I pushed Rita Carmen away at the sound of someone kicking open the front door. What happened in the next seconds was a blur. I do admit that I was scared, close to the point of throwing up. In through the door burst in Gerard, blood-shot eyes filled with rage. He stormed into the apartment, the clicking of his shoes loud and evenly paced. Like a kid that was terrified, I myself closer to Rita Carmen, eyes glued onto Gerard. Hands by his sides, I took notice to the gun bulging out of his coat pocket, a sly smirk lingering on his lips. I can hear his footsteps not like thunder, but like the heartbeats of a dying man. Reaching the mountain-like structure of the silky pillows and sheets in the center of the living room, he towered over us by where we lay, and began speaking softly, almost in a singing manner. His eyes were as wide and deadly as asteroids.
"You know how some mornings you wake up and everything feels right, and then there are mornings where you have to remind yourself why you're lying on the floor of a factory, and whose blood is on you. Of course, it's a dangerous job! We're dangerous people, those rascals I work for. You don't see us giving out pretty little flowers when we want something, do you? No, nothing's easy. That's why I write to remember and drink to forget. We aren't florists, we kill. I think that a lot of us are feeling disenchanted with what we have in this world and I think that a lot of us feel to need to have a voice."
He paced around the room, eyebrows scrunched together, pondering how he should continue this speech of his. His back facing Rita Carmen and I, he spoke again.
"I thought you wanted this, Francesca. You wanted to be a hero, but there was no villain in this world for you to fight. Now, do you see? I became a villain for you. I loved you that much. Much than the world. More than myself. More than anyone and anything. I loved you. But along the way, I came to hate you, despise you, loathe you. Perhaps I did end up becoming a real villain. But I must thank you for that because I feel more alive these days than I ever have been before."
He had a voice like flowers blooming in darkness. He went on with his monologue, discussed his thoughts on Communism and even mentioned how he longed for the lemon tarts his mother would bake. I had no idea what his intentions were with this load of random information, but it did give me an aching feeling in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't blink, my breaths were short and no air was enough. The gun in his pocket kept the hairs on the back of my hair up, a cold gust of wind down my back. I was shivering. It was awfully cold in the room, despite being wrapped in endless blankets. All throughout, Rita Carmen lay still, staring up to Gerard, bare chest exposed, her face revealing no emotion.
He pulled the gun out of his pocket, a smirk curled onto his lips, lightly dusting if off before keeping his aim at an interval where he could quickly shoot either Rita Carmen or I in a matter of seconds. He seemed to be contemplating tossing the gun back and forth between his hands to build the suspense of his sudden arrival, but shook his head, figuring a quick show was in order.
"Francesca, this isn't Romeo and Juliet, okay?" He slid the gun over the coffee table that separated me and him. "I want you to go about your life afterwards. But don't forget that in the end you and I, we were born to die."
I briefly reconsidered, but I knew what I had to do. He must die. He must die now. I'd barely touched a gun before that night. I don't know how I did it. I only felt my breath go out of me and reached out to where the pistol lay on the table, whispering my name, and I tried.
"By the way, Gerard, I'm pregnant with your kid."
I shot him in the chest.
Taking an aim at Gerard, he traced the bullet wounds with gentle fingertips, relief across his face. His eyes swelled with pride as the bullet pierced his chest. "I am dreadfully sorry, my darling, my own ultraviolet darling," he murmured before crumpling down like a stack of cards. When he was gone for good, so did the light in my eyes.
