One for Three

Chapter 42

My frozen muscles took a moment to move again. Haruka rested over me for a moment before squatting in front of me, her face showing fear and concern.

"Moon face, are you okay?" she asked softly.

I forced myself to nod, although my thoughts were scattered and fear overwhelmed me.

Then I saw Seiya, lying on the ground just a few steps away from us. He reached out his hand towards me, and I hurried to him. "Darling," he whispered in a soft voice.

"Seiya, what happened?" I asked, my voice trembling with worry.

The events flashed by in fragments. Haruka had already sat on his other side, pressing her whole body onto his stomach, while shouting into her headset. "There were gunshots in the park. We need an ambulance with a paramedic immediately. A male person was hit, entrance wound on the right upper abdomen, no exit wound... Yes, he is still conscious. Hurry!"

Her words echoed in my ears. Gunshots? A gunshot wound? My gaze shifted to Seiya's abdomen, his shirt soaked in red blood. No, this couldn't be true. "Moon face, listen to me," Haruka said with a mixture of urgency and determination. "You need to come over here and press as hard as you can. The ambulance is on its way." Her voice was energetic, but I could see the worry in her eyes.

Trembling, I crawled over to her. She firmly placed my hands on the spot where hers were previously, then stood up to look around. "Don't forget to press as hard as you can until the ambulance arrives!" she called back to me urgently before running off.

Seiya had opened his eyes just a crack and looked at me, a faint smile forming on his lips. "Don't you dare say goodbye now! You have to hang on, do you understand? I can't live without you!" I yelled down at him. The warm blood continued to seep through my fingers, mixing with a puddle on the wet ground. I increased my pressure, now using my entire body weight to press on the small hole in his stomach. He lifted his hand and gently caressed my cheek. Only then did I notice tears flowing in torrents down my face. "I love you, my darling," he whispered barely audible. "I love you too, and that's exactly why you have to hang on now!" I screamed at him.

The cold drizzle of snow settled on my fingers from above, while Seiya's hot blood continued to flow into my hands from below. My arms started trembling from the effort, and finally, I heard the relieving siren of the ambulance. The paramedics quickly pushed me aside, cut open his now blood-soaked shirt, and I sat shivering in the snow. I was helpless, able only to watch. Paralyzed and unable to speak, my gaze remained fixed on him. His eyes were closed, and the paramedics placed him on a stretcher and administered something to him. In the moment when he was pushed into the ambulance, it felt like a cold hand reached for me, taking away any joy from within. I burst into tears once again. Nothing could happen to him; he had done nothing wrong. He didn't even know what had happened. Someone wrapped a blanket around me, and I heard people speaking, but the words didn't reach me. Unable to respond, I stared at the large pool of blood on the ground. Seiya's blood. Then I looked down at my own hands. I had his blood on my hands. A pleading scream escaped my throat. I couldn't lose him.

Two arms wrapped around me and lifted me up. One of the paramedics carried me into the second ambulance that had arrived by then. No, I couldn't go there; I had to stay with Seiya. Panic set in, and I started to struggle. "Seiya! Seiya!" I kept shouting. The last thing I remember was a brief prick in my arm, then a comforting black silence enveloped me.

As I slowly regained consciousness, the steady beeping of a monitor and muffled voices reached my ears. My body felt heavy, as if it were burdened by an invisible weight. The cold reality filled me, and I realized that I was in the hospital's emergency room. A drip hung from my arm, its cooling fluid providing some relief. But suddenly, reality crashed over me again as memories of Seiya hit me once more. Where was he? I ripped the EKG electrodes off my skin and grabbed the IV stand before rushing into the corridor. But there, I ran straight into Setsuna.