"Cleo..." Seth whispers, our breaths mingling as his thumb slowly traces my lips, maintaining eye contact. I watch him swallow, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat. His eyes dare me, and the pulse in my pants surges. Suddenly, our lips crash toge...
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I freeze, my breath catching in my throat as chaos erupts around us. The sound of gunfire feels like a punch to the gut, knocking the air from my lungs. My chest tightens painfully, and the room spins wildly. I can't breathe. I gasp, but it's like sucking air through a straw—useless. The pounding of my heart drowns out everything else, and the walls close in on me, trapping me in my own fear.
People rush past me, a blur of panic and desperation, but I can't move. I'm paralyzed, locked in place, unable to focus on anything but the sound of my own heartbeat, deafening in my ears.
"Cleo!" Seth's voice cuts through the chaos, but it barely registers as he rushes toward me. Before he can reach me, a man in a ski mask lunges out from the crowd, grabbing me and lifting me off the ground. I kick and scream, trying to break free, my pulse pounding in my ears.
"Let go of me!" I yell, thrashing against him.
"Shut the fuck up!" he barks, jamming a gun against my head as he slowly backs away, his arm tightening around my throat, making me choke. My blood runs cold, the chill of the metal pressed against my skull freezing me in place. Tears pour down my face uncontrollably, my body trembling with terror.
Seth's expression hardens, his eyes narrowing in a glare. In a flash, he pulls out his own gun and shoots the man in the hand, causing him to fall back with a scream of pain, the gun dropping from his grip. In a sudden burst of speed, Seth leaps forward, pulls me behind him, and fires a shot, hitting the man dead in the face. Terror grips me, and I scream as I watch. Just as Seth pulls the trigger, another shot rings out, and I see him jerk, hit, making him drop his gun.
"SETH!" I scream, panic flooding my system. I'm certain he's going to pass out, but he pushes through. Gritting his teeth, he brushes off the injury and continues to fight off the masked man. He lunges at the attacker, grabbing his gun and delivering a punch to his face before shooting him as well. I can't contain the scream that escapes my mouth as the gunshot echoes through the chaos, covering my mouth in shock.
Seth turns to me, blood splattered across his face, and before I can speak, he grabs my hand, and we rush out. I race down the steps, almost tripping, and attempt to head toward my car. But Seth pulls me the other way, toward someone else's car.
"Seth, this isn't—" I begin, but before I can finish, he punches the window, unlocks the door from the inside, and jumps in, somehow getting the car to start. He opens the passenger door for me from his side. I hesitate, glancing at my car, then back at the one we're stealing, cursing myself inwardly before finally hopping in.
The moment I close the door, Seth speeds off. "We need to get you to a hospital! You're bleeding everywhere!" I cry, glancing at his abdomen.
"No hospitals," he replies tersely.
"But—"
"No hospitals," he insists, his tone leaving no room for argument.
"Im not sure if my apartment has any medical supplies," I say, glancing at his blood-soaked abdomen, anxiety creeping up my spine. I look around, my thoughts racing, but everything feels wrong—rushing him to a hospital seems like the obvious choice.
