arm.
As his muscles relax, I pry the gun from his grip.
"You shot him" Rome mumbles and slowly looks away from the window to me.
I understand he's in shock, but what now?
"Ah.... so did you?!" I blurt at his accusation and his lips twitch at my childish retort.
"What I mean is, you have gunshot residue on you.... the police will try and twist what happened. I can't take the blame for both shots. The timing between bullet wounds will make it harder to prove we acted in self defence" he expalains with a soft caress to my cheek.
He wipes away the tears I didn't know I cried.
He wanted to take the blame?
Rome takes the gun back and his wet and crumpled shirt from the floor, he wraps the gun delicately inside it before tucking it in the waistband of his pants.
Both his hands rub my arms from my elbows to my shoulders, he looks me in the eyes.
"You can leave now, if you want..... I'll ask my sister to drive you anywhere you need to go..... I can make it like you were never here? I can handle this, but you need to decide quickly"
My heartbeat spikes at the thought, leaving Rome..... I don't think I can.
With my chin trembling I step into his body, I hold on so he can't send me away.
His arms tighten around my back and his lips press into my hair.
"I'm not leaving you" I whisper. "Myles was going to attack me, you saved me. Like you promised you would, I'm not leaving you" I repeat.
"Anytime you need me, Lucy" Rome sounds like he may be crying, I feel his whole body trembling.
He may be my superhero, but its clear he's not even a little a hardass killer.
It makes him all the more braver.
"We did what we needed to, the police will understand. They have to see he's the monster in those videos. They have to" I try to say with a confidence I don't feel.
"Well, if he was telling the truth about calling them I guess we're about to find out. I say we contact them before they arrive, give them our account before they make up their own minds" Rome shakes off his shock and gets back into action mode.
He takes the lantern and unlocks the trap door in the floor, I cringe at the thought of climbing down that ladder.
Rome gestures for me to preceed him and I nod, dutifully following instructions.
I pray I don't fall.
