Guilty

Zane

I park my car and climb out, slamming it shut behind me. I scan around for any immediate signs of Juliette but there aren't any. And I have no idea if that was a good thing or not.

I pull my gun from my hoodie pocket as I cock it into place. Coach had insisted his fighters start carrying weapons with us, since more often than not the men we ended up beating in the ring always ended up wanting some form of revenge.

I had never had to actually use my gun, until now.

I walked forward, heading towards Juliette's building. The minute her door opened and never closed I knew something had happened to her.

That was almost twenty-five minutes ago. Anything could have happened now. People thought I was bad or cruel now but they didn't even want to think about what I would become if she was taken from me.

I walk around the perimeter, glance in through a window and try to remain calm when I see her necklace in the hallway. The silver chain sparkled in the moonlight streaming in from the windows. And the smashed pendant twinkled alongside it.

I know she fought back, she had the last time this had happened.

Fuck, the last time? What the fuck was even happening. I could understand if it was me getting attacked, hell I had been a couple of times, but Juliette? She was just a random civilian. She had nothing to do with anything dodgy.

Well, except for me.

I quicken to a jog and keep looking around for any sign of another person. I do a sweep of the inside but find it empty. I walk out, further towards the fields behind the back of the school.

I round the corner, near the fields and see Juliette. She stands, in nothing but a pair of thin white shorts and a thin white tank top.

Correction, they were once white. Her clothes are now sprayed with red, as is her face. I pause for a second as I take her in. She's staring down at the floor, breathing calmly. Covered in blood.

"Juliette," I call out, running towards her. She turns to look at me, her expression blank as I run over. Before I can even touch her I look down and see a body.

A man, in all black, lies face down on the grass. The weeds near his head are soaked with blood. He doesn't move and I don't notice the rise and fall of his chest.

"Did you kill him?" I ask her, my eyes fixed on his body.

"No," she says quietly, "I beheaded him," She says.

My eyes widen as she walks over, and puts her foot on his head, she pushes it as his head rolls forward slightly. Away from his body.

That's when I noticed the axe in her head, dripped in a crimson colour. Juliette looks at me, eyes glassy.

"I'd hold you, but I don't want to contaminate anything," I tell her, softly. She gives me a strange look as I put my gun away and rub my hands over my eyes.

"Look," She says, her voice shaking a little.

"I know, baby, it's okay. Everything's fine," I tell her, reassuringly. My brain is beginning to tick as I plan this out.

"No," She says, her voice firmer. I look over at her and she walks towards the man's head. It's only a foot away from his body. But Juliette twists it over, with her foot and my eyes widen.

Jackson.

"He- He's the one..." I say, trailing off as I feel my whole world tilt on its axis.

Juliette stands near his head, staring at me, "I know him from the boxing club. He called me a distraction, he told me that was why he was killing me. Because I was distracting you from doing your best work. He had to make daddy proud in any way he could and all that," She tells me.