Beware The Water

Cold World

Lux watched helpless from the cold, cement floors. Shorter not only kissed another girl and thought he loved her, but he also killed her best friend and didn't say a word. She had every right to hate him yet her own heart betrayed her at every corner. Every bad thing Shorter did and kept from her was another apology awaiting forgiveness. There was no way to choose between the love she felt for him and the pain he'd cause. Lux's heart constantly overruled her mind and she wasn't strong enough to stay away from this gangster that brought chaos into her life. She feared that being apart from Shorter would be worse than any pain that could be felt in a lifetime. Their hearts were chained tight together until they bled and would become mutilated.

Hate would never be found in Lux's heart. The feeling of hate wasn't in her nature when she was programmed to be a nurturer and provide guidance to a lost soul. An angel without a halo was how she was viewed by the world. There was no room for hatred when Shorter brought her heart to its knees so easily.

He was the sinner that brought this angel to tears.

Her eyes stayed locked onto the trigger as Shorter pulled it. She screamed for him to stop and squeezed her eyes tightly, covering her ears to prepare for the inevitable blast of the gun. Lux stayed curled up for a second but no such sound was heard. She peaked up and watched Shorter drop the gun.

The click of the hammer falling on an empty chamber echoed louder than any gunshot.

Sheriff Sheng laughed. "Well shit, boy! I didn't think you had it in you. I'll give it to yuh." He wagged his finger and walked forward, slow and smug. "Blowing your brains out takes guts." Sheng bluffed with his unloaded gun, never having any intention of letting Shorter off the hook that easily. He just wanted to see if he'd actually give his life up for someone who he claimed to love. A disarmed Sheng held all of the power as he ordered the King of Chinatown to get back down onto his knees.

Lux sat frozen, watching as Shorter obeyed. He couldn't even look at her anymore. In his mind, he was already dead to her. Lux's hands laid heavy at her sides, her legs felt like putty. Shorter was going to get arrested and be away from her for a long time. She couldn't picture her life without him. Especially like this. Knowing he was out there in the world where she wouldn't even be able to share a touch, was a hammer to the heart that kept beating her down.

She should hate him. She needed to hate him. If not then... she'd be led astray down a dark path that her light would no longer illuminate. She'd be consumed by the demons that she surrounded herself with and wear the scars left behind from clipped angelic wings.

Shorter's eyes stayed on Sheng's dirty brown boots that approached him and saw how that fucking gold badge glinted in the moonlight, mocking its so called honor. He looked up over the frame of his black sunglasses, now remembering what it was like to be looked down upon like when he was as a child, forced to obey the orders of men who gave he and his family faux freedom.

Even when he wore a crown he was still destined to bow down to someone else. What the fuck is a kingdom and power good for when you can't even protect the ones you love?

"You think that was noble?" Sheng asked, mocking him. "You stupid enough to think that I'd just let you walk?" He pulled back a fist and punched the kneeled mafia boss.

Shorter's purple mohawk fell down over his eyes, accepting each punch as the fight drained out of his body. There was no point in fighting back. There was nothing else for him in the outside world. His gang would have a new king in Sing and more importantly, he would no longer be able to call Lux his.

"I'm going to make sure prison is hell for you!" Sheng shouted during the assault, now having Shorter pinned down beneath him. "I'll have guards visit you every night! You'll wake up to inmates forcing your face down into your pillow! What I had done to your pal Hook was child's play but you-" he threw another punch, drawing blood from the old scar on Shorter's cheekbone. "You won't have an ounce of peace for as long as you're still breathing!"