🎶 I Won't Let You Go — James Morrison 🎶
"Shit..." Marcos mumbled as he peeked through the curtains. "It's time" he said and held me even closer now. His arm was slung around my neck and I could feel the gun on my temple, while I was shaking and crying. In a last effort of strength, I pulled myself down and hit his arm with which he was holding the gun, with my elbow. And then I heard a loud bang. I slumped down onto the floor, feeling a heavy weight on top of me as my ears were ringing. My vision was blurry and after a bit, I heard many confused voices around me.
"Miss! Are you hurt?" I heard someone say and saw a man in black crouched down next to me. I felt something liquid on the back of my shirt and I touched my head, feeling the same in my hair.
"Let's try and get you up" I heard the man say and I felt the weight on my back being lifted away. The man extended his hands and I grabbed them as he pulled me up.
"I... I think I'm... fine" I stammered, though my ears were still ringing a bit. I looked around the room and saw a few other of these men dressed in black and... oh my God.
I covered my mouth in shock when I saw Marcos' lifeless body laying there, an entrance wound on his temple and his eyes wide open, looking blankly at the ceiling. He was dead. Tears shot into my eyes but I was softly pushed out of the room by the armed police officers. Everything was a blur until we arrived outside again and...
"PEDRI!" I shouted and ran towards him. He turned around and looked as if he had seen a ghost, but quickly opened up his arms in an embrace in which I fell into.
He held me tightly and I just enjoyed the warmth and safety he was giving me.
"How... why... are you here?" I stammered as I pulled away a bit.
"You called me" he replied, holding me head firmly in his hands, as if he couldn't believe that I was really here.
"I... I did?" I asked surprisedly, as I was pretty sure that I hadn't been able to click on his name in time before my phone was yanked away.
"You didn't?" he asked back confusedly, but a policeman interrupted us.
"Miss, an ambulance is here, they need to check up on you, could you please follow me?" he said and I nodded weakly, but grabbed Pedri's arm to follow me, I didn't want to be alone. But I stumbled back into his arms when I saw the black body bag on a stretcher that was just being brought to the coroner's car. Tears shot into my eyes and I buried my head into Pedri's jacket. He held me tight but I was quickly surrounded by two paramedics.
"I'm fine. Physically" I told them after they shined lights in my eyes and checked my body for fractures and bruises from head to toe.
"We just need it for protocol, Miss" one of them said.
"It's Mrs" Pedri corrected him, as he leaned against the ambulance door, not leaving me out of his sight.
"Oh... Are you...?" the paramedic asked, of course recognising him and now thinking he was my husband.
"No. But it's Mrs, now do your job" Pedri said curtly.
The paramedics finished their check-up and now policemen surrounded me, questioning me about the evening while Pedri was quarrelling with one of the officers a few feet away.
"She's clearly disturbed. Please just let her go and she will come down to the station in the next days to deliver her statement" he said in a very loud tone. This officer now walked over to me.
"Mrs Vasquez, do you wish to deliver your testimony at a later time?" he asked and I nodded.
"Ok then" he sighed. "We need you to come down to our police station in the next two days. Here is my card. Do you need anyone to drive you home or anything?" he continued.
"Pedri, can you...?" I asked and he immediately nodded.
"Thank you" I told the policeman and he nodded before I walked with Pedri to his car. We both fastened our seatbelts and took deep breaths.
"Where are Sofi and Blanca? Do I need to pick them up or something?" he asked and my heart ached when I thought that my girls could have become orphans tonight.
"They're staying the night at my parents'" I replied with a shaky voice.
"Ok. I will take you back to my place now, or do you wish to be alone and go back to yours?" he asked, but I shook my head.
"Yours" I simply confirmed and he nodded.
He grabbed my hand tightly as he navigated through the streets easily with one hand, there was basically little to no traffic at this time of the night. I turned my head to look at him and he looked devastated, his eyes were full of pain. Seeing him like this made me tear up again, there was nothing worse in life than seeing a person you love in pain. I hadn't had to see Rodri like that. When I arrived at the hospital that night, they had already prepared him for me, laying on a bed, he just looked peacefully asleep. But Pedri now... that was awful to see and hurt me even more.
"I'm so sorry" I sniffled and hid my face with the hand he wasn't holding.
"What? Sorry for what?" he asked bewildered.
"That I made you worry" I whispered and he just grabbed my hand even tighter, shutting his eyes for a second. We arrived at his place and he held my hand again as we walked up to the door.
"Hey! There you are! Oh my gosh, are you alright? Is that... blood?" Fer frantically asked as he walked up to us. Ferran also appeared in the background with a questioning and worried face.
"What are you doing here?" Pedri asked him.
"Your brother called me - what happened?" Ferran now asked too. Pedri did a sign cutting his throat and shook his head at the boys while I looked at the ground. I was so ashamed for some reason.
"Come, I'll give you something to change into and you can shower" Pedri said and laid an arm around me, walking to the stairs with me. I felt him looking back at the boys, probably signalling them that he'd be back.
"You want an own room or... err?" he asked when we had arrived upstairs but I just shook my head so he nodded and opened his bedroom door for me. He quickly walked over to his closet, pulling out a hoodie and sweatpants with strings as well as a pair of boxers that he analysed before deeming them small enough for me to fit.
"Here's some stuff, fresh towels are on the shelf next to the shower, just put your clothes outside the door and I can give them a quick wash in the washing machine" he said and tried to make a mental check if I could be needing anything else.
"Are you on your period? I... I can fetch some... stuff from the 24h supermarket?" he stammered.
"Um... I actually am... um... give me your phone" I told him and he gave it to me without a comment. I googled the product I think I would need and made a screenshot for him.
"If they don't have this exact brand just ask the shop assistant to give you the one most similar to these... um... this is really nice that you asked..." I said shyly and looked at the ground.
"Do you need anything else? Did you get your phone back?" he asked and I nodded, pulling it out of my pocket.
"Ok, whatever it is, just call me. I'll tell Fer to wait in front of my bedroom if... anything happens. I'll be back asap" he told me. I took a big step forward and hugged him tightly.
"I love you" I whispered into his hoodie and he placed a kiss on my head.
"I love you too, Isa" he whispered back.
