The Last Gunshot

1.

It's another normal day after school. I'm relaxing in the house of my best friend, Melissa. While I went up to her room, she said she would be getting some snacks from the pantry.

'She seems to be taking a long time,' I thought to myself. 'Maybe I should go check on her.' But just as I open the door...

*BANG*

The deafening sound of a gunshot resonates through the house. I rush down to find the source of the sound, but the sight that awaits is a sight that I will never forget. It has been burned into my eyes forever.

I see Melissa laying lifeless on the floor. Blood pouring out of a bullet hole. That she put in her own head. A gun lying by her side.

I do the first thing that I manage to do. I scream as loud as I can.

Hands shaking, my whole body trembling, I find her phone, unlock it, and call her mother. It takes a horribly long time for her to answer, but when she does, I have no words.

"Melissa? This better be important, I'm in a business meeting now." My hands are still shaking. I'm amazed I haven't dropped the phone by now. I cannot open my mouth - it feels like a desert.

"Melissa? Melissa?!" I hear her mother becoming worried and frantic. I force the words out of my mouth.

"Sh- she i-is g-g-go-gone..." I manage to stutter in between sobs. I didn't even realise I was crying until now.

"Is this a joke? Melissa?"

"N-n-no Mrs F-fi-fiel-fields, sh-sh-she r-re-real-really is-is g-gone..." My knees crumple under me, I feel as if I gained a thousand pounds. "Sh-she sh-sho-shot her-herse-herself."

I hear something dropping onto the floor, which I can only hope is just Mrs Fields' phone. After a few moments of silence, I hear a voice on the other end.

"Nathalie? Is that you?"

"Y-yes-yes."

"Okay, listen here Nathalie. I'll be back in 10 minutes, okay? Call the cops and an ambulance once I hang up. Do you hear me?"

"Yes," I manage to say without stuttering. Mrs Fields' calmness is soothing but also frightening at the same time. Her daughter just shot herself and she seems as calm as the sea on a nice day. Once the phone line goes dead, I lay my head on the floor, screaming and crying silently. Why? Why did she have to go?

~~~~~

I hear sirens blaring outside the house. Lifting my head slightly off the floor, some heavy footsteps approach the door, and someone knocks.

"This is the police. Is anyone inside?"

I drag my legs up, and clinging onto anything near me, I pull myself towards the door. Slowly opening it, I stare at the officers with my bloodshot eyes, and they lower their guns. "No danger posed!" the officer who had knocked the door screamed to his colleagues. They looked back at me, their eyes full of questions and worry. "We received a call a short while ago about a suicide here... Erm, is it true?"

Slowly nodding my head, I turn around to look at Melissa's lifeless body lying sprawled on the floor. The tears threaten to resurface, but I resist them. I cannot bear to look weak in front of other people, especially adults. The officers walk into the house silently, not saying a word or making any noise at all. They circle the body, and place red tape around the "crime scene"; I think it should be called death site, not crime scene. The gun and bullet shell are placed in separate sealed bags, and put into the care of the CSI agents.

"Are you okay miss?" that same policeman asks in a monotone voice, showing no signs of sympathy. I cannot bring myself to move. I stay in my spot, staring blankly into space.

All of a sudden, we hear the screeching of car tyres. Shortly after, the door is thrown open and Mrs Fields runs in.

"Where is she? WHERE IS SHE??" she screams at us. Her appearance is a mess - her clothes are wrinkled, her hair is messed up, and her eyes are red and puffy from crying. She glances behind us, and seeing her daughter's dead body, she bursts into tears again, and runs up to me, pulling me into her tight embrace. Her tears soak into my t-shirt, but I don't bother complaining. I decide to finally let go and cry with her, and we stand there sobbing over the loss of a loved one.

After quite some time of crying, she pulls back and looks deep into my plain brown eyes. "Darling, stay strong for me, okay? We'll get through this together." She's like a second mother to me, as my mother had passed away giving birth to me. I nod, and she pulls me into another bone-breaking hug. We stand there for some moments before a person clears their throat behind us.

"Excuse me, madam, miss? We need to ask you some questions about the incident. Madam, this was your daughter, I believe?" the same officer asks, now showing slight pity on his face.

"Yes, yes," she answers. He beckons for her to follow him, but turns around to look at me first. "You follow us too, miss. I need to ask you some questions too since you were present at the time of the incident."

We trail after him, staying a safe distance behind. Our footsteps are heavy; we are reluctant to leave the house with Melissa's body there. However we do not have a choice, and we are helped into the car. The officer blasts the siren on and speeds off. Mrs Fields grabs my hand and strokes it soothingly. Judging by the way she is acting, you would think she anticipated Melissa's death.

The car jerks to a sudden halt. Officers surround the car, wondering who has been caught. I wish I could erase those assumptions and tell them the truth, but I still have difficulty speaking. We are escorted to the interrogation room, which looks more like a jail cell than anything else. I sigh. Looks like it's gonna be a long day.

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